velvet underground

October 20th, 2009

Stevie had picked up a few pumpkins from a local farmers market for one reason and one reason only - Lindsey was going to let her keep the kids overnight, as well as her brother and sister-in-law letting her have her niece Jess, and they were going to carve pumpkins. Being able to share a love for fall and Halloween with the four most important children in her life makes her feel warm and content deep inside. The girls were young and they all adored Stevie, and even though she and Will had a rocky relationship, mostly due to Kristen probably putting so much in the child’s head about her and Lindsey that she probably molded him into hating her - but she knew he didn’t fully hate her - just like she could never hate him as much as she knows she spent the first few years of his life trying.

“Auntie Stevie, the carving knife is stuck”

Walking around the islander in her Phoenix home, Stevie let a lighthearted chuckle escape her lips as she grabbed the handle of the carving knife and slowly pulled it out. “It’s not as sharp as a knife, Jess, so you can’t just dive right in, you have to move it slowly, literally carve it out…” Taking the knife and placing it on the small opening that Jess had made, Stevie takes the knife and starts moving it left to right slowly to show her how it’s sawing. Looking over at Stella and LeeLee, who was sharing a pumpkin, watching them clean theirs out made Stevie’s heart melt. Having all four kids here made her melt, but the connection she felt to them girls - especially Stella - was something she has yet to figure out and she’d probably never tell a soul - including Lindsey. Sometimes things are just meant to stay within your soul and never to be shared with the public and that’s probably what was going to happen.

“Mama Stevie, I can’t reach the bottom!”

Opening her mouth to say something to LeeLee’s comment, Will’s voice suddenly cut her thoughts out and ripped at her soul. “Didn’t Mom say to not call her that, Lee?” Stevie cleared her throat before fully turning her attention back to how she was helping Jess. “Auntie Stevie, you okay?” the girl asking meant a lot, but Jess was too young to understand everything that was going on. She just knew her Uncle Lindsey had some kids and she sometimes got to see her unofficial cousins, and at her age, it’s all she needed to know, so Stevie just nodded her head with a forced smile on her features. Hearing Will start to groan as he sounded like he was struggling, Stevie looked over as she saw Will standing on the edge of the chair to try to reach the bottom of the girls’ pumpkin. Finishing up with Jess, giving her the tool back so she could finish carving the design she wanted on her pumpkin as she walked back around the islander to where Lindsey’s kids were.

“Here, Will, let me try to get it.”

Reaching between him and LeeLee slightly, Stevie would lean up a bit before she felt the rest of the pumpkin seeds in her hand as she pulled them out. “There you go, girls, you guys should be good to get ready to use your carving knives. Your brother and I both will help you, isn’t that right, Will?” Stevie turned around to throw what she had in the trash can as Will’s comment back caught her off guard, brought a big smile to her face, and made her heart melt and shatter at the same time. Words she never thought she would hear escaped the young boy’s voice, and it was as if he finally saw everything Stevie had done for them since they were born without the rose-colored glasses on his gorgeous face, him looking like a spitting image of Lindsey, that Kristen forced him to wear.