Picking up the Pieces

21

September 15, 2004

Stevie was furious and as she entered her house at eleven-thirty at night that Sunday she slammed the door loudly and was throwing her purse against the wall. She kicked her shoes off and stomped into the kitchen where she immediately uncorked a bottle of red wine sitting on her counter. 

"You do realize there's a six-year-old sleeping upstairs." Christine walks in leaning against the doorframe.

"Christine I am never, ever doing that again." Stevie states.

"What?" She asks. 

"Touring, music..." Stevie trails off downing the glass. 

"And why is that?" Christine asks. 

"I just embarked on a two-year tour, Christine. I missed her sixth birthday, her first day of first grade, and her first day of second grade. I haven't been to my house for a full year. That's not okay with me. When those assholes added those last three dates I about quit. No, I am NOT doing that ever again." Stevie shakes her head. 

"Well, if it makes you feel any better I took the first-day pictures." Christine shrugs. 

"I know...thank you, do you want to stay here tonight or are you going home?" Stevie questions.

"Well, much like you love I haven't been to my house in a year and as much as I love the beds in your guestroom I'd like my own. I'll talk to you later." Christine hugs her before leaving. 

Stevie breathes out a sigh and goes to plop on the couch, tears welling up in her eyes, she was fifty-six years old and her little girl was six. She was an old mother, and she knows that she may not live to see her daughter turn thirty so she really needed to spend as much time as she could with her daughter. 

When she finishes her wine she goes to her bedroom, sets her alarm and crawls into bed. In five hours she needed to be up and ready to get her kid ready for school and then she could come back and take a nap.

***

When the alarm went off she groaned but sauntered into her bathroom. She showered and changed into a pair of black yoga pants, not even bothering with jeans because she would be curling up on the couch when she got home anyway. And a simple light purple long sleeve. She wanted to take a nap but she decided that since it was a Monday, and Monday and Friday were the only days her and her little baby didn't have to do anything after school, she was going to lay on the couch wrapped in a blanket with her baby and nap then. 

Stevie left her hair straight down her back and walked into Brielle's room right at six-thirty. She stopped for a moment peering in at her daughter sleeping in the bed, and she thought for a moment. Her daughter was ahead. She started Kindergarten one month after her fourth birthday, simply because she passed an entrance test. She didn't have to go to Junior Kindergarten like a lot of kids her age. She was smart and it allowed her to go right into Kindergarten with Makenna and her friends. Here she was just started second grade and she was still only six. She was doing a grade a year and though that worried Stevie she wasn't going to forcefully keep her kid back so she could be with kids her own age. 

She goes over and sits on the edge of Brielle's bed and lightly rakes her fingers through her tangled curls causing the little girl to wake up and bat at her mother's hands. 

"Come on Bree, you've got to get up." Stevie chuckles. 

"Momma?" She asks not even moving her head from the pillow. 

"Yeah my love, I'm home. And I will be for a while." Stevie smiles. Brielle rolls over and immediately launches herself into her mother's arms. 

"I missed you, mommy, I love you." Brielle grins into her mother's chest. 

"I love you too, but you need to get up and get dressed we have to get you to school." Stevie grins kissing her daughter's head. 

"Do I have to, you just go home?" Brielle asks.

"I know. I'm sorry but yeah you do have to go to school." Stevie nods standing up and going over to flick her light on. 

"Fine. Will you make me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast though?" Brielle questions. 

"Yeah, I will. Hurry up and get dressed and while you're eating I'll brush your hair for you." Stevie states walking out of the bedroom. 

It wasn't that Stevie needed to brush her child's hair, Brielle could do that just fine it's styling it. Brielle can't even put her hair up into a ponytail. But Stevie knows she has to keep trying, so on the weekends, Stevie lets her do her own hair but when they have to go somewhere, Stevie does it. 

Brielle comes into the kitchen wearing a pair of navy blue leggings with ties at the ankles, a yellow bell sleeve top with red and white flowers on it them and matching ties at the sleeves where they started belling out, and a little white lace vest. She had a pair of navy blue and white polka-dotted socks on her feet. 

"Well, you are definitely my daughter?" Stevie laughs looking at the little girl.

 "What does that mean?" Brielle asks as Stevie flips the pancakes. 

"It means that you like the same clothes as me. I have a vest just like that." Stevie points to the white thing on her child. 

"Oh, Aunt Chrissy took me to the store yesterday and she let me pick out one thing that I wanted. Instead of a toy, I chose this outfit. It's cute." Brielle smiles.

"It is, it's gorgeous." Stevie grins placing the pancakes infront of her child who immediately starts eating. 

While she's eating, Stevie starts brushing out the curls and then she peers over her daughter and looks her in the face, 

"What am I doing to it?" She questions. 

"Piggy's." Brielle smiles a face full of chocolate. 

"Pigtails it is." Stevie laughs grabbing the comb from the counter and creating a part down the middle. 

"So what's the plan for today?" Brielle asks.

"Where did that come from?" Stevie asks her child, not having heard that before. 

"Aunt Lizzy." Brielle grins. 

"Well, I'm going to take you to school, pick you up, and then we're going to come back home. It's Monday so we don't have anything going on tonight." Stevie explains. 

"What about the rest of the week?" Brielle asks putting another piece of her pancake in her mouth. 

"Well, tomorrow you have Ballet from five-fifteen to six. Wednesday you have Girl Scouts right after school from four until five-thirty. Thursday you have tap from five-fifteen until six, and Friday you don't have anything." Stevie explains. 

She was a little upset that Brielle had opted out of swimming competitively. Her daughter loves swimming but there just wasn't enough time in their lives for it and Brielle somehow knew that so when Swimming registration time came and Stevie asked if she wanted to she said no, and Stevie was shocked, but she was oddly okay with it. 

"Alright, I love you mommy...I'm glad you're home," Brielle says again. Stevie's heart swells at that and she leans over her daughter, grabs the fork in her child's hand and brings the last bite of pancakes up to her mouth. 

"Momma!" Brielle whines. Stevie just laughs and chews and swoops in to give her a daughter a kiss, causing her to laugh harder after she swallows the piece of pancake. 

"You have chocolate ALL over your face." Stevie walks to the sink and wets a rag before walking back over and cleaning her child's face off.