Whatever It Takes

Part 3

Things didn't magically become better. They talked for a bit after, until Stevie drifted off with her head resting on Lindsey's chest. He let her sleep, while his own mind was racing. What if they only shared that one moment? After all, it had been an emotional day for the both of them. She sought comfort and he was exactly what she needed.

Lindsey left the next morning to return to his rental after Stevie promised to call if anything felt off. What would that be, she asked, arms crossed over her chest. Literally anything, Lindsey replied, already standing on the wrong side of the threshold. 

No calls came during the following few days. They still had a lot to discuss, since things weren't so crystal clear anymore. Avery was going to come home in a couple short weeks and they had initially planned to sit down with their daughter and try explaining the delicate situation to her. Were they still going to do that? 

A bowl of oatmeal with mixed berries in front of her, Stevie was flipping through a magazine as she sipped from her cup of chamomile tea instead of eating, the food wasn't too appealing right now. The phone started ringing, pulling her back to the present. She had a good guess of who was calling.

"'ello?" 

"Hey." Lindsey spoke up, sounding unusually cheerful. "How are you today?"

"Uh, I'm good." Stevie frowned, leaning against the wall, she began twirling the cord around her finger. "I'm getting ready to leave the house."

"Oh, where are you off to?" Lindsey asked, his excitement suddenly died down.

"To the studio, I have some time booked." Stevie explained.

A long moment of silence followed before Lindsey continued. "Are you sure you should be working right now?"

"Lindsey, I'm fine." Stevie assured. "I'm not sick, pregnancy is not a disease." She added, rolling her eyes. "I promised I'd call if anything felt off."

"Right, right." Pause. "But don't overdo it, okay?"

"Okay." Stevie replied, knowing that was the only answer that he'd accept.

"What if-" Lindsey stopped as if knowing he should drop his idea before even bringing it up. "What if we recorded at the house? I could-"

"No." Stevie shut him down instantly. "I am not doing my solo album with you."

"Okay, understandable." Lindsey sighed, having expected nothing else. "I was thinking..."

Here goes. "Yeah? About what?"

"Well, things aren't so certain anymore, so don't you think we should finally talk about it?" Lindsey asked, sounding nervous.

"You no longer want to divorce me?" Stevie responded with a question, no dancing around the subject.

"You make it sound like it was my decision and mine alone." Lindsey had to remind her that they both thought it was for the best. "I don't know. The other night, it just felt like there's still something there."

"I never said there wasn't." Stevie shrugged even thought he couldn't see it. "I told you that marriage wasn't always easy, that it's hard work to make it work."

Again, a moment of silence. "When are you going to be finished at the studio?" This wasn't a phone conversation.

"Around 6, I think." Stevie replied, wondering where he was going with that.

"Alright, I'm taking you out to dinner after." Lindsey announced. "And we're seriously talking about this. You're not going to seduce me out of that conversation."

"Yeah, we'll see." Stevie added jokingly and hung up the phone, giving Lindsey no chance to assure her of how serious he was again.