Buckingham Nicks A/U Series Part 3: Storms

Every Hour Of Fear I Spend

Beverly Hills, California
Friday, October 12, 1979
(2:00 pm)
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Only Christine McVie, Stevie thought, could build an English cottage in the middle of Beverly Hills.

Stevie sat on the deck outside the kitchen, overlooking the English rose garden Christine had planted in the middle of Southern California, drinking her gin and tonic and waiting for Christine to come back from putting Jodie and Olivia down for their afternoon naps. She couldn't believe the magnificence she was looking at - beautiful roses were filling her view at every turn, and for a moment, looking at the red ones and remembering every single red rose Lindsey had ever given her because they were her favorite - usually accompanied by her beloved Animal Crackers - she was able to breathe and to feel like maybe there was a solution.

Christine had been making her feel that way since December 31, 1974, and she loved her for that.

"Olivia is going to be my wild child," Christine announced as she emerged from the sliding glass door and sat down at the table on the deck with a loud exhale. "I can feel it in my bones."

"Listen, if we're wrong about our kids and it turns out to be Aaron and Olivia to get married...we'd better start saving the bail money now!" They both laughed at the accuracy of her statement. Olivia Rose McVie was only a month old, but had already given her mother many sleepless nights with her colic and her newborn acid reflux and her inability to latch on for breastfeeding.

She was also a beautiful baby girl who'd arrived three weeks early and come out looking exactly like Stevie, which had led to many jokes among members of The Mac.

"Has John been around to help out?" Stevie sipped her drink and looked from the roses to Christine.

"You know what's funny? He's been around more and been more of a help than when we were married!" She laughed to herself. "I'm starting to think maybe we were always just supposed to be friends, you know? Band mates, partners, best friends." She reclined in her chair with a sigh. "I don't know. But we're not sitting in my rose garden to talk about me, Stevie. You still haven't told me what is going on with you."

It was Christine who had gone back into the meeting and announced with a flourish that it was adjourned, putting her children in their carriages and telling John to help them down to the car and instructing Lindsey to do the same, telling him, "Your wife is off duty this afternoon. I'll return her when we're finished."

"Fuuuuuuuuuck..." Stevie sat back in her chair with a groan. "How much time do you have, Chris? I feel like I haven't slept through the night since the third grade, Aaron is teething and he's taken to flinging shit around - his toys, his bottles - and Lindsey is so fucking obsessed with the most mundane bullshit parts of the staging of the tour...honestly, I'd rather he read to me from the goddamn Yellow Pages so I'd hear something interesting."

Christine chuckled in that way she did when Stevie's outlandish metaphors took her by surprise. "No complaints about Julia, while you're at it?"

"That little girl..." Stevie got a far-away look in her eyes that she got whenever she spoke of her daughter. "Christine, she's a rock. She's a rainbow. She's a fucking miracle. Whatever life throws at us, whatever is going on around her, she smiles. She sings little songs to herself, she goes her own way, so to speak...I joked with Robin when she was born that she'd been replaced...that if anything should ever happen to her - to Robin, I mean - Julia is the one who'll step in. She'll save me."

"Why don't you start by telling me what you need saving from, honey." Christine took Stevie's hand and smiled at her. "Pretend we're in Sausalito with an eight-ball and Dunkin Donuts and Donna Summer's Spring Affair album playing and tell me what's going on."