A Karat of Patience

Chapter Thirteen

The Maui sky was the perfect shade of blue. To Christine, its warmth reminded her of starting afresh in a world filled with innocent curiosity, love, and natural beauty—the kind of beauty marked by kissing women with tanned skin and long eyelashes encrusted with sea salt. Christine's heart felt full as she lay on one of the sun pads on John's yacht in a tank top and denim shorts; her birthday trip so far felt like nothing short of paradise.

Christine's view of the beautiful, clear sky was momentarily blocked by a certain John McVie who was grinning from ear to ear as he hovered over her.

"Fancy a beer, love?" he asked.

Christine sat up on her elbows and accepted the icy beverage. "Geez, thanks for ruining the serenity."

"My pleasure," John said as he sat next to her. "Having a good time?"

"Of course. I miss yachting," Christine answered, taking a swig of her drink. "I don't have much of an opportunity to do this back home."

"You look happy," John observed. "Ever since you reunited with the gang and started travelling again, I've noticed a huge change in you."

"Well, what can I say? Working on my tan and ocean swimming brings out the best in me."

"You're not the only person I've noticed a remarkable change in."

Christine turned to him. "Oh yeah? Who else?"

"Stevie," John said, regarding Christine with his thoughtful green eyes. "She's different when she's around you. Lighter and more relaxed."

Christine took another deep slug of her beer while John continued to stare at her pointedly. "Stevie probably just misses being around girls while she's working," she dismissed. "She told me Fleetwood Mac was like a boys club without me around."

"I think it's more than that," John said. There was a brief pause before he asked in a quiet voice, "Are you two back on?"

Christine shook her head vigorously. "Don't be fucking daft. We've just reconnected over the past few months and are good mates. That's all."

Before John could continue to question her, Christine handed him her unfinished beer and stood up. She peeled off her tank top and shorts so she was left in her blue bikini, and then walked towards the stern. Peering into the calm, inviting depths of the ocean, Christine took a deep breath before she climbed over the railing and dove cleanly into the warm water. She swam lithely below the surface like a mermaid before breaking into the sunlight, squinting as her eyes readjusted to the sudden brightness. Christine laughed breathlessly and floated on her back, letting the waves carry her wherever they wanted her to go under the pristine, blue sky.

----

"So, I could add a sitar lick during the chorus, and maybe guitar in the parts where you play a higher octave on the piano. What do you think?"

"Yeah, I like that," Christine told Lindsey as she played a run through of Carnival Begin on his Yamaha keyboard. "What I'm going for is something slightly bohemian and mysterious...think Stevie's style but with more straight forward lyrics."

"I get you." Lindsey nodded as he jotted down some notes. "Maybe we can add a mariachi bell in the second verse." He tapped the pencil against his bottom lip before adding, "I can see Stevie doing some backing vocals for this song, too. If we can get her to, you know, contribute." Lindsey finished with a dramatic sigh.

"She's busy, Linds," Christine said reasonably, letting her fingers slip away from the keys and fall into her lap. "She mentioned something about producing an album filled with her old, unreleased material. I doubt she's gonna have time for this."