"And how many years have you been married now?" She was sitting on the accent chair in the sunroom, a soft smile on her face as she held the camera up and peered through the lens at her mom and grandma.
They were side by side on the sofa, both of them crisscross applesauce, just like they had been for the last couple of hours... They were really good sports.
Chuckling softly, Stevie shifted lightly as she kept the throw pillow in her lap and her cup of tea in her hand. "We've been married for eleven years now." She replied with a soft tone lingering in her voice. "We went to the courthouse two weeks later and then we took all the kids, my mother, Suzanna and some of our close friends to Cabo to celebrate." She recalled as she glanced over at Lark with a gentle grin.
"That was a lot of fun." The younger woman was quick to agree as she stared right back at the woman who had given her life.
There was a lot of admiration and appreciation there.
"And what about you, mom?" Ruth asked as she peeked out from behind the camera to give her mother a silly little smile. "What have you been up to in the last eleven years?" She clarified in a curious voice, even though she was very aware.
She had been there every step of the way, cheering Lark on right along with her parents.
Leaning forward, Lark let out a deep laugh as a hint of nervousness washed over her... Forty years old and she was still shy. "I went back to school to get my doctorate, I bought a house in the hills, and I raised a really wonderful, beautiful, kind human..." she shrugged softly, not watering down the beauty of her life, but also very humbled by then.
She knew what the world was really about... She had lived through it all, so gentle would have been an understatement when describing her character. Lark was kind and generous. She was aware and willing, but still tough on the occasion.
"What about love?" Ruth wasn't sure she wanted to ask, but she felt like it was part of the story and to leave out that portion of Larks life felt like something would go untold.
After all, she was a big part of this, too.
She paused for a second, blue eyes hitting the tea in her glass before she replied. "I've been in love since my husband died." She announced with a gentle nod. "I've been in love with art, the sky, the moon, this guy I went out with for a year, and life..." she chuckled as she let off another faint shrug of her shoulders. "But I'm not married, I haven't gotten remarried and I may never be married again, but that's okay..." she added, not at all upset to do so.
She was happy in life. She had friends, she traveled, she experienced, and yeah, there had been other men that had come and gone, but her focus lied else where.
With a soft smile, Stevie reached out to take Larks hand in hers. "Strongest girl in the world." She repeated the same thing that she had Larks entire life... tough as nails.
"I agree," Ruth was gentle and sweet- soft spoken and very reassuring... She made everyone feel heard and special. "So, throughout everything..." she lingered, which caused both of the older women to laugh... it had been journey. "What is one piece of advice that you would give?" She asked a second later, making sure they were both in the frame.
"You're better at this stuff, mom." Lark teased, bringing her cup of tea up to her lips as her other hand stayed tangled with Stevie's.
"Hmm," the blonde thought about it for a second, pursing her lips to the side. "I would tell you, that if you want something bad enough and you work for it hard enough, it'll happen for you." Stevie told her, almost totally certain of that. "You can dream up your life and the universe will work to help mold it into reality." She continued. "It's not always easy and it might take a lot of time," she added, not wanting to make it sound like it was going to be a walk in the park. "But it'll be perfect when it all comes together." She gave Larks hand the most gentle squeeze as her gaze traveled back to the burnette.
She could be deep and inspiring... She was both of those things for a lot of people, but especially for Ruth, who had hung on to each word of the story they had just told. She loved Stevie's stories, but there was something extra magical about that one.
It made her heart happy that in the end, after all the chaos and turmoil, her two favorite people in the whole world, made their way back to each other...
Before anyone got the chance to reply, the sound of the lock on the front door turning caught their attention. "Steph?" Lindsey's voice rang through the foyer a second later, having just walked into the house after sitting in the studio for most of the morning.
"That's a wrap." Nodding her head, the eighteen year old let out a sigh as she closed the camera gently. "That's a really good ending." She told them with a soft smile.
Stevie gave her granddaughter a gentle wink as she set the cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of her. "We're in here, honey." She called out, summoning him into the sunroom to join them.
It took a second, but when he slipped into the room, a gentle grin danced across her face. "Here's some trouble." He joked, chuckling lightly when Ruth playfully nudged his arm.
"We've missed you." Lark let off a big smile as she pushed herself off the sofa and trailed towards her dad and her daughter.
Lindsey creased a brow lightly, still grinning as he wrapped his oldest in a warm hug... They had just seen each other the day before for brunch. "Well, I missed you, too." He repeated, looking down at his wife, who also had a really strange, very sentimental smile on her face as she stayed sitting... It was obvious that they had been having a moment before he walked in. "And I missed you, kid." He reached out with one hand to pull Ruth in for a little group hug.
She let out a deep laugh instantly, which encouraged the other three to chuckle in return. "You missed the entire interview..." she raised a brow playfully, shaking her head in disappointment, just to joke with him.
"It's okay," his eyes met Stevie's once more, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he stared at the woman that held the moon in her hand. "With these two chatty women, I wouldn't have gotten much screen time, anyway." He was pulling her leg, trying to get a rise from her and it worked... It usually did.
"Oh, yeah right." Stevie waved a hand lazily as that sweet smile stayed plastered to her pretty face. "You're so full of it." She added, rolling her eyes playfully as she watched him travel her way.
"I'm kidding..." he grinned lightly, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
She let out a little chuckle, slipping her arms around his shoulders to hold him there for a second. "No, you aren't." Stevie whispered, brown eyes melting into his blue storms as she pressed her lips to his.
Nodding softly, he paused for a moment before he let both his hands meet her hips to tickle her sides. "You're right, I'm not." He couldn't help but laugh when her deep giggles began to fill the air around them.
She let out a squeal, still holding him close as she pushed herself up on her knees on the sofa. "You're annoying." Stevie joked, head meeting his chest the moment he slipped his arms around her waist.
Letting out a soft, content sigh, Lindsey closed his eyes to take in that moment with her. "I love you, baby." He whispered, which caused little butterflies to form in the pit of her stomach.
"I love you the most."
~The End~
