High Priestess

5.7

September 15, 1980

She had tried to go to work but as soon as she stepped foot outside of her house the flashes would go nuts. They had a gate and all of the photographers were behind the gate but they were still there and it had been particularly bad that morning as she was about to head to work. They had in fact got the article retracted and Lindsey was able to get him fired by proving that it was a slander piece using evidence from the said article and some of his other articles which literally all dealt with Mick Fleetwood and then the asshole journalist released his own article bashing Lindsey claiming that the one time he was at a Fleetwood Party, Lindsey was a horrible person and that two pieces of trash; I.e, Stevie and Lindsey, were made for each other and then the press went nuts. 

She couldn't go anywhere without people bombarding her and asking about if she was having an affair and she and the girls even had to pull a restraining order because the paparazzi would bombard their small shop and it had only been two weeks. 

As soon as she stepped onto the front porch and heard the clicks and saw the flashing lights she covered her toddlers face-after almost two years Emlyn was still going to work with Stevie and she loved being there. Most of her day would be spent on the floor behind the counter with some bigger crystals-to avoid a joking hazard-and she'd play with them. Stevie always gave her giant chunks of Amethyst and that's what she'd "play with" the most. 

"It's a shame, Emmy." Stevie sighs looking at her daughter and starting to take off the little girl's fall jacket-a little khaki trench coat. "Your outfit is so cute today."

Once the baby is taken out of her outerwear Stevie looks her daughter up and down. She was wearing a blue and white striped shirt dress that tied into a bow at her waist and she had on a little yellow sweater and brown boots. She huffs and squats down.

"Emlyn, foot." Stevie taps on her little ankle. 

Emlyn knowing the drill puts her little hands on her mother's shoulders and places her foot on Stevie's knee. Stevie unzips the little brown boot and then she does the same thing on the other one. Stevie's standing up and taking Emlyn into her arms and as they head further into the Livingroom, Lindsey comes down the stairs and just looks at them.

"You're usually gone by now." He states. 

"Lindsey our gate is completely blocked. I wouldn't even be able to get my car out of the driveway. I'm about to call the girls and tell them I won't be there." Stevie sighs.

"So I'm stuck here too then." Lindsey states.

"Where were you going?" She inquires.

"I was going to go get a trim." He runs his fingers through his hair. 

"Well, I can give you a trim." Stevie smiles setting Emlyn down in front of her toybox in the livingroom. 

"You know how to cut hair?" Lindsey asks.

"I do. My mother taught me when I was little. Said that I had to learn how to cut hair to save money on a stylist." Stevie shrugs.

"Great, can we do it now, it's really long and it's bothering me," Lindsey explains.

"I liked it longer." Stevie sighs.

"Hmm?" Lindsey asks.

"I like your curly afro when we started seeing each other. It was sexy. But then you cut it while I was away." She tugs on a curl lightly.

"Yeah, but Steph it was so much work." He whines.

"Fine, I'll trim you...come...Emlyn." She waits for the baby to turn to her. "Mom and Daddy will be in the kitchen." 

Emlyn knows where the "bathroom" is, where the "Kitchen" is, "her room" and "Mommy and Daddy's room." So she looks at her mother and points to the archway leading into the kitchen. 

"That's right baby." Stevie nods. 

As Stevie is cutting his hair, Emlyn toddles into the kitchen and she places her hands on her Dad's knees and Lindsey stops Stevie and then he stoops down to pick her up. She cuddles up on his lap laying her head on his chest and Stevie coos as she closes her eyes. 

"She's a daddy's girl." Stevie goes back to cutting.

"I guess so, but it's strange because I missed those first crucial months when she was in your stomach." He states.

"Well Lindsey, I was eighteen weeks when I got out. According to the book I read when I was pregnant the baby starts hearing things at twenty-four so I think she's known who her Daddy was all along." Stevie states. 

Once Stevie finishes trimming up his hair, she shows him in the downstairs mirror, Emlyn still sleeping tucked to his chest. As they're looking in the mirror Lindsey sighs.

"What, do you not like it?" She questions.

"No, I like it...I um, I...I want another one Steph." He explains. 

"Another baby...Lindsey." She shakes her head.

"I know, you physically can't have sex because every time we try you freak out but Steph I really want another baby, we can do other things, we can adopt, I just...I want another child." Lindsey replies laying Emlyn down on the couch. 

"Lindsey Emlyn is enough. She is enough for me." Stevie holds her hands onto her chest.

"Well, she's not enough for me." He hisses. 

She pulls him into the kitchen knowing that if he yells Emlyn will wake up. 

"She has to be Lindsey. I loved being pregnant, honestly, I did, but I was put through so much shit that I don't know if my body will be able to handle it." Stevie growls.

"It's not like you almost died while giving birth." He spits.

"When I think of pregnancy I think of getting electrocuted. I remember the shooting pain through my skull and my body. I remember the heavy feeling of my arms and legs not being able to move them. I remember the giant ass needles they stuck in the crook of my arm to paralyze me. I think of the fucking candle and I don't want to relive that." Stevie states.

Lindsey doesn't yell, he just gets a hurt look on his face and then he sees Emlyn toddle over to her mother. Stevie bends down and picks her up and then he clears his throat. "Stepanie I am not Mick Fleetwood, I'm not going to yell at you, I'm not going to commit you, I'm not going to rape you with a hot candlestick. I love you, but I don't think you love me." 

It's not even what they were arguing about, they were arguing about having another child, but her talking about her time at Crossley is rare so when she does he takes it to heart. And what he just ended their argument with were his true feelings.

"Of course I fu...Of course, I love you." She states censoring herself when she remembers that she has the curly-headed brunette on her hip. 

"It feels like your scared. You're guarded and you can't be guarded with your husband Stevie. I still feel like the man you're with on the side. You hiding everything from me like you did when we were having our affair. Don't you think I noticed when Mick would hit you, but you kept it from me and it still feels like you're hiding things from me?" Lindsey sighs.

"Well, what do we do?" She asks.

"Well first, we call the cops and get those vultures out of our driveway, and then we move into a new house, and then finally we go to couples counseling." Lindsey states.

"I don't want to go to counseling." Stevie bites.

"To save this relationship, I think we do." Lindsey sighs.