say hello wave goodbye

23: the impossible is possible tonight (1997)

August 1997

"Son, how about you come give me a hand with the grill?"

Lindsey turns his head as Jess claps him on the shoulder, his palms suddenly starting to sweat. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

He knew this moment was coming ever since he arrived in Phoenix yesterday, pulling into the Nicks' driveway and finding Stevie there waiting for him on the front porch. She had flown out to visit her mom and dad a couple of days prior, taking advantage of their short downtime in between work on the album and the beginning of rehearsals, and he had stayed behind to tie up the last loose ends in the studio before driving out to join her at the insistence of her parents.

It was the third time in the last twenty years that he had made that drive on his own, and the first time that he wasn't scared of what was to come and unsure of what state he'd find her in. This time she wasn't hiding behind her mother, anxiously rubbing her still flat stomach, or locked away in her bedroom and in her own mind. Today she was smiling as brightly as the August sun, holding two wiggling dogs in her arms.

"They wanted to come out here with me, but the pavement's too hot on their little paws," she explained, tilting her head up to kiss him and pulling away when his mouth lingered for too long on hers. "Linds! My parents are watching."

She might have been acting demure right then, but who had been whispering filthy things into his ear over the phone the night before? For all she teased him about being a dirty old man, she was the one who seemed to be suffering the most after two days spent apart, if the way her the tip of her tongue kept darting out when they made eye contact was any indication.

But now she was inside, chatting with her mother in the kitchen as she fed the dogs, and he was sitting on the patio swing and picking at the label on his beer bottle, trying not to look too much like a kid waiting outside the principal's office.

Jess closes the hood of the grill and sits down beside him, Lindsey bracing himself for what's to come. If you hurt her...

"You know, Barb and I, we weren't sure what to think when Teedee told us about this whole reunion thing," he says. "And not just because we worried about her spending so much time with you again, although that was part of it. She was so excited and we were afraid of something going wrong, that she would be crushed- we didn't want her to end up back in trouble like she was before, not after how far she'd come. "

Lindsey nods. He can't blame her folks for being skeptical, given their history. But even so, they'd always been nicer to him than he probably deserved at times.

"Of course, you know her. She does what she wants to, so we just told her to be careful and hoped for the best. But now, seeing her these last few days...we can't remember the last time we've seen her so happy. Not since she was much, much younger. And we know you have a lot to do with that."

"I dunno," he says modestly, even if there's a hint of pride in his voice. "Like you said, she's come a long way, and she worked hard to get there. I can't really take credit."

"She has, and we're proud of her. But if it wasn't for you...anyhow. We just feel like we've got our girl back."

"I...yeah," he says, thinking back to the two of them sitting hand in hand on the beach and stargazing in the same place they used to go 25 years ago, now a lot older and a little bit wiser after everything life threw at them in the interim. "I know what you mean."

"We're glad we don't have to worry about her being out on the road, because we know you'll be looking after her."

"Yes, absolutely," he promises, looking the older man in the eye. "You have my word, I'll take care of her. And not just while we're touring. I'm serious about making this last this time. I...I want to give her everything she deserves."