For the first hour, while they sat across from one another and picked at their food, neither of them said much of anything. Instead they sat in a comfortable silence.
The thing about knowing someone for as long as they'd known each other, was that there didn't always have to be something interesting to talk about. In fact, the silence was always easy and sometimes it spoke louder than words, itself.
Besides, they had just spent months on tour with one another, fighting over the stupidest, most inconvenient things. But that's how it had been forever- they'd argue and then they'd meet there the first weekend of July every year.
It was safe.
"Did you have a good flight?" He could feel the tension, so he didn't say much of anything until they were cleaning up.
Setting her plate in the sink and turning on the hot water to rinse it, she nodded her head. "Flying alone never gets easier, though." She chuckled softly.
That was the easiest way for them- flying in at separate times, without anyone else, which she wasn't really accustomed to at that point in her life. She always flew with someone- whether it was one of her daughters, Karen, or a friend. She was never really alone.
He nodded his head in agreement, hands falling on the counter as he leaned back. "You can sleep in the master bedroom, I'll sleep in the other." Lindsey announced, glancing over at her for a brief moment.
He had realized, when he wandered down the hallway to change his shirt that she'd put her things in a different room, which was unusual...
She swallowed hard, never looking up at him. "I'll be fine in the spare room." Stevie assured with a light shrug.
He shook his head, pushing himself away from the counter. "You said that bed hurt your back, you'll be more comfortable in the other room." He argued.
She could feel it- she could feel his hostility towards their situation and she was already over it... The first couple of days was always the hardest- they had to spend time breaking down the walls they'd built for one another during work.
Sighing heavily, she tossed the sponge in the sink. "Why are you mad?" She wondered, even though she already knew the answer to that question.
He creased a brow, tossing his hands to his sides. "I'm not mad." Lindsey shrugged his shoulder, watching as she turned back around to face him.
She had this look lingering her eyes that told him that she was tired- she was too tired to argue with him over things that wouldn't change anytime soon. "You sound mad."
"Maybe I'm sad." He admitted, which didn't happen very often.
Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach as her eyes fell to the floor. "We've had forty years..." she was holding herself up against the counter with one hand as the other hung down to her side. "You couldn't have seriously thought that this would last forever..." her voice was very gentle, trying to be as sympathetic as possible.
And it wasn't hard, not in the slightest, because she felt the exact same way. She was sad to see it end, but she also knew it was right.
She couldn't have another relationship, let alone another marriage built up on secrets and lies... She didn't want that anymore- she was tired of it.
Running his hand down his face, he let out another defeated sigh. "Maybe it was just wishful thinking..." he mumbled as his hand hit the marble top of the island.
"Well, there's your problem right there," she motioned towards him lazily. "I stopped wishful thinking a long time ago when it came to our relationship, and maybe you should do the same." Stevie might have sounded harsh, but she was being honest. "It's easier, Lindsey." She added with a soft chuckle. "I promise."
Nodding, he scoffed faintly, but not a mad scoff.... A really defeated scoff. "It's late and I'm tired, so I'll see you in the morning." Lindsey trailed towards her, one hand met her hip as he left a soft kiss on the top of her head.
She leaned in, heart beating quick as she stared down. "Good night, Lindsey." She whispered, feeling him give her hip a soft squeeze. "I hope you sleep well." Her eyes met his before she pushed herself back slowly.
"You, too." He said as ventured towards the doorway. "This is different." Lindsey half smirked, raising a brow playfully as he glanced back at her.
It was different compared to all the other times before... And even though he was really struggling with the fact that it would never be the same, he still wanted to make her laugh, which he did.
"There are king size pillows in there for you to cuddle..." she giggled, shaking her head as her hands fell into the bubbly warm water once more to finish the couple of dishes.
"Not the same." Lindsey teased before he disappeared down the hallway.
It wasn't long before Stevie had done the same, slipping into the master bedroom after she'd realized he was already in the spare room... He was stubborn, too.
After she'd spent an hour readying herself for bed and then another hour journaling, she finally found herself in bed... alone.
She tossed and turned for a long time. Suddenly, it was harder to sleep in that house than it had ever been before. And it turned out that the house made a lot of noises in the dark... It was creaking and cracking- the old foundation settling into the earth more and more as the time ticked.
It was almost unsettling to her.
And on the other side of the wall, tucked under the comforter, Lindsey did the exact same thing... He stared up at the ceiling fan, watching the blades spin around as he got lost in thought.
He had two weeks... Two weeks to remind her how important that place was to them, and how letting it go and letting them go was not the answer to their problems.
