You May Be The One

You Say It's Taken Years (Flashback Part 1)

Madison Square Garden
& The Pierre Hotel
New York City
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
********************

Lindsey was in his element. There was no question about it. In this moment, Madison Square Garden belonged to Lindsey Buckingham, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

They had developed their little play-fighting routine in the studio, which was really a rented house in the Hollywood hills, some time during the recording of the new album. Someone had told them it would be an amusing act on stage, and because they were trying to find their footing on tour without Christine, they'd try anything.

The play-fighting was to poke fun at their relationship drama for the audience, a put-up-your-dukes routine that ended with a hug and a slow-dance as "Tusk" played on a Lindsey let loose during the brass section. They'd been gradually increasing the amount of time they actually spent dancing in each other's arms as each show went on; Stevie had noticed. She wondered if others had. Tonight Lindsey was a ball of energy, and he was leaping all over the Madison Square Garden stage in jeans and a white button-down, a sweaty mess by the time the horns were blowing to the tune he'd written years before in his bedroom studio in angst, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a guitar in the other.

Stevie had felt his dampness as he'd taken her into his arms to dance. That and the way his heart was pounding like a sledgehammer. She wasn't exactly sure how many seconds it had been from the time he began to hold her until his hand started cradling the back of her head like one would with a baby, but it wasn't a lot, and before long his other hand was tangled up in her hair at her back, and he was breathing a mile a minute. He was grinning from ear to ear and she knew he was having the time of his life.

"We did it, angel," he whispered in her ear as he swayed her along with the music. "This is exactly how we dreamed it...you and me, baby...just like we said we'd do...I love you so much right now..."

Stevie was smiling. If she didn't, she thought, she would start to cry. Lindsey was right - they were slow-dancing on the stage at Madison Square Garden to a song he'd written, and they were having fun and making music and sharing it with an arena of fans and with each other. She never wanted this dance to end...it was as if no time had passed...they were in their bedroom at home on Orange Grove Avenue and he was swaying her along to the music without a care in the world, their bodies connected, their hearts connected...they were one soul, wrapped up in the moment and so much in love they couldn't even fathom it themselves, how two people could be so deeply in sync, have such perfect harmony in every way...

The song was going to end soon. Lindsey did as he had every night on stage and pulled away, flailing his arms and legs in a solo dance all gangly and silly and making her heart cry out with love and pride for him because this was his moment, this was who he was...and he still wanted to share it with her.

Lindsey was not the only person on this stage that was having the time of his life.

The song built to its crescendo at the end and Lindsey leapt through the air triumphantly as the audience was on its feet, cheering.

Stevie disappeared quickly behind Mick's drum kit to put on her "Stand Back" cape. With Christine gone, they had been trying to figure out how to replace some of her songs in the set, and Stevie had been performing "Stand Back", a solo song, since the first night of the tour. She wondered if Lindsey knew which of the men she referred to in the lyrics to her song he was, wondered if even now, thirty years later, he still cared.

There was something wild about Lindsey tonight. It wasn't just the "Tusk" dance; he was a man on a mission to have a good time and be present in the moment. She told him as much backstage after the show, after everyone had calmed down, drank water, been to the bathroom, splashed themselves in sinks to cool down, and were all making post-concert plans - restaurants, bars, hotel room mini bars and movies on demand. Lindsey was downing a can of Coke like he'd been on a hike through the desert, standing in the hallway outside her dressing room, talking to Brett Tuggle about "Peacekeeper".