Shopping Spree! *Randall, Evie*

Shelby smiled as she walked along the sidewalk lined with little shops. She loved shopping, but more than that, she loved being with her family. They needed a day to just relax together and because she had not asked for much else for Christmas, this day was what she was getting.

"Evelyn, come look at this!"

She was gesturing toward a display of handbags through a store window. Now, she knew that they had the money to spend, but she was also looking for bargains. Anything to keep the smile on her husband's face.

"Look at that ivory one...wouldn't it go so well with that dress you wore in New York? Not the one your dad took away, of course, the other one. Anyway, I can just see you out with Miles in that dress, with that bag. You would look fantastic! Let's go."

She took her daughter's hand and excitedly went into the store. She looked back at her husband.

"You coming, baby?" She asked Randall smiling.

She really only wanted one thing for herself...a new pair of shoes. Every other dime they spent could be on Evelyn and the babies. She could dance with excitement to be here right now.

Randall smiled and watched his wife drag Evelyn into another store. This had been a good idea. Evelyn had been worried about Miles, and because she had not been permitted to see him often he was happy to get her out of the house and smiling again. Despite the fact that it meant they were wearing out his debit card and credit card. Oh well, Randall had more than enough money to spend. Following his girls into the store he began to look around as well. He knew that he needed to buy something for Rachel. He loved spoiling all of his family. He hadn't bought Alec anything yet, but that was just because the boy was so hard to shop for. But right now he really wanted to buy something special for Rachel. The only problem was he didn't know what to get her.

Sighing he continued over the various jewelry stands and tried to find something for his other child. However it was a challenge...he knew Rachel would love anything he would buy her, but he wanted it to be perfect. He glanced over at his daughter and wife and smiled as they continued through the various clothing racks. Sighing he decided that Rachel would wait and going back to his wife he placed a hand on Evie's shoulder and another one in his wife's.

"Did you find anything you want?" he asked gently. "Other than the entire store?"

Shelby stood on tiptoe and kissed her husband's cheek, squeezing his hand. She loved him so much. And she loved that he loved her enough to give this to her. Honestly, she knew she could have spent hundreds of pounds, and he would not have said a word. But she could never do such a thing to him. She just wanted quality time, more than anything. And as she said before...a cute pair of shoes. Some flats, perhaps, she thought smiling.

"Hmmm...the whole store? Is that really an option? Well, though that sounds interesting, I would rather save my money for the baby store, love. We do have two on the way."

When Evelyn wasn't looking, Shelby moved her hand to her husband's lower back and then moved south. She knew Randall didn't really feel comfortable with public displays of affection, but sometimes she liked to shock him a little, just to keep their excitement alive. She winked at him after grabbing him in a few more choice areas, then she moved forward to Evelyn. Ironically, Evie was near a display of women's knickers. Shelby looked around for Randall and as soon as he was out of earshot, she whispered to her daughter.

"Should I pick up some of these for you? I'm guessing your daddy won't let you have any of the fun ones. I don't really mind you wearing them as much, since I know you won't do anything about it. What do you think? You need anything?"

She didn't want to go behind her husband's back about this, so it wouldn't really be a secret. If he asked who they were for, she would tell him. It wasn't like she was buying Evie condoms or something. She just felt that in some areas he could use a little relaxation. At least he was more laid back than Alec when it came to Evelyn dating or wearing her own choices of clothing. But Shelby knew that Randall still did not necessarily like the idea of his little girl growing up. And that was where her experience as a woman came in handy.

Evie was so happy to be able to go shopping with both of her parents, but she knew that it would all get really awkward really fast. Her father had said something about going to several baby surplus stores. So that meant she was going to have to sit there and deal with her father and mother fawning over stupid baby crap. Well she would just text Miles and tell him to call her. That would be enough to get her away for a couple of hours while they did all that garbage.

Looking at the underwear she shook her head, she had already been grounded for the skipping class thing...there was really no need to rock the boat any farther. Not unless she wanted her father to send her away to a convent for the rest of her schooling career.

"It's okay," she said gently. "I have plenty already."

Turning to her father she walked over to him and lazily wrapped her arms around him. She loved hanging off her daddy, and it was the one thing only she had rights to in public...that was until the new kid was born...then she supposed she would have no one to hang onto.

