Picking up the Pieces

8

November 23, 1998

At three months old little Brielle enjoys laying on her stomach opposite her mother just staring while her mother talks to her and keeping that intense eye contact. Bluey brown against brown. There routine now has changed quite a lot. Stevie sings to her before bed now instead of just letting her go to sleep. She's started trying to get her on a sleeping schedule putting her to bed around ten-thirty. Her midnight feeds are becoming less and less and Stevie is still breastfeeding. Nipple Cream has become her best friend. But what she's noticed about breastfeeding is that her boobs though now are saggy, but they're about the size that they were when she had her previous implants. She's not back to pre-baby Stevie, she's harboring a little bit more pudge in the stomach area but she's looking into corsets to wear on stage.

She's also going to start making a new album in the new year. She's organized it with Mike Campbell, Sheryl Crow, and John Shanks...Lori and Sharon would be out for New Years and move into the guestrooms. Mike, Sheryl, and John and who she flies in to be her backing band for this album will be put up at the Holiday Inn, It's a little further out from her house than she'd like but it's the nicest place she could put people up at in The Soo, as the locals call it.

She had gotten her license reinstated, only needing an updated vision test she knew she was going to fail, so she made sure to have her glasses on and an updated road test. It was different driving automatic, almost easier she thought. She had taken Bill with her to get a car, and she ended up getting a brand new black 1999 GMC Yukon. He even taught her how to drive automatically.

She had just finished feeding Brielle when the front door opened and she could hear bags falling, coats unzipping, and boots getting kicked off, she quickly fixed her shirt and burped Brielle before she heard them.

"Why the FUCK did you move here of all places?" Lori squeals walking further into the house.

"If you look outside at my back deck you'll see how pretty it is...where's my niece?" Stevie questions squatting down Brielle still in her arms as Jessie who just turned two in September peeks around her mother's legs and running towards her auntie.

Stevie takes her into her free arm and Jessie peers down at the occupied arm. "Baby"

"Yeah, this is your little cousin Brielle. Can you say her name...Brielle?" Stevie questions.

"Bree," Jessie says.

"Yeah, that's okay I call her Bree too." Stevie smiles kissing Jessie's cheek.

"Teedee let me see the little angel!" Barbara expresses walking into the living room as Stevie stands up and hands Brielle to her mother.

"She's milk drunk...I just fed her." Stevie explains as Barbara and Jess coo, moving to sit on the couch. When Stevie is content seeing her child in her parent's arms she scoops Jessie up and twirls around with her.

"So you have to tell us everything...We knew you were having a C-Section already, but when Karen called she sounded so panicked." Chris asks going to sit in the armchair.

"Well, I was having Braxton hicks contractions. Those fake ones that prepare you for labor. So I drew myself a bath. I did it a lot the last couple of months of pregnancy so I wasn't risking anything. But Christine and Karen had just gotten to my house and I was in a rush so when I got out of the tub, I did it too fast. Normally I took my time to make sure I didn't slip, well I slipped. I knew something was wrong as soon as I felt myself go into the air but it was confirmed when I landed on my right side and I felt the sharpest pain ever. Then I started bleeding. I yelled for them and they came and took me to the hospital and very quickly I was getting an epidural and they were putting me on a table. The placenta was tearing away from my uterine wall. But she's here and she's healthy and I'm okay." Stevie smiles as Jessie lays her head on her aunt's shoulder.