"And how long have you lived here?" Lindsey was across the counter from her, having already offered to help but instead being told to just take a seat at the island.
So, as she got out the ice and began pouring a couple of drinks, he took that time to glance around her kitchen, taking note of all the art on the walls and the lace on details. It was very Stevie- all of it. There was fresh flowers, it smelled like lavender and sage, and everything had a place. It actually reminded him a lot of her house in Venice Beach, except this home was much smaller.... She didn't need room to raise two kids, which was her original plan in life.
Looking up at him for a brief moment, she shifted all her weight from one foot to the other as she continued to carefully cut up a lime. "I stayed with a friend for the first couple of months, after I left and then I bought this house." She admitted, even though she was a little apprehensive to do so.
There was an intense amount of vulnerability that came with inviting him into that home, where she had created a safe place for herself. But by then, at that point, she actually felt very comfortable around him.
He wasn't the same man he used to be, not in the sense that she really needed to keep her guard up so high.
Lindsey nodded his head lightly, not even going to ask who the friend was, even though he was a little curious. "It's nice, Stevie." He complimented her, which is something he was full of lately...
She chuckled softly, biting down on her bottom lip as she began to shake up the mixer. "It's okay." Stevie shrugged a shoulder softly, not exactly sure if it was ideal.
She would have done anything to have spent the last two decades of her life in her old house, where she would have kept her children's rooms the exact same and Penelope would have been able to grow up... She used to dream about things being that good and that simple, but it wasn't in the cards and if she'd learned anything in therapy, it was that she couldn't dwell on the things she couldn't change.
"Here is this." She carefully slid his crystal glass across the counter, smiling lightly when she looked up into his eyes.
"Thank you, Steph." His voice was soft as he brought the cup up to his lips to take a sip.
Nodding her head, she let out a gentle, very relaxed sigh.
It felt like a sigh of relief to be getting along with the man that she could hardly be in the same room with at one point in her life. It had been so ugly between them, even before they lost their son... They just couldn't see eye- to- eye, so to be in the same room, sharing a drink and talking like civil humans meant a lot to her.
"How long have you been sober?" He then wondered, trying to be as sensitive about the subject as he could, but he was also really curious.
And you might think that was a blunt question to ask someone, but it didn't seem that way, not for two people that had known each other for thirty- five years and had been through it all together.
They had seen each other through some of the lowest times and saddest moments, so nothing really phased them anymore.
She sank back into the counter, cradling her glass close to her mouth as she raised a brow. "I've only been totally sober for about five years." She admitted, even if she was a little nervous to do so. "I still partake in a drink every now and then." Stevie's lips turned up lightly, wanting him to know that she wasn't upset with his curiosity. "But other than that, I am doing so much better than I ever have." She assured, even as she took a drink.
