"Mommy?" Clancy was standing on the other side of the door, holding onto her stuffed animal and a birthday card she'd made. "Mommy, are you okay?" Her small hand met the wood that separated her from the only person she ever wanted.
Stevie sighed softly, sinking down further into the comforter as she shifted lightly.
"Mommy...?" Her little voice sounded so sad as she nearly begged Stevie just to let her know that she was okay in there.
"Baby, where is your daddy?" She wondered, feeling bad for not getting up and unlocking the door, but also not wanting her daughter to see her like that.
"Um..." the five year old thought about it for a second, leaning into the door to hear better. "He's downstairs with Carrie, making you a birthday cake." Clancy had been helping, but she was more interested in seeing her mom... she hadn't seen her at all that day.
Stevie's heart sank, biting down on her bottom lip as she pushed herself out of bed.
She was in her nightgown, hair pulled up in a clip, and no makeup on. She was tired- she was always so tired, and she wasn't sure why.
"What kind of cake?" She forced a soft smile the moment she opened the door, feeling Clancy wrap her arms around her legs quickly.
With a big smile spread across her sweet face, the little girl looked up. "Red velvet," she replied with a voice full of enthusiasm.
Stevie bent down, picking her up off the floor to hold her close. "That's my favorite..." she assured, kissing the side of Clancy's head.
Her head fell on her shoulder as she held out the card she'd made that morning. "You're the best mommy in the whole world."
~~~
"Shh," he held up a hand, silencing his wife before she even spoke.
With a soft set of brown eyes, she bit down on her lower lip. "I wasn't gonna say anything." Stevie creased a brow, leading the way into Clancy's apartment.
"You've been thinking since we left." Lindsey had gotten very irritable in the time between meeting his daughters "friend," and the car ride back.
Taking off her jacket, and slipping out of her boots, she shook her head. "Don't be mad at me." She knew he already was, but for other reasons... he wasn't hard to read.
Of course, after as many years as they'd shared, he didn't show his anger like he used to. He still held the door open, rubbed her back, kissed her head, wasn't nearly as short tempered, and didn't yell... They were so beyond that, but it didn't mean he wasn't mad at her.
"He looked old..." he didn't want to talk about it, but it was almost impossible.
Stevie sighed softly, sinking down into the sofa a moment later. "He did." She agreed, even though that wasn't really what she was focused on.
While the gentleman in the doorway did obtain signs of maturity, he also held a bouquet that immediately caught the eye of the blonde... The flowers were beautiful and the vase was gorgeous, but the gold band wrapped around his finger is what really captivated Stevie.
Age is just a number, but married was a whole different story.
"Come sit down, please?" She patted the empty spot on the couch next to her.
"This is karma..." he was certain of it.
"No," she shook her head softly, reaching out to take his hand in hers. "This is life, Lindsey." She gently pulled his arm, silently asking him to just sit with her... that's all she wanted.
Shaking his head, he pulled his hand back. "I'm tired, Stevie." Heart sinking the moment he saw that look lingering in her eyes. "But I'm not too tired for you," he nodded lightly, patting her legs. "Let's go to bed." Lindsey knew what she wanted and while his mind was otherwise occupied, he wanted to make sure she was alright, too.
It wasn't long until he found himself sitting in the queen size bed, leaning back against the headboard as he waited for Stevie.
She had the longest nighttime routine of anyone, ever. She took her makeup off, washed her face, put on more creams and lotions than he could count, clipped her long hair up and then crawled into something silky. She was like clockwork, especially to Lindsey.
"I feel a lot better." She announced, trialing back into the room with a bottle of lotion in hand and her hair up in a towel. "I'm so glad that my sweet girl is okay..." she let out a gentle sigh, in a much lighter mood than she had been since they left home.
"Me, too." He slid down the bed slowly, getting comfortable as he watched her slip into bed next to him. "She's tough, just like her mama." Lindsey stared at her for a moment, finding her to be incredibly beautiful, like always.
She smiled lightly, "Hand, please." She reached out, motioning for him to give her his right hand.
He held it out, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when she started massaging lotion into it and then up his arm. "Have you been having bad dreams again?" Lindsey asked after a moment of silence had washed over them.
He could tell by how much she had turned over the night before... that always gave it away. When she was dreaming hard, she'd shift more than usual, and her hands would come up to her face and then fall back down... She'd been doing it for years.
Biting down on her lower lip, she stared down at his hands, memorizing all the cracks and lines that lived on his palms. "Sometimes it bothers me..." she admitted in a weak tone of voice. "She was so small, and she'd sit outside our bedroom door for hours at a time..." Stevie hated that, so much. "She would beg me to just come downstairs with her and sometimes I'd pretend like I couldn't hear her..." she had tears in her eyes as she held his hand a little tighter. "I always heard her, Lindsey." Her voice cracked, bottom lip beginning to tremble.
He shook his head, sitting up further to bring her hand to his mouth. "She doesn't even remember it, baby." Lindsey didn't know that for sure, but he assumed so, since Clancy never brought it up.
In fact, all Clancy ever talked about was how happy her childhood was. She always talked about the big birthday parties, the family vacations, moms homemade cookies, and how her dad was the best soccer coach ever... There wasn't a bad memory, not that she talked about, at least.
"She adores you, always has." He added, slipping one arm around her waist as the other found its way to her thigh. "And I feel the same way..." he left a kiss on her bare arm, trying to get her mind to drift away from that place.
"I love you." She whispered, running her fingers through his curls.
"Not as much as I love you."
