The Miracle

Like The Love That Had Finally, Finally Found Me

But this morning, twenty-two years later, Stevie was singing joyously, twirling around the kitchen to the love ballad by Taylor Swift, aptly named "Lover". She produced a tray of butter and a bottle of maple syrup, followed by plates and silverware and glasses, and as she returned to the table with a large bottle of Tropicana orange juice, she stopped and kissed the top of Lindsey's head as he sat, and continued to sing the bridge...

"Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand...With every guitar string scar on my hand...I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover...My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue...All's well that ends well to end up with you...Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover..."

"Sounds like what you said to me in 1971," Lindsey teased, and Stevie laughed again, lifting hot blueberry pancakes out of the pan with a spatula and depositing two on each of their plates.

"You're a laugh a minute, Linds." Stevie rolled her eyes in mock sarcasm as she poured half-and-half into her coffee followed by sugar. She carried her coffee to the table and sat in the seat closest to him, and he could see that her mug read Paradise Valley Regional High School Outstanding Teacher Award 1983.

Right after Robin died, he recalled, thinking of the story she'd shared about pouring herself into the school to avoid the heartbreaking loss of her best friend. He covered her hand with his on the table and said, "All mocking aside...I'm really proud of you, Stevie."

"For what, sweetheart?" She had already gotten used to calling him that as she once had, and he'd told her in between kisses the night before that he was already used to hearing it.

"Every one of those mugs you have up in the cabinet, for starters," he said. "You know, before I knew who you were in relation to Skylar, I'd heard all about you. Skylar and I are very close, you know...first grandchild and all, and the music thing...and you're brilliant at what you do, Stevie. You're a great teacher, the kids love you, the staff obviously loves you too...and you have touched so many lives since you've been back here that it's impossible to count!"

"Well you know what I used to say...I just want to tell my story and sing my songs and help as many people with it all as I can. You and I tried to do it one way, and that would have been amazing...but I found a way to do it even if our way didn't work out."

"And that is precisely why I'm proud of you, angel," said Lindsey, leaning over two plates of pancakes to kiss her.

They both dug in, dressing their pancakes with butter and syrup, listening to the radio play contemporary pop songs by Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa, which, at seventy-five, Stevie loved and defended to the Boomer rock guitarist who sat next to her at the table.

"Don't get too full of pancake," she cautioned him after a few minutes. "You're my guest of honor tonight at my Christmas party, and you have no idea how much food is coming your way between Lori and Jessi and me!"

"I'll keep that in mind," said Lindsey as he chewed. "Hey Stevie...are we telling people about this?"

"About all the food? They'll see it on the buffet, Linds." But she was joking. She knew what he was asking.

"Haha but seriously, though...are we telling everyone? I mean, if it were up to me I'd already by out there recording 'Crystal Part Two' but...it's your party, Stevie. This is your town."

"Only until the end of the school year, sweetheart," she reminded him. It had been sometime in between taking the dogs up to bed and making love a second time that the subject of the two of them living in separate cities had come up. Stevie had told him that if he could wait out the spring semester of school, she would come back to Southern California to be with him. She set down her fork with a clang and said, "Let's tell them. If we don't...I mean...how will we explain all the kisses I intend to give you all night under the mistletoe?"

"Fair point," he said, smiling. "Well then, Paradise Valley Regional High School and Nicks family and friends, look out! Buckingham Nicks is back!"

Stevie leaned in and kissed him, tasting maple syrup. Then, with a silly smile, she said, "Technically speaking, Linds, you're in my town...and around here it's Nicks Buckingham."

They both dissolved into giggles and finished their pancakes that way, laughing and teasing and stopping every so often for a kiss, and by the time Lindsey went upstairs to shower and dress and go back to his daughter's house to let Stevie start getting ready for the party, he was drunk with love and couldn't believe his good fortune.

"I'll see you tonight," he promised her as they shared one last kiss at the door, his Uber waiting in front of the house. "I love you, my beautiful Stephanie."

"I love you too, sweetheart," she said before he finally began walking out towards the car. He waved until the car was out of sight and so did she, and as the car turned the corner towards Jennifer's house a few blocks away, Lindsey sat back in his seat and watched the streets go by, listening to an old Kenny Rogers song on the radio and missing Stevie already, thinking about how he suddenly couldn't wait for the rest of his life to begin.