Penelope stayed in the comfort of her bedroom for hours that afternoon, sitting on her bed with the box in front of her and a million pink envelopes sprawled out on the duvet.
She was initially going to wait to read through them, but after sharing a very emotional moment with her grandma, she decided she needed to know what Stevie had to say... And oh, it was a lot.
To Penny's surprise, Stevie didn't miss a single birthday, Christmas, or first day of school. She wrote her daughter Valentine's Day cards and wished her a happy new year- there was one dated for the first day of every year that she had missed out on.
Those cards were full of love, admiration, hope, comfort and even money. She was manifesting the most incredible life for her daughter. And through out all of those years in between, Stevie even shared a little about her own life- not much, but she did hint at where she was and what she was doing at the time.
For Penny it seemed like Stevie was just a woman that had never actually lost track of where her heart belonged... it had always stayed with her daughter and Lindsey, who she also sent the most consistent well wishes to.
She was a writer- Penny had always known that, but those letters made the younger woman feel like she was the only person in the whole world... It felt like Stevie had really missed her every single day, which is something she'd wondered since she was old enough to grasp how deeply her mothers absence affected her.
It felt like she had always been there, holding her hand the entire ride and in a lot of ways, she was, but from a distance.
"You can come in..." Penny announced after the sound of Barbara pacing the floors outside of her bedroom door became very apparent.
She had tried to distract herself for the last few hours by watching some television, water her plants, reading the newspaper and even starting dinner early, but it wasn't enough to keep from thinking about what Penny was going through.
She knew it wasn't going to be easy for her granddaughter to open that time capsule, and while she felt bad for keeping them from her for as long as she had, she also didn't regret protecting Penny either...
She did what she thought was best at the time.
"Hi, baby." She lingered as she slowly pushed open the door, a soft frown on her face when her eyes met Penny's tear filled ones.
She had been crying on and off for hours... It wasn't easy.
"She never missed a beat." Penny whispered, creasing a brow as she held up one of the cards. "She wrote to me all of the time." She added, heart growing so heavy as she thought back on all the cards she'd just opened.
The oldest one dated back to just a few days after Penelope's first birthday. It was the night Stevie had gotten home from Arizona- right after she'd left them.
It was an apology to Penny and even after all those years, there was still smudged ink stains on the lined paper from the overwhelming amount of tears that Stevie had shed that night.
She had never dreamt of leaving that little girl behind and that was very clear.
"You and your brother have always been the joy of her life." Barbara assured, already feeling herself start to grow a little emotional as well. "And I think, honestly, she left you behind, so she could find you in a better place later on down the road." She had also always wondered what was running through her daughters mind that night, but she couldn't ask either. "She would have rather been absent than to cause you any chaos." Her voice was so gentle and so calm...
Penny brought a hand up to her face, wiping away her tears as she nodded her head lightly.
Barbara let out a gentle sigh as she slowly took a seat on the edge of the bed. "If she could have reached the moon, she would have pulled it down and handed it to you and Brady in her palm." Her hand carefully met Penny's check, giving her a weak smile as her eyes scanned over her face.
She had always reminded Barbara of Stevie, but a little extra that afternoon... probably since Stevie had already been on her mind a lot that day.
"I believe it." She did, even though she hardly even knew Stevie that well.
Nodding softly, the older woman gently used the pad of her thumb to wipe off a tear on Penny's cheek. "I am so proud of you." She reminded her of something she did quite often, but it felt a little more sentimental in the moment.
Penny took Barbara's hand in hers, big brown eyes melting right into her grandmas. "You would be so proud of her, too." She just knew it.
Letting the tears finally roll down her cheeks, she felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. "She's always welcome to come back home."
~~~
Barbara pulled Lindsey into the kitchen the moment he got back from their afternoon golf outing and without a single pause, she told him everything that had happened since he'd walked out the door.
She told him about Penny sharing with her that she'd been spending time with Stevie and then how, finally, after years of keeping them tucked away in the safety of her closet, Barbara gave her the letters.
And after having a very quiet meal at the dining room table, everyone split up for the night, which was when Lindsey found himself in the guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling.
He had been lying there for a while, mind stuck on Stevie as he recalled the last time he'd spoken to her... It hadn't been good and it had been eating away at him for far too long.
"Hello?" She answered on the last ring... just as he was getting ready to hang up.
"Hey." Lindsey was still laying down, phone pressed to his ear as his eyes continued to follow the fan as it spun in slow circles. "It's-"
"I know who it is." Stevie assured, tone in her voice growing a little more leery than before.
She wasn't sure if he was calling to cuss her out some more or what.
He let out a gentle sigh, already feeling pretty bad for the way he had talked to her... "I'm really sorry about what I said a few days ago." He admitted, which was something he wasn't always good at doing. "I shouldn't have said that to you." Lindsey shook his head, totally embarrassed but also a little sad... He didn't want to fight with her, not anymore.
Stevie paused for moment, leaning back into her kitchen counter as her eyes fell on Dan, who was sitting in the living room, waiting for her to finish up the dishes. "It is what it is." She shrugged a shoulder lightly, not nearly as offended as he thought she would be.... it wasn't something she hadn't heard before.
"Is there any way we could meet later this week?" He didn't plan to ask her that, but in the moment, it just sort of felt right. "I just wanna talk and-"
"Call me in the morning and we can figure out plans." She cut him, and not because she didn't want to hear what he had to say, but because she didn't want Dan to.
He cracked a soft smile as he felt a little weight lift off his shoulders. "I'll talk to you in the morning, Steph." Lindsey didn't know why he still had the habit of calling her that... you'd think after twenty years, he wouldn't.
She chuckled lightly, eyes falling to the floor as she nodded. "Goodnight, Linds."