Shelby noticed that Evie didn't look quite herself today. She watched as her daughter went to go hug her daddy, and she wished that she had some sort of psychic powers. Maybe Evie was still worried about Miles or something. But it could have been anything. Evelyn tended to carry every problem on her own shoulders, no matter who the problem belonged to.

Shelby moved over to them and started rubbing Evie's back and stroking her hair gently.

"Are you alright, sweetheart? You seem a little off today. Is it something a cute pair of shoes can cure?" She asked with a gentle smile.

"Let me just go pay for this, then we can check out a new store."

She took the handbags she had chosen, and then picked out a few odds and ends things for Evelyn, like jewelry and lip gloss. She took out her husband's debit card and smiled softly at him before handing it to the cashier. Randall was such a trooper. Little did he know, she wanted to buy the entire nursery today. When she was done paying, she went over to the two of them.

"Alright, where to next?"

Randall held Evelyn close as she hung onto him. He was worried about her, she was so quiet around them now. He remembered having a complete open relationship with her, but now it seemed that she just did not trust him anymore. And of course that hurt him deeply; it had always been him and Evelyn against all odds. They had been together from the moment of her birth and he loved her with all of his heart and soul.

He watched as Shelby went to pay for everything and very gently he wrapped his arms tighter around his baby girl. She was so thin that he was afraid if he held her too close she would snap right in his grasp. It made him want to cry to see her so weakened. Of course Evie thought that her anorexia was done, but in the end she had weakened her body overall. He was scared for when she got pregnant, if she ever got pregnant...he was scared of losing her like he had lost Dawn.

When Shelby came back, asking where they should shop next he could only think of one place.

"Hmm...how about a nursery store?" he grinned. "We need a bassinet, a car seat, and several other things."

Shelby nearly jumped up and down from excitement. She stood up tall and kissed Randall's cheek before taking his free hand.

"Yes, I would LOVE to go to the baby store. But you're wrong, my love. We don't need A bassinet, or A car seat. We need TWO of everything."

She patted her pregnant belly that was now showing a bit, and walked swiftly out the door. The baby store was just a few doors down, so she hurried on through the doors and pulled her little family along with her. Her eyes became wide and she had the hint of a devious gleam in them. Oh, he had no idea what he had gotten into by impregnating her. The store was full to the brim with baby items galore and Shelby planned on stocking up.

"Oh my God, Randall! This is incredible!"

She rushed to the clothing and awed at almost everything she saw. Especially the shoes. And then she moved over to the cribs. Of course the cutest ones were the more expensive ones.

"What is our spending limit, love? You better give me one, or I'll really buy the entire store."

Randall smiled, he wasn't sure what their spending limit should be. He wanted to say only buy the essentials, but then his wife would not doubt come up with the thought process of everything being damn essential. So he decided that HE would be the one holding onto his debit card today. He looked at Evelyn and very gently squeezed her shoulders. He could see that she didn't look too interested with being here, but he wanted her to stay and help him and Shelby pick out things for their new additions.

"Honey?" he asked gently. "Why don't you help us pick out a crib? You know our home inside and out, I am sure you could come up with something lovely when it came to a color scheme?"

He really just wanted to involve her, he could see that she already felt like she was being replaced. Maybe having her shop with them would assure her that there was no one in the world that could take her from him. He turned to his wife and took her hand and gently tugged her to a bassinet.

"We want something that is in a more neutral color," he nodded. "Considering we aren't certain of what the gender is...so long as it isn't yellow...I hate yellow."

Randall cringed, he had bad experiences with that color...as a father especially. He would never forget the banana fiasco...never.

Evelyn stared blankly around the store and she couldn't help but think that this was all just a bunch of bullshit planned to torment her. Everything in pastels, all the little tiny miniature person stuff. Maybe when she had her own baby someday this would be exciting, but right now she just thought that they could not wait to get rid of her. She shrugged her shoulders and turned away.

"I don't know, you guys pick. It's your baby. I'm gonna go...look at stuff."

And before her father could argue, she walked off to the other end of the store. She hated how excited they were about this. Did they just forget that she was even around? This day that had been set aside for her to spend time with both parents was now being tainted by the new minions on the way. She had a bitter taste in her mouth as she found a little Elmo couch off in the corner and sat down. She made sure she was well hidden by the stuffed animals so she would have enough time to have a nice long chat with her beloved.

She took out her cell phone and frowned once more at the sheer awfulness of this situation. Then she sent Miles a text.

