They ended up at a little restaurant down the street- one they had gone to a million times before. Whether they liked to admit it or not, they were both creatures of habit.
So they both ordered the same thing they always did, and got the same coffee they usually got,
and then started talking about the same things they always talked about when they didn't know what to say.
"How's Constance?" Lindsey hadn't heard from her in months, which was unusual... especially for a while there, when she would call almost every day.
Sighing heavily, she shrugged a shoulder. "She's..." she paused for a second, trying to think of the right words to describe the girl that was like no one else she'd ever met... No else, besides herself. "She's better." Stevie slowly brought her cup up to her lips to take a sip.
There wasn't many words to describe Constance... She was different, unique, kind of bizarre, and really her own person.
He nodded, taking a moment to decide if he really wanted to ask his next question. "Is she-"
"She's not totally sober, no." She already knew what he wanted know, because he had voiced his concerns to her a countless amount of times when Constance was at her weakest.
He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head softly. "But she's doing okay?" He knew how to tip toe around subjects with Stevie- he'd been doing it for years.
At that point, he knew what to say and what not to say, especially when he was talking about her girls.
"I mean, define okay..." her voice was soft, and low. "She's waiting tables and paying for her own cell phone bill." It broke Stevie's heart, deep down that the college education Constance had worked hard to achieve wasn't being used, but she was still proud, even on the bad days.
"She's a good kid." Lindsey had loved her daughters like his own for a lot of years- still did.
"She's a great kid." She agreed. "But she needs some help, and Kim and I can't even be in the same room anymore without arguing." She raised a brow, a soft scoff escaping her. "We can't talk about anything, let alone try to figure out what to do for her." She didn't mean to make it sound like her daughters hardships were an inconvenience, because they were far from that.
In fact, Constance was closer to her mother, considering the fact that they had shared a lot of struggles in that aspect of life...
"You're a good mom..." Lindsey didn't tell her things like that very often, so to hear that coming from him meant a little more to her than he realized.
"Please," she shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her. "I can't make anyone happy anymore." She was hard on herself a lot, which was never really easy to listen to. "Now Becks is mad because I'm letting George move in with me." She never, ever talked about her personal love life with Lindsey.
And that might have had to do with the fact that for lot of years, he was the extent of that love life, but even after he wasn't, she still never talked about the man she was marrying, let alone allow them in the same room... Lindsey wouldn't even have been able to recognize him at the grocery store- that's how little he'd been around him.
"He's keeping his own house, though..." he raised a brow, seeing that look trail across her face. "Right...?" He watched as her eyes fell down to her lap, where she'd started fiddling with her hands.
"Most married people don't have two, separate homes." She shook her head very softly, biting down on her lower lip. "We're going to do it right, and the girls don't like it." Stevie couldn't make everyone happy- she had to decide and for the first time in a long time, she chose herself.
Lindsey shifted in his seat, nodding softly, though he was at a loss for words.
Creasing a brow, she sank down. "Let's talk about your kids. How are those angels?" Her voice cracked, hoping he hadn't noticed it.
But he did... He always did and he also caught a glimpse of her glossy brown eyes and curved lower lip, which always gave away her emotion.
"They're doing good." He nodded as he slowly reached across the table to take her hand in his. "We're going to have a fun day, okay?" Lindsey felt bad for even bringing it up, but he cared. "No tears, and no worrying..." he gave her a soft smile as he stared into those deep brown eyes.
She was making it so hard for him to give all of this up... He wasn't ready- he had never been ready and every time he looked into those eyes, it just reminded him of that.
"You're right..." she agreed as so gently took her hand back.
They spent the next half an hour finishing breakfast- talking about nothing quite as heavy. It was better that way- it caused less drama in the end, which was always easier.
It had never been like that... They could both feel that soft tension floating amongst them.
But Stevie had to remind herself that even though it was sad, it was still the end... And all things, even really great, magical, spontaneous things come to an end. That's just life.
Like originally planned, they stopped off at the hardware store to look at the paints, but Stevie didn't see one that she really liked and Lindsey wasn't partaking in that... He wasn't on board with her ideas, not that time.
So they didn't find any, which was fine, because they still had time to figure it out, and she knew they would.
By the end of their two weeks, Stevie had promised herself that she would have him convinced that this was better for them.
Being apart was going to work so well... They'd be happier.
It was just a little after noon when she found herself sitting outside on the porch, rocking in the swing that had hung there forever. "Why are you in there?"'She glanced back over her shoulder, watching him through the open window.
The house was so small- the living room, the kitchen and the dining room were almost one... They were spaced out, but the open floor plan really made it easy to see everything.
"Come sit with me." It wasn't really a question- more of a statement.
He chuckled lightly, pushing himself up off the sofa with his guitar in hand. "You gonna play?" He teased, pushing open the screen door and almost immediately taking a seat next to her.
She raised a brow, a soft smirk trailing across her face. "I can play a song." Stevie playfully argued.
He grinned, giving her a light wink as he handed the guitar to her gently.
It had been a long time, but after a moment of staring down, she lightly began to strum a couple of cords. "I can play..." she giggled, nudging him softly.
He let out a laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as her head met his chest. "I believe you."
