~S~
The first few days came and went without a hitch. In fact, I actually thought that we were all having a really great time together, which didn't happen often anymore.
We had found ourselves back in the swing of something that had once been and it was nice.
Austin worked a lot of hours- I think he was working twelve hour days at that time, which meant that we got to have Lark all to ourselves for the most part. So, Lindsey and I quickly got into a little routine of waking up early- he'd knock on my hotel room door when he was ready to leave, then patiently sit on the foot of my bed, watching the morning news until I got around, and then we would head over to their apartment, stopping at a shop to get coffee first, of course.
But it had quickly become very predictable, which is something that I really loved... Being with them was always incredibly special for me, because it felt like we were living in a world within another.
Something small, yet perfect that we had created and it never, truly got lost in the years of chaos.
"It is so cold." I had my fingers laced with Lindsey's, head on his arm as we trailed down the sidewalk of the busy streets in Manhattan.
It was December on the East coast, so there was snow up to our ankles, and we had hats on, puffy coats, scarves and enough hand warmers to go around. But that didn't stop the New Yorkers- nothing really does, so everyone was shoulder- to- shoulder, like always.
I wanted to be bundled up in warm blankets by the fireplace with hot chocolate and a good movie, but Lark was so antsy just sitting around her apartment.
She had been nesting pretty intently. She had cleaned everything, then washed everything, and even asked her dad to climb up and work on changing the lightbulbs in the living room and the hallway.
I think she was going a little stir crazy.
"It makes me miss home and the beach a little more." She was in front of us, slowly leading the way with one hand resting on her tummy and the other holding her tea.
At nine months pregnant, you can probably imagine how uncomfortable she felt... And she looked it too, honestly.
She had been laying on a heating pad for hours at a time for her back pain and her feet were so swollen, I couldn't even believe that she wanted to walk to get lunch when we could have driven... But she was stubborn like that- she still is, too.
"Mhm," Lindsey nodded his head as the pad of his thumb ran back and forth across my knuckles lightly. "Home is always there, whenever you need it." Sometimes he shocked me.
Of course, I would definitely consider him a poet, but I was still surprised when he said things like that... He wasn't always the softest guy in the world, but when we were on that trip, there was something different.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I remember looking up slowly, eyes scanning his side profile for a second.
I really liked him in moments like that... Moments that felt simple and natural- both of which were never actually the case with us, but it all created the illusion, which was enough for me, at times.
"I'll be back..." Lark giggled lightly, looking back over her shoulder with a sweetest smile on her pretty face. "Eventually." She added, almost like she really, seriously knew and maybe she did... I'd like to think that she knew where she was supposed to end up in this life.
Lindsey looked down, blue eyes melting into my much darker ones as he brought my hand up to his mouth to blow warm air. "Let's just go to that restaurant on the corner...?" He suggested, lips meeting my palm to leave a couple of soft kisses. "Your moms hands are frozen." He never looked away and I swear, if I had been anymore distracted, I would have just fallen.
And I was falling... theoretically speaking.
"That sounds good." Lark chuckled softly, obviously never phased by us and our antics, not at that point, at least.
~~~
It was late, a little after ten when I found myself curled up on the sofa in the living room of their apartment, a smile on my face as I watched Lindsey and Austin from go back and forth.
They were sitting on the carpet, Lindsey leaning back against the couch right in front of me, while Austin sat across the coffee table- both of them with a guitar in their lap and excitement in their tone.
They had been camped out there since we finished dinner a few hours earlier and it kept them occupied so I could clean the kitchen and Lark could take a nap.
"I like that." I had my legs crossed, a blanket covering them as I used one hand to hold my cup of coffee and the other to play with Lindsey's curls.
He turned his head softly, giving me a subtle wink.
"You should sing, ma." Austin always called me that... He did up until the end.
I tossed my head back, a soft laugh escaping me as I shook my head. "I don't think-"
"Can we put in requests?" Lark's voice crept through the room as she tiptoed in.
She was in fuzzy pajamas, hair in two braids, reading glasses on her eyes, and Cookie Monster slippers on her feet... my favorite person in the world.
"There's our girl." Lindsey was grinning from ear to ear, watching as she carefully stepped over the sheet music at her feet.
Smiling softly, I held out one hand as she trailed right towards the sofa. "You're too adorable." I told her, a content sigh filling the air around us when she sank into the couch right next to me.
She giggled lightly as her head met my shoulder, letting me wrap my arm around her in order to hold her. "It's time..." she announced in a super mundane tone of voice. "I'm in labor."