Can u talk? My life sucks ass.

Randall sighed as Evelyn disappeared, he didn't know what more he could do. He could not stop Shelby from having the babies, and he thought that after their first loss she would have come around by now...but it was clear that he was wrong. Sighing he went back over to Shelby and took her hand. She knew that his beloved was looking forward to this and he refused to ruin it for her. He wanted her to experience this just as he had. When him and Dawn had gone shopping it had been the most fun and light experience in the world...until she puked all over him...then the day had been cut short, but it was still fun. They had gotten Evie a beautiful white bassinet with a pale violet interior. Her wife had been so set on their first baby being a girl, and it turned out she had been right...and although she was throwing a tantrum now, he thanked her everyday for the blessing of his first daughter.

"Hmm," he said moving to the changing tables. "Do we really need two of everything? I mean, are they going to pee at the same time too?"

Winking at her he pressed his lips to her cheeking and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Resting his hands on her belly he smiled and kissed just behind her ear. He was so happy to be able to do this again, especially since he thought he would never really have the chance to again. He had always thought his love life had ended with Dawn, but here was a beautiful woman that had brought it back to life.

"Oh," he grinned. "You are going to need a rocking chair my love...for the nursery...wouldn't that be adorable?!"

It was clear that Randall was excited too, but he tried his best to keep it calm. He did not want to upset Evelyn, but he also wanted Shelby to know that he was looking forward to the new family addition as well.

"Oh! Shel!" he cooed. "Do you know what would be absolutely adorable? When Evie was a baby she had this HUGE teddy bear...we should by the twins their own as well! This thing was bloody massive, Evie could have used it as a bed if she had laid still enough!"

Shelby smiled as she heard the excitement in her husband's voice, and she couldn't help turning around in his embrace and kissing him softly on the lips. She smiled and pulled back to look into his eyes.

"Why, Randall Marks...aren't you adorable? I love how excited you are over all of this. It makes all of the throwing up I've been doing actually seem worth it," she smiled. "Well, I know it's worth it. I'm just glad you're here with me."

She rested her head against his chest, her arms still wrapped around his waist. Her mind flitted off to Evelyn and she wished that there was something she could say to help her daughter understand. Randall would always hold her in his heart as his baby, Shelby knew that. But parents had enough room in their hearts to love more than one baby. Otherwise, Alec and Rachel would not have been so readily accepted in their family. If anyone had the capacity to love more than one person, it was Randall Marks. The man was the definition of compassion.

"Two cribs, two bassinets. Two car seats and two high chairs. And one big-ass bear, apparently," she said smiling. "You know, I actually like that idea, come to think of it. Maybe we can buy one for Evie's room. Do you think she'd get a kick out of it? God, I want her to be happy about this so much. Am I doing something wrong? Is there anything I can do to get her to realize that we love her?"

It hurt knowing that Evelyn really wanted nothing to do with all of this. And it served as a reminder that Shelby was only the back-up plan. Randall was supposed to be here with Dawn. They would have surely had more than one child. And now Shel could only guess that Evie resented her for not being her actual mother. That, and she didn't want to be replaced. But there was nothing else they could do. These babies would be loved unconditionally, and given everything that she had been given. Shelby just wished Evelyn understood.

Shelby's outfit

"I don't know if it is that, love," he said gently. "I think there is something else bugging her that she isn't telling me."

Randall sighed and kissed his wife on the cheek. He would not suggest Shelby going to talk to Evelyn right now. When she got into these little tantrum's it was never a good idea to intervene...well for anyone other than him to intervene. He knew that Evelyn would not mean to be particularly cruel, but he could hear her little voice saying several cold truths to Shelby.

"Here," he said with a sigh. "You pick out what you need...and Shelby...do not break me...I'm serious, use good judgement when it comes to spending."

He handed her his debit card, giving her fair warning that if she went too over the top he would be less than pleased. When it came to Shelby though he really had to watch, his wife had been rather spoiled in her youth...and Randall wasn't going to lie he had been too...but he wasn't into shopping like his wife was. Going over to his daughter he could see her on a small sofa, with her fingers moving madly over the small keyboard of her cellphone.

Going towards her he took the phone from her hands and pocketed it, sitting down on the floor in front of her and pulling her to sit next to him. He had a feeling several things were going through her head. One, this was, technically, supposed to be her day with her parents...and Randall would admit it had probably been a mistake bringing her to a baby store. Two, seeing him shop for a baby that was only half related to Evelyn probably made her feel uncomfortable because of how much she missed her mother. Three...his little girl was probably jealous that he was excited about their new family addition(s) as well.

