Letting out a deep huff, Stevie rolled her eyes as she slowly fell back on her yoga mat. "He's at Levy's." She announced as she stared up at the evening sky.
She had been out there for an hour, trying hard to find enough motivation to work out... It wasn't happening.
"I know, I was just there." Crosby took a seat at the patio table, elbows falling on his knees as he leaned forward. "What's going on, mom?" He had already heard Kash and Levy's side of the story, but Lindsey wouldn't talk about it- he didn't want to.
Bringing her hand up to her face, she lightly pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she thought about how she was going to reply. "What do you mean?" She mumbled in a soft tone as she closed her eyes lightly.
She didn't want to talk about it either...
"I mean, what the fuck is happening?" He hated this- he hated them being apart almost as much as they did. "Are you splitting up? Getting a divorce-"
"We aren't getting a divorce." She cut him off abruptly as she sat straight up. "That's just stupid, Crosby." Stevie couldn't believe he would even ask such a question- that was too far out there, even for him.
He scoffed softly, tossing his hands out to his sides. "You've never done this before." He wasn't trying to upset her, but it was bothering him too. "You've never been separated like this and we're all kind of worried." He didn't have the kind of empathy his brothers had- he never did.
"We just need a little bit of time apart, Crosby." She creased a brow, not in the mood for the third degree. "You've been married..." she lingered, waving a hand lazily. "So you know it isn't always easy, and sometimes space does wonders." She added, hoping that would be good enough for him.
He chuckled, but not a serious chuckle- a sarcastic one. "Don't compare my marriage to yours." Crosby shook his head, eyes slightly wide. "I wasn't married for fifty years," he wasn't afraid to admit that his short lived commitment was nothing other than a mistake, especially to her.
Sinking back, Stevie's eyes grew weak as she nodded her head. "Crosby..." she lingered, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Your father and I are still two humans... two humans that are allowed to disagree sometimes." She felt like they all needed that reminder occasionally. "We still have issues and for once," she brought her hand up to her chest, motioning towards herself. "For once, I'm putting us first." She knew that probably didn't make much sense to him... after all, he'd said it himself- his marriage was nothing like his parents. "I am still very, very much in love with Lindsey..." she let out a throaty giggle, only because tears were just over the horizon. "But we need this time apart to remind ourselves of what we're fighting for." She concluded as she finally allowed the tears to run down her cheeks.
She wanted nothing more than to have her husband back home, but there was also a limit... everyone has one and she had allowed far too much for far too long. She had to take a step back.
The thick air grew quiet for a long moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts before Stevie finally spoke up once more.
"So..." she shrugged a shoulder, swallowing hard to fight back more emotions. "I need you to stop worrying about us and start worrying about what's really important..." she raised a brow, well aware of the fact that he didn't want to talk about the real elephant in the room. "You need to be an adult and speak to Everleigh." She slowly pushed herself up off the ground, bringing a hand up to her face to wipe some tears. "It's time to grow up."
~~~
"Here, pops." Levy gently set a dinner plate down in front of his father as he patted his shoulder softly. "You doing okay?" He wondered in a low tone as he pulled out the chair next to him.
Shifting in his chair, he shook his head. "No," Lindsey had been bouncing off the walls all day long- he was miserable.
His back hurt from the couch, he'd hardly slept at all, he hadn't left Levy's house in two days, he wanted to get back in his studio, but above all that- he really missed his wife.
He missed her more than he had ever missed her before, which really said a lot...
"I asked her to come for dinner..." Elise sighed, slowly sinking down in a chair across the table.
Pursing her lips to one side, Janie nodded in agreement. "I called her, too." She admitted with a weak tone of voice.
Rolling his eyes softly, Levy shook his head. "Mom has a lot on her plate right now." He announced, glancing around the table at each of them. "I mean, she is trying to help Crosby get back on his feet, which is a full time job in itself..." that was no secret to any of them. "And on top of that, she has Evee, whose whole life has just been totally altered." He held up a hand, reminding them to just chill out a little bit. "Mom has always been patient and supportive of us," he used his index to circle the table, motioning to each of them. "So it's our turn to stand behind her and let her focus on what she feels like she needs to do." He paused for a second and then he let out a sigh. "We need to stop thinking that she should have come to us... She shouldn't have to come here for dinner to make things right. Instead, we need to start thinking of ways that you," his eyes met his fathers, trying not to sound stern but also trying to be serious. "Can prove to her that she's still worth just as much effort as she was five decades ago."
