The Miracle

Paradise Valley, Arizona
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
(10:00 pm)

"See, that's where you're wrong. I know what you mean about it being weaker than the original series, but the actual show itself is good on its own."

Stevie was lying in bed, surrounded by dogs and her journal and a few remote controls, the 2023 reboot series of Frasier paused on the television screen mounted on her bedroom wall. Lindsey had called again an hour ago, just as she was in the middle of watching Dr. Frasier Crane battle for his adult son's affections against his ex wife, Lilith. A few minutes into the conversation, Lindsey had asked her what she was doing tonight, and almost an hour later, they were deeply engaged in a friendly debate over the merits of the 2023 Frasier as opposed to the original series, of which, they'd discovered during Sunday night's four-hour phone call, they were both a huge fan.

Neither of them had mentioned yet the fact that was amazing them both - they had been talking to each other on the phone for hours every night since their meeting at the Christmas show on Friday. Lindsey had called Stevie as promised on Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday, Stevie had picked him up at his daughter's house and driven him over to see Jess and Barbara and Chris. Both of Stevie's parents had looked almost tearful as they'd hugged the man they had once upon a time considered their son-in-law, and Chris had introduced Lindsey to his own family and the two men had done in 2023 what they had done in 1973 - taken a walk out to the backyard and shared a joint while they discussed their lives. Lindsey had stayed around for a Nicks family dinner, and strangely, it was as if he'd been at the table for fifty years. He'd shown off pictures of his family, his home in California, told them about the years he'd spent as a session guitarist and the artists he'd had the opportunity to work with. By the time he'd left the house, Jessi's son Roman had fallen in love with a new hero, Barbara had cried twice and hugged him, and Jess had called him son and told him he was welcome back at any time and to bring his beautiful family along. Stevie had offered him a lift home but he'd insisted again on using Uber, this time telling her, "Oh, come on, Stevie! Don't deprive your family of the opportunity to talk about me and ask you a billion questions once I'm gone! Stay here and talk to them...and I'll give you a call later."

They were still laughing about the accuracy of his observation when the Uber pulled up.

Then the nightly phone calls had begun.

It had all started innocently enough, Lindsey calling Stevie on Sunday night to thank her for the beautiful evening of reunion, and hours later, they were still talking - about anything and everything - and only agreed to hang up when they both began to mock each other with affection for all of the yawning that was happening on the call. Monday night's call had been hours long as well, mostly because Lindsey had asked Stevie to elaborate on her long teaching career and why she'd only decided to retire in her seventies when most teachers retired fifteen to twenty years earlier than that. Tuesday's phone call was about Lindsey's wife Sarah, the ups and downs and the almost-divorce in 2004, and Stevie had revealed that after Robin's passing in 1982, she'd almost gone ahead with her plans to marry Robin's widower and raise her infant son.

"It was like I was possessed," Stevie had admitted over the phone. "There was this two-pound baby boy in the NICU and this man who was beside himself...in the same way as I was because we both knew very specifically what it was like to lose the person closest to us...so I proposed!"

"Jesus, Stevie!" Lindsey said, turning over and propping himself up on his elbow in bed in his daughter's guest room. "What did KIM say?"

"He let me down gently," she said. "He basically told me that Robin wouldn't want me marrying someone I wasn't in love with, and that I should remember I would always be Matthew's aunt, because only Robin could be his mom."