"Talk to me," he said pushing several locks of hair away from her face. "You're face turned grim walking into this store, I want you to talk to me while Shelby takes care of the twins things."

Evelyn rolled her eyes and turned away from him. Of course, he had to take away her one good thing. Her phone was her escape from this day that had turned into a day from Hell. She wanted nothing more than to apparate to wherever Miles was. But she couldn't do that on her own yet, so she just grumbled silently.

"What's there to talk about?" She asked quietly, with just an edge of attitude. "We're at a store I'm not really interested in, and I just got bored. I'm sorry, I know this is supposed to be fun or something. But this is more for her anyway. I'm just in the way."

She didn't even know why he was bothering with her. He had other things to worry about. And she guessed that from now on, that was how it would be. He had priorities over and above her now. And she would just have to get used to that. All those years of wanting him to get married so that he would be happy, and she would have a mother...and now that it was finally here, she felt completely forgotten.

She leaned forward, reaching her hand inside his pocket and grabbing her cell phone back. She lay back on the little couch and looked down at her phone and the new message Miles had sent.

Can't u talk to Shel about it?

Evelyn sighed in her father's general direction, but she didn't make eye contact.

"You should probably go find Shelby so she's not doing all of this by herself. I've heard how important it is for a father to be involved in his child's life," she said, with only a hint of sarcasm.

As soon as she had her phone in hand, she replied to Miles' last text.

No, Shel's oblivious. And idc anymore.


(OOC: Let me know if there's anything you want me to add or take away. I want to make sure I'm playing this right.)

Randall took the phone from her once more and, briefly looked at the message. His glare intensified, and what had once been a calm conversation was going to turn into a lecture and possible sore bottom on Evelyn's part. Taking her phone he but it in his pants pocket and crossed his arms over his chest. He did not raise a brat, and she knew better than to behave in such a manner.

"Evelyn Rose," he hissed. "You are behaving like a spoiled brat. We are not going to spend all day in this store, just an hour or so. I want Shelby to get her bearings for the little ones. Dawn and I had done the same thing for you...why can't Shelby and I do the same thing for the twins? Stop being selfish, this instant."

Randall knew that his daughter wanted to be coddled, but when he tried to she just pushed him away and yelled. So now he was going to try the tough love technique. Aiden used this on his own daughters and they still loved him to death, so he saw no harm in trying it on Evelyn.

"Now you will get up," he snarled. "And you will either walk with me and Shelby, or I will call Alec and you will spend the day with him in the hospital."

Evelyn actually thought that last option sounded pretty good. Spending time with Alec would be highly welcome compared to what the alternative was. But she knew that if she had said she wanted to go with Alec, it wasn't the end. If she went with her brother, she would have a later discussion with her father. But if she walked with him and Shelby now, she could get this day over with in just a few hours and then go spend time with Miles.

So reluctantly, she rolled off the couch and walked past her father to go find Shelby. She still did not want to be here at all, and her father had said some hurtful things to her. But the day would only get worse if she got herself into trouble. So she walked down the aisles until she saw the blonde hair of her step-mother and she stood quietly by the cart. She wasn't in the mood to make conversation, but at least she wasn't saying anything mean. She felt that was progress on her part.

She looked around at all the cliché characters and meaningless crap. Seriously, what did a baby care about what color scheme surrounded his or her room? It was all just a selfish, materialistic ploy. She looked down and away from both of her parents, but did not even think about commenting. Her daddy couldn't get mad at her for not saying anything. He had only specified that she walk with them.

Randall sighed, his daughter was just so set on beating him when it came to this. She did not want to even try and be happy about the new baby and because everyone else was happy she had to try and bring them down and make them feel miserable. He rolled his eyes and took his wife's hand, deciding that ignoring Evelyn was the best thing at the present moment. Closing his eyes briefly he pressed his lips to his wife's cheek.

"She is being a brat," he breathed softly. "Do me a favor and just ignore her...if she doesn't snap out of it I will take care of it...if she does, then maybe we can salvage this day."

Taking her hand he swung it lightly back and forth. He knew that his good mood would just make Evelyn angrier, but that wasn't going to bring it down. He was enjoying his shopping day and his little girl was not going to make him regret going shopping with his wife for baby things.

