The Dance We Shared

32

June 10, 2002

In preparation for their son's fourth birthday they were trying to figure out a mixer for their album, leaving the super hero party planning to Karen. They had mellowed over the Thrown Down lyric change incident and Lindsey made it up to her by mindblowing sex that night after countless kisses and little good deeds around the house-dishes, laundry, bathtime-but now they were dealing with another line drawing problem.

"Whoever mixes this record it will be a life changing experience for them. You know." Stevie states

"Oh i'll say." Lindsey nods. 

"Don't you think? I mean it's like they'll never be the same. So it's a very big deal I just wish we had more choices." Stevie sighs. 

"Well I guess. It almost seems like we have too many already in a way. I mean it's just if this is the process we're going to go through." Lindsey replies.

"Maybe we should have your guy mix like two of my songs." 

"Two now okay..." He rolls his eyes.

"Well, yeah I mean like seriously two songs...different ones. Two songs that are like really different. And if I like it then we can go with your guy." Stevie suggests.

"Just do that and nothing else?"

"Well yeah, nothing else. At the end of working on one song at the most two songs, I'm going to at least be able to go well you know what I can deal with this guy, he's fine." Stevie shrugs.

"You'll love him," Lindsey assures. 

***
The next day, while Lindsey dealt with the kids, Stevie went to get some things for the party, and then she was going to the mixer where Lindsey would join her. And when he got there she had already made herself comfortable on a chair and she was drinking what looked like coffee.

"Just so you know, when I came in not that long ago, an hour maybe...um he played me back the mix and it was terrific I made a few couple little suggestions, and now so it's time for you to just rip into it." She tells him.

"Nice breakdown Steph, there." He smiles addressing one of the suggestions she told Mark Needham the mixer to make.

"Very hooky." She points out.

"That's great, no that's perfect." Lindsey nods. 

***

June 19, 2002

The day after the party they were back in the Studio going back over what the mixer had done. Everleigh and Seth were playing on the floor and Lindsey was watching them over his shoulder when Stevie spoke up. He was watching them because Stevie was wearing his white button up for some reason and though she swam in it, he was always a sucker for her in his clothes, but he had to direct his attention to her when she spoke. 

"I don't think it's bad, at all. I don't think it's bad. I think there's a lot of parts about it that are really good it just doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. It doesn't. I love my songs. I love all the little words, and I do I admit it. And when my words coming back to me, don't make me feel like how I felt when I was sitting at the piano by myself singing those words to nobody then I don't, I don't care about the song anymore. I just think that maybe we need something to compare too so that we can understand." Stevie sighs.

"Let's go through the thing with Chris and see what happens." 

"Okay." She nods.

"There's no harm in doing that." 

***

Prior to their scheduled session time, Chris Lord-Alge the other mixer they were looking at, had sent over contracts to be signed, and as the clock was ticking Lindsey hadn't signed it. Stevie didn't care, but it was Karen that did. 

Karen and Lindsey don't get along in the slightest but Stevie didn't think sicking Karen on him would come back to her but it did. 

"This has been going on all week long." Karen sighs.

"What's been going on?" Lindsey asks.

"They just wanted the deal memo to be signed all last week, they started trying to do this all on Monday" Karen adds.

"It's all.She's telling the truth." Stevie jumps in.

"I understand but they had things that. They wanted things from me that I wasn't prepared to give them. What are the 20 tracks that are going to be on this. I'm not even sure if I'm going to use Chris. What are the ten tracks of yours we're going to be mixing. I'm not going to tell him that because I don't know."

"Nobody is saying it's anyones fault but it happened if we lost the day we lost the day." Stevie sighs.

"But Stevie's attorneys have not been involved with this until today Lindsey because it's the producers...the producer contract." Karen states.

"I can't give you that, All I know is that they've been asking for things from me that I was not prepared to give, nor should they have been asking for them it's not...it's not relevant to what we're doing at this time."

"Well, I mean on one hand." Karen starts raising her voice.

"I am not, this is not about the whole album yet this is about me giving them one of..." 

Stevie cuts him off. "Okay, well it does look like it is about me now because I lost tomorrow to Micks Modica, so it's totally about me now. I don't know what to do about this but maybe you should go and call Chris Lord-Alge and see if there's or has tomorrow already been booked." Stevie looks at Karen.

"Well, why don't you call Tony and have that conversation with him and you and Tony can figure out what to do to get tomorrow back. Okay. Do you know Tony's number...I'll dial it." Lindsey grabs the phone. 

"Hi it's Lindsey is Tony around...hello...okay, well the people over here are pointing fingers at us." He walks the phone over to Karen.

"OH, WE ARE NOT LINDSEY. WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT!" Stevie yells before storming out of the room.

"JESUS CHRIST." He follows after her, "I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAY IT'S NO ONE'S FAULT AND KAREN IS TELLING ME THAT YOUR LAWYERS ONLY GOT INVOLVED TODAY." 

"KAREN IS DROP DEAD HONEST," 

"AT THE IMPLICATION OF WHICH IS THAT MY PEOPLE FUCKED UP."

"AND KAREN IS DROP DEAD HONEST, DROP DEAD HONEST, AND YOU KNOW THAT." 

"REALLY." 

"KAREN IS DROP DEAD HONEST YOU KNOW THAT." 

"I'M TELLING YOU WHAT YOU'RE...YOU'RE...KAREN IS TELLING ME. IT'S MY GUYS FAULT THAT IS WHAT SHE'S SAYING" 

"OKAY, BUT WHEN YOU PICK IT UP WITH TONY THEN YOU DO THE SAME THING SHE JUST DID."

"WELL, I'M LETTING THE TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE POINTING FINGERS, TALK IT OUT FOR THEMSELVES. 

"LET THEM FIGHT IT OUT." 

"NO, BECAUSE IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU TAKE HER SIDE. I'M YOUR HUSBAND WE SHOULD HAVE THE SAME LAWYERS AND WE SHOULD BE ON EACH OTHER'S SIDE BUT YOU ALWAYS PICK KAREN." 

"SINCE WHEN, WHEN DO I PICK KAREN." 

"YOU JUST DID. AND WHAT ABOUT WHEN WE FOUGHT ABOUT YOU GOING ON TOUR WHEN YOU WERE PREGNANT. YOU DECIDED TO GO STAY WITH KAREN INSTEAD OF WORKING IT OUT WITH ME LIKE I DIDN'T HAVE A SAY IN MY OWN CHILD'S WELL BEING." 

"YOU'RE GOING BACK TO THAT. SETH IS FINE, I'M FINE." 

"I'M JUST TIRED OF PLAYING SECOND FIDDLE TO KAREN." 

"YOU DON'T, LINDSEY!" 

"YES, YES I DO. WHEN YOU'RE ON TOUR AND I WANT TO GO SEE YOU, I HAVE TO CLEAR IT WITH KAREN. LIKE I'M SOME CRAZED FAN INSTEAD OF YOUR HUSBAND AND I'M DONE, I'M JUST DONE." Lindsey storms out.

"Where are you going?" Stevie asks.

"He doesn't answer he just grabs his car keys and sunglasses and he slams the door.