"Madame," he greeted her respectfully, nodding for her to enter the black limousine, the back passenger door of which he held open for her.
"Thank you- ah um, 'merci.'" She slid in gratefully, more than exhausted from her long day of travel. Trying to muddle through signs "en Français" as she lugged her own ridiculously heavy luggage across De Gaulle to the prearranged vehicles sector had not helped any. Didn't they have people for this kind of thing? It wasn't like she was hard for the cash, maybe she should start thinking about it. She heard the soft thunk of the trunk pushed closed, signifying her driver had finished loading her luggage. She saw his shadow pass in front of the tinted window as he retook his seat and slowly pulled out onto the main lanes. The beams of artificial yellow light sped by as Stevie leaned back against the leather cushioning. They finally exited the tunnel, and Stevie caught a glimpse of a lovely sunset, pastels soft and subtle. Nowhere has sunsets like Phoenix though. No matter the many different cities in which she had watched the sun go down, none would ever hold a candle to what she considered to be her true home. She leaned her forehead against the window longingly, finally alone with the partition firmly closed. It had been so long since she had been home to see her parents, the guilt was practically eating at the edges of her heart. The thought of feeling Barbara's delicate arms clasped firmly around her, the scent of her delicate floral perfume. Daddy always seating her on his lap, even though she had grown far too old for such things long ago, the smell of that same old cologne she could never name other than its significance as warmth, safety, and comfort within her own mind. As much she had been busy, and she had been very busy, she knew it was more than that. They knew her better than anyone, really knew her. And part of her couldn't bear to face them, to see for herself the worry and even shame she had caused them reflected in their eyes. And now with Robin getting worse, it was possible that she would simply breakdown if she so much as heard their voices. Her best friend was dying, slipping away day by day, and she was stuck here, in Europe. They might as well be on different planets.
She rubbed furiously at her cheeks, finally noticing the tears beginning to coat them.
Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. She had been instructed to finish her solo engagements as quickly as possible, as the band could go no further in the album without her presence. So they had wrapped the tour on the 13th and here she was, not even a week later, stuck inside some limo which she was beginning to hate on her way to what would certainly be an awkward tension-filled reunion. The Tusk tour, spanning more than a year in length, had really put everyone at their wits end. While, admittedly the time had gone by rather quickly, filled with releasing and touring for her first solo venture, it certainly felt like more than a year since they had been together and even that was nowhere near long enough. In all honesty, it would be nice to catch up with Chris and see how John was doing. Even Mick she wasn't necessarily dreading to see, though the consequences of her now clearly deranged decision to get romantically involved with the man still hung over their interactions. No, it was just the one in particular that was twisting her stomach with anxiety. Wasn't it always? She had certainly felt at least a little satisfaction to hear of his break-up with Carol Ann, and it wasn't entirely for selfish reasons either. The girl was crazy, or least crazy irritating, and did more cocaine than even she herself could claim. Well, at least before Robin's diagnosis. Adding that onto the already existing tensions between her and the rest of the band over her budding solo career as well as stresses concerning said solo career that affected any artist while under grueling tour schedules...They liked Fleetwood Mac, their various awards and pink star on Hollywood boulevard could attest to that. No, now it was about whether they'd like her, just herself, her vision. Of course she couldn't have done it without Waddy or Sharon or Lori. And Jimmy. God, even more stress. Needless to say, she had been having a rough go of things, and the coke kept her going.
