The Way Back

What Dreams May Come

She stepped out onto the balcony, feeling the cool tile beneath her bare feet and gazing out over the ocean. As she tightened her robe around her,  Stevie breathed in deeply and savored the sweet, rich fragrance of the blooming jasmine mingling with the delicate scents of honeysuckles and roses. She exhaled and listened to the waves lapping the shore, closings her eyes and letting the rhythmic soundtrack of the Pacific Ocean ease her mind. She had slept restlessly, tossing and turning each hour until she sank into the stillness and let her thoughts overtake her. Time and numbers were on her mind. She missed the period in her life when a birthday spurred excitement and didn't make her realize how quickly time vanished or how easily years could be taken for granted. "Forty-four," she murmured to herself and shook her head with a soft laugh.

Her dark brown eyes rolled as more figures streamed  into her head. She would be sixty-two and have high school graduates. Lindsey would be a year behind her and relishing in all the senior citizen discounts since he loved to pinch pennies. Elisabeth would be knocking on forty's door. Stevie bit into her bottom lip and opened her eyes as she felt strong arms ease around her. She focused on the black velvet box in his calloused hands with a diminutive smile playing at her lips.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered against her golden hair and kissed her temple.

"Open it," Stevie requested as she relaxed in his arms.

"Want me to wear it too?"

She smirked and pinched his arm. "Open it, Linds."

He popped open the box and tilted his head to see her reaction to the gift. Lindsey smiled as her eyes sparkled and her lips parted as she gasped in admiration at his jewelry choice.

"Linds, it's perfect," she whispered.

Lindsey took the gold ring from the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. He let out a sigh of relief that her fingers weren't too puffy and swollen to wear it.

"It's beautiful," Stevie said, taking in the details of the birthstone ring. She stared at the oval gems, a sapphire flanked by emeralds and all surrounded by accent diamonds. Stevie spent time angling her hand, allowing the gems to catch the sunlight and admiring the subtle differences in the two emeralds for the twins. She turned in his arms and touched his face, kissing him lovingly on the lips. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he returned and nuzzled his nose against hers. "I was afraid the jeweler wouldn't finish in time."

Her brows furrowed as she lifted her eyes from the ring and stared into his. "What?"

"I didn't know what birthstone the twins would have for certain until last week." He wanted to tell her how difficult it was selecting a manly emerald, but he felt her stiffen in his hold. "Steph, it won't be terrible if that's how it has to go," he told her, sighing heavily as she pulled away from him.

"I don't want to talk about it, Lindsey. Where's Libba?" she asked, surprised that her daughter hadn't bounded into the room with cake and balloons. She'd told Libba for over a week to not go overboard about her birthday, but she knew the girl would disregard her wishes. Secretly, Stevie was thrilled for that. She needed a day to be in the moment instead of worrying over the upcoming days.

"I know you want them to come when they're ready, but it's not a failure if you have to be induced," he stated. Lindsey couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was still pregnant. He didn't know how her body was still carrying those babies. Since the false alarm, he'd kept the hospital bags in the Mercedes with the hope that she'd scream at him that it was showtime, but labor hadn't happened. She was thirty-eight weeks and would be induced at the end of the week if nothing happened before.