Decades

Observed

Carol Ann heard Lindsey when he arrived home and went into the living room. When she entered, he told her he needed time alone. When she didn't leave, he raised his voice and, with a bitterness she didn't expect, snapped, "Get out. Get the fuck out!"

She reluctantly did as she was told. She knew whatever this was, it was Stevie-related, and this made her blood boil with anger. Stevie had left several messages on their answering machine over the last few days, and Carol Ann suspected they were about more than work, just by the tone of her voice and the way Lindsey had behaved lately.

Through the answering machine, Stevie sounded out of it, more drugged than usual, and way too needy, her tone too intimate for a message left for a coworker on his home answering machine. Carol Ann heard her voice and knew there was something in the way Stevie had sounded that Lindsey could not have resisted.

As his live-in girlfriend, Carol Ann wanted to protect their relationship and her life. Obviously, exposing him to his personal kryptonite would have been an idiotic move for her. Stevie's low, lost, lonely voice calling for him would not have been a siren's call that he could have ignored. So, each time she heard his former girlfriend's easily identifiable voice calling to her lover on the machine, she erased it without even a twinge of guilt.

Who could blame her? Nobody needs their boyfriend's ex hanging around; they worked together, and that wasn't changing any time soon. But, outside of work, she needed to find someone else to call. That shouldn't be hard for her to do. Everybody seemed to want her these days. "She doesn't need to come around here and mess things up for me," Carol Ann said to herself.

When she heard the recording of Stevie asking why Lindsey wouldn't let her love him, she felt triumphant. Lindsey must have shot her down. She smugly couldn't wait to rub it in. Lindsey was all hers.

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When Lindsey returned to work, Stevie wasn't around. She'd organized her recording time when he wouldn't be there. Everyone working on the album who'd been around for their previous outburst thought this was a solid idea.

Lindsey was relieved not to have to face her. So, it seemed like the right compromise. They'd only work together when they absolutely had to. Neither of them wanted to see each other any time soon. They both felt painfully raw, sad, and angry.

When Lindsey played back the work she'd been doing, he felt a sense of profound sadness. Hearing her voice would always haunt him. Silver Springs had been a very real premonition. He'd never get away from the feeling of loss he had when he heard her voice. God, how he hated that he loved her.

They both felt the other's absence acutely, but their pride and survival instincts didn't allow them to take even one step toward each other. It simply hurt too much.

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Lindsey and Stevie spent the next season of their lives trying to get over each other. It never happened, but not for lack of trying. They threw themselves into drugs, alcohol, their work, and their current partners. They avoided looking at each other, only spoke when necessary, and pretended the other didn't exist. Never did they attempt to communicate about what happened to tear them apart, leaving both mourning and in the dark.

It was more difficult to avoid each other once rehearsals for the tour began. The two were exceedingly polite as if they were strangers who'd become coworkers rather than angry ex-lovers. They'd sing their songs that addressed each other without letting any feeling enter into them. They were way too careful to let that happen. The performances were technically well executed, but they constantly fell flat.

Lindsey and Stevie got their information about each other indirectly through the others in the studio. When Lindsey's name was mentioned, Stevie perked up and tried to glean as much information as she could about him, often asking questions.

When the others were discussing Stevie, Lindsey made sure he was close enough to hear what was being said about her. He'd often make rude comments about her just to keep the conversation going, and so he'd have the appearance that he didn't care. Obviously, it made quite the opposite impression to those who had been around for a while. He wasn't fooling anybody.

Nobody wanted to see Fleetwood Mac minus the fireworks. Mick, more than anyone, realized this and felt like he needed to loosen things up a bit between the two of them. This robotic behavior wouldn't translate to a good show.

It may be manipulative, but it's for the good of the band, and they all knew Fleetwood Mac came first. So, Mick had some ideas he was about to implement to get the sparks flying between them again.