Sweet Girl (Love Is..., Part 2)

I Did Hear Every Answer, Every Question

Santa Monica, California
Thursday, April 19, 2018
(11:00 am)
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"I'm not arguing that with you, Kristen! I'm just saying she's my daughter, goddamn it, and she will only turn fourteen once, and I'm tired of this cat-and-mouse shit you're trying to pull!"

Lindsey was trying hard not to shout loud enough to wake Stevie, but it was proving to be quite the challenge. Tomorrow was Stella's birthday, and Kristen was going to have a few people over for cake, and the next morning Stella and her friends were going to celebrate with an afternoon at an escape room. Lindsey had called to ask what time he should come over to sing over cake to  Stella, but all Kristen had heard in his question was the word "we" and determined he intended to bring Stevie. She'd rescinded the invitation immediately.

"Look, I welcomed that ridiculous woman into my home for twenty years," Kristen said over the phone. "I put all three of my babies in her arms because I felt sorry for her having none of her own. I fed her Thanksgiving dinner once, I listened to her bullshit speeches in the audience of your shows, and how am I repaid? She steals my husband." Her heard her snort derisively. "I should Google whether or not there is a support group for women whose husbands have been stolen by Stevie Nicks! Let's see...Mrs. Mick Fleetwood the first, Mrs. Derek Taylor, Mrs. Rupert Hine...her best friend whose husband she stole is dead or else she could be the group leader! Has anyone checked in with Julie McVie lately to see if she's ever been included in our little group?"

Lindsey was fuming. He was happy suddenly that this was only a phone call. If he'd been in her presence, he hated to admit, he wasn't sure he could resist the urge to strike her. He sounded like he was trying hard to stay calm as he said, "I am singing happy birthday to my daughter, Kristen, and my fiancé will be at my side when I do."

"Good luck trying to cope with the legal fees after you cross that boundary I've set, Lindsey. Have a great day. Tell the old witch I said hi." And she hung up the phone.

Lindsey was standing on the terrace off the living room, trying to make heads or tails of the conversation. He'd been hiding his fights with Kristen from Stevie for so long it had become second nature to him, but things were different now. They were engaged. She hadn't asked any questions so far but she would eventually want to plan the wedding. He knew he had to confess.

"Sweetheart, please tell me there's still coffee."

Stevie's voice came from the bathroom, and he let the dog back inside and closed the terrace door. Stevie had been asleep when he'd called Kristen, retreating back to her Nightbird ways from years of staying up all night and sleeping late into the day when she slept alone. He'd kissed her cheek in the darkened bedroom when he'd crept out of bed that morning, and whispered into her ear even though she couldn't hear him, "You are everything to me, sweet girl. I'm so happy I get to wake up next to you for the rest of my life."

"There's plenty," he said, entering the kitchen where she stood in her old black silk robe, hair tangled, her almost-seventy-year-old face free of makeup and looking so incredible he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her. "I took Lily out. You were sleeping like a log and I couldn't wake up because you looked too cute."

"You're the only one I let call me cute, Linds," she said, and she winked at him while pouring coffee into a mug that read The heart of rock and roll is still beating. "What's your plan today?" She lifted the coffee mug to her lips and sipped the hot liquid cautiously.

"I have to get out to the mall to pick up some things for Stella, and then John wants to meet me in Hollywood to help him go bass shopping."

"Bass shopping?" Stevie laughed. "What the hell does John McVie need to go bass shopping for? He owns about a hundred of them, and he really only uses the one."