A Deceiving Passion

Lifelong Friends

~ October 25, 1972 ~

"Ma!" Amarice yelled, the pitter-patter of her tiny bare feet smacking the wood flooring of her grandparents' home. "Up?" she whined as soon as she reached for the woman. 

"Ah, my poor baby," Stevie sympathized immediately as she grabbed a hold of the one year old's hands. "Mama can't lift you, my love."

"Up, mom?" she settled her head into her mother's knee, getting ready to release some tears over not getting her way.

"Lindsey?!" she called for him. "Honey, I can't pick you up," she sighed, rubbing her back gently. 

"What's wrong, baby?" Lindsey jogged down the stairs of his childhood home. "Are you hurt? Are you okay? Did your water break?" he examined her from head to toe very quickly but then his eyes fell to his daughter.

"God, I wish my water would break," she sighed, shaking her head. "But no... I need you to pick Amarice up so I can snuggle her. I can't lift her and I feel so bad, my heart is breaking..." she pressed her hand to her chest.

"Oh, my goodness---we can't have that!" he bent down just enough to scoop up his one year old and soar her through the air. 

Much to Stevie's relief, the baby began giggling like a little wind up toy as she "flew" through the air with her father's help.

"That's my little smiley girl," she praised, reaching for the baby's chubby cheeks as the man swooshed the little girl by.

"Alright, my arms are getting tired," Lindsey smirked after a couple minutes and he settled the girl on his waist. 

"Mom?" the girl reached out, extending her hands to the blonde. 

"Let's sit on the couch, babies," she gestured. "I hate sitting on this thing," she sighed. 

"Why? It's comfy." he assured, bouncing the one year old. "I mean, despite the plastic..." 

"Yeah, that's the problem here," she rolled her eyes. "I can't get up once I'm down..." she added, dropping herself onto the side with the arm rest. "Ugh, it's like moving a whale around!"

"Oh, would you quiet down? You don't look big," he assured, plopping down beside her with a bit of room between them for the sake of Amarice to fit. 

"I feel that big," she assured. "I can't believe I thought I was huge when I was pregnant with her," she gestured in the baby's direction. "Look at me, I'm a house!"

Lindsey chuckled, finding her ever so entertaining---even as she suffered from being long overdue, she was still keeping with her dry humor.

The little girl stood on her feet and she  crawled from her father's lap to the side of her mother, and poked her very round belly---disappointed that she didn't exactly fit on her lap either because her sibling surely was taking up all the room.  

Amarice huffed. 

"She seems just as frustrated as you do," Lindsey joked. 

"You and me, girlfriend, we're on the same boat. I want your little brother or sister out of here too," she agreed, swiping her daughter's hair. 

"She's gonna be one jealous little thing..." he shook his head. 

She nodded, "I don't doubt it for a second. My mom told me that she's so much like me when I was little. Total center of attention and I was pissed when she was pregnant with Chris. I was five and I understood that there was a kid in my mom's stomach, I just didn't know he was coming out to disrupt me and my time with my parents."