"Lola?" Stevie grazed her long red nails down the wood, lightly tapping the tips of her fingers against it a moment later. "Honey, your father and I would like to talk to you for a second." Her voice was soft as she leaned to one side, eyes melting into her husbands.
"Go away." She mumbled on the other side.
Sighing softly, Stevie's hand met the doorknob, trying to decide if she should just go in, or wait for Lola to open it. "I-"
"I said, I don't want to talk." Lola cut her off, rolling her eyes as she stayed seated at the foot of the bed. "Put your hearing aids in..." she added, totally unimpressed and unenthused.
Without another word, Stevie pushed open the door, a very faint, slightly annoyed smile trailing across her face. "If you don't wanna talk to us, that's totally fine- you can just listen." She shrugged, leading the way further into the guest bedroom.
Lola left off a dramatic eye roll as she watched her mother sit down on the vanity chair, while her father lingered close to the door. "Everything's all good again, so... what's there to talk about?" She was being sarcastic- it was obvious.
Stevie's heart sank, eyes falling to the cream colored carpet as she thought about what she was going to say... She should have already had that part figured out, at least. "I'm sorry that you're so upset with us, sweet girl." She was, very much so.
There's this unspoken promise that you make to your children when their born and it's that you'll always love them, protect them, fight for them, and ensure their happiness... It wasn't always the easiest promise to keep and sometimes, like all normal humans, promises get broken.
Stevie felt like somewhere down the line- somewhere within the chaos that had engulfed their family, she'd failed at each of those promises at one point or another... But that's human nature- no one is ever perfect and she was no exception.
"Sorry doesn't always cut it, mom." She scoffed, not sure what Stevie was expecting from her.
She wasn't just going to forgive them for years of confusion and totally insanity... she wasn't that easy going.
"You have serious issues," she added, staring into those brown orbs so intently.
Nodding softly, Stevie wasn't going to argue over that. "I have been through some very difficult things, like all of us..." she assured, not at all embarrassed to admit that she hadn't always had it easy.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lola was already fed up with their conversation- she just wanted Stevie to do her little lecture and then get out.
"What I said a couple of days ago in front of you and your siblings was uncalled for and very inappropriate." Stevie admitted with a very gentle nod.
She was so ashamed that she had done that to her kids... to her husband- it wasn't very fair, not at all.
Chuckling softly, Lola let out a deep sigh. "So what you're saying is that dad did not have an affair?" She knew that wasn't the case- she just wanted to hear her mother say it out loud.
Sinking back against the desk, Stevie's eyes traveled towards her husband.
At that point, he had taken a seat on the accent sofa, yet he was still totally lost for words... He didn't know how to explain himself, not to his oldest.
"Lola..." she bit down on the inside of her cheek, trying hard to keep her tears at bay. "Being married isn't always easy." Stevie was trying so hard to find the right words that fit her emotions.
"I know a lot of other married people who aren't nearly as toxic as the two of you." Lola could be hurtful and she used that to her advantage quite often.
"No, they're just good at hiding it." Lindsey mumbled, raising a brow softly. "Everyone's got some sort of problems- that's just life." He assured in a blunt tone.
The difference between Stevie and Lindsey is that she usually danced around the subject, while he called it like he saw it.
"Too bad you aren't able to hide it better, huh?" Lola gave him half a smile, silently telling him that no matter what he had to say, it wouldn't make her any less upset.
He was wrong for what did and she wasn't okay with just pretending like it didn't happened. That would have been totally pathetic.
"What I did to your mother wasn't fair..." he assured with a nod of his head. "And I regret it... I regret it a lot." Lindsey glanced over at his wife, watching as she used the back of her hand to wipe away some of the tears.
"I wish you would just get a divorce already." She shrugged, "And then you could marry people that actually make you happy." Lola really felt like that was the only real solution for their problems.
She just couldn't wrap her head around the idea that two people who had spent years totally miserable with each other could ever truly be happy again.
How could someone forgive the wife that had spent years drinking and sleeping away their days? And how could the wife forgive the husband that had been unfaithful right under her nose...?
It seemed ridiculous and really embarrassing.
"Lola, we have spent a lot of time trying to figure out our marriage." Stevie took her previous statement with a grain of salt.
It was easy for someone who had never been married, and never had children to judge the choices of other people.
It's always simple, until it's your decision to make.
"You've spent the last couple of months trying, and look where it's gotten you..." she couldn't help but chuckle, not sure how they didn't see what she saw. "You'll be happy for two days and then you'll be right back on your same old bullshit." She didn't usually cuss- not in front of her parents, but she was upset... and being upset called for adult wording.
Stevie stared at her daughter for a long moment, trying to take her feelings into consideration as much as possible. "As I was saying, it isn't always easy being married. Period." Her voice had shifted and while she didn't necessarily sound mean, she did sound very stern. "And you don't have to understand that right now- I don't expect you to." She held up a hand, silently assuring her that it was okay to be mad and annoyed... She didn't know any better. "But you will just have to respect the choices and the sacrifices your father and I make for each other." Her deep brown eyes drifted from Lola, back to her husband for a brief moment. "We still have a lot of work to do, but we still love each other very much... and sometimes, it's okay to look past the mistakes people you love may make." She concluded as she slowly pushed herself up from her chair.
Creasing a brow, Lola stayed totally silent as she stared down at the floor with a blank expression.
"We love you, very much." The older woman put one foot in front of the other, slowly trailing back through the room.
Nodding lightly, Lola finally glanced up. "I hope you've really figured it out this time around then."
