Tango In The Night Part 2: When I See You Again

What Will Be, Will Be

In her heart, she knew it was a girl.

In her heart, she knew it was her baby Sara.

And in her heart, she knew it was wrong to keep the information from her mother any longer.

"Mommy..." She had already started to cry by the time she said that. She usually called her mother Mom when she addressed her, called her Barbara when she was talking to others about her...but "Mommy" was when she needed her, when something was wrong and she needed her to hold her tight and tell her everything would okay, to make her feel as safe as she had when she was three years old at the beach and she'd climbed out of the Pacific Ocean and run up to Barbara who was holding out a big fluffy towel to wrap her up in and keep her warm.

"You can tell me, Teedee." Barbara pulled her back into a hug, holding her tight and stroking her hair just as she had when she was a little girl and she'd cried over something that happened at school. "Everyone is find out there; they've got martinis and music and dirty jokes and whatever is going on out there. We can sing to Lori later on. Tell me, honey."

"Mommy...I'm sorry..." Stevie was crying into her shoulder in short little childlike sobs. "I should have told you right away...the weekend of my birthday, Lindsey came over...and he stayed overnight and..."

"Aww, baby..." Barbara kissed her daughter's temple, rubbing along her back, her long red fingernails getting tangled in the blonde curls that fell along the back of her pink cotton cardigan, which she wore over a simple black flowing dress she'd hoped would camouflage her little baby bump. "I didn't know you two were doing that again...no wonder you were so upset when he left."

"It's more than that, Mommy...it wasn't just for one night...it was supposed to be the beginning of us starting over...but Mick came around and it got complicated and..." Stevie looked up into her mother's gentle, sympathetic eyes. "I'm pregnant...it's Lindsey's...and mine...I'm having it."

Barbara's look of concern turned into one of shock. "Stevie...you're kidding me! My God, you're telling me now? How far along is that?"

"Four months next week," Stevie said, and Barbara noticed the smile she couldn't keep off of her face. Barbara smiled too.

"You're four months pregnant with my first grandchild?" Stevie nodded. "And Lindsey is the father?" Another nod. "And how does Mick fit into all of this?"

"Lindsey was supposed to take me out for my birthday, but he had to go to some event with his girlfriend he'd forgotten about but he couldn't get a hold of me to tell me he'd be late. Then Mick showed up complaining about Sara and he was there when Lindsey showed up...and we were hugging but Lindsey got the wrong idea...of course...so we fought. We weren't speaking all summer...until the band meeting when he told us he wasn't touring."

"Oh jeez," Barbara said with a sigh, sinking back into her chair. "You and Lindsey never talked about the Mick situation years ago when it happened; that's your problem."

"It gets worse," Stevie said. "I told Mick I'm pregnant last month - the same day as the press conference - and he proposed to me!"

"Jesus!" Barbara's head was spinning. "Well...what did you say?"

"I asked him if he was kidding me, that's what I said! I was totally taken aback! I mean...I know Mick loves me...he always has...and he said he wants to get clean...for Sara...but he'd rather get clean for me and the baby...it's a mess." Stevie sank into another one of the chairs at the kitchen table, put her elbows on the table and dropped her face into her hands.

"Stevie, listen to me." Barbara leaned in towards her over the table. "Mick Fleetwood is a nice man. He's a talented musician, a lot of fun, and he has a good heart...even if he's made poor decisions...that's the drugs. You used to be the same way, and you fixed that. Look at you now! You are about to go out on your eighth tour, if you count both Fleetwood Mac and your own work, you've been drug-free for over a year now, and you are almost four months pregnant with my little grandbaby!" She smiled, which made Stevie smile. "How's it going, honey? Is everything okay? Healthy baby?"

"Healthy and perfect," Stevie reported. "I was so nauseous for months...before I realized I was pregnant...and I was exhausted...but I'm slowly coming out of it. Actually I have to go to Diana this week for an amniocentesis because I'm thirty-nine just in case, and the test will reveal if it's a boy or a girl! I'm going to find out."

"Any predictions?" With the drama of the story waning as they talked it over, they were both allowing themselves - and each other - to be happy.

"It's a baby girl, Mom," Stevie said, incapable of wiping the grin from her face. "I can feel it."

"This could be your little Sara, honey," Barbara said with a knowing wink. "I know it."

The two women took a moment to share a look that said everything they both were feeling. Finally, Stevie rose from her chair, taking her mother's hand so she could do the same. "They've been waiting long enough; let's go sing to Lori so we can cut the cake and serve the coffee." She couldn't help but giggle a bit as she added, "I'm actually starving."

"And so it begins," Barbara teased with a laugh. "I'll cut you two slices...one for you and one for baby Sara."

Barbara winked once more and Stevie smiled again, and they began to set up coffee and cake for the small crowd of people waiting in the living room and dining room, including Lori the birthday girl.

For the first time since she'd heard the news, Stevie was starting to think that no matter what she chose to do - marry Mick, raise her baby alone or even contact Lindsey and let him decide if he wanted to be involved - everything might actually be okay.