Unexpecting

Part 11 - Unconditional love

Entering the dark and cold condo, not even having her dog to greet her, Stevie fell in to a fast depression. She let her purse slump down to the floor and began to cry, stumbling towards the couch and curling up against the pillows; this was not the way her life should be! Yes, she had everything she had ever wanted as a young adult but that part of herself that never got to be a mother was haunting her. Her love for Lindsey was so strong, so loyal, but still she fought their own happiness - what was wrong with her?!

Karen had sensed the pain that her boss was going through, grabbing a bottle of wine from her own fridge then bringing it up to her condo, lightly knocking on the door as Stevie grumbled. She slowly got up from the couch and looked through the peephole, seeing her assitant, opening the door as she needed her comfort; Karen soothed her with slow back rubs.

"Come on, lady, let's calm you down," said Karen, helping her back to the couch and opening the bottle. Stevie didn't even wait for a glass, grabbing for the wine and chugging it down. "Whoa, slow down there!" taking the bottle from her boss.

"I don't know what is wrong with me, Karen, I don't..." shaking her head.

"You have to relax, sweetie, you know that what you're doing right now will not help."

"When I saw her with his child, with that beautiful little boy, it reminded me of what I never got to have. I love him so much and he always wanted me to be a mother, even willing to conceive  with me again after we grieved, me being so stubborn and pushing him away - I just never thought he would do it! I never thought he would go to another woman in the midst of his depression and get her pregnant... All he's wanted was me  and all I've wanted was him."

"I know, I may not be his biggest fan but I am a silent cheerleader for you, and I only want to see you happy."

"The scary thing is that I feel this need to flee, to get away from it all, but what would that prove? That would only hurt us more!"

"Why would you want to flee?"

"So I don't have to be reminded of what I don't have."

"But you can have it, Stevie! You can have whatever you want, you just have to ask for it!"

"How do I ask for a child, Karen?"

"Stevie," scooting closer to her boss with an arm around her, "...adoption is not unheard of."

"Adoption?  Ugh, Karen, I'm too old for that."

"Lindsey just had his fourth child and you are saying you're too old to adopt? Don't even. With everything that you have, a small child would prosper with you; not to mention what you could leave behind for them - they'd have it all."

"He'd laugh at me..."

"Highly unlikely with how much he loves you."

"I think I just miss Sulamith," standing up from the couch as she forgot all about the wine, heading for her bedroom and laying down on her bed. Would Lindsey really adopt with her?

Karen stared at the bottle of wine, heart broken for her boss, taking her phone out of her pocket as she began to search for Lindsey's number...

"Karen, hello, is everything alright?"  Lindsey answered after the second ring, having been in deep thought over Stevie.

"Lindsey, I don't know, she is cooping herself up in her bedroom again; I think she needs you. Why did she leave so soon? She was only there about an hour."

"She started to cry, I took her out in to the hall and had to console her; we talked about our child that never made it..."

She sighed, "That's what she seems to be focused on right now. Lindsey, can you come to her? The loss of her dog and now seeing you with another child, I think it's broken her spirit."