When I See You Again

Part 18

Stevie wished for a drink. The start of the first Fleetwood Mac show of the tour was getting close and she was nervous. She knew that Christine had probably downed a whole bottle of wine in her dressing room by now and she was slightly jealous. She couldn't drink, she couldn't smoke, she couldn't take anything else and she didn't know, how to deal with her current anxiety. 

In her stage clothes, her makeup done and her hair styled, Stevie sat in her dressing room alone. She tried writing in her journal, but nothing really came to her. She thought of reading something from the selection of magazines and newspapers laying around, but that didn't interest her either. However, the knock on the door did.

"Come in." 

"Hey." Rick pushed the door open, always a smile on his face. "I hope, I'm not interrupting anything."

Stevie laughed, shaking her head. "What could you be interrupting? I'm all alone."

"How are you feeling?" He asked, approaching the couch, he took a seat beside her. 

"I'd be lying if I said, I wasn't nervous." Stevie breathed out heavily. "This time things are completely different. I don't know, what to occupy myself with. So, I'm just... sitting here. You?" 

"I'm excited." Rick shrugged, already in his suit. "This is not too much, is it?" He got back up on his feet and did a 360. 

"No, not at all." Stevie shook her head and smiled, looking him up and down. "You look very handsome."

"Thank you. And you are beautiful. I mean, you look beautiful." He corrected himself, making her blush slightly. 

"Yeah? You think so?" Stevie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I think, I look fa-"

"No, don't even say it." Rick didn't let her finish. "Stevie, you're not, come on. Have you looked in the mirror lately?" 

"I try not to." She replied, her eyes down as she spun around a ring around her finger. 

Standing up, Rick took her hands and made her get up too. Without saying anything, he walked her over to a floor length mirror, conveniently there in the room. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently turned her around, making her look at her own reflection. 

"You are beautiful." This time, he stood by what he said. He allowed his hands to travel lower and rest on her waist. "You're going through something absolutely incredible. You can't think that you're... I'm not even going to say it. Yes, you've gained weight, but that just means that your baby is growing, all cozy and warm in there." His palms now placed themselves on her bump. 

Unexpected tears sprung to her eyes and Stevie leaned back into Rick, sighing deeply. "I don't know if I can do this. I don't know, how to do this. How to not run across that stage, how to be careful, so I don't hurt myself. I-"

"Stevie..." Rick spun her around again, so they were face to face. He took her much smaller hands in his and gave a supportive squeeze. "Nobody expects you to run across that stage. We're just happy to have you with us."

"You always know just what to say." Stevie smiled tearfully, gladly stepping into his open arms. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Rick tightened his hold on her, then pulled back, still keeping her at arm's length. "I-"

"Five minutes!" The loud banging on the door interrupted Rick.

"I guess, we better go out there."

"Yeah." Stevie nodded.

"I'll see you in a minute." Rick reached for the door handle, but she stopped him.

"Actually... do you mind, walking with me?" Stevie asked, feeling shy again. "I'm just so used to someone holding my hand, while walking to the stage, I..." Realizing she was rambling, she trailed off. 

Without a word, Rick held out his hand for her to take.