Nothing Ever Changes

Part 7

"Settle down, please. It's still too early for me to get up, Lily." Stevie grumbled, still half asleep as her beloved dog whined and scratch the master bedroom door.

To the rest of the world 1:37 pm was no longer morning. Stevie had always been a night owl, but things were considerably better before the pandemic. She went to bed around the time when people were already on their way to work, she woke up when most were anxious to finish their day and go home. What did she have to do during the day? Nothing. At night, when it was quiet and peaceful, she found herself to be the most active. She wrote, she recorded demos, she drew. Occasionally, she let herself go back in time and think about Lindsey, memories came to her of the days when they didn't hate each other. She'd smile to herself, she'd allow a few tears to escape and then gradually drift back to reality.

"Christ!" Stevie sighed heavily, she propped herself up on her elbows. "Come back to bed, baby. Please, stop ruining my door."

The dog stared at its owner, then quickly returned to the task at hand. The knock on the door came next. If she had anything to do, anywhere to be that would require Karen's assistance, she'd be a real bitch today.

"What is it?" Stevie asked, her voice muted as she pulled the covers over her head. 

"Can I come in?" Karen asked, still outside the bedroom. 

"Now? Seriously?" Stevie rolled onto her back and pressed two fingers to her temple on each side.

"I know, you don't want to get up yet, but I've been pacing up and down this hallway for the past hour. I've got news. Big news!" Karen added and she knew, she'd piqued Stevie's interest, when no snappy response came. 

"Fine. Come in." Lily jumped around, tail wagging from side to side as soon as the door opened. "So, you're the reason why she was going crazy?"

"Probably." Karen nodded, carrying her laptop with her. "Okay, you're not going to believe this, but it's true."

"What, is the pandemic over?" Stevie stupidly hoped, sitting up, she rested her back against the headboard. 

"Nu-uh." Karen slumped down on the empty side of the bed and held out her laptop.

"You're insane if you think, I can see whatever you're showing." Stevie laughed, reaching for her reading glasses on the nightstand. "Besides, you know that I can't use this-" She pointed. "Whatever this is."

"It's called a touchpad." Karen rolled her eyes and moved in closer, so she could see the screen. "Here. I opened the article."

The first thing Stevie's eyes focused on was a picture of Lindsey. Her heartbeat picked up pace, her initial thought was that he had another heart attack. Next to him, however, stood Kristen - his wife. His soon to be... ex-wife?

"Lindsey Buckingham & wife splitting up after 21 years of marriage." Stevie read the headline, written in big bold letters, out loud.

"I told you, I had big news." Karen gave her a look, but Stevie was too shocked to reply. 

"Is... is this a reliable source?" Stevie asked eventually, her eyes still fixed on that headline.

"Not really, but I did some digging." Karen shrugged, taking back her laptop. "She did file for divorce a few days ago. If you want, you can check the official documents, they're open to everyone."

"No. No, I don't want to see that." Stevie shook her head. "It was Kristen's initiative?"

"Yeah." Karen nodded. "Hard to believe, isn't it? I thought, she'd be by his side until his dying breath, so she didn't have to split the wealth."

"Come on, Karen... That's- that's not nice. This is serious, they have kids." 

Subtly rolling her eyes, Karen added. "Irreconcilable differences is stated as the reason."  

Stevie grew silent. She stared at the wall in front of her, unmoving. For a second, Karen got worried that she wasn't breathing either. 

"Hey?" Karen waved her hand in front of Stevie's face, when she clearly had not heard one word. "I asked if you're okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Stevie swallowed uneasily, her mouth had gone dry. 

How is he doing? Is he alright? Does he have someone to talk to? I hope, he hasn't returned to the bottle. It must be terribly stressful, that's not good for his heart. So many thoughts. "Oh God..." Stevie didn't mean to say it out loud. 

"What?"

"Nothing." Stevie said. "I- I- can you leave me alone, please?"