With her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, she read it over a couple of times before she spoke up. "Yup..." she nodded lightly, patting her husbands shoulder as she handed it back to him. "She's your daughter." She already knew that... Lindsey was the one that was in denial.
"Hmm," Karen was across the room, leaning back into the kitchen counter as she snacked on an apple. "She looks just like him. It's kind of creepy."
"Can we keep it down a little?" He creased a brow, glancing back to make sure little ears weren't around.
Pushing her glasses to the top of her head, Stevie sank down into a chair next to him. "Clancy went for a run." She assured, biting down on her lower lip as she cradled her cup of coffee.
Shifting in his chair, he ran his hand down his face. "What do you want to do?" He already knew, but he thought he would ask, just in case she might have changed her mind.
He didn't get that lucky- of course, not.
"Tonight." She wrapped her one arm around his shoulder, rubbing his neck softly. "We'll chat with them tonight." She clarified.
"Can I stay?" Karen half smirked. "I wanna see what happens." She added in an almost excited tone of voice. "Hundred bucks says Lola will flip the dining room tab-"
"Karen." Stevie cut her off, shaking her head softly as she gave her the look. "You know you're more than welcome to stay." She added, hand still resting on her husbands back.
Lindsey rolled his eyes lightly, even though he knew Karen was only joking. "Don't you have a house of your own?" He teased as he pushed his chair out from under the table to stand.
"It's too quiet there. I like the drama." She replied with an obnoxious grin.
They could have gone back and forth with the bickering all evening long, but luckily the sound of tennis shoes squeaking down the hallway caused silence.
"Daddy?" Clancy's voice lingered into the room before she did.
She was in her pale pink athletic outfit, long hair pulled back into a ponytail and a water bottle in hand.
"What's up?" He smiled lightly, carrying his empty cup to the sink.
"I snapped a string on my guitar this morning." She announced, a light frown marking her sweet face.
Stevie's lips turned up instantly, eyes traveling from her daughter, back to Lindsey. "Sounds like someone needs her dads help..." she teased as she slid off the chair.
He chuckled, nodding his head. "Bring it down, honey."
"Thank you!" She let off a big grin before she hurried up to her bedroom to grab the guitar she'd been gifted for her sixteenth birthday.
She was the only one ever interested in playing and singing... She was as in love with the art as her parents, which they both totally adored.
He waited until it was just the three of them before he said anything. "I'm gonna lose her."
Lindsey could handle a lot of hard things, but letting down his kids just seemed awful to him.
"No you won't." Stevie shook her head as she leaned into him. "If anything, she'll be the most understanding."
~~~
"Hello, miss Alice." Stevie was sitting on the fur rug in the living room, staring down at the infant that was resting in the swing. "You are wide awake today." She added with a soft giggle.
"She's wide awake all the time." Lola had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess and she smelled like throw up... She was truly becoming a mother.
Pursing her lips to one side, the older woman stared at the very dark blue eyes. "She'll get there." Stevie assured, nodding softly as she ran her index along her forehead.
"You never slept either." Lindsey was sitting right behind his wife on the sofa, running his fingers through her blonde hair causally. "You were on your mothers whacked out schedule for a while." He let out a laugh when Stevie reached back to swat his leg.
"I don't even remember what life is like when you get even three hours of uninterrupted sleep." Lola cracked a grin as she brought her cup of coffee up to her lips to take a much needed drink.
"It'll get better, sweet girl." Her mother assured once more.
It was the sound of Crew trailing into the foyer that caused all eyes to shift. "I ordered pizzas." He gave them two thumbs up as he flopped into the accent chair.
"Oh, good." Stevie raised a brow, chuckling lightly.
"I forgot to tell you!" Lola half gasped, which caught everyone's attention instantly. "Do you remember that girl I went to high school with?" She pointed at her mother, snapping her finger softly.
"You went to high school with a lot of people, Lola." She slowly started to lean back into her husband a little further, silently telling him to continue playing with her hair.
"Katie..." she raised a brow. "The one I wasn't allowed to hang out with because she was always getting into trouble, but I did anyway, without telling you." She added, causing Stevie to roll her eyes immediately.
"What's the point of this story?" Crew mumbled, twiddling his thumbs as he patiently waited for some drama.
"She got married the same year Jason and I did, so ten years ago, right?" When Lola told a story- it was always a little drawn out and overly detailed... Kind of like her mother, really. "So two weeks ago, her husband comes home and tells her that he cheated on her, right?" Her eyes are kind of wide, trying to keep up the suspense. "And he got this other woman pregnant!" Her words caused a faint gasp to escape Stevie.
"Oh, wow..." Karen's mouth almost hit the floor as her eyes traveled to Stevie for a brief moment.
The irony was unlike any other... It sounded too familiar to the older couple, who had grew awfully quiet.
"That's unfortunate." Crew raised a brow, leaning back further in the chair once he realized the story didn't get much more exciting than that.
"I hope they're getting a divorce..." Cassidy piped in, shaking her head in disbelief.
"No, actually." Lola scoffed lightly. "She's going to stick it out and raise the baby, too. Can you believe that?"
"Well, we don't know the whole story." Clancy shrugged a shoulder, thinking about it for a second. "It's hard to judge people when you only see a thin layer of what's happening." Her words were like music to Stevie's ears... She was so wise and understanding for her age, which is exactly what her parents were going to need in the weeks to follow.
"An affair is one thing, Clancy." Lola argued. "Having a child with someone else, while you're married is wrong... no excuse." She said that in such a stern tone, it was almost scary.
Biting down on her lower lip, Stevie causally turned her head back to look at Lindsey. "I'm gonna make some more coffee." She motioned towards the kitchen, telling him to follow without actually saying it.
With his hands on her back, he helped her up before he stood as well.
Luckily, Jason, who had been listening and observing decided to change the topic, bringing up the football game from the night before to distract everyone else from the suspicious behavior of his in- laws.
"That was really, very reassuring." Lindsey mumbled as soon as they were alone in the other room.
Her hand met his chest, eyes melting into his. "It'll just be our secret, for now."
