Why Should It Matter?

34. Decisions

"Can I please take Stella?" Lindsey asked his ex-wife over the phone, practically pleading at this point. "I asked Will and he's busy at school then Lee is in Australia..."

"Well, I'm sorry. I just don't want her to miss school, she's almost out for Thanksgiving break. You can take her one of those days..." she responded.

"Kris, it's only a couple days... You always have her in one of those tournaments and--"

"Lindsey, she wants to be there---that's not my choice. School is different, though."

"Okay, but still, you'll have her for Thanksgiving and the Friday after."

"Wait a minute, are you not coming for Thanksgiving?" she creased her brow a bit.

"I'm going to be with Stevie and her family," he mentioned.

"Tell her she's welcome to join us," Stevie half whispered as he took a break from speaking.

"I heard that," Kristen mumbled. "I'm not spending Thanksgiving with you guys," she said flat out, in a light attitude for a tone.

"She's visiting her parents, babe---" Lindsey assured Stevie in a sweet tone.

She nodded, not wanting to intervene again because she just knew Kristen's side of the conversation wasn't as calm.

"I was gonna take Stella. And if Leelee ever does come home, then I would take her. But Lindsey, usually, it is the five of us... How are we working this? And then what about Christmas?" she questioned almost panicking.

"Look, we'll figure it out, okay? I didn't mean to get on the topic of all this... I just wanted to know if I could take Stella to San Francisco for a couple days---show her where Stevie and I grew up and hung out while we were in San Jose..."

"Sounds like a really great idea, but I can't let her miss school, Lindsey..."

"Alright," he kind of sighed. "I'll talk to you later," he pulled the phone away from his ear, probably before she could respond. Right after, he clicked the button to turn it off. Looking up at Stevie gathering a couple of her things for her purse, "I tried and it only took a turn."

"I know---what was all that? Went from taking her two days to Thanksgiving..." she sat on the edge of the bed, organizing her things in her purse.

"Well, she said no, first off---" he thought he should point out. "Then I mentioned she would probably have her for Thanksgiving and then she started to panic because---well, obviously we've done it for the last twenty years together with all the kids."

Stevie nodded, following along easily and understanding his ex wife's stress.

"Then she started to freak about Christmas," he sighed a little. "So..." he trailed, giving a thumbs up.

"Ah, well.... Y'know, I'm just tryna get through November," she shrugged---tossing her purse over her shoulder and standing. Bending a tad, "Come here, Lily. Come on, baby girl---" she urged.

Lindsey smiled at how her voice went up in octive to chat with her dog though it was still in a calm tone.

"What time is it, honey?" she asked as she neared him with the dog.

Looking down at his watch, "Quarter till," he brusquely replied.

"Far out, let's go down stairs and wait---I can make some tea for the road," she added.

"Okay," he kind of smirked.

The couple then headed downstairs, Lindsey was lingering in and out of the house, waiting for the car while Stevie made herself some tea in a metal to-go cup.