Nothing Ever Changes

Part 1

'That's Stevie for ya.'

She wished, she hadn't come to listen through the closed door. She wished, she hadn't heard him say that, now she can't get it out of her head. And it wasn't even the fact he said it, but the way it came out; no anger, no frustration, no hurt in his voice. She didn't understand. She had been married to him for twenty years and to this day, she couldn't understand. 

Kristen needed a distraction. She opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. She went into the family room, which wasn't really a family room anymore. She turned on the TV to catch up with one of her favorite shows, hoping that would occupy her mind and she didn't have to think about her husband's ex anymore. 

"That felt great!" Lindsey came into the room a while later. "I've missed performing, can't wait until I can go back on the road again." Kristen barely acknowledged him, she turned up the volume on the TV. "I'm sorry to bother you. Clearly, you're more interested in your show than mine." Lindsey's excitement died down just like that. "Okay, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." Kristen shrugged, taking a sip of her wine. 

"Could have fooled me." Lindsey rolled his eyes and reached for the remote to hit pause. "What happened? Before I started, you were fine."

"Yes, I was." She nodded. Even though the figures on the screen were frozen, she didn't turn to face Lindsey. 

"What could I have possibly done during that time, when were in two different rooms?" He asked, oblivious as to why his wife was behaving that way.

"Would it kill you not to mention Stevie's name once? Just once." She added for emphasis and he sighed heavily. "Is it absolutely necessary to always talk about her?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lindsey frowned. "Always? I haven't talked about Stevie in two years, not unless I was asked to."

"Exactly, did anyone ask you to tell the story about how she pressured you into naming a song after her, which is about her?" 

Lindsey remained quiet for a moment. He wasn't completely sure if Kristen was truly bothered or if she was joking. The look on her face told him, she was dead serious.

"First of all, she didn't pressure me into anything. Second of all, it's a goddamn song, Kristen. Christ." Lindsey shook his head in disbelief. "I genuinely thought this bullshit was behind us. She's no longer a part of our life, what else do you want me to do?"

"You say that, but it doesn't feel like it." Kristen shrugged, rising to her feet for a refill. She knew, he was going to follow. "Is this your way of reaching out to her? Are you hoping that she's somehow going to hear about this and pick up the phone? Newsflash, the woman has never cared about you." 

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" Lindsey repeated himself. He didn't think that what he said was truly that big of a deal. "I haven't heard from her in a long time and I think it's obvious that I'm not going to any time soon, maybe ever. I don't believe that me telling a story of how a song came to be will suddenly awaken something in her and she'll decide she wants to be friends again."

"I've heard all that before." Kristen gave him a look, placing her hands down on the kitchen island, which separated them. "You've said it before. You've sworn to me many times before that you'll never going to work with her again, that you don't need this shit in your life, you're too old for this. One phone call later, you're packing your bags and giving her the biggest hug, when she finally decides to show up an hour late."

"That's not entirely false." Lindsey had to agree. "But we played in the same band. It wasn't Stevie, who made the decision of when we were supposed to go on tour, you know."

"Yeah, she just makes decisions about firing the band members she doesn't like." 

"Kristen, I..." Lindsey inhaled deeply, shaking his head. "Why does it bother you so much? Who cares? I'm no longer in Fleetwood Mac, but I have my own thing and I'm happy. Why all of a sudden you want to bitch about Stevie?"

"Oh, I'm the bitch here?" She asked with a humorless laugh.

"I didn't say that." He slammed his fist on the marble countertop. "I've moved on, maybe you should do so as well."

"Whatever." Kristen shrugged.

"I- no, I'm not going to continue with this bullshit argument." Lindsey held up his hands in surrender. "If you wanna talk, come to me and we can talk. You know, where I'll be."

She didn't come.