Can't Remember What I Used to Fight For

cowboy like me 2/2

"Yