"I don't like this..." Lindsey was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching his wife carefully cut up vegetables for the tossed salad she was preparing.
He didn't want to have them over for dinner- he'd made that pretty obvious from the moment she'd invited Carrie and Vivian a couple of days earlier.
It just didn't feel right- not that. It seemed too awkward, and forced... He knew a lot of people who shared kids and they didn't have dinner together. In fact, a lot of people in that situation just met once a week in a grocery store parking lot, and that even seemed like too much with Carrie.
Her hands fell to the counter, a soft thud following her actions. "Well..." she shrugged a shoulder lightly, not at all in the mood to listen to that again. "It is what it is." She added, trying hard not to roll her eyes.
She had been a little bit on edge since they'd gotten home from New York. At first she tried to act like it didn't bother her that neither of her daughters had called back, which wasn't really shocking coming from Lola, but Clancy...? That hurt her the most, it really did.
She had actually texted her mother a couple of days earlier, assuring her that she'd made it back to Paris and that she loved them, but she needed some time, which was understand... but that didn't make it easier.
Clancy called Stevie at least twice a day, so to not talk to her for nearly a week was different and upsetting. But she didn't blame her, she really didn't.
Clancy was a very sensitive person, and when things happened in life, whether they were directed at her, or not, she felt it deeply. And that was no exception, not for someone as empathetic as she was.
"I'm going to Lola and Jason's after dinner." She announced, tossing the tomatoes into the bowl.
She didn't want to share a meal with Carrie either, but she also knew that it wasn't going to work well being in Vivian's life if they made no effort with her biological mother... After all, she was now a part of their lives forever as well, whether they liked it or not.
He nodded lightly, heading further into the kitchen. "Honey..." His hand met her back, lingering next to her as she continued to chop lettuce into the tiniest pieces possible... "It's going to be okay." Lindsey's lips met the side of her head, repeating that sentence for the millionth time.
She paused, leaning into him for a second before she dried her hands off on a dishcloth. "Please, finish this for me? I have to get my hair done." She motioned with her hand towards the long strands that were pulled back.
"Of course," he assured, leaning back into the counter as his eyes followed her out of the room.
That's how it'd been all week... a little edgy between the two.
"Thanks." She waved lightly, wrapping her sweater around herself as she trailed up the stairs.
She needed a few minutes alone, so she decided to take her time getting around. She did her hair in loose curls that trailed down her back, applied her makeup, and even spun a record for the first time in a long time.
But as the small hand on the clock met the five, she was back downstairs with Lindsey, who- to her surprise, had finished the salad and even put the two loaves of banana bread in the oven... she didn't know he could even work the oven anymore.
With a soft sigh, she journeyed back through the room, finding him in the living room with a cup of coffee in hand as he watched the five o'clock news run across the television.
And suddenly, she felt bad... really bad for being so distant the couple of days leading up to that moment.
With a soft smile, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders from behind as she leaned over the back of the sofa. "I'm sorry." She whispered, kissing the side of his head gently.
He chuckled lightly, taking her hand in his as he glanced up at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Steph." He knew she was feeling a little distraught with the way things had played out and he wasn't going to hold that against her, ever.
She kept his hand in hers, moving around the couch to cuddle up next to him. "At least we always have each other." Stevie patted his chest, biting down on her lower lip as her eyes scanned over his face.
She remembered thinking and saying that exact same thing when they were officially empty nesters... It had never been just the two of them and suddenly their house was feeling a lot more spacious and quiet, which was horrible to her. It was boring, and lonely, but she was thankful- thankful to have him, and she felt the same in that very moment.
He nodded his head, one hand falling in her long curls. "Always."
They sat there for a few minutes, but the sound of the oven beeping pulled Stevie off the couch, just then realizing that Vivian and Carrie were half an hour late... Kind of odd, but not enough to make her worry.
So, she finished setting up the dining room table, cutting her banana bread perfectly, pouring herself a small drink. And then, at a little after six, she was sitting across the long table from her husband, who was just as silent as she was.
"Should we call?" He didn't know if he should say anything, or just eat his dinner... He was having a difficult time reading the room.
Shifting in her chair, she raised a brow. "No." She was annoyed- more so than she was with anything else... or maybe it was everything, all added together that really just disturbed her.
"They might-" he was getting ready to make up some lame excuse for their absence, but she wasn't having it.
"I'm going to Lola's." She pushed herself out from under the table, carrying her plate through the dining room. "I love you." Stevie kissed his head before she disappeared into the kitchen.
Tossing his napkin onto his plate, his jaw settled lightly as he listened to her clinking glasses and letting out deep sighs. "I'll drive you." He stood up, picking up his plate to follow her into the kitchen once more.
"I'll be just fine." She mumbled, already carrying her banana bread through the room to get to the door. "I need some..." she waved her other hand lazily. "Space." She admitted, leaving him without another word.
He stood there for a moment after the front door had shut, trying to remember the last time he'd seen her that upset.
~~~
With her baking dish in one hand, she used the other to knock on the heavy wooden door to the condo. She'd called on her way over, making sure he was alone before she dropped by. And luckily, unlike Lola, he was home and bored...
Don opened the door right away, a soft smile trailing across his face as his eyes met hers.
"I brought bread..." she lingered with a faint grin as he held the door open a little wider for her to come inside.
