Saturday arrived before anyone knew it and it was an awkward situation at both homes for sure. Kristen was still very standoffish to Lindsey, but had still insisted on coming to Mick and Stevie's home with William, calling a friend to keep LeeLee and Stella. The less people who knew about this situation the better. At the Nicks-Fleetwood home, Stevie was trying to keep it together all the while wondering what was going to come of this. Initially, Mick had planned to take Bella and Kellan out for the day, not wanting to expose his youngest children to such drama that seemed to always be involved where Buckingham Nicks were concerned, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to be there.
Stevie was pacing through the house when she heard the doorbell and she thought her heart might have leapt out of her chest. She was so nervous. She smoothed her hair and pulled open the door giving a big smile to William.
"Hi, William, it's very nice to see you again. Lindsey, Kristen." She said acknowledging their presence. She could feel the tension rolling off of Lindsey and wondered if it was because of this situation or if something else was going on. She quickly brushed the thought aside. She didn't' have the time for this.
"Hi, Mrs. Nicks. Thank you for having me over." William said politely, almost as anxious as the adults were.
"It's no problem William, but do me one favor."
"What's that?"
"Call me Stevie. My mother is Mrs. Nicks. I may be getting older, but I'm not that old yet." She said laughingly.
"Sure. Is Grayson home today?"
"Of course, here, why don't you all come sit and I'll bring him in. Do you want anything to drink or eat?" she offered, but they all politely declined, not wanting to prolong this visit any longer. Stevie called Grayson and Liliana down to the living room and they quickly ran into the room. Gray and Will were happy to see each other and chatted for a while about their training before Gray introduced Lily. She smiled at him, but they could all see that she was extremely shy, more interested in watching what the others did instead of getting involved herself. This surprised Lindsey as Lily looked just like her mother but had such a completely different personality. The adults sat in complete silence until Mick came in the room with Bella and Kellan who didn't want to be left out of anything. Mick sat beside Stevie giving her a peck on the cheek and wrapping his arm around her. Lindsey watched every move and tensed his body up and tried to concentrate on anything else. He focused on Lily, the child he had never been around. She had the sweetest laugh and most gorgeous smile. He watched her walk up to Mick and hop onto his lap as he pressed a kiss to her head. As he continued to watch, all he could think about was how he had made a mistake. If he hadn't been so stupid it would have been him with his arm wrapped around Stevie, she would be his wife. They would be sitting together with THEIR daughter. He would have been the one that taught his son how to swim. No, this was all wrong. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go, but unfortunately he had no one to blame but himself.
Stevie excused herself briefly and stopped when she felt someone behind her.
"Oh, William, you surprised me." She said.
"I'm sorry, Mrs...I mean Stevie." He quickly corrected when she gave him a look. "I just wanted to say thank you for letting me come today and I was wondering if I could ask you for one more thing." While Stevie wanted to nothing more than for this visit to be over with, this boy had melted her heart.
"What would that be, honey?"
"Could I start practicing with Gray again? Until you guys move?" he sensed her hesitation and added, "I can have my mom drop me off and pick me up. My dad doesn't have to come here."
Stevie sighed and thought for a moment. What could it hurt? "Sure Will, that would be fine."
After another hour, Lindsey ended the awkward scene collecting William and the three Buckinghams bid their farewells. Stevie poured herself and Mick two well deserved glasses of wine and they took their places by the pool watching their children swim.
"Could that have been any more uncomfortable?" Stevie asked.
"I don't know how. I'm just glad it's over. So glad."
"Oh, me too." She said and leaned over giving Mick a kiss, accidentally spilling her wine in the process. Both erupted in laughter. Soon, it became relaxed again and it was easy to almost forget Lindsey and his family had been sitting in her living room. She laid her head on Mick's shoulder, just enjoying the evening until she felt someone watching her. She turned quickly around to see Grayson standing in the doorway.
"Mom?" he said tentatively.
"Yes, sweetie, what's wrong? You look upset."
"Can I ask you something?"
"You know you can. Anything." She said smiling.
"Lindsey's my real dad isn't he?" he asked and Stevie's wine glass shattered on the ground.
