She set the phone down onto the receiver with a soft ting, stirring the silver teaspoon methodically as she resisted the urge to rub her still tired eyes.
She hadn't expected nor desired to be awake before noon today, but her circadian rhythm had other ideas. Taking her unexpected wakefulness in stride, she'd taken an extensive shower, washing away the remaining grime from her travels. However, she'd run into a bit of an issue when realizing most of her wardrobe was still packed away in the foyer. But when she'd attempted to leave her room to retrieve said items, her door refused to budge. She'd pushed and shoved against the old wood fiercely until it finally gave, revealing the rest of her luggage, neatly stacked just beyond her door. Stevie knew she should feel grateful that he'd helped her, but she also couldn't stifle the thought that Lindsey had meant to trap her in there as well.
Looking out beyond the ice crystals clustered around the window panes, she enjoyed the view of the snow-covered garden. The sunlight glinted harshly off the small powdered clumps, though its effects were softened through distortion of the leaded glass.
The violent dissonance of pounded piano keys interrupted the airy silence of the sitting room. Apparently Lindsey's muse isn't being very kind to him today—not even the extensive hall between them could conceal his frustration. She hadn't seen him at all this morning, coming to the assumption he was holed up in the studio from the noise drifting through the house. Expecting to be put to work immediately upon discovery, Stevie appreciated the pleasant surprise. Though perhaps not too surprising, she knew how Lindsey got when inspiration struck. Another hateful ballad about her, no doubt. Of course, she couldn't deny the smug satisfaction that had filled her when almost all of Lindsey's bizarre experimental songs from their last album had still centered on her. Admittedly, there was always a bit of Lindsey in everything she wrote, though at the time she had been fresh from the dissolution of her unfortunate romance with Mick.
Another harsh chord rung out as she took a sip of tea. At least his current troubles would allow some time for her demo tapes to arrive. She had been so exhausted and rushed in preparing to come here that she'd completely forgotten to retrieve those tapes from the studio. Some songs she had discarded from Bella Donna, having hit an artistic brick wall with them. Others, one in particular, she had saved for Fleetwood Mac. No one else had been particularly keen on it, but she knew Lindsey would appreciate her words, the sentiment behind them was clear enough.
While being without Lindsey in the studio for Bella Donna had been liberating, she began to miss his presence rather quickly, though she'd never admit it. Certainly, it was nice to not be bossed around or told how her own songs should sound, but Lindsey always had a way of somehow translating the ideas in her head into musical arrangements. No one else understood her or her musical vision quite like that. The issue was never that he didn't understand how she wanted things to sound, but rather that he simply didn't agree. Even so, she was secretly excited to see what he would do with her newest song.
And, with her telephone call taken care of, her demos would be here in a matter of days. Her excitement for the tapes was unfortunately tempered by thoughts of the person that would be accompanying them. Usually, it was the more people the better when recording an album with Fleetwood Mac, as their added presence would serve as a buffer for the constant tension existing between the band members at any given time. However, she knew Jimmy's presence would serve the exact opposite purpose and couldn't help the anxiety clenching in her chest at the very thought of his arrival. Lindsey's aggression she could handle, but his outright temper she would prefer to avoid at all costs, especially when they were forced into such close quarters. A shameful part of her mind held some anticipation for the passion that would surely accompany such an outburst from Lindsey—anything to melt his recent glacial exterior. Still, she couldn't help but worry at the prospect of the two of them in a room together, no matter its size.