"Oh, Shelby." he smiled. "Let me pick the rocker? I picked Dawn's...please let me pick yours?"

Shelby nodded and winked when her stepdaughter wasn't looking. She had pulled this kind of attitude on her own parents once or twice. They usually didn't pay attention much, but there was one time when her dad paid her back in kind for it.

They were at the mall, and Shelby didn't get the pair of shoes she wanted. So she moped around, like Evelyn was doing right about now, and when her father had had enough, he walked into the middle of the busy food court and threw a major temper tantrum to show her up. It was absolutely mortifying. Suffice it to say, Shelby had never acted like a major brat in public again. Though, she couldn't see herself doing that to her own children. She liked Randall's methods much better. Ignoring on purpose was much better than humiliation.

"Of course you can pick my rocker! I'm excited to know what you'll pick. What color wood do you like best? I like this dark one. Not the black, more like the cherry. Oh, and I was thinking we don't really need the cribs yet. We can keep them in the bassinets until they're bigger. See? I'm being a good girl and saving money."

She stood up and pecked his lips before moving to the clothing section.

"Oh my God, look how tiny the shoes are! I can't wait til we find out what the babies are."

She took his hand and brought him over, then whispered to him, "Do you think it's working?"

Randall sighed and looked briefly at his daughter, he honestly wasn't sure if it was going to work or not. He loved his daughter dearly, but sometimes she just had to realize that she wasn't the only family member he had to focus on in the world. He knew that it was hard for her to see past her own nose at times, but for God's sake she needed to learn to! He adored his child, why couldn't she see it?!

"I don't know love," he sighed. "And at this point I say just leave her to mope and act like a brat."

He said the last part louder, hoping to get his daughters attention. He wanted her to feel guilty for how she was behaving, he wanted his daughter to realize that the world did not stop on its axis because she WANTED it to. Going to the various rockers he found a beautiful dark, cherry, wood rocker. It was perfect, and it had a lovely embroidery of flowers on the white cushion. This was his Shelby's rocker. Smiling to her he brought her over to it and gently urged her to sit down.

"Yes...yes," he nodded. "That is definitely the one...I want it for you."

Evelyn was still not happy to be here. She just felt so overwhelmed, and even more unappreciated. Watching them acting so happy was making her nauseous. Why did things have to change? Alec was married, with two kids now. Her father was having twins with Shelby, so it was an opportunity for her to get replaced twice. Now all she needed was for Rachel to get married and start having babies. Then she really would be completely forgotten. Except for her beloved. Miles would always be there for her. And if he wasn't, she would find his ass and kick him back to be with her.

She watched as they picked their rocking chair and went to see the clothes herself. A small, miniscule part of her had to admit that they were cute. Cute and tiny. She couldn't believe that she had once been so small. She couldn't help but smile at a little pair of overalls that had turtles splashing on the front pocket. She pulled the small item of clothing from its hanger, along with a matching one, and she looked over at her step-mum. She went over to her and sat on the rocking ottoman that lay in front of the dark rocker.

"Here," she said, handing her the clothes. "I'm sure they're still a bit too big, but someday they'll fit."

She placed the overalls on Shelby's tummy and smiled. "There. Now we can wait to see if they like it or not."

She looked up at her daddy and she knew he had just been thinking about what a brat she was acting like. Hell, she had heard him say so himself. But as she looked at him now, she just pretended innocence.

"Daddy, why do you look so stressed? This is supposed to be a happy day of shopping. Don't make me call Healer Showers on you," she added, smiling.

Randall eyed his daughter suspiciously at first, but decided against questioning her sudden change in attitude. So gently he pulled her into his arms and held her close. Sometimes he missed being able to hold her like he used to. She was still small and light enough that he could hold her in his arms without a problem, but he missed those days when she would wrap her little arms around his leg because that was as far as she could reach. Or when he would pick her up from the sitter and she would rush into his arms yelling DADDY! He missed those days, and he knew that Aiden did as well. His friend was always saying how his little April would rush to him with green eyes full of love and hope. He had gotten that back with his new little one, Gabby...but Randall missed it. he missed the love and attention that he used to get.

Closing his eyes as tears stung them he rested his chin on top of his baby girls head and released a small, hopefully unnoticeable, shaky breath. Kissing her forehead he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "Thank you sweetheart."

