Picking up the Pieces

22

December 13, 2004

"This is not what I had imagined when Susan said that we were going to go caroling for Girl Scouts," Liz says looking around at the nursing home that Stevie, Liz, Hallie's mom Reinie, Jana-Sadie's mom, and Lacey, and Joni, two of the three other Girl Scout moms-Susan was the third and also the troop leader-were standing in the corner of. 

"I think I'm the oldest one here and I got excited when Susan told us because when I was little my family used to go caroling door to door. That's what I thought we were going to be doing. Not singing in an old folk home. I'm going to end up here in thirty years anyway and I don't want to be here now." Jana complains. 

"Jana, how old are you?" Stevie questions crossing her arms.

"42." She replies.

"You're not the oldest mom here." Stevie shakes her head.

"Well, how old is everybody?" Jana asks.

"39." Reinie

"30," Lacey

"I am 35." Joni

"38" Liz.

"56," Stevie admits. 

"Fif-no...You can't be, you look younger than me." Lacey gasps.

"I was born on May 26, 1948. Brielle was born a couple of months after I turned 50." Stevie explains. 

"Stephanie that's, that's wow. Was she your miracle baby?" Reinie questions.

"She was. Her father and I separated right before I found out I was pregnant. At that point, he had already gotten someone else pregnant and was making a life with her. He knows about Brielle he's just not around but she doesn't ask about him so I don't worry about it. She's met him, but she doesn't really care." Stevie shrugs. 

"Well, we love her to death so you're doing good." Jana grins. 

"Mmm...speaking of her dad, I've only lived here for a few years, and she's been asking for a guitar for Christmas. He plays guitar also, but I don't want to call him and have him ship me a guitar for her for Christmas because I know he won't. Is there anywhere around here that I could get one for her, and not like those toy ones from Walmart I want to actually get her a proper guitar." Stevie states.

"Well, there's Crook's music down on Ashmun, it's sketchy though." Lacey shrugs.

"It's not that it's sketchy, they just deal with marijuana and other...recreational drugs...we hear a lot about them at the High School. But I will admit, Bill and I have gone and they have some great used records there that you can buy and their whole basement is full of musical equipment." Liz shrugs.

"Well alright then." Stevie sighs as the girls come back over to the moms. 

Susan was going to say something when one of the nurses walked up to Stevie and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Would you sing Silent Night?" 

"Um..." She pauses and looks around as the other mothers and the girls give her weird looks. Liz nods and Brielle's grin goes wide. "Yeah, do you have a piano?"

"Right over there." She points to a black grand piano with a microphone attached to it. 

The group flocks to it and Stevie sits down at the piano and starts pressing the keys she knows will get her Silent Night. 

As she completes the song, the nursing home erupts in a quite clap and Stevie smiles standing up from the piano and doing a slight bow. When she stands up, Brielle launches into her mother's arms and gives her a giant hug. 

"I knew you were Stevie Nicks," Susan smirks as they make their way out to the car. 

"Like THE Stevie Nicks? Like Fleetwood Mac?" Lacey questions.

"I guess." Stevie shrugs fixing her daughter's hat which was falling off her head. 

"No, like seriously. Every Girl Scout check she gives me is signed under the name Stephanie Nicks, but I for the life of me couldn't place it. My husband even said when he came to one of our meetings that you looked like Stevie Nicks but I shot him down." Susan states.

"Well, I'm good at camouflaging. And I hate to be this person but no one knows that I live here. I don't want people knowing I live here. I moved here for a reason and she is more important and if I find out that it gets leaked and I figure out who it is, I'm going to have no choice but to slap confidentiality papers and agreements on you and worse case a lawsuit...I don't want to because I've become good friends with you all and if it was just me I wouldn't care but it's not just me. I have to think about her too." Stevie points to Brielle at her hip.

"No, we understand completely," Jana replies. 

"Thank you." Stevie nods. 

"No problem." Susan waves as everyone files into their own cars. 

While they were driving home, Stevie had one hand on the wheel, the other perched on the window holding her head up and Brielle spoke up. "Mamma, how come daddy has been around or called us?" 

"Uh-um...I don't know kiddo. He's busy and he has his other family to worry about. They just had another baby. They named her Stella." Stevie explains.

"Will, I ever get to meet his other family?" Brielle asks.

"Not if I can help it." Stevie shakes her head.

"But why momma, that's mean. The new baby is my sister too." Brielle says.

"Well, it's not really mean it's more so selfish than anything." Stevie looks back at her in the rearview. 

"What do you mean?" Brielle asks.

"Well, I'd like to keep you to myself. Just you and me. If you meet your dad's other family they're going to want to start spending time with you and then pretty soon you won't get to spend Thanksgiving or Easter with me." Stevie explains. She's not certain that that would be the case but it's what she tells herself. 

"But I like spending Thanksgiving and Easter with you, I do miss Daddy though." She shrugs.

"I know you do. That bunny that you sleep with, with Mr. Owl and Scruffy...your dad bought her for you." Stevie smiles 

"I named her Snow." Brielle grins.

"I think that's the perfect name." Stevie laughs pulling into the garage.