"How's it been going?" Elise was sitting across from her mother- in- law at the booth in the far back of the little restaurant in downtown.
They spent a lot of time together- shopping, weekly pedicures, lunch and always a lot of chatting... they had so much to talk about, all the time.
With a soft laugh, Stevie's chin fell in her hand. "I'm exhausted." She hadn't actually admitted that to anyone, not even Lindsey, but it was true.
She could hardly sleep at night, which wasn't very unusual at the time, but it had seemed to get much worse in the days that had followed Crosby's arrival.
She had found herself staying up late, waking up early and pacing the floors most nights... She could hardly keep her eyes closed long enough to get comfortable and fall asleep.
"Has he been on good behavior?" Elise had been over to the house a couple of times, but not long enough to actually see how Crosby was doing.
Raising a brow playfully, her lips turned up into a tiny smirk. "My husband, or my son?" She asked, jokingly, even though she knew exactly what Elise meant. "I think he's trying, but..." she shrugged a shoulder softly. "I know he's still drinking." She scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I found little vodka bottles in his jacket pocket this morning when I was doing the laundry." She was upset, but she also kind of understood... She knew it wasn't easy, not for anyone.
With a soft sigh, Elise reached out to take the older woman's hand in hers. "You're an absolute saint for doing everything you do." When she said that, she truly meant it.
She couldn't think of anyone else that would be able to put up with half the stuff Stevie had put up with.
"Thank you, my sweet girl." She gave her hand a soft squeeze as her eyes grew a little watery. "But I was there for Lindsey when he went through this... twice, so I can do the same for my son." She assured with a very soft tone of voice.
Biting down on her lower lip, Elise's eyes fell to the table cloth.
She really didn't keep secrets from Stevie, but everyone knew- everyone except for Stevie, that there were occasions, once in awhile, where Lindsey would partake in a drink, or two.
He didn't go out of his way to get totally trashed, but sometimes, just to let off a little steam, he needed something to settle him down... And he didn't want her hurt her, or upset her, so he simply asked the kids not to tell her.
"Anyway," shaking her head lightly, Stevie patted the back of Elise's hand. "Enough about that, let's talk about you." She brought a hand up to her face, wiping away some tears as she forced a sweet smile. "What are you and my baby up to this weekend?" She asked with a sheepish little giggle.
Sometimes it was too hard to talk about all the bad, because there was still so much good... Not all of her children were overly stressful.
"Kash and Levy are going to San Diego this weekend for that little golf trip." She reminded the blonde. "They're leaving on Thursday morning, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of Janie and I." Elise's lips turned up as she gave her mom a soft smile.
"I look forward to it, dear." She replied with a subtle nod.
~~~
Sitting in front of the vanity mirror, rubbing lotion into her arms, Stevie stared back at her husband through the glass.
He was lying at the foot of their bed, sort of watching the nightly news, but mainly just scrolling through his phone.
"The boys are leaving this weekend for that little trip." She reminded him as she slowly turned around in her chair.
