Bluebird

9

December 19, 2010

When Lindsey made his way downstairs in the morning, he was the first one up. He spent most of his night thinking about the past so he just gave up and when he got downstairs, he peered out the back and saw that Annabel had fallen asleep on the bench. Kristen was hot on his tail and when she saw the scene in front of her she snorted. 

"It's almost like she's a female version of you." Annabel was sleeping curled up around Lindsey's guitar, almost as if she was cuddling with it. There was also a notepad in front of her on the table. 

"Yeah about that..." He sighs.

"What?" She asks concern filling her voice. She watched as Lindsey grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and headed outside to throw it over her. But he snuck a peak at the notebook and saw the words. 

And if the whole wide world stops singing, and all the stars go dark, I'll keep a light on in my soul and a keep a bluebird in my heart. 

When he got back in the room he shut the back door and looked at her. "I think she is a miniature female version of me." 

"What do you mean?" Kristen asks.

"Kit, I have four children." 

"Um, did we have a baby I don't know about?"

"No...um in 1986. Well...Stevie's rock a little tour." 

Kristen cuts him off. "Stevie Nicks." 

"Well who else would I be talking about?" 

"Just wanted to clarify." 

"Stevie's Rock a Little tour was slated to start, I think it was like April 11th or 12th or something like that. She um called me freaking out. She had just broken up with Joe Walsh and he was opening for her. He certainly wasn't going to pull out, and she felt like she couldn't fire him, and she had aborted his child a few months prior and shit was hitting the fan so she called me and she was freaked out and crying because that's what she did. It was a sick twisted game we used to play with each other. Call the other person when life was going bad. We ended up sleeping together. She called me on May 15th, the first leg had just ended and she had taken a pregnancy test, because she had been feeling really sick and gaining a little weight. It was positive. I had been the only one she slept with so there was no denying that it was my baby. I went with her to get the abortion. But she was laid on the table and I was holding her hand. They were about to put the gas mask over her face and she stopped him and she sat up and she just started to sob. She couldn't do it. 

I went on the tour with her, watching her, taking care of her, especially because she had to go overseas a littler further along in her pregnancy than her doctor wanted her too. Stevie gave birth on November 15th. I got to be in the room, I cut the umbilical cord. We were so happy. So happy. Stevie more so than me because she had gotten a little baby girl and she was so excited. She named her Annabel Alice." 

"And you think..." 

"I do, we background checked her Kit. Her name is Annabel Alice and she was born on November 15th 1986. But here's where the story shifts. She was born a month early. She was four pounds but she was super high functioning. She had no health problems but she was angry and agitated. Fidgety almost and it worried the doctor. Thinking about it now, we should've sued them, because they took her blood without our permission and they found traces of cocaine in her system. Then they turned to us. They tested Stevie's blood and found dangerous amounts of cocaine in her system. Like she was on the verge of overdosing, but she hadn't taken anything since she had gone into labor and she was in labor for 36 hours so it doesn't make sense. But that's what they said. They looked at me and asked if I could pass a drug test. I thought I could. I really thought I could. I hadn't smoked pot in 48 hours so they gave me a piss test and we watched as the little test strip showed that it was positive for marijuana, so I know for a fact they didn't contaminate it. Stevie had started breastfeeding her as soon as we saw the positive and the doctor walked out and called a social worker. The woman literally, literally plucked Annabel off of Stevie's tit while she was eating. Annabel screamed, Stevie was leaking milk and it was a disaster and they took her from us. Literally took her from us. The doctor promised us once we got clean and the baby had gotten clean that we could reunify with her. And we did. I didn't smoke any weed and as soon as Stevie was discharged she went to Betty Ford. When we tried to reunify with her, the social worker said that there was no room in the California system so they had to send her out of state and since the case was transferred she didn't have more information to give us." 

"Oh Lindsey..." Kristen sighs looking at Annabel.

"And there's just a feeling Kristen. A feeling I have." He bit his lip.

"Are you going to tell Stevie?"

"I don't know...I don't even know if she's mine, I'm scared to ask her." 

"Well, I'm going to go to the spa. See you." She nods. 

He rolls his eyes and goes to the kitchen to work on the coffee. He makes himself a cup and he makes her a cup and then he sits on one of the patio chairs across from her and stairs at her intently. She startles and shivers wrapping the blanket tighter around her and sitting up. Her back cracking. 

"Morning sleepy head. I've done that a time or two myself." he smirks pushing her cup towards her. She cautiously sips the coffee and then she nods in approval.

"What time is it?" 

"Just after nine. Everyone else is still asleep. Kristen went to the spa. It's just you and me and I want to finish this." He points to the notebook.

"There was a bluebird taunting me last night and that's just what happened." 

"Sometimes that's the best inspiration. Let's finish it." He smirks grabbing at his guitar.