Running her fingers through Clancy's long blonde curls, Stevie stared down as she began to twist a braid into place. "Thank you, mom." She glanced up for a brief moment, giving the older woman a soft smile as she set a cup of hot coffee down on the table next to her.
"Did you sleep well?" Barbara wondered, taking a seat in the chair across the room from the two ladies.
They had arrived in Arizona late the night before, but the tension was still so high, neither of Stevie's parents asked too many questions, even though they had plenty...
Stevie's eyes stayed fixated on the braid as she let off a gentle nod. "I slept pretty good, but..." she lingered for a short moment. "I have a lot on my mind right now, that's all." She added, trying hard not to overshare in front of her daughter.
She really felt like she had made a big enough mess as it was, especially when she blurted her husbands affair out in front of their children and her assistant... That wasn't fair, not to Lindsey and not to their children, who didn't deserve to know that about their father.
"How about you, Angel baby?" Barbara's eyes met the little blue orbs from across the room as a soft, welcoming smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Yeah, I did." She assured, returning a toothless little grin.
Crossing one leg over the other, Barbara held her cup in one hand as she used the other to push some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Well, grandpa and I are just so happy to have you all here for the next couple of days." She was thrilled.... a little nervous about what was going on out in California, but still thrilled, nonetheless.
There had never been a time, not even after Alli had passed that Stevie had taken the kids and come home without Lindsey.... Never. He was always with them, even when they were at their absolute lowest point of in their marriage- maybe a couple of steps behind, but still there.
Pushing herself up off the floor, Stevie grabbed her cup off the table. "I appreciate this, mom." She took a seat on the couch, slowly bringing the coffee up to her lips to take a sip.
Before Barbara could reply, the sound of feet creeping down the hall caused silence to fill the room for a moment.
"Oh, good morning, sweet girl." She cracked another smile as she watched Lola trail into the room.
It was still early- only a little after eight, which was an usual hour for everyone to be awake... usually Stevie was tucked away until at least ten.
"Good morning, grandma." Her voice was groggy and her eyes were sleepy... She hadn't been able to sleep too well the night before either.
"Hi, honey." Stevie lingered as a very faint, very sad smile spread across her face.
"I was thinking," Barbara lingered as she watched Lola take a seat on the far end of the couch. "Would it be okay if I took your mother out for a couple of hours, while you and your siblings all hung out with grandpa and miss Karen?" She hadn't even talked to Stevie about venturing out, but she knew it would be good for her... and it would give them some time alone, enough time to chitchat.
With a light shrug, Lola nodded her head. "Yeah..." her voice was low as her eyes stayed glued on the fur rug at her feet.
She couldn't look up- she didn't want to take the chance of making eye contact with her mother. She had successfully avoided her since the moment they had landed in Arizona and hadn't even said a word to her since the incident in the driveway the day before.
That was difficult to hear, even Crew had a hard time pretending like it didn't bother him... How could it not? They had seen their parents through some of the toughest, most heartbreaking moments, only to find out that they were far more dysfunctional than they had thought. It wasn't easy, but for Lola, it just felt so much more overwhelming and life altering.
The thing was, she had spent the longest time blaming Stevie for everything under the sun- everything bad that had happened was her fault in the eyes of Lola... It was easy to label her as the villain, and to suddenly find out that she was also a victim of circumstance, made her feel horrible.
She knew that she probably could have been a little nicer... maybe even a little more understanding.
"Perfect, dear." Barbara pulled them all back into reality after a short silence had washed over the room. "Let's starting getting around, TeeDee." She motioned for her daughter to stand as she pushed herself up off the chair.
~~
It was a couple of hours later, after Stevie had gotten the kids and Karen situated at the house, when she found herself sitting across the round table from her mother.
They had already cruised through the mall, hardly talking about anything deeper than the weather and Barbara's bingo club. The older woman figured she'd give her daughter a little bit of time before she started to pry... But not too much time, of course.
"It's so warm out." Stevie glanced around the outside patio, fanning herself with the menu as she sank back into the chair.
Nodding her head, Barbara's eyes stayed fixated on the blonde. "What's going on at home?" She had waited long enough- she wanted to know.
With a heavy sigh and a gentle shrug, Stevie bit down on the inside of her cheek. "We aren't happy anymore, mom." She admitted, even though it pained her to do so.
She couldn't hide it forever.
"There was someone else?" She wondered, not necessarily being nosey, but instead just being a concerned mother.
Looking up, her eyes melted right into Barbara's as tears quickly, without any warning, blurred her vision.
Someone else... those words sounded so deep. After twenty years, there was someone else.
That was all she needed and then, she knew... She didn't even need words to know what that look lingering in those big brown eyes meant. "Oh, sweet girl." She sighed, creasing a brow as this feeling of pure sadness rushed through her.
"Don't make up excuses for him, mom." She warned, shaking her head softly. "And don't tell me that it was a mistake, please." Stevie held up her hand as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
She didn't want to hear any of that again- she was so sick of that.
Reaching across the table, she took her hand in hers.
She didn't know what to say for a long moment, instead she just watched as Stevie used her free hand to wipe away some of the tears.
It broke her heart, it really didn't.
"It's been very hard for the two of you, dear." She whispered, suddenly feeling incredibly emotional as well.
"Yeah," she agreed with a gentle nod. "And I'm tired of it." Stevie's voice was so weak. "I'm tired of fighting for someone, who isn't willing to fight for me." It was defeat, that's what it was.
