It was early the next morning, after a really restless nights sleep and a mild headache when Stevie found herself sitting out the hotel balcony.
She had already lied to Lindsey about what Lucy had said on the phone... She didn't want to cause problems already- it was still so early in the trip, and she knew he'd fly over the handle bars if she repeated Lucy's words.
"Good morning." Everleigh announced as she pulled open the sliding glass door and stepped out into the brisk air.
Glancing up over the edge of her glasses, Stevie reached out to grab the throw pillow off the outdoor sofa. "Good morning, angel." She motioned for Ev to sit down next to her.
"Where's dad?" She wondered as she nearly fell onto the sofa.
Pushing her glasses to the top of her head, the blonde shrugged a shoulder lightly. "He went downstairs to get coffee and find donuts, but that was like an ho it ago." The way she rolled her eyes, caused Everleigh to giggle softly. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Stevie asked after a long second of silence had washed over them.
She wasn't going to push her daughter to share her feelings about everything that was happening in the world around them. If raising four kids had taught her anything, it was that they only talk when they're ready... And forcing it never goes over well.
She thought about it for a moment, eyes focused on the busy traffic that sat twenty flights below. "I thought I would feel some sort of connection to her..." she lingered. "But I don't." She mumbled with soft shake of her head.
There was nothing... She felt nothing towards Lucy, which she thought was totally weird, considering they shared half of their DNA.
She sighed heavily as she turned to the side to look at Ev a little better. "Honey..." she really felt for her, but it was one of those moments where she really wasn't sure what to say.
She had never done this before, and usually, even in the random situations, she had some advice, but this was different.
"I don't look at her and feel like she's my mom..." she continued as her voice grew much softer.
"You just met her, of course it's not going to be that easy." Stevie was trying her best, she really was.
But there was this thin line between what she felt was right and what she knew was wrong. It was very hard to look at her daughter and tell her that she needed to give her biological mother a chance... But she had to.
For the entirety of Everleigh's life, Stevie had been her mom, even before she called her that.
She was at every dance recital, every gymnastics class, every school play, every conference, and everything in between... It was hard to look at someone else and think that that was the exact role they had given up on, just to do it ten years later with another child. It was awkward, really.
"She wants to take you out today, without us." Stevie had been thinking about it all morning... She didn't know what she was supposed to do.
It wasn't like Lucy was a total stranger, not to them. Stevie knew Ev would be safe with her, but it wasn't her decision to make... It was up to Everleigh.
"It'll probably give you some time to talk, just the two of you." That part was the one thing that really worried Stevie.
She didn't know what Lucy had to say about them and that didn't set well.
"I think I want to ask her about my father..." her words caused this feeling of pure nausea to come over Stevie. "Did you meet him?" She wondered as her eyes finally met her moms.
Swallowing hard, the older woman was the one to look away... She could hardly ever lie, not to Ev. "I did, yeah." She nodded lightly as she let off a simple, almost mundane shrug.
"What was he like?" She had so many questions... it was almost too much.
"Everleigh..." she was getting ready to tell her- she really was, but the sound of the glass door sliding open cut her off.
"Morning, ladies." Lindsey greeted them with a little smile as he trailed out onto the patio.
Stevie was so relieved to see him- it was like a saving grace. "Did you get lost?" She teased, pushing herself up off the couch to take her cup of coffee.
Handing her the foam cup, he gave her a faint grin. "There are donuts on the table, Ev." He leaned back against the railing, one hand falling on the ledge as the other held the hot coffee.
He was feeling a little on edge that morning, so on his way back from picking up their coffee, he stopped at the hotel bar and just had one drink... Only one to calm his nerves.
"It looks like it'll be just us today." Stevie spoke up once Everleigh had disappeared back into the suite.
He creased a brow as his eyes met hers. "No..." he shook his head immediately, voice shifting in tone just a tad.
"If she wants to talk with Lucy and not have us right there, listening in, she should be able to." She was really trying to defend her reasoning, but it was always so difficult to do that with him.
"Where is this coming from?" He held out his hand, only to let it fall back down a second later.
She let the deepest sigh fill the air around them as she set her cup down on the table. "They want to know each other and isn't our place to interfere with it." She stated in a really blunt tone. "And..." she paused for a second, trying to find the right words before she continued. "And Lucy is still young, which is probably what Evee-"
"Damnit, Stevie." He cut her off mid- sentence, not at all interested in hearing what else she had to say. "Stop with this age bullshit." There was nothing that annoyed him more than that... Nothing. "Who cares how old Lucy is compared to you- you're still a better mom than she could ever be." Lindsey wasn't necessarily yelling, but his voice had gotten a little louder.
With her heart racing and her eyes already watering, Stevie tossed her hands to the side as well. "I can never just talk to you about how I feel!" She was the one shouting now. "If I feel old, then I feel old, Lindsey!" She added as she shook her head, almost aggressively.
"You have to stop this." He argued. "You drive yourself mad over it, constantly."
She scoffed lightly as she rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Then maybe, if I can't feel old, I'm tired..." she admitted as the tears finally fell from her eyes. "Maybe I'm tired of this." The way she said that caused his heart to sink into the very pit of his stomach. "Maybe I give up." She added with a gentle shrug. "I can't catch a fucking break with all these kids!" She was so irritated, she just started saying things that she really didn't mean...
And that's when trouble begins.
"Dad?" Everleigh's voice caused them both to freeze... She'd heard it all. "Dad, will you go with me to meet Lucy today?" She couldn't even look at Stevie, that's how upset she was with her.
