"Well, look at you..." Lindsey stepped out of the bathroom, fixing the collar on his shirt and staring right at his wife.
She was sitting at her vanity, looking at her reflection in the mirror as she added one more layer of lipstick and fluffed her long blonde curls. "You're going to make me blush..." she teased, slowly pushing her seat back to stand up.
She was wearing a black dress with pantyhose covering her legs, a pair of suede heels making her six inches taller and a shawl draped over her shoulders... She was beautiful, like always.
Wrapping his arm around her, he didn't hesitate to pull her in closer. "You are incredible." He shook his head, a soft smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he stared down into her big brown eyes.
She tossed her head back to let a sweet laugh fill the air around them. "So are you." She assured, pressing her lips to his for a quick kiss. "I'll see you downstairs, baby." Stevie patted his back before she slipped out of his arms to grab her clutch off the bed and her earrings off her nightstand.
He grinned lightly, eyes following her to the door. "I'm a lucky man..." he whispered, only loud enough for her to just barely hear it.
Glancing back around the doorframe, she let off the most subtle wink. "But yet, you're leaving me in a week." She teased, arching a brow lightly to get him to smile...
She was joking, but in all actuality, she was really dreading it, even though there wasn't much she could do... She didn't want to tag along and she couldn't ask him not to work.
They were stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to that, they always had been... and they always would be.
He chuckled, grabbing his jacket off the accent chair before he headed her way. "We'll do something special before then." Lindsey's free hand met the small of her back, guiding her down the hallway of their home.
"Promise?" She sank into his side, wanting to be held for another second.
"I promise." He added, kissing her head a couple of times before they made it to the bottom of the stairs, where all three boys were waiting.
They were chatting, laughing and all really happy... It wasn't often that they were enjoying each others company, so it made both of their parents smile a tad.
It was easy when everyone got along.
"You ready to graduate?" Lindsey grabbed his keys off the stand, finding himself to be incredibly proud in that moment.
Nodding his head, Crosby held out his tie for this mom. "I need a little bit of help first." He gave her a soft grin, watching the tears already linger in her eyes.
There is something very bittersweet about those afternoons for a mother and she was really feeling it.
At breakfast that morning as they all chatted about him graduating high school, she found herself drifting back in time.... back to the first moment she had met him.
He came into the world on a Wednesday afternoon in the middle of a terrible rainstorm in 1973. She had been in labor for over twenty hours and when she finally heard those loud, healthy cries that he let out- she knew it was worth it... it would all be worth it.
And it was.
She carefully slipped the piece of velvet through his collar, trying hard not to cry as she began to tie it around his neck. "You are going to go far." Stevie believed that- she really did.
He chuckled, staring down at her for a second before he wrapped her in a warm hug. "I love you, mom." He didn't say that often.... Or ever, but he had to that afternoon.
If it wasn't for her pushing him each and every day, he wasn't sure he'd be where he was in life... actually, he knew that he wouldn't.
"I love you the most." Stevie replied, closing her eyes softly as she soaked up that hug for as long as possible. "Now," she backed away slowly, still staring up at him. "Let's go get your diploma before they decide to take it back." She teased, which caused all four of the guys to chuckle.
~~~
By eight that evening, graduation parties were in full swing around the neighborhood and since Stevie didn't want to host one, they were headed to one.
"Here's this," she handed her husband a bottle of red wine as she stepped outside, where the early evening sun was still beating down.
It had been a beautiful day- very special and super exciting. They all went to the ceremony, then celebrated with dinner at a restaurant in Santa Monica with Claire's family before they headed home to get ready for an evening at Carols.
"Wanna go for a ride?" Crosby had already made bets with the boys- his dad included, to see if he could get her to go for one spin on the bike....
Lindsey knew that she could be convinced enough to go, but the two other boys had no faith in her...
"No." She shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her. "I'll walk with your dad." Stevie slipped her arm through his, still kind of smiling.
Raising a brow, Crosby held out the extra helmet for her. "One trip around the block and I'll drive nice." He wouldn't even think of driving any other way with her on the back of that motorcycle to begin with...
She paused for a second, thinking about it. "That would make me a hypocrite..." she lingered, trying not to laugh.
"We don't mind." Levy shook his head, stunned that she was even considering it... maybe she was kind of cool.
Looking over at Lindsey, she nudged his arm lightly as she kind of thought about it for another minute. "One trip around the block...." Stevie was a little bit excited, even though she was trying to act like she wasn't.
She really didn't like the motorcycle, not when her children were on it, but she couldn't stop him, so she figured, why fight it?
Crosby chuckled, handing Lindsey the helmet for him to help her put it on. "Sounds like plan, boss." He glanced over at Levy, both them chuckling.
"Slow." Lindsey reminded him in a stern voice as he clipped the strap of the helmet at her chin. "Have fun." He gave his wife a soft wink, playfully pinching her button nose as another giggle escaped her.
"I'm a little nervous." She admitted, looking over at her oldest son, who was waiting for her.
"Why?" He creased a brow lightly, trying to be as reassuring as possible. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you." And that was a promise.