Evie had to know that he loved her and that was why prompted this next trip. He had planned to surprise his little Evelyn with a trip to a music store called Broadway Music. He would let her pick out several books of sheet music and she could help herself to anything else she needed, with certain stipulations of course. He looked to Shelby and winked, signaling to her that they were going to have to leave now and head off to Broadway Music.

"C'mon loves," he grinned. "We have another stop to make."

Randall

Shelby smiled and moved over to Randall and Evie, placing a gentle hand on her daughter's back and kissing her temple. She loved Evelyn so much, and even though she wasn't her biological daughter, Shelby felt that she loved Evelyn just as much as she would her own children. She hoped that Evie knew this. But it didn't hurt to remind her as often as possible. Even thought it was sometimes rocky between the two of them, Shelby would always love Evelyn.

"I love you, sweet girl. Let me just go pay for all of this, and then we can go to that last store your daddy was talking about. I have a feeling you're going to enjoy it."

She took her cart to the counter, along with the overalls that Evie had picked out...the first articles of clothing for the twins...and quickly paid for everything. She handed the bags to her husband, and then started walking with them to the next store. She breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Evelyn was not completely okay with this situation, but at least she had come around a little. It was a positive step in the right direction.

Evelyn got into the car with her father, uncertain of what this next trip would entail. She could only hope that she really would enjoy it. However if they did anything baby related for her that was just going to make her more furious and more eager to go and spend time with Alec at the hospital. Sitting in the backseat she buckled her seatbelt tight and took out her phone. Popping in her head phones she rested her head on the door and began bopping her head gently to one of her favorite songs.

The scenery past by for a bit and she still did not know where they were going, and part of her did not want to know. God, please, just let it be a place where she could just spend time with her daddy. She just wanted her daddy to focus on her, if only for five minutes...that was all she wanted.

Randall pulled up to the music store, but parked far enough away that his baby girl would not be able to make out exactly where they were until they were inside. He winked at Shelby, then he got out and opened both of their doors for them. Randall was a gentleman through and through, though he didn't even have to think about it anymore. It was just second nature to him.

He took Shelby's hand in one of his, and Evelyn's in the other. He smiled out of pure contentment. They were back to what this day had been originally planned for. But he was still glad they had done the babies' shopping. Evie needed to learn that the twins would always be a part of their life now. But that didn't mean he would ever forget that his daughter was his very first baby. He smiled at her as they walked through the doors and waited to see what her reaction would be. He brought his lips to her ear.

"You choose, Evelyn Rose," he said softly. "Whatever you want. Within reason, of course."

He kissed her cheek and gently pushed her toward the shelves upon shelves of music.

Evelyn's eyes widened and she felt her heart jump up into her throat when she realized where they were! Her father had brought her to her own personal heaven! Wrapping her arms around him she buried her face in his chest and squealed with joy! Moving away from him she began examining the shelves, hoping to find several books that she had wanted for the longest of times. Continuing through she found several that she wanted. She started with Andrew Loyd Webber and grabbed a copy of the Broadway show Phantom of the Opera. Then she moved onto the love of her life, the reason for her musical existence, Wicked. Picking the book up she held it to her chest. She already had a book, but the pages have long since faded.

Her hands pulled at at least fifteen books of sheet music, some not even holding any interest with her...but her daddy said she could have anything she wanted within reason and Evelyn thought that fifteen books of music were quite reasonable. Coming back to her daddy she shoved the music into his arms and continued examining the store...there was just one more thing she wanted...she needed a new piano lamp. And finally....she found it. It was a fairly pricey thing, but she was sure her daddy would pull the, "nothing is too good for my baby," kind of attitude.

"Okay daddy," she smiled. "I'm done now."

Shelby had watched her daughter's eyes light up as they took in all of the sheet music, and she was glad that they had made this their final stop. She was so happy that they went shopping for the twins, but Evelyn needed this gift. She also needed a moment alone with Randall. Shelby knew that for sure. She moved over to her daughter and pulled her into a big hug.

“You deserve it all, baby. And I can't wait to hear you play some of that new music.”

She kissed her forehead and then turned to Randall and kissed his lips softly.

“Thank you for today. I'm going to go wait in the car for a few minutes so you can have some time with her. Love you.”

She winked at him, then squeezed Evie's hand once more before heading out the door and to the car, where she could go through her babies' bags and begin to plan out their nursery floor plan.