June 1998
Stevie was now six months pregnant and Kristen was eight. That meant over the past few weeks, she had seen less and less of Lindsey as Kristen began to need him around more and more. That was okay with Stevie, as she was still reeling from that kiss and confused about her emotions.
She knew that she was still angry deep down; that she was still hurting. She knew how awful this situation was. She knew that her son would only be getting Lindsey half the time, whereas he would have her all the time. She knew she would mostly be raising Max on her own, but she wasn't sure how to feel about it.
Should she want to be with Lindsey? Did she want to be with him? Was Max just causing her to feel confused? She knew she wanted Lindsey around when he wasn't, but she had once again developed a defense mechanism in which she would push him away when he was around. He had made it very clear on numerous occasions that he would rather be there with her and be with their son than where he was now.
She shook her head; coming out of her trance when she felt Max kicking for the first time. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes as she rested both hands on her stomach to feel him, "hi there, Max. Are you trying to get mommy's attention, monkey?"
She laughed a little as she felt him kick again and she grabbed the phone to call Lindsey.
It only rang once before he answered, "hello?"
"Hey. Are you busy?" She asks.
"You know I'm never too busy for you," he replies sincerely.
"I thought you might like to know that our baby boy is kicking up a storm," she says with a huge grin on her face. She was pretty certain that he was now kicking to the sound of her voice.
"He's kicking? He's kicking!" Lindsey exclaims.
She could hear Kristen laugh in the background and then she said, "well get over there and go feel your son kick! I'll be fine!"
Lindsey didn't even hesitate, "I'll be right over."
"Okay, I'll see you soon," Stevie says before hanging up the phone.
Lindsey uses his spare key to get into the house when he arrives, "Steph?"
"I'm in the living room," she says, waiting for him to make his entrance.
He practically runs in and takes a seat next to her on the couch. He kisses her cheek and she lets him before he rests his hands on her stomach. Max had stopped kicking for the moment.
"Hey Max, your daddy is here. Can you say hello?" Stevie looks down at her stomach and talks to it as if the baby is physically in her arms. Finally, he kicks again and Lindsey's face lights up.
"Hey buddy," he says, but the kicking stops.
She laughs a little, "I'm sorry. I think he likes the sound of my voice."
Sure enough, they can both feel the baby kick again. Lindsey smiles at her, "he knows his mama's voice."
"I'll make sure he knows yours too," she replies, resting her hand over one of his and squeezing it gently.
He nods a little, transfixed by her stomach and the baby kicking around inside of her, "I can't believe that's our son in there. We're having a baby, Steph."
"We are," she can't help the smile that creeps up on her. It was just that she felt like she had waited a long time for this moment. Even though things weren't perfect; right here and right now she could pretend that they were.
Lindsey moved to rest his head against her stomach. He was talking to his son and she sat there quietly, running her fingers through his curls. She wanted to let him have his moment with their child. She knew how important it was to him since he couldn't be with them all the time.
