Decades

These People Know Nothing

Stevie gritted her teeth when she heard bits and pieces of the things Lindsey said about her in interviews. She realized there would never be a day that he was interviewed when there weren't questions about her. Those soundbites and quotes always got the most mileage. But, God, why did he feel like it was necessary to hurt her?

She'd written him that note after his heart attack as a type of peace offering. She wanted him to know she was thinking of him. Of course, Lindsey found a way to criticize it. Karen passed along an email to her thanking her for her note. She read it, and though he said all the right things, the note sounded somehow snippy.

"Thank you for your heartfelt get-well note. I'm improving daily. Your concern means so much. L" was all it said.

Stevie was so annoyed with him. She had reached out to let him know she was thinking of him, but of course, it wasn't enough. She huffed about the obnoxious email. And Karen glanced at it again and said she didn't think it was obnoxious at all. "Well, you don't know him the way I do. He's being snarky," Stevie snapped.

And he was.

"Hmmm," Stevie thought out loud as she sat in front of Karen's laptop. She considered what she wanted to say and typed, "Don't be an ass, Lindsey." and then deleted it. She decided to keep it aloof. He wasn't well, and she was concerned. But she was also annoyed with him. She knew he hadn't heard the genuine concern in her note. She didn't remember exactly what she'd written, but she knew what she'd meant. And dammit, he should have to.

"Glad you're improving, take care! S," she typed.

"Send him this, Karen," she instructed, pushing back the desk chair confidently as if she'd just given her ex-lover a piece of her mind.

Karen saw what she'd written and knew that it was her boss's weak attempt at a coded response to Lindsey's perceived snark. She sent it along to Lindsey with a roll of her eyes: children, the both of them.

—---------

Kristen asked Lindsey about the letter from Stevie. She tried not to. She didn't want to. But, she felt compelled to know. Any time Stevie Nicks opened her mouth, her life could be deeply affected, so she almost felt like she had a right to know what the old Welsh witch was up to now.

She considered taking it out of his hand and reading it, but felt like he'd wake up if she tried to do that, and that would be uncomfortable for both of them.

When he came around after his nap, he looked around, his eyes not completely focused. He wasn't sure where he was or who he was with for the first few seconds. He coughed, and when he did, the pain in his chest was unbearable, bringing him rocketing back to reality. Kristen hurried and handed him the heart-shaped pillow he'd been given for times like these, and he clutched it to himself, grimacing in pain.

She'd recently had his water bottle refilled and held the straw to his mouth once the coughing stopped. He'd never looked this old to her before, and she hated seeing him this way. Lindsey settled back in his bed, still clutching the heart-shaped pillow. He'd dropped the note from Stevie when the coughing began, so Kristen leaned down and picked it up, handing it back to him.

"What did Stevie have to say?" she asked. Kristen did her best to keep any negativity out of her tone, though it was there. She resented Stevie. She'd fucked around with her husband, which was something any woman would resent. But, even if she hadn't continued her relationship throughout the years with Lindsey, Kristen was fairly certain that the impression she'd made on her husband would still eclipse her. And that was a thought that often made her bitter.

Stevie had been able to duck in and out of Lindsey's life at will, Kristen had often thought. Not feeling sorry for her and the tragedy of it all as most distant observers did. Of course, they pined for each other. They could easily romanticize their relationship. They'd been young and beautiful and creative when fame and strong undercurrents of passion and life had unfairly ripped them apart again and again. It had all the makings of an epic love story.