"Hi..." Everleigh stood up so fast, she almost knocked the chair to the floor.
Lucy was wearing a light pink dress with little yellow flowers, and a pair of flat sandals. It kind of went along with her frizzy, short length hair... She was pretty, but she wasn't what Ev had imagined.
For some reason she kept thinking it would be a younger version of Stevie... not Miss. Frizzle.
"You're so beautiful." Lucy laughed lightly, a warm expression written across her face. "It's so nice to see you." She added as she held out her hand for Ev to take.
"Thank you so much." Her face was so pink, she looked like a starburst. "And it's so nice to meet you." Evee knew that she'd met her before- obviously, but she didn't remember, so it felt like she was speaking to a stranger and in many ways, she was.
Nodding her head, Lucy's eyes stayed locked with the deep blue orbs... She looked so much like Stevie, it was almost bizarre. "Hi, there." After a moment of silence, her gaze finally traveled to the older couple.
She really didn't want to meet Everleigh in their presence... She didn't think it was very fair for them to hover, but she knew that that's what Stevie did best- control everything.
Pushing herself up from her seat, the blonde held out her hand to shake Lucy's. "It's great to see you, dear." She was lying so bad, it made her husband grin.
"You, too." She replied as she gave her hand a little squeeze.
With a very soft smile, Stevie slowly sat back in her seat. "You look great." She added, lightly kicking Lindsey's leg under the table.
He wasn't allowed to just sit there in silence... That was wrong and it would cause Ev to ask questions that Stevie really didn't want to answer.
"Yeah, good to see you." He didn't want to, but he also didn't want to hear it from his wife later that night, so he also gave her a little hand shake.
She giggled lightly, nodding her head as her eyes fell back the little girl taking a seat at the table. "This is Eden, my daughter." She knew it was such an odd time to introduce Evee to Eden, but she didn't have a babysitter and she figured that they would find out at some point, anyway.
Why keep secrets? It's worse that way.
The way Lindsey's brows went up, caused this slight panic to immediately wash over Stevie. She could tell that he wasn't very impressed with Lucy- he never really had been, but this was over the top.
Letting her hand meet his thigh, she gave him a look that silently assured him that it was okay... He needed to relax a little bit.
"Hi, sweet girl." Stevie greeted the little blonde with a wave.
"Hi." That soft voice was so familiar... She sounded just like Everleigh used to- so sweet. "I like your necklace." She had the most precious smile ever.
It made Stevie's heart burst right away.
Chuckling lightly, she glanced over at Ev for a moment, relieved to see a smile as well... She didn't look nearly as nervous as before. "So? Do you only eat chicken nuggets, too?" She teased, which made everyone laugh, even Lindsey.
"And macaroni..." the four year old assured with a cheeky grin.
"Sounds like someone else I know." Stevie gave Ev a little wink, silently promising her that everything was just fine... She didn't need to worry any longer.
~~~
"I'm so proud of you." With her fingers tangled in his, Stevie trailed next to Lindsey as they headed for the rental car.
