The room was quiet, as they were about to begin. Stevie looked around and saw so many faces. Parents, like her, who didn't know what to do anymore. They'd completely lost control and everything that they thought they'd known had completely fallen away. She could feel eyes on her, and she felt about one inch tall.
On the table sat various books and magazines. Health Today. The Bible. Family Life. As for the books, there was Flowers for Algernon, Anna Karenina (which might as well have been four books), and Requiem for a Dream. Stevie thought that the books were a little tough to get through, but she knew that Sophie would tear through them at the first chance she got. Maybe one of them was hers.
One woman across the room was sobbing, and they hadn't even started the meeting. Stevie wanted to yell at her to shut up, but she couldn't. She felt like crying, herself, and yelling at some poor woman in the same situation as her wouldn't solve anything.
Lindsey knew that Stevie was having a harder time with this than anyone. He was scared, too, and sad. He just didn't want to panic Stevie by telling her that. He wanted her to stay calm and get through all of it as easily as possible. He squeezed her hand, reminding her that he was there for her. It drew her attention from the crying woman, back to him. She gave him a weak smile and rested her forehead against his. When Lindsey looked at her like that, with his beautiful blue eyes, she couldn't care less about the other parents in the room, giving her looks and making speculations.
"Alright! Welcome families! We're gonna bring the kids in in a minute. We just want you all to meet each other. Some of you know each other. Some of you don't, so why don't we say our names, and whose parents we are." The chipper man who sat at the front of the circle looked like he was stuck in the seventies. He had thick brown hair, a white t-shirt, and bellbottom jeans. He was middle-aged and extremely tan.
He spoke in a soft and gentle manner that was most likely meant to comfort the parents. However, the sobbing woman was making the entire setting very uncomfortable. They went around the circle starting with a girl named Candace's parents, Ron and Sheila. Then about five more couples. Then came Stevie and Lindsey.
"Hi, I'm Lindsey. I'm Sophie's dad." Then Stevie. "I'm Stevie. I'm Sophie's mom." It was so surreal, being in a circle for this and introducing herself as the mother. Then there was one last couple. Debbie and Andrew, Justin's parents. They hadn't seemed the least bit interested in casting judgement towards Stevie and Lindsey. Instead, they offered looks of encouragement and empathy.
When the kids started to come in, Stevie thought she might lose it. She remembered what it had been like for her to walk out of a back room to see her brother and Lindsey waiting in a circle for her. Lindsey had tears in his eyes then, and it frightened her that he didn't now. He'd been forced through this before, grown stronger, and she made him do it alone.
Sophie came out, and Stevie wouldn't dare let herself cry. She needed to be strong for her daughter. She opened her arms for her little girl, and the eighteen year old walked slowly towards her. The longing in Sophie's eyes told Stevie that she wanted to run into her arms and never let go, but she was too weak.
Her hair was still blonde, and long. It didn't shine and remain effortlessly wavy anymore, though. Her eyes were still big, with a mix of every color in them. They were glazed over, though, and bloodshot. Her skin was so pale, if she weren't walking, she would've been thought dead. She was shaking, and frail, like a little leaf.
Lindsey watched his little girl fall into her mother's arms, and it absolutely broke his heart. He'd seen it before. He'd seen Stevie, looking about the same as Sophie many years before. Back then, it hurt just as much as it did now.
He studied her as she moved in between them, to sit, guarded by her own parents. Stevie kissed her pale, damp forehead, and Lindsey wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Sophie felt so thin, like she could be snapped in half if he wasn't careful with her. Lindsey remembered when he first felt that way with her.
~June 1997
Lindsey looked down at the newborn. She was looking back up at him in wonder, reaching out her tiny hand to his face. She'd only been born about an hour before, and she'd already stolen a huge piece of his heart, as all of his girls had.
He and Stevie knew that she was a true blessing. They were in their late forties, and still they'd been able to have her. Stevie had decided on her name pretty much right when they found out that it was a girl. Sophie Teagan Buckingham. It meant 'wise little poet.' Stevie loved coordinating the first and middle names to give each name a greater meaning. They'd done it for every daughter. There was Sara, their oldest, who's middle name was Luna. Her full name meant 'moon princess.' Then, there was Lily, whose middle name was Agalia, which was a Greek word that Stevie had gotten attached to. Her full name meant 'bright and joyful flower.' Then the twins, Phoenix and Bella. Before they were born, Stevie and Lindsey fell in love with the sacred river Kaveri in India. That became Phoenix's middle name, making her 'deep red sacred river.' Bella's name was an homage to one of Stevie's records and favorite names, Belladonna. They did't want to name their daughter that, so they put a twist on it, making her middle name Dawn, and her full name 'beautiful sunrise.'
The girls' names were unique to say the least, but they all grew into them so beautifully. Somehow, though, the name Sophie Teagan fit their youngest daughter from the moment she was born. She only cried for a minute, until she saw her mother. Then, she just stared in awe, trying to formulate some sort of statement. Literally, from the moment she was born, she'd been speaking with Stevie, simply through their similar minds.
The family would always joke that they were communicating telepathically, just so the rest of them couldn't hear. They'd always had some sort of bond that was rooted in their similarity. All of the girls did, but especially Sophie.
He sat down, taking her hand in his. Her tiny fist just wrapped around his finger. "She really is a little miracle, Steph," he said, looking up at his tired wife. "She's so beautiful," Stevie replied. "Like an angel."
In that moment, Lindsey made a promise to himself, Stevie, and all of their girls that nothing bad would ever happen to any of them. None of them would ever have to feel broken.~
But there she was, sitting in between them, an angel, broken in two.
THANKS FOR READING, GUYS! HOPE YOU LIKE IT SO FAR! :)
-MARNIE
