Why Should It Matter?

29. Sudden Surprise

"What's Stevie's problem?" Christine asked Karen as they made their way down the hall to meet Stevie in her room.

"Lindsey isn't answering her---she's called him a bunch of times and it goes straight to voicemail," the younger woman replied.

"Why isn't he answering her?" she then asked, not having been filled in at all.

"She did something months ago---she didn't tell anybody and now we're thinking he's pretty upset because he's not responding," she explained. "Though, she did talk to Kristen last night and she knows exactly what's going on. But she doesn't know where he is either."

"What did she do? She didn't mention anything to me..."

"She didn't say anything to anyone... It's a matter that's pretty much over," she shrugged, pushing open Stevie's hotel door. "Hey, you ready?" she asked the blonde, sitting on the bed.

They were all getting ready to leave for rehearsal---their show was the same place as the day before and then they would be on their way to the next city, the following morning.

Looking up, "Yeah... Hey, Chris," she said a little on the quiet side as she got up and picked her shoes up.

"Hey, love---" the older blonde lightly waved and said so in the same gentle tone as Stevie.

"Alright," the younger blonde stated after slipping her shoes on. "I'm ready," she then reached for her dog and pulled her close to herself as she threw her purse over her shoulder.

"Walk with me, Steves?" Christine asked, falling behind so that Karen could lead the way.

Stevie picked her head up from looking down as she walked and she put her attention on the taller woman.

"What's wrong? Is it Buckingham---do I need to rip his legs off?" she slung an arm around her to tuck her close.

She let a faint curl form in her lips as she took in the question, but ultimately it dropped. "No... It wasn't his fault, what happened. It was mine and I know I should have told him, but..." she shook her head.

"My dear, tell me what you did?"

"You're gonna laugh at me---it's the petty stuff..." Stevie admitted.

Throughout the last couple days, when she said things aloud, they only made her wish she never said them at all. She felt, because it was a small thing, that it would earn her a laugh from the British woman.

"Normally, my love, I laugh with you---" she gave a gentle squeeze for a reassurance.

"Okay..." she kind of sighed. "'Member Lindsey's house that was for sale?" she questioned.

"Yes," she kind of shrugged because it was old news.

"Well, I had bought the house because there are a lot of memories. Didn't want him to have to miss them since he wasn't the one who put it up, it was Kristen---" she explained briefly.

"I figured that," Christine nodded, knowing of their affair during Say You Will, since John and Stevie had kept her updated over the phone in the early 2000s.

"Okay, so in Kristen and Lindsey divorcing---she was going to give him the money from the house and so he asked if he could just buy it back. Meanwhile, right now, he is living in a condo... The two had never known I bought it because I did it anonymously."

"Oh, Stevie... You are always such an instigator," the taller blonde shook her head with a light laugh.

"I told you not to laugh at me..."