say hello wave goodbye

40: it's a love story, baby, just say yes (1980)

April 1980

Stevie's still asleep when Lindsey wakes up, so he quietly gets out of bed and goes downstairs to get the coffee started- only to find Stevie's parents already awake and sitting at the kitchen table. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," he repeats, hoping they weren't going to comment on any strange noises they might have heard coming from the guest room last night. "Don't let me bother you, I just came down for-"

"No, you're no bother. Actually, why don't you have a seat?" Jess asks in a tone that indicates it's an order, not an offer, pulling out a chair for him. He sits down, too nervous to even ask if he could get his coffee first.

"Did you two sleep well?" For a second, he gets suspicious, but he nods and Barbara seems satisfied with his answer. "Good. She's had a hard time lately, waking up at all hours of the night. Make sure she's getting her rest once you're back home, alright?"

"Yeah, of course. I figured we'd just take it easy until we have to leave," he promises her, which was a creative way of saying that he didn't plan on them getting out of bed until they were on their way to the airport.

"So. Lindsey," Jess says, setting down his coffee mug. "You and Stevie got a chance to talk some things out yesterday, I reckon?"

"We did." It's kinda true, in that they talked about the new house and the tour, but nothing earth shattering. He figured there'd be time for that later, and their first priority should be to enjoy being reunited with each other.

"Glad to hear it. Now, I'm not trying to interfere with your lives, and I'm not going to - what's done is done, and we can leave that in the past. I'd rather focus on the future." Lindsey is not sure where this is going, but he thinks it's leading into a lecture. Maybe he should hope that's all it is. And part of him thinks hey, he's a grown man. He's not a teenager who needs to be told to bring their daughter back at a reasonable hour anymore. But he respects them, and he wants to show them that he respects Stevie, so he stays put. "So what are your plans for once this baby comes?"

Was this a trick question? "Well, uh. Stevie wants to have her back home and then move out here once she's a month or two old, so I assume that's what we'll do. Guess we might have to find somewhere temporary to live if the house isn't done by then."

"You know you're always welcome to stay with us for as long as you need," Barbara says.

While Lindsey wouldn't mind doing that on a short-term basis, he doesn't know if Stevie would feel the same. It would be good to have Barbara around, someone who knows how to take care of a baby, but she and Stevie had a tendency to butt heads if they spent too much time together. "Thanks. I'll...I'll run that past Stevie."

"You're okay with moving out here?" Jess wants to know.

"I told her if that's what she wants, we'll do it." He would much rather stay in LA, but when Stevie showed him the plans for the house and the plot of land she'd already bought, how could he say no to that? And although he has no doubt that she could get her hands on anything (or anyone) she wanted with a single phone call in either state, he thinks there'll be fewer temptations for her out here. "And I'm kinda homeless right now, actually, cause my gi- ex girlfriend is living in our old house until it sells." He'd promised Carol that he'd help her get a place of her own when that happened, but he hadn't even told Stevie that, so he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her parents. "But I figure Stevie will keep her condo at home because I'm sure we'll be going back and forth a lot."

Barbara and Jess give each other a look that he can't decipher. "And have you two discussed what your plans are career-wise?"

"A little, I mean- she told me she doesn't want to quit the band, and she wants to keep touring as long as she can. I know we'll have to cancel the last American leg, but I'm okay with that. Even if the others want to do it without her, I'm going to tell them that when she's out, I'm out. I don't want to be away from her anymore, especially when she's pregnant."