~Lindsey~
"Early...?" She smirks, holding out a hand to welcome me into the foyer of her home.
I shrug lightly, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth as I carry the flowers and wine in. "A little more time I get to spend with you..." I give her a little wink, which causes her to giggle in return.
"Very sweet." She waits for me in the doorway, wrapping her shawl around herself tighter.
I trail through the room, handing her the flowers as she melts into my side. "I've missed you." I tell her with a cheesy little grin.
"Three whole days is a lot..." she teases, leading the way into the kitchen where the scent of warm cherry pie lingers through the air.
"It is." I agree as I set the bottle of red wine down on the kitchen island.
She has an amazing home- different style, but still very nice. There's family pictures on the counters, but the walls are lined with elaborate, unique art pieces that I've never seen. And she has fresh flowers in vases on almost every surface.
It's very Stevie.
"I've missed you," she repeats. "And thank you..." she has the softest eyes, staring at me as she pulls two glasses out of the cabinet. "I love these." She adds, motioning towards the red roses that I stopped to grab on my way over.
"Anything for you." I tease, watching as she playfully rolls her eyes.
She's in a long satan black dress, a shawl draped over her shoulders and her hair is pulled back into a clip. She's wearing reading glasses, and hardly any makeup, but her beauty is behind that.
"You are a gorgeous woman..." I have to tell her- I can hardly keep my eyes off of her.
Leaning into the counter, she begins to pour wine into the glasses. "Thank-" just as she gets ready to reply, the sound of the front door opening pulls us back into reality.
"Grandma!" A little voice shouts from the foyer as the pitter patter of feet travel towards the kitchen.
She reaches out, giving my hand a soft squeeze as she lets off a little wink. "I'm here, sweet girl." Her lips turn up, a playful gasp escaping her when the little blonde runs into the room.
"Grandma, I drew you a picture!" She hurries in, one arm clutching a teddy bear, while the other holds out the crumpled up piece of computer paper.
Stevie bends down, scooping up her granddaughter right away. "I love that!" She takes it carefully, flipping it around to show me the art.
I'm not sure what it is, but it's nice, so I let out a laugh and give them a thumbs up. "That's impressive, kiddo." I assure.
Her brown eyes meet mine as she creases a brow and scrunches up her nose. "Who are you?" She wonders with so much attitude, I can't help but laugh.
Stevie chuckles, setting it down on the counter before she uses her hand to motion my way. "Marissa, this is grandmas friend and his name is Lindsey." She tells her, eyes scanning over the girls face.
Marissa looks at me for a moment, and then she cracks a little smile. "Do you like to play Uno?" She asks in the softest, sweetest voice.
Nodding my head, I shrug softly. "Uno is one of my favorite games." I announce.
"Good." This time she gives me a thumbs up. "You can stay for dinner then." She adds before slips back down to the kitchen floor and runs right back into the living room.
"Hey, Lindsey." Joplin passes Marissa in the doorway, carrying in a bottle of wine. "It's good to see you." She adds, patting my back lightly before she heads further into the room to help her mom.
It's honestly a sigh of relief to see her- a face I recognize.
But before long- I mean, literally like two minutes later, we're swept into the dining room where the table is set perfectly. She has candles lining the runner, every place mat is elegant and the food is still hot.
Everything she does is so put together and impressive... she amazes me.
~Stevie~
"He's really sweet, mom." Presley says in a hushed tone as she continues putting dishes away from dinner.
We finished eating a little while ago, but once the three guys got started talking, it was hard to pull them out of conversation. So after dessert, we began cleaning up around them, while they chatted about something I'd lost interest in twenty minutes earlier... As long as they're all entertained, I'm happy.
"He is a really great guy." I am very relieved to hear her say that- she was who I was worried about the most.
Joplin is very easy going and for most people, getting along with her comes natural, but my oldest is different. Presley can be tough, so to know that she approves of me seeing another man, even though her father passed only a couple of months ago, means the world to me.
I want to be happy, but I can't let my children down in the process.
"I am so glad." She tells me, a very genuine smile traveling across her face. "You deserve the world..." She adds after a moment a very short pause.
Letting my hands fall to the kitchen counter, I can feel the tears just over the horizon. "He makes me feel young again," I admit for the first time since our relationship started.
She nods softly, leaning in to give me a warm hug. "You deserve it." Presley whispers, leaving a soft kiss on my forehead. "It's time you put yourself first."
~Lindsey~
"Ugh," she let's out a heavy sigh, traveling back into the living room as she works on taking out one of her earrings.
The house cleared out a couple of minutes ago, but before they did, Stevie asked if I'd stick around for a little while. She said she wanted to watch a movie, which was easy to agree to.
"Did you have a good evening?" I smile softly, watching as she falls into the couch next to me.
She nods, leaning into me to be held. "I did, did you?" She has already asked me that like four times since dessert and the answer has been the same each one.
I chuckle, wrapping my arm around her shoulder to lean her back. "I had a lot of fun, Stevie." I repeat, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek and a gentle squeeze.
Turning in my arms, she lets those big brown eyes melt into my orbs. "Will you spend the night?" She asks in a nervous tone as she begins to chew on her lower lip.
