Cowboy Bring Me Back

15

July 27, 2019

Susan, Robbie, Kitty, and the Buckingham-Nicks' were in Lindsey's kitchen as thunder and lightning were pounding against the window. 

"Well we obviously can't camp like this," Robbie states plopping down on the kitchen table. 

"Well no, but I wanna take a vacation." Susan whines.

"That's it...Vacation house." Stevie states.

"What?" Colton asks.

"I have a house. In Santa Monica, it's empty...like literally, I think only my assistant is there right now. Seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, two wings. A media room, a recording studio, a pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna...I know that it's raining so we can't really do anything in my garden we can't swim but we have a sauna and a media room, and if the rain lightens any, I'm only fifteen minutes from the Santa Monica Pier, and if the rain stops the beach...what do you say...wanna see how the other half live?" Stevie asks.

"As long as we can go to that Palisades Cafe Place where the hostess was hitting on me," Lindsey smirks.

"Well, I don't think she's there anymore...I hope she's not there anymore." Stevie rolls her eyes.

"What do you say?" Stevie asks.

"Why not, let's go." Robbie rubs his hands together and jumps off the table. 

"Just a second though." Stevie pulls out her cell phone and dials Karen and after she requests lots of booze and food they hit the road. 

***

Lindsey leads the way, and when they pull up to the gate, she punches in her gate code as the long driveway comes to an end and they step out with their umbrellas they all meet in the driveway, and every single person, except for Lindsey, gawks with an open mouth.

"You live here alone?" Susan questions.

"Well, Karen stays here but yeah. And I don't plan on staying here alone much longer. I"m keeping the house, but I'm seriously thinking about moving to Agoura Hills Again and keeping this as a vacation house." Stevie states as a crack of thunder rings through the sky and they screech and run into the house.

"Well no wonder you left Agoura Hills, I'd like to live here too." Susan states.

"Well here's our entryway. I have one rule...no shoes in my house, but that's in Agoura HIlls too. Up this staircase is the first wing of the house and I say wing lightly if you were to look at this house from the roof it's like a rectangle in the front but it has like legs in the back of the house. Come on." She leads them up the stairs. 

She leads them down the hall to two double doors. "This is me and Lindsey, you guys can come on in here." 

When she opens the door the first thing Susan does is plop down on the bed.

"Are every mattress in this house like this one?" Susan asks.

"Mhm, same size bed same mattress type in every room." Stevie nods.

"Oh, we're going to sleep good tonight." She smiles. 

"Mom this balcony is everything." Livinia pushes the white double french doors open.

"Oh yeah, I usually sleep with them open." She nods. 

"No Liv, check out this closet." Kitty points.

"That's like a freaking shopping mall, can we raid it?" Livinia asks.

"I don't care, you're both about my size." Stevie laughs. 

"Alright let's finish the tour first." Lindsey directs.

"Right so, Karen is going to her Condo while we're here. We'll keep her room closed but I was thinking the kids could go stay in Karen's section of the house and we could stay over here. Robbie, Susan you'll be right in here. And that's your bathroom.

Once they've gone to the bedrooms, Stevie shows them the rest of the house and as they're ending in the kitchen Karen walks in with a box of booze.

"Lindsey just the guy I was looking for, go get the groceries," Karen demands dropping the heavy-looking box on the island. 

"C'mon Colt let's go." Lindsey sighs going out into the garage door. 

"Karen this is Susan and Robbie, Lindsey's sister and brother-in-law. His niece Kitty and you know my kids." Stevie explains.

"Nice to meet you, I remember seeing you with Stevie at the bar." 

"Yeah, but someone's gotta stay here and watch this place." Karen shrugs.

"It's so lovely." Susan smiles.

"All Stevie, I just wrote the check." Karen shrugs.

"So do you have like servants here?" Kitty questions.

"You're looking at them. I do everything. I cook my own food, I do my own dishes. I do my own laundry, I clean my own house. I do have a landscaping guy and a gardener guy though. Karen cleans the pool. Just like in Agoura Hills." Stevie shrugs.

"It's weird because you're like this big star, I mean you have Golden records on your walls but your such a mom it's weird." Livinia plops down on the island barstool.

"Well, I am a mom." Stevie kisses her head.

"I know but it's like...it's just weird. Dad never played your music for us so we don't know you as like a musician we know you as our mom but you literally live in a musician's house." 

"Come on." Stevie motions with her head.

"Where are we going?" Livinia questions.

"To the entryway." Stevie points and they all funnel out into the entryway. Stevie sits at the piano and she starts singing. 

She plays a haunting version of Rhiannon and as her hands are plucking at the keys, Livinia looks over her shoulder and just watches. Halfway through she just sinks down onto the bench next to her mother and she just soaks it all in. The truth was, Livinia was not a musician in the slightest but she was a good singer and part of her wanted to embark on the career path but another part of her didn't and she didn't know how to feel but watching her mother play gave her a drive. Her father played the guitar, her mother played the piano and she wanted to start playing something. When Lindsey and Colton join the small group in the entryway Colton's just as mesmerized as his sister. When Stevie stops loud cheers erupt in the room and she just looks up and laughs.

"I honestly forgot you all were there." 

"Daddy how come you never played her songs." Livinia questions.

"She's not my mommy anymore." Lindsey sighs.

"What?" Livinia asks.

"When she left. You were way too young to see the note she sent but Colton watched me burn it he asked what I was doing and I told him, and I said mom wasn't coming back and he looked at me with his big blue eyes and he said she's not my mommy anymore I hate her. I knew then that I couldn't. I couldn't' talk about her, I couldn't play her music. I have it all. Even her newest album all upstairs in my bedroom. But I just couldn't get myself to." Lindsey shakes his head. 

Stevie just stood up and made her way upstairs where she went to her bedroom and she sunk into her bed. The words she's not my mommy anymore, I hate her, playing over and over in her head.