Separated

Part 7

Completely zoned out Stevie sat on a bench in the park nearby her home. She watched her daughter carelessly running around, interacting with other kids. It came naturally to Jade, she wasn't afraid to come up to anyone, young or old, reminding Stevie of herself, when she was a child. Stevie was glad that her girl didn't understand the complexities of the world and that she didn't have to worry about them just yet.

Stevie jumped slightly, feeling a hand on her shoulder, a manly presence behind her. "I didn't mean to scare you." Lindsey apologized, walking around to sit down next to her.

"It's okay, I was somewhere else." She said, her gaze swiftly shifting from Lindsey to Amber. She wished things were easier, she wanted to hoist the girl on her lap and hug her close, she wanted to tell Amber that she loved her even though Stevie had only met her a couple of weeks ago.

"Can I go, Daddy?" Amber demanded the attention of her father, impatiently jumping in one spot.

"Yes, you can, sweetheart. Just be careful." Lindsey pressed a kiss to his daughter's hair before letting her run off.

"You're so wonderful with her." Stevie smiled. She thought of her ex, she knew that Mick loved Jade, but he never really managed to show it to their girl the way Stevie thought a loving father should.

"She makes it easy." Lindsey's eyes followed Amber, who ignored the group of kids that had gathered, approaching Jade first of all. "Have you tried talking to Jade yet?"

"No." Stevie shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not really sure what to tell her. She asked, of course. I told her, it's a miracle." 

Lindsey laughed lightly, clasping his hands together as he sat hunched over. "I suppose, that's not a lie. I told Amber that for every person in the world, there's another one, who looks exactly the same and she happened to find her person a lot quicker than most of us."

"That's not bad. Actually, for a six year old, that probably makes a lot of sense." Stevie added, watching the twins together. 

"Does your ex husband know?"

"No. I've tried calling him once and I couldn't reach him. That's basically how it's been since the divorce."

"I've spoken to Michelle." Lindsey said. "It... it didn't seem to make a huge difference in her life." He sighed, casting his eyes down. 

Stevie furrowed her eyebrows, concerned for him and how he was clearly feeling right now. A little tentative, but she placed her hand on his back, making him look at her. She smiled at him, thinking of something encouraging to say.

"Thank you." Lindsey spoke up first.

"You've got nothing to thank me for." Stevie shook her head. "It seems that we've only got each other right now."

"Could be worse." Lindsey joked, the corners of his lips turning upwards, making Stevie genuinely laugh. 

In that moment, Lindsey looked at her, really looked and saw her as if for the very first time. It seemed as if only just now he noticed how long her blond hair was, how big and brown here eyes were, how wide and bright her smile was. Realizing he was staring, Lindsey quickly looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

"Mommy!" Jade called her mother for everyone to hear. "Look!" She presented Stevie with a handful of yellow flowers, she wasn't sure what kind they were exactly, but she thanked her daughter nonetheless.

"They are beautiful, honey." 

Amber didn't fall far behind, running up to Lindsey. "I picked them for you."

"Oh, baby." Lindsey grinned, hugging Amber to his chest as he thanked her. 

The kids were gone as fast as they appeared, leaving Stevie and Lindsey alone again. He picked out one of the tiny flowers and feeling rather courageous, he put the flower in Stevie's hair. She started blushing. 

"Hey, guys."

Stevie cursed to herself, hearing Jack's voice. She didn't know if she and Lindsey had just had a moment, but whatever it was, Jack completely ruined it. 

"Hi, Jack." She greeted him not overly enthusiastic.

"Hello." Lindsey said politely and got up to his feet. "I think, it's time we go home." He told Stevie and giving her no time to reply, called Amber's name.

"Wait, Lindsey-"

"I'll call you." He promised, reaching for Amber's hand, when she approached him. 

Stevie didn't know what else to say, she just sighed and halfheartedly listened to whatever Jack had started talking to her about.