Bluebird

28

As soon as they had gotten off stage, Stevie followed Lindsey very closely into his dressing room. She immediately perched on the couch and Lindsey pursed his lips. He nodded and took off his stage clothes, stripping down to his boxer-briefs right in front of her. He hung up his stage clothes and changed into his loose, old, baggy, hole in the crotch jeans. Annabel had been telling him to get rid of them for months, but they were comfy and prime for traveling. He pulled on an orange henley and slid his feet into his brown flip-flops and then he sat on the coffee table across from her. She was impatiently bouncing her knee and chewing on her lip. 

"I've known about her for about three years." Lindsey states.

"What? Why didn't you say anything..." Stevie gasps.

"She didn't want me to...I had to practically force it out of her myself." Lindsey shrugs.

"What do you mean?" 

"William is dating her best friend. Kristen and I were going to announce our divorce to the kids over Christmas Break, so we took them to Hawaii...It was neutral territory and we got to have one more good memory as a family...anyway, William is a little bit more sensitive than most, so I knew that he would need a shoulder to lean on so I told him he could take his girlfriend with us. Samantha had only met us a couple of times and she was nervous about coming with us alone so we told her she could bring a friend and she brought Annabel. I background checked her. Her name was Annabel Alice Bekker, but god Steph...I looked at her and I saw you." 

"I didn't realize it until I found out, but seeing her now, you're right she does look like me." It causes a small sad smile to play at her lips. 

"It get's better...we went to Mick's for dinner as soon as we landed because it was late and we were all getting a little bit hangry." 

"Hangry?" 

"Angry because we were Hungry." Lindsey clarifies. "But, she couldn't afford anything at Mick's. She made like no money. Anyway, Mick said she could sing for her supper. So she did and when she got up there I swear to god Steph, I was looking at you. All she had was a guitar and her voice and she had that whole restaurant sucked in." 

"She is a really good performer." Stevie nods.

"Picked up a guitar when she was 3, started singing at 5, so she says...But as our vacation rolled on the more I noticed she was just like me. She was up all hours of the night playing my guitar, and writing songs. She takes her coffee the way I do. There was something that just pulled the two of us together. She was very awkward on the trip, not wanting to step on anyones toes, she was a guest, she didn't want to overstep, so she was awkward and closed off. But I could get her to smile and laugh. There was just something there. Stevie it was crazy." 

"But how did you find out?" 

"I found out because she had told Mick over dinner one night that she knew who her parents were and that they were famous. The next day we went shopping and I bought her a necklace because she couldn't afford it, but she kept looking at it and going back to it. All I had to do was ask her if I was her father when I handed her that gift. I shit you not, she said something like 'how'd you guess' and she showed me her birth certificate. She has a picture of it on her phone. At least she did, I don't know if she still us or not because it's not exactly safe, but she showed me the picture and it had our signatures on it. She had gotten her name changed when she was eighteen and her drivers license said Annabel Buckingham. She moved in with me about, I think a year and a half ago now...maybe two years...something like that." He nods. 

"But why didn't you call me?" Stevie asks.

"Because she didn't want me too. She's 26 years old, we can't force her to do something that she doesn't want to do...She was at the Wiltern in 2011 on your birthday."

"The extra piece of cake?" Stevie states remembering that he had asked for two pieces to go.

"Yeah, it was for her. She was the special guest that wanted to meet you in Cleveland when you and Rod were on tour. When your mom had that heart attack." Lindsey shrugs

"That was her!" Stevie gasps.

"Yeah it was. We couldn't go to Nashville because I was going back out on the road and we have two dogs. Will's watching them right now, but she feels so bad about it." 

"I knew I should've met with her. I had a feeling Lindsey, that I needed to . But I was conflicted because like my mom..." 

"I know, it's okay...she understood." 

"Lindsey I have to go see her I..." 

"She asked to go to a new hotel...I don't know where Ray put her up at." Lindsey shakes his head.

"Can you find out!" Stevie questions.

"Even if I were to call Ray right now, Annabel will be asleep. She's not like her mother in the sleep department...and if you wake her up she's going to probably eat you. I know, I've had to do it before and it wasn't pretty. Her eye like twitches and she growls." Lindsey tells her.

"I want my baby." She sniffles.

"I know you do, and you'll get her, but not tonight. We can try again tomorrow. Have her fly out with Fleetwood Mac and you can try and talk to her." Lindsey tells her.

"It makes sense now." Stevie chuckles lightly wiping her eyes.

"What?" 

"Why you started riding on the crew's plane...You're trying to protect her."

"She texted me on the first flight and she said that they were looking at her like she was a meal and it didn't sit right with me. With me there, they don't even glance at her." Lindsey shrugs.

Stevie sniffles again and then she looks at Lindsey. "We got our baby back." 

"Yeah Angel, yeah we did." He nods and she launches herself at him wrapping her arms around him. 

"But what about her...her....her..." 

"You can't say it can you? Her parents..." 

"Yeah those people." She huffs, her head still on his chest. 

"They're dead...they died when she was 15 and she moved in with Samantha's family." Lindsey tells her. 

"What?" She says sitting up abruptly.

"They died in a car accident. Annabel wasn't with them, thank god, or she'd be dead too...she found out she was adopted when she sold their house. 

"So she doesn't have a mom?" 

"Well I mean, she does have a mom...but No," He tries to comprehend that sentence. 

"No, I know I'm her mother...but she doesn't have a mom-mom." 

"No. She's on her own." 

"So I still have a chance?" Stevie questions.

"Well I mean, she's a huge fan of Stevie Nicks, so I think you still have a chance." He nods.

"She is?" 

"She has all of your records. When she found out you were her mom, she told me she about hit the roof...That song she sang when she auditioned for us..." 

"Yeah...I think it was called Vice." Stevie nods.

"It is...she wrote it about you. She wasn't trying to attack you in anyway, she was trying to connect with you, get to know you...She watched a lot of your interviews to try and gauge your personality." 

"I wanted her so badly Lindsey." 

"I know Angel, I know..." He nods laying his head against hers and rubbing her back, relishing in the moment.