With a roller holding her bangs in place, and a cup of coffee in hand, Stevie nearly tripped over the rug as she raced through the kitchen. "I forgot a card." She announced, yanking open the kitchen drawers as if one would magically appear. "How did I forget an anniversary card?" She held out a hand, letting it hit the marble counter in defeat.
Clancy was at the breakfast bar, a soft smile trailing across her face. "I'll text Karen and see if she can pick one up on her way here." She knew it wasn't the same, but it was a card, nonetheless.
Nodding softly, Stevie brought her hand up to her forehead to rub the headache out before it even arrived... It was definitely coming though, she could feel it. "Have you seen him this morning?"
When she'd gotten up an hour earlier, he was already up and gone... Not a good way to start another year of marriage, that's for sure.
"He was up super early, I think." Clancy shrugged, creasing a brow lightly.
"Hmm," Stevie hummed, bringing her cup up to her lips to take a sip. "I'm sure he'll show up sometime." She teased, trying to lighten up the mood just a tad.
They'd had an interesting couple of days leading up to that morning. They'd both been very quiet and even a little distant- not because they were necessary mad at one another, but they had a lot on their minds.
"Is everything okay?" The younger woman knew her mother well- she could read her like a book, and something was bothering Stevie, she could tell.
Shaking her head quickly, she shrugged it off. "Yeah, it just bothers me that I forgot that card, that's all." She lied, hoping it was believable.
Picking up her phone, Clancy glanced down at the text she'd received a moment earlier. "Karen will get you one, she's on her way." She assured, a very soft tone lingering in her voice. "You should be excited, and relaxed, mom." She added. "We have everything already taken care of. All you have to do is show up, okay?" Clancy was calming- a breath of fresh air, if you will.
She was always the sentimental, sensitive, and sympathetic one. She felt things a little deeper than the other kids... She got that from her mother.
"You're going to stay at home forever, right?" She teased, trailing around the counter to wrap her daughter in a quick hug. "I have to go finish my hair." She mentioned before she left a kiss on the side of her head.
"I think you should keep it like that." Clancy motioned towards the roller as a soft laugh escaped her.
"Let me know when Karen gets here, please." She headed for the door, slipping into the hallway and right up the stairs.
Once she was alone in her bedroom, Stevie tugged the roller out of her hair, and trailed into the bathroom.
Staring at herself in the mirror, she could have sworn she'd lost her own reflection for a moment.
"Don't..." she told herself, tears filling the brims of her eyes as she used the counter to hold herself up. "Not today." She whispered, catching her tears with the back of her hand.
Days like this were hard for her... There's this saying that life goes on- everyone knows it, and everyone lives by it, even if they don't want to.
For Stevie, the hard days came when things were supposed to be good, and everyone was supposed to be happy. But these days weren't easy for her, not when she felt like she was missing a huge piece that was supposed to be there... Alli should have celebrated all these milestones with her family.
This was just a reminder of how many birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, family parties and life events their daughter had missed out on, and that destroyed Stevie.
