Picking up the Pieces

35

July 13, 2015

School was out for the summer and the kids were home alone. William was playing in the pool with Stella. Leelee was upstairs in the room she's still sharing with Stella painting her finger nails. Before Lindsey and Stevie left they changed the room up placing bunk beds in there. They weren't too impressed with the arrangement because they didn't like sharing a room or bunk beds in general but something was telling all of them that they weren't going to be leaving that house anytime soon and they needed to get used to it. 

Brielle was off for once most of her week being sucked up by lifeguarding but she was home today because it was her day off and she was scrolling through Instagram. Brielle will never admit this but she follows a huge amount of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks fan accounts on Instagram and she pressed play on a video and watched it carefully. She watched it once, twice, and three times before she opened up the group chat. It was a new development between the siblings, Brielle being the only one to cook so instead of yelling 'Dinner' throughout the house she'd simply text the group chat and William had taken to joy riding trying to figure out where everything was and then he'd send a text and say, "I'm bringing home blank for dinner, what do you want' It was just more convenient. 

The backsliding door opened and William whined from his spot at the doorway.

"Why did you pull me from the pool?" 

"Wait until Lee gets down here." Brielle scolds standing up and walking over to him. 

When Leelee joins the other three down in the kitchen she looked at her older sister. 

"What?" 

Brielle just opens up the video on her phone. 

"We were going in to record a little EP about two summers ago now, and I said well since we're getting ready to go in and record a couple of songs at your house, I found this song on you guessed it...YOUTUBE...and I said why don't we re-record this song. It's been waiting for a hundred years to be recorded and he said okay. So we did. And when we recorded it,  Mr. Fleetwood said don't forget when we go on tour, this whole story is your fault you know that, you realize that. This whole long Story is your fault. Mick said, Stevie don't forget to tell the audience that this is what really attracted me to you guys the way that Lindsey plays and the way that you guys sing to the way he plays. Because it's very counterpoint and Mick heard that. And that is what I always thought when I first met Lindsey myself. That's what made us special. So we go on the road in the states and for three weeks I tell this story and one night Lindsey Buckingham  just out of the blue in front of 15,000 people says to me. But no, that is not what attracted to Mick Fleetwood to us. Or basically to me, meaning to him. And I'm like hmm, and my life is passing before me and I'm going I know what he's going to say. And he said what attracted Mick to us was the at that they needed a guitar player and I'm going to my self you're right they needed a smoking hot, fantastic  lead guitarist tada. And I said that's true so the whole story wraps around to this. And if Lindsey wants to Speak he will. I like to tell this story because I really do...he's backing away, he's backing away. I really want to say Thank you Lindsey, for telling Mick when he called and asked you to join Fleetwood Mac, thank you for saying whatever it is you said which...would you like to tell the audience what you said.'"

"Me, you what me to talk."

"I would like you to say something." 

"Say something." 

"Nice," 

"That's very difficult for me." Lindsey says and Stevie cackles, but he picks it up. "Right, Ahem, okay well let's see. Yes it's true it's absolutely true. Mick had heard a song of ours and their guitarist left and I got a phone call. I did not. I had only met Mick maybe once very briefly and he said Lindsey it's Mick Fleetwood. Hi Mick, Lindsey would you like to join Fleetwood Mac and of course what did I say. ..I said, if you're going to take me Mick you'v e gotta take my girlfriend too. And that Stevie, Baby...that's Love." 

"Can I just add, in Stuttgart to that little story since you do like throw that in. That for five years previous to that, I washed your jeans. Sewed moons and starts on them, fringed them Ironed your teeshirts." 

He cuts her off. "This is a new." 

"Made your house beautiful cooked dinner, cleaned the house, was a waitress and a cleaning lady and also loved you." 

"That's right." 

"So it wasn't just a one-sided deal." 

"Did I say it was." 

"No, but it kinda comes across like that. we're letting you into the seriousness of this whole thing. I don't think they wanna come in here." 

"All this time I've been saying that's love baby you've been going humph.." 

"Kinda." 

"I can't win. Jeez. I did, I love you with all my heart and you loved me to." 

"I did. And that's why we went together into Fleetwood Mac."

William was the one to break the silence afterwards. "Okay, they're fucking." 

"William.' Leelee scolds.

"Lee, you can't tell me that the reason we moved out here was because dad wanted a fresh start after the divorce. He came here because Brielle and Stevie were here." William explains.

"He told me he wanted to come here so you guys would have family." Brielle shrugs.

"But you don't know our dad like we do." Leelee hisses. The sisters still hadn't really warmed up to each other. 

"You're right." Brielle sighs and then she just turns away and goes upstairs locking herself in her bedroom. Because for the first time in about a decade she realized that they were right. She doesn't know her father, and she can't like she does because she doesn't and it hurts her a little bit.