July 1999
Stevie had thought, years ago (when she was young and beautiful and at the height of her fame), that she would never have to fight for a man's attention and affection. It wasn't necessarily because she was conceited, or that the fame had gone to her head; it was just that she never had to.
It wasn't until she lost Lindsey's admiration that she allowed herself to think, maybe, the only reason she felt that way was because she never had to fight for his attention and affection. She always had him; even when she didn't. Truthfully, he always had her too.
As she sat, anxiously awaiting his arrival, all of these thoughts coursed through her mind. She was plagued by the fear that he didn't love her anymore. Who was Stevie Nicks without Lindsey Buckingham? She certainly couldn't remember and she didn't really want to.
She jumped when the doorbell rang and she went to answer it. She smiled brightly when she saw him, "hi!"
Lindsey entered the house as she stood aside to let him in. He kissed her cheek and rested his hand on her stomach, feeling their daughter kick.
"Hey," he said, handing her the food he had brought to her for lunch.
She gratefully accepted it and he followed her to the kitchen, "where's Max?"
"He fell asleep by the door. I took him upstairs and put him to bed," Stevie explained as she sat down to eat.
"What was he doing by the door?"
She glances over at him as he sits down, "he was waiting for you."
Lindsey glances away sadly and clears his throat before he speaks again, "how are you feeling?"
"Like I'm ready to get this baby out of me. Lizzie is a lot more active than Max was. It's a little exhausting," she says.
"She's going to be a handful, isn't she?" Lindsey asks as he rests his hand on her stomach again. She rests her hand over his, keeping it there.
"Oh yeah, definitely."
Lindsey laughs, "I'm not going to let her out of my sight."
"Well, I guess you'll have to move back in, if that's the case." She didn't mean to say that. She knew she was going to have to try if she wanted him to come home, but she wasn't expecting to be so blunt about it. The words just tumbled out of her mouth and hung in the air between them.
"Maybe I will," he teased.
"Don't say things you don't mean."
"How do you know I didn't mean it?" he asks, and she can feel his eyes on her.
She looks up at him and meets his gaze, "because you left."
He looks away at her words, "I did what was right for our family, Steph."
She lets go of his hand and gets up from the table, "you did? Well, I apologize if I don't quite understand how letting our children grow up in a broken home is the right thing for our family."
"We weren't happy," Lindsey tries to explain.
"No, Lindsey, you weren't happy. That's your thing. You can only be content and happy for so long before you get restless and start looking for a change." Stevie says. This isn't how she wanted this day to go at all.
"I would've been happy if you would have treated me like a person instead of your punching bag," he throws the words at her angrily.
She just wants him to shut up. She didn't ask him over to fight, but for a brief moment she forgets why she thought it was a good idea to ask him over at all. She watches him as he keeps talking, but she's stopped listening because she doesn't want to hear whatever harsh words he has for her. She crosses the room and stands on her tip toes so she can rest her hands on his face before she kisses him. This was all too familiar for her. This was something she had done several times in their past because they were fighting and she just wanted him to shut up. It always worked.
