~L~
The time they spent with us out East was the start of a very inseparable bond between my mother and Ruth. She may have only been five days old, but I swear, their souls had met before in another lifetime and they proved that as she got older too.
She was as captivated with Stevie as Stevie was with her and it was so special.
Ruth wasn't an overly fussy baby, but anytime I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I would pass her over to my mother and almost instantly, after she realized whose arms she was in, silence engulfed us and Ruth would just stare up at her, so enticed, she couldn't even remember why she was crying to begin with.
Stevie had a lot of patience and there was something so effortlessly comforting about her presence... I was already dreading the thought of their departure and they still had over a week with us.
"I don't want you to feel like you have to leave." I was standing in the kitchen, cleaning up after having breakfast together.
It was just the three of us and Ruth, being that Austin was back to work at the family business. And it might sound awful or weird, but I was really glad that he was gone all day... I really loved that time with them and my new daughter.
I was being a little selfish.
"His parents can stay in the room next to ours and then you won't have-"
"Stop worrying so much, sweet girl." My mother chuckled softly, sitting down at the circle table with Ruth in one arm and a coffee cup in the other hand. "We'll be just fine," she added, even though I didn't believe her.
I felt so bad, I wanted them to stay forever.
"But you're just going for the night and you'll be back in the morning, right?" By then, I was leaning back against the counter, staring at her with the softest set of eyes.
I didn't know how else to tell them that I wanted them to stay, because I didn't want to sound like I was being pushy, or sensitive, even though I was both of those things.
"We'll be back in the morning, honey." My dad was sitting right next to her with an arm draped around her shoulders as he looked down at Ruthie.
"I'm sure Austin's parents don't want us hanging out the entire time they're in town, taking up their time with the baby and you." Stevie said that almost like she thought that I would actually care what Austin's parents would think, or want... I didn't.
Don't get me wrong, I loved and appreciated Bonnie and Ray. They were kind and helpful, always wanting to do for us, but they weren't Stevie and Lindsey...
"We're going for miss you though." I whispered, motioning towards the baby in her arms. "What are we going to do without grandma and grandpa for the night?" I was kind of teasing them at that point, even though I was being serious.
I didn't know why they wanted to head back to the hotel when we had an apartment with three extra bedrooms. I thought that there would have been plenty of room for Austin's parents in one room and then they could have the other two spare rooms... I thought it would have been kind of fun, but if they didn't want to, I couldn't force them.
"You'll be too busy with grammie and papa..." Stevie smirked softly, repeating the names that Austin's parents wanted to be called. "Huh, Ruthie?" She was looking down, a big smile on her face to add some enthusiasm to the mix. "They are gonna love you, oh so much." She added, leaning in to press her lips to the top of her head.
Lindsey chuckled lightly as he gave my mothers shoulder the softest squeeze. "Appears we have to share." He pursed his lips to the side playfully, giving me a funny look.
"We aren't very good at that, are we?" Stevie added with an arched brow.
I couldn't help but giggle a tad, totally in awe of both of them.
They were great parents- they had their share of issues and challenges, but they did their best and I had always been thankful for that. But I can't even describe to you what kind of grandparents they were... They were just so incredible.
"But we'll be nice..." she laughed softly as she slowly began to push herself out of her chair to carry the baby towards me. "And we'll see you, sweet Ruthie, and grammie and papa early tomorrow." She promised me that with a light wink before she put Ruth into my arms. "We aren't going anywhere, angel."
~S~
"Dancing queen," I'm sure it sounded pretty jumbled and chaotic, but after two glasses of red wine at an Italian restaurant in little Italy, I didn't really can. "Feel the beat from your tambourine," I let out a deep laugh, holding his hand in mine as I playfully spun around the empty elevator.
It had been a long time since I had been that carefree, but after a pretty stressful week and hardly any sleep, I wanted to have some fun... It wasn't often that I was in New York and not working.
And it wasn't often that I was with him, not arguing.
Lindsey smirked softly, leaning against the rail as he watched me intently. "You're a dancing queen, alright." He waited until I was done twirling around and then he gently pulled me in closer.
"Are you going to dance with me?" I whispered, staring right into those blue eyes as I slipped my arm around his shoulders.
I felt close to him that evening... or maybe even that entire trip, but a little extra that night. We had gone out to dinner together, just the two of us- I couldn't remember the last time we did anything like that, and then we walked around for a while, getting hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies for dessert.
We hadn't had that much fun together in so long, and I was suddenly reminded of how much I had missed him.
With a light chuckle, he nodded his head as his hand stayed plastered to the small of my back. "I'll dance with you once we're out of this elevator." Lindsey whispered back in a playful way as he slowly began to back me out of the open doorway.
I was so distracted, I hadn't even noticed the ding and then the doors sliding open. "Do you have my room key?" I wondered, head meeting his chest to be held as he began to dig through his pants pocket for the key.
Nodding his head, he pushed open the door and patted my back to motion for me to go in first.
"You can dance, you can jive." I continued my singing into the comfort of my suite, spinning around, while he locked the door behind us.
That wasn't normal, but there I was, just twirling around the room like all that mattered was the two of us.
"Let's get your boots and your coat off, Steph." Lindsey's voice was soft as he slipped out of his shoes. "You have to be freezing." He was gentle when he reached out, pulling me in by my waist to unzip my long coat.
I remember looking down at him, because by then, he'd taken a seat in the accent chair of the living area of the room to help me. "Having the time of our lives..." I whispered the rest of the lyrics as I stared deep into his blue eyes.
He nodded lightly, taking my chin in his hand. "I'm so in love with you."
