Don't Give Up

A distraction

The bed Lindsey had been lying in for the past couple of weeks was now empty. He stood by what he decided and Stevie had to find him a rehabilitation facility up to her standards. If it had to be this way, she at least wanted him to be taken care of. Stevie felt horrible. She felt like she had failed. Lindsey didn't want her. She hated that she couldn't do anything for him. He was away and alone. A part of her felt like it was her fault, even though he came up with the idea. What hurt her the most was that he told her not to visit. They had no way of knowing for how long Lindsey would have to stay there and still, he asked her not to come.

Since Lindsey was transferred from their home, Stevie told Julia to go back to her condo as well. She had moved out of her parents' home once she turned eighteen and she'd been living on her own ever since. Julia was hesitant to leave however. She knew Stevie wasn't in a very good place and there was Zachary who needed to be taken care of. Julia didn't think for a second that her mother would abandon the boy, she just wasn't sure if he was going to receive much attention besides breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stevie guessed Julia's apprehension and assured that no such thing was going to happen. 

"Where's Peanut's leash, Zacky?" That was the name Zachary had chosen for the Shih Tzu puppy they had brought home about a month ago. Not getting an answer, Stevie turned to look at her son, who was no longer in the room. A minute later, Zack ran in holding the dog's leash.

"Here!"

Stevie smiled, taking it from the boy and calling Peanut over. "Put on your shoes, okay? We're going to take Peanut for a walk."

Zack nodded his head, leaving the room again. Since what happened to Lindsey, the boy, unintentionally of course, was slightly forgotten and Stevie felt bad about it. She knew there was a lot of making up to do.

"Hold on tight." Stevie said, handing over the leash to Zack, while she stopped to lock the door. Peanut wasn't a very big dog, yet she didn't fancy running after him around the neighborhood to catch him if he got away. 

Hand in hand, Stevie and Zack walked in the direction of a beautiful park not too far from their house. Mostly everyone around knew that half of Fleetwood Mac lived there, so neither Stevie or Lindsey got approached that much anymore, besides receiving a warm smile and a hello from the neighbors. 

"Mama?" Zack asked after some time. 

"Yes, baby?"

"Where's Daddy? When is he coming back?"

Sighing, Stevie took a moment. She knew that question was going to come up at some point. What was she supposed to say? How was she going to explain Lindsey's complicated condition to a three year old? 

"Well... Daddy's not feeling very well. Um... He had to go somewhere to get better. But he's okay. He's big and strong and he'll be back soon." She felt herself rush. "Most importantly, Zacky, is that Daddy loves you so much. He has to be away from us for a little while, so that when he's back, he can spend time with you, play with you and teach you how to swim."

"I love him, too. I miss him."

"I miss him, too baby..." Stevie said, hoping that Zack won't dwell on it for too long.

Once they reached the park, Stevie was handed over the care of Peanut, while Zachary quickly made new friends on the playground. Finding a bench, Stevie sat down and kept a close eye on her boy. Soon, she got lost in her thoughts. She wondered how Lindsey was doing; if he was comfortable, if he was looked after, if he was fed, if he was finally taking part in physical therapy. If he missed her at all...

She was brought back to reality, hearing Peanut barking. She shushed him, but it didn't really help. "It's alright. He just doesn't know me yet." Stevie heard a man's voice and she looked up, bringing a hand up to cover her eyes slightly, shielding them from the sun. 

"Hello?" It sounded like a question, as she looked at the man. "Is Peanut bothering you?"

"No." The man shook his head, smiling. "I'm just watching over my grandson and it would seem like I'm bothering Peanut." He chuckled, now petting the puppy. "See, I'm not too bad."

Locating Zack, making sure he was still playing with the other kids, Stevie turned her attention back to the man. "Your grandson?" She asked. In her eyes he seemed to be too young to be a grandfather.

"Yes." He nodded, then showed to the bench. "May I?"

"Oh, sure." Stevie said, sliding more to one side. 

"My daughter had Tim at a young age. She was a naive girl and someone used that. She's only twenty two herself. Tim is a little over four." He showed to the boy on the swing. "That's him."

Stevie saw Zachary was actually talking to Tim. "Would you look at that, the boy next to him is mine."

"Yeah? You surely can't be a grandmother yet?" 

"No." Stevie laughed lightly, also feeling slightly flattered. "No, Zachary is my son." She smiled, facing the man. "I'm Stevie, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Mark." They shook hands, the softness of hers didn't go unnoticed by him. "I don't think I've seen you here before."

"I don't think you have." Stevie said. "I rarely leave our estate to wander around here."

"Why did you then?" Mark asked, glancing at his grandson now and then.

Shrugging, Stevie wasn't sure how to answer. "I guess, I needed to get out of the house. Besides, I wanted Zack to get some fresh air and Peanut needed to go outside too." She added quickly.

Mark sensed there was something she didn't want to talk about, so he changed the subject, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "They seem getting along pretty well." Referring to the kids. 

"They do." Stevie agreed. "Maybe you and Tim could come over some time, the boys could play together." She had no idea where did that suggestion come from. She didn't even know who this man was.

"I'd love to if that's okay with you." Mark smiled. His smile quickly faded, turning to face the playground from where Tim was running towards him, crying. "What happened?" 

"I fell!" The boy cried, burying his face in Mark's chest. 

"Oh, boy. Let me look at it." Tim pulled back and showed the scraped knee, blood trickling down his little leg. "It seems like we're going to have to head back home, buddy." Tim didn't argue, taking Mark's hand, once he stood up. 

"Do you have anything to write on and with?" Stevie asked before they went away. "I'll write down our phone number."

Mark searched through his pockets, pulling out a pen and a receipt from some store. "Is that alright?"

"That will do." Stevie nodded, taking it from him. "Here." Giving the items back to him shortly.

"I'll see you two soon, I guess." Mark half-smiled at Stevie and Zack, who had made his way back to his mother a minute earlier. 

"See you two soon." Stevie echoed his words, then they said goodbye. "Did you like playing with that boy?" She asked Zack, who was now running around the bench, giggling as Peanut was chasing after him.

"I did!"

"Good." Stevie smiled. She was glad her boy had made a new friend and so, hopefully, did she. 

She needed a distraction.