If there's one thing that people from rocky marriages are really good at, it's usually hiding it. And since Stevie was so accustom to putting that mess on pause, she was also pretty decent at pretending her new found situation wasn't eating away at her too... The one with Lindsey, that is.
She spent a week living life like she normally did. She got up, made coffee, slipped into a long dress, curled her hair, put on the softest makeup and headed downstairs for her morning shift at the Inn... Life as usual. The only thing that was out of the norm was that now, almost every evening, Marissa would send a call to her room, letting her know that someone had called the hotel once again, asking to speak to her...
A part of her knew that it was wrong to keep ignoring him... After all, she was in love and that hadn't changed, even though things had gotten awfully complicated.
You have to remember, Stevie had been married for the better half of her life. She hadn't dated since she was twenty- two, so to feel those types of emotions for a man that wasn't her husband was overwhelming, but also really exciting at the same time... For the first time in a long time, she had felt truly wanted and appreciated, but then immediately, it was back to this confused state of mind.
And not only had she decided not to answer any calls, but she also didn't look at his note either.... She wasn't sure if she even wanted to.
Her real fear was that Lindsey was actually married and his wife was otherwise occupied for a few weeks, so to refrain from boredom, he just escaped to Nantucket to work... Maybe there was never any real intention of ever being anything more than just a spontaneous affair that would end abruptly, leaving them both to wonder what if for the rest of their lives and if that was the case, she wasn't ready.
She didn't want to face the music.
Anyway, within the next week, Stevie had also cut off her husband, who was the other man calling her every night in hopes they could discuss what had happened out in Boston... He wasn't successful at getting through either, but unlike Lindsey, she had connections with Tom, so she still knew exactly what he was up to.
Brooklynn told her that he was pretty upset about their argument and instead of heading back out west the day after Christmas like he had planned, he extended his stay with his kids for another three days... She said that he was kind of hoping Stevie would come back around... He should have known better.
~~
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Sharon was still in the front seat of the car, a big smile on her sweet face as she listened to the conversation her other two friends were having in the backseat.
It was just after midnight on New Years- the first day of 1996, but shortly after watching the ball drop at a bar down the road, Stevie was ready to call it a night... She had a lot on her mind and as much as she loved being with her dearest friends, she was just feeling overly tired.
She wanted to go home, snuggle up with a cup of tea and watch a movie... Something quiet.
So before heading to an after party at some man's house across the water, they had their cab driver stop at the Inn to make sure she made it home safe... Only after all the ladies took turns begging her to stay, of course.
But she wasn't convinced, not when her stomach was in knots and her head was pounding.
Chuckling lightly, Stevie nodded softly as she traveled up the steps out front. "I'll see you in the morning for coffee." She assured, giving the girls one last wave before she turned back to face the doorman.
By the rate that her friends were going, she was almost certain they wouldn't be getting out of their homes the next day.
"Happy New Year, miss Stevie." He greeted her with a grin, holding open the glass door to welcome her home.
She let off a faint smile, patting his arm as she passed by. "Happy New Year." She replied as she made it inside, where a warm gush of air met her and the sound of holiday music flowed through the lobby.
Everything was still lit up- the tree by the window, the string of lights going up the railing and the ones lining the entry way... Nothing made her feel more content than that old, ancient building.
She just felt safe and that night, for some reason, she needed it a little bit extra.
And since everyone was gone to celebrate, she was able to slip upstairs and into the comfort of her suite, where everything was exactly as she'd left it... Perfect and quiet.
There was no loud music, or crowded dance floors, or people yelling at the top of their lungs... It was just silence and that was exactly how she liked it.
So, to calm herself down, she decided to make coffee and while it brewed, she got into pajamas, washed her makeup off, and pulled her long blonde hair up into a clip.
"Oh, goodness." She mumbled to herself as she trailed back into the kitchen, immediately pulling open drawers to find her glasses that she'd taken off earlier that day.
However, instead of finding her bifocals, she yanked open the drawer that revealed the envelope that she'd pushed so far out of her mind, she had forgotten about it...
Creasing a brow, she carefully took it out, eyes scanning over her name that was written in Lindsey's handwriting. "Hm," she hummed, pursing her lips to the side as she tried to decide if she wanted to open it or not...
But of course, like anyone would, she wanted to know what he had left her with, which is what encouraged her to tear the seal. And instead of some long apology for leaving or even giving her an explanation, all he wrote was his phone number...
That was it, which was enough to annoy her more than anything else.
After all that, she felt like she deserved a little more, so she grabbed the phone off the cradle and immediately beginning dialing the number.
She didn't know what she was going to say, or anything like that and when the tone stopped, she just came out with the first thing that came to mind.
"You have a lot of nerve." She said immediately, heart racing as she stared at the counter aimlessly.
"Excuse me?" The woman's voice came as a shock... to some extent.
She kind of figured that he was probably married but she didn't think he would give her a number to directly call her.
"Uhh," Stevie had a lump in her throat and she could have sworn her heart had skipped a beat. "I have the wrong number and I'm so sorry that I called at this"
"Is this Stevie?" She cut her off, not in a rude way, but instead, in a more curious, soft tone of voice.
Creasing a brow, she leaned forward to let the counter hold her up. "Uh, yeah..." she was kind of nervous to admit it... If it was his wife, maybe she didn't want to be Stevie.
With a soft laugh, it was apparent a smile trailed across her face. "My dad has talked about you all week."
