Alright kids, for this one we're going to rewind and take it all the way back to 1976....for some parts.
April 1976
"Lindsey," she spat, "that isn't how I want it to sound!"
"You know what Stevie, I'm getting to the point where I don't really give a fuck how you want it to sound!" Lindsey huffed as he sat back down to retune his guitar.
Stevie ran her hands through her long blonde locks. God, she hated it when he called her Stevie. He only did that when he was seething mad at her.
She walked outside to take a smoke break and Christine followed her, "hard working with your ex, isn't it?"
"The wounds are still raw. I still fucking love him but he drives me fucking insane. It reminds me of why we broke up in the first place."
"It"ll get easier. I mean, look at John and me, we're doing okay," Christine said with a shrug. She looked at Stevie again, "okay that might not be the best comparison."
"I don't know if I can keep doing this," Stevie admitted; more to herself than to Christine.
Christine put her cigarette out and looked Stevie straight in the eye, "you think this is your big break?" Stevie nodded. "Is this what you've been wanting to do your whole life?" She nodded again. "Then don't let your asshole of an ex boyfriend stand in your way." Christine said no more as she turned on her heels and headed back inside.
Stevie stood there for a moment, letting the words sink in. She went inside and grabbed her journal from her bag and went into a quiet room where she could write. If she could just get her emotions on the pages, maybe she could deal with them and maybe, maybe she could deal with him.
It didn't take her long to write the song. She had said what she thought she needed to say. She confidently walked back into the recording studio and handed the paper to Richard.
Richard looked it over and Stevie tapped her foot impatiently, "Steves, this is amazing. I want to record it right now."
Ken gathered the band and had them set up, while Stevie practiced how she wanted the song to go.
When the music began, something cathartic happened within her.
"Now here you go again you say you want you freedom..."
September 1999
It had been weeks now and September was nearly coming to a close. Stevie sat on her bed, writing in her journal, while Lizzie laid quietly next to her.
She had been waiting, day after day, for Lindsey to pack up his things and go. That was what he wanted. She couldn't understand why he was still there.
Oh, and it wasn't that he was still there that confused her. It was the fact that he had completely changed from the man she knew in the 60s and 70s who wouldn't even put his dirty dishes in the sink.
He did the laundry. He did the dishes. He even cleaned up Max's toys and ran the vacuum.
She didn't know what was happening. Was he feeling guilty about leaving so he was being extra nice?
Stevie had no idea. All she really knew was when he looked at her these days, he looked like he wanted to ravish her and that was a whole other issue in and of itself.
