Separated

Part 20

Stevie lingered, keeping some distance, waiting for the crowd of people that had gathered to start parting. She wasn't really sure what she could possibly say, but she knew, she had to. Stevie had only seen Melanie a couple of times, she came for Jack, even though they hadn't really been talking lately.

Half of the people that remained standing by Melanie's grave Stevie didn't know, it hat to be close family members. It began to feel awkward and Stevie decided to finally approach Jack. She lay a hand on his shoulder, making him turn his head and face her.

"Stevie..." He spoke quietly, surprised she was there. "I didn't see you."

"I kept my distance." She gave him a small smile, opening her arms for a hug and Jack didn't hesitate. She felt his hold tightening and she let him be close for a minute. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I can't imagine, what you're going through right now."

"Well, it isn't easy, but..." He pulled back and stuck his hand in his pockets, eyes glued to the ground. "I knew it was coming, Melanie knew too. We had time to prepare ourselves, but in the end..." Jack shrugged, letting out a shaky breath. "I could have had a month or a year, it doesn't really matter. It hurts the same."

"How is your boy doing?" Stevie asked, her eyes moving towards Todd, who was leaning against an elderly woman, whom Stevie assumed to be Melanie's mother.

"Honestly? I don't know." Jack laughed without any humor in his voice. "I don't think he understands, what's really happened. He knew that his mother wasn't well, but I can't imagine that he is able to grasp the idea that he will never see his mom again. I'm just thankful he's got aunts and grandmothers."

"If there's anything I can help with, Jack, you know that you can always come to me." Stevie said. Maybe it was a coincidence, but Jack looked up at her after those words.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, clearly something on his mind, but he didn't come right out with it. "Would it be okay if I came over later tonight?"

Before Stevie could come up with a genuine sounding response, she felt a hand on the small of her back and she looked over her shoulder as Lindsey came to stand next to her, his arm now around her waist.

"I'm sorry to interrupt..." Lindsey noticed the expression on Jack's face change. "My condolences." Jack just gave a small nod of his head. "Stevie, the girls are asking, when are we coming back. We promised to be home by now." He explained his appearance almost sounding apologetic that he came up to Stevie and Jack.

"A few more minutes, okay?" Stevie asked Lindsey and he tipped his head, going back to the car to wait for her.

"So, it's a no, about tonight." Jack added.

Stevie shifted her wait from one foot to the other, partly because it became uncomfortable, partly because her feet were starting to hurt, she rarely wore heels. Knowing where she was going, it wasn't the wisest choice to begin with.

"Uh, I don't think so, Jack." Stevie shook her head. "That's not the kind of help I had in mind..."

"Are you two seeing each other?"

Stevie found it odd to say the least that Jack was interested, given were they were. "Lindsey and I have been together for a couple of months now."

"Oh." Jack simply said. "Well, thank you for coming." He looked over to the small group of people that was still there. "We should be leaving too."

Again, Stevie put her hand on Jack's shoulder, but he didn't react to it in any way. Turning around, Stevie went to where Lindsey had parked the car and was patiently waiting for her.