Blue Denim

Part 15

The following days, Stevie started to put her plan of getting healthy again into action. She changed her diet, threw away her last package of cigarettes and incorporated long walks into her daily routine. Even though, she had the urge to just hire a personal trainer and start a tough fitness program to speed up her weight loss process, she listened to what her doctor had said and gave her body a break. Lindsey was right. She needed to look after herself better and give the whole thing some time.

After coming home from a three hour walk with her dog, Stevie bumped into her mother as she was just about to open the front door of her parents' house.

"Oh God!", Barbara laughed slightly startled.

Stevie was chuckling herself, "Where are you going?", she then asked, witnessing the beautiful long dress and more intensive makeup her mother was wearing.

"Today is your father's and I anniversary, honey.", Barbara said with a warm smile, "We're going out for dinner."

"Oh..", Stevie sighed, "I'm so sorry, I totally forgot about it.."

"Oh, Stephanie, it doesn't matter. It's been fortysix years. Nothing special..", the older woman said with a shrug.

"Nothing special?! Are you serious?!", Stevie asked with wide eyes, "You've been with the same man for almost fifty years. If that's not special, I don't know what is!"

Her mother blushed slightly by her words, "It's been so long, I cannot even remember how my life used to be without him.."

Stevie smiled sadly and nodded, "I hope you two have a great night."

"Are you sure you'll be alright without us?", Barbara asked slightly worried, watching her daughter climb up the stairs to her room, "We can still cancel.."

"Of course. Please, don't worry about me.."

"I'm always worried about you."

"I know. And I gave you a ton of reasons for doing that in the past, Mom, but it needs to stop.", Stevie said, "I promise you, I'm going to change my life."

"I'm so proud of you.", Barbara said with a nod before Jess came round the corner, asking if Barbara was ready to leave.

Stevie waved her parents goodbye as they drove out of the driveway, then walked into the kitchen to prepare herself something to eat. Taking a look into the fridge, she was very pleased to see that her mother had indeed met her wish and bought a ton of vegetables and fruit. The weight was coming off slowly, as well, and Stevie started to feel stronger and healthier every day. It had been hard to stay away from cigarettes, alcohol  and junk food at first, but after a few days of mentally reminding herself that that unhealthy crap wasn't doing anything good for her, she got used to it. And it showed. Her skin was smooth and clear again, the Arizonian sun giving it a slight golden tan that made her dark brown eyes glow so much more. She had also dyed her hair a darker shade of blonde, going for a more natural look again after being platinum blonde for such a long time. 

After having a small dinner in front of the TV, Stevie did the dishes, not wanting to leave behind too much of a mess for her mother, and went up into her room. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, just about to start writing inside of her journal, when the phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello gorgeous!"

Stevie's lips curled into a wide smile, hearing Lindsey's familiar voice at the other end of the line, "Hey.. "

"Hey, baby. How are you?", Lindsey asked softly.

"I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm fine. You're home alone for the first time, I see..."

"Yeah, my parents went out for dinner.", Stevie answered, "Wait... How do you know?"

"Take a look outside your window.", Lindsey said with a grin.

Stevie frowned, then got up and walked to the big floor-to-ceiling windows that led to a small balcony at the other side of the room. She stepped outside and looked down into the garden.

"Hey up there!", Lindsey greeted her with a warm smile, waving up at her with one hand, the other still holding his phone to his ear.

"Lindsey!", Stevie squealed with delight, then disappeared again to rush downstairs and outside into the garden to jump right into Lindsey's open arms. "I can't believe you're here!", she mumbled while smothering his handsome face with kisses.

"Happy?", Lindsey asked with a chuckle, pressing her tiny body closer to his chest.

"Oh, yes! God, yes! What kind of stupid question is this?!", Stevie answered him, "I missed you like crazy. But how? You're supposed to be touring still."

"There were problems at the venue and we had to postpone two shows.", Lindsey said, caressing the side of her head while looking down at her beautiful face, "When they told me I had a few days off, I jumped on the next plane to Phoenix. I just had to see you."

Stevie smiled, "Now, this is an unexpected pleasure." She raised herself on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck and met his lips in a beautiful tender kiss that Lindsey happily deepened, their tongues sensually brushing.

When they walked back into the house, Lindsey was able to see how much Stevie's appearance had changed in just a little over four weeks of not seeing each other. 

"Are you hungry?", she asked when they reached the kitchen.

Lindsey shook his head, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Thirsty?"

"No.", he shook his head again, "I only want you."

Stevie laughed in response, her whole face lightening up by his words.

"Damn, you're gorgeous.", Lindsey said, looking her up and down, "Your hair..", he ran his fingers through it.

"It's darker.", Stevie said.

"It's beautiful.", he complimented her, "You look so healthy and... and happy."

"Thank you..", she blushed slighty, "I actually feel so much better, too. It's as if I woke up from a very deep sleep. Everything is so much clearer, now."

"I can't believe that about two months ago, you were crying in my arms because your skin was peeling itself off. Now, look at you, Steph! You are beautiful.", he was softly touching her face, admiring her smooth, silky skin.

Stevie teared up at his words, "I have no idea where I'd be without you, Lindsey. Thank you so much."

He pulled her back into his arms, holding her as close to his body as possible, "I really hope that this is the beginning of a brand new chapter for us. Please, Steph, let's not blow this up again."

"I don't want that, either.", she mumbled against his chest, "You showed me what real love is. You were there for me when everybody else had left. You were there putting the pieces back together when I was too weak to do it myself."

"And I would do it all over again.", Lindsey said, placing a kiss on top of her head.