To make sure that Lily was asleep, Stevie stayed in her daughter's room for a few minutes longer. Sometimes, the girl stirred and her little eyes snapped open if Stevie got away too soon. There was just something between them. While she loved her older kids, she and Lily shared a bond, which was that bit more special. Maybe it was because Dylan and Amber didn't need her as much anymore. They didn't depend on her as much anymore. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Lindsey was a part of Lily as well. Not at all...
As quietly and careful as possible, Stevie crept out of the room, leaving a nightlight on and the door slightly ajar. She made her way downstairs and heard voices in the kitchen. Seeing her sister-in-law washing dishes after dinner, Stevie gave her a look.
"I thought, I told you to leave it." Stevie said, grabbing a kitchen towel to help, which her brother didn't bother to do.
"It's not a big deal." Lori shrugged, washing her hands. "You cooked, I cleaned."
"And what did you do?" Stevie turned to Chris, who gave her a sheepish smile.
"I was... busy, with this." He showed to a nearly empty glass of wine. "Did Lily go down easy?"
"Yeah." Stevie nodded, putting a dry plate away. "There was a lot of action here tonight, so she's out like a light."
"Good." Chris nodded. He went quiet for a moment, before clearing his throat, which immediately captured Lori's attention. The narrowed eyed look she gave him did not go unnoticed by Stevie.
"What?" She asked, looking between the two. "What?"
"Nothing." Lori rushed to say before Chris spoke up. "Should I open another one?" She picked up a bottle and a corkscrew.
"What aren't you telling me?" Stevie wasn't convinced, her eyes now on her brother. "Tell me."
"It's really nothing." Chris shook his head. "It's not- I mean, it's not a big deal." He shrugged, then sighed, realizing that Stevie was going to draw it out of him anyway. "I ran into Lindsey the other day."
"You're right, it's not important." Stevie nodded, trying to seem nonchalant. "It has nothing to do with me."
"Well, I kinda let it slip that you've relocated." Chris paused, catching Lori roll her eyes. "And I also may have told him that you're divorced now."
"Chris, what the hell!" Stevie yelled out, cursing herself immediately, hoping that she didn't wake Lily up. "Why would you-"
"Why do you care so much?" Chris raised an eyebrow, silencing her. "We didn't get to chat much though, he was with someone. A woman." He added.
Taking a second to calm herself down, Stevie held out her glass to Lori and failed to say, when to stop. "I don't care." She shrugged. "I'm happy for him."
Stevie brought the wine up to her mouth and took a long drink of it as if it were lemonade. The conversation she had with Olivia suddenly popped into her head.
