Our Last Dance

17.

When the next morning arrived, Lindsey awoke to the sound of giggles coming from downstairs while the smell of coffee and breakfast filled the room.

But it was the sound of Ireland that caused him to smile.

He went ahead and got out of bed and he got himself washed up and changed in order to head down the stairs.

Once he made it down, he grinned at the sight of the two girls; Ireland sitting on the kitchen island, drinking orange juice out of a sippy cup while Stevie flipped some Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.

"Good morning, ladies..." he grinned.

"Hi, Lindsey!" Ireland beamed. "Look! Gwamma's making panacakes!" she added.

"I see..." he smiled. "Need any help?" he wondered.

"I'm just about done," she grinned. "There's coffee, toast and real food if you're not too into sweets," she added, pointing to the hash brown and bacon.

"I appreciate it, thank you," he nodded, the crispy bacon looking really good to him. He pulled a mug down from the cabinet and glanced around to see if she needed a beverage, but he found the mug she was sipping tea from. "Can I refresh your tea?" he wondered, taking the kettle from off the stove.

"Please, thank you," she nodded as she served the little girl's plate. She then took it to the dining room table and she pulled the girl off the island.

He poured hot water into her mug and while she served and fed her grandchild, he served their plates of food and met her at the table.

"You didn't have to do that, thank you," she mentioned.

"It's alright... Did you sleep well, Ireland?" he wondered.

"Mhmm," she nodded, dipping her pancake into the syrup.

"Good..."

"How about you?" Stevie asked him. "She's not easy to sleep with..."

"Oh, I felt feet in my back here and there, but didn't bother me," he chuckled. "Brought back a lot of memories."

She grinned, always happy to see the blue in his eyes beam when he spoke about his memories of Shelly.

"So, what time is Shelly coming by? Or are you meeting her?" he wondered.

"I'm gonna pick her up about eleven... We'll see the movie, grab a bite to eat, do some shopping and then I'll bring her back to you," she winked.

"Hey, go nuts. Have all the fun you can. She needs to get out and do things other than stress."

She chuckled.

"Are you excited to see your movie?" Lindsey asked.

She nodded. "We're gonna see Apunzel," she beamed over Rapunzel from Tangled.

He laughed, "It sounds like a good one. That Rapunzel is real handy with a frying pan... Y'know, you look just like Rapunzel with that long, blonde hair of yours?"

She giggled. "My gwamma got hair like Apunzel..." she pointed her syrup coated fingers. "I got funny hair," she mentioned of her waves and partial curls.

"We don't talk with our mouths full, baby girl," Stevie mentioned. "And anyway, you don't have funny hair, you have wavy hair... It's still like Rapunzel, my love. It's long and blonde."

She shrugged.

Lindsey smiled.

...

Breakfast would have gotten wrapped up shortly after they finished; Lindsey would have gone home and Stevie would have gotten her granddaughter ready for their day with Shelly. And as soon as Ireland was ready, Stevie changed and they headed over to pick up Shelly.