"We didn't mean to just pop in and disturb you right before-"
"No, you're not, not at all." His wife assured, shaking her head softly as she set a glass of lemonade down in front of the blonde. "It's so nice to meet you, actually." Sandy added with a sweet smile as she slid into a chair across the table. "David has told me quite a bit about you and of course, I've been a fan since the 70's." She was a little nervous- it was obvious.
"It's very nice to meet you as well." Stevie nodded softly, eyes traveling towards the living room, where Lindsey, David and his son- DJ were hanging out, playing guitar... of course.
"DJ loves music... He has since he was real small." She announced. "It's so kind of Lindsey to give him some tips." Sandy thought it was an odd visit, but only because it wasn't some random person from the class of 66' dropping in... It was Stevie.
She chuckled lightly, heart suddenly growing a little soft. "Lindsey's great..." she agreed, biting down on her lower lip as her eyes stayed locked on him for a moment.
He was perfect, even on the days that he wasn't... He was patient, most of the time and supportive, especially when she really needed it.
Sometimes she forgot just how lucky she was to have him in her life.
"Anyway," she pulled herself back into reality as she turned back to face the other woman once more. "How long have you been married?" She wondered, tracing the rim of the crystal glass with her index finger.
Sandy chuckled lightly, taking just a second to think before she replied. "It'll be thirty- five years this October." She announced, which wasn't at all surprising to Stevie.
"That's wonderful." She nodded as her lips turned up. "And how many kids?" She kind of just figured it was a lot... After all, in her other life, they shared quite a few.
"We just have the two." She shrugged lightly, nodding her head softly.
She creased a brow casually, even though the smile never left her face. "You have a beautiful family." She complimented as she slowly brought her glass up to her lips.
"We don't have it all, but we have each other and that's all we need." She wasn't being harsh when she said that- she was being sentimental, and honest.
And that was it- that was exactly what she wanted to hear... She wanted to know that he had, in fact found the love that he was looking for and the love he deserved.
~~~
Sitting on the sofa, curled up next to him, her head stayed plastered to his chest. "Thank you, Lindsey." She whispered, the tips of her index and middle fingers traveling up and down his neck.
They had been back for a couple of hours- both of them too lost in their own train of thought to share much of a conversation since they'd left Pasadena.
Lindsey wanted to know why she felt the need to go out there and see him, even though he wasn't going to pry... He was still curious. It was out of character for her, but then he had to remind himself that she'd been through quite a bit, and maybe this was just her way of moving on, in some way.
He didn't know, but he wasn't going to question it.
And Stevie, who had been very quiet as well, couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened... All the details were just reeling in her mind.
"For what?" His voice was soft as well, eyes hardly open as he stared down at her.
"For going with me today, being there and..." she bit down on her lower lip as her eyes met his. "And for being you." She shrugged a shoulder lightly, a sweet smile on her beautiful face.
Nodding his head, he pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He wasn't planning on asking what was going on, but he couldn't just ignore it...
Looking into those blue eyes, she thought about it for a long moment. "You're going to think I'm totally crazy." She warned with a faint laugh.
He shook his head playfully, smirk on his face. "I would never think that about you." He teased, which caused her to giggle in return.
She grew quiet for another short second, and then she told him all about it. Every detail from the moment she'd woken up a married woman, to the moment she'd met him the parking lot of the restaurant.
It was a lot, almost overwhelming to recall it all, but she felt safe... she felt like he wasn't going to judge her, or question it. And he didn't, not at all.
Instead, he just listened to her tell this elaborate story about being married for over thirty- six years, having five kids, teaching kindergarten and going to high school football games every Friday night.
It was bizarre, and at the end, after she'd grown silent once more, waiting for his response, all he said was; "I was married to Lori?"
With a deep laugh, her nerves suddenly vanished, completely. "Isn't that wild?" She knew that his mind had been stuck on the for awhile- she could tell she was starting to lose him after she'd mentioned it.
Creasing a brow, he let out a chuckle. "Very, yeah." He nodded, definitely not able to imagine that part being realistic. "And you had five kids?" He teased, eyes playfully wide.
She smacked his arm lightly as she let out a deep giggle. "I know..." she shook her head, giving him a very distorted face.
Running his hand down her back, he rubbed her hip lightly. "You'd make a great mom..." his words caused her heart to sink into the very pit of her stomach.
That part made it hard... She wouldn't have kids in this life and he would never get to see her be a mother to her own, which really bothered her, a little.
"Anyway," she shifted with the throw pillow in her lap, sitting a couple of inches away from him at that point. "I felt like I had to make this choose- I had to decide what world I belonged in..." she lingered, eyes falling to the hardwood floor as she thought about it for a moment. "I just needed to know that he was okay..." she admitted with a very weak smile.
Lindsey stared at her for a long minute, almost certain that he'd just fallen in love with her all over again. "You're an incredible woman." He knew that, even though he didn't tell her as often as he should have.
"Promise me something?" She took his hand in hers, staring down at the wedding band.
"Anything..." his voice was soft, eyes scanning over her face.
"Promise me that it's not going to end the way it always has..." she creased a brow, trying hard not to get overly emotional. "I can't do it again..." she shrugged. "And I won't." Stevie had already promised herself that.
Wrapping his pinkie around hers, he slowly brought it up to his lips. "I promise, Steph."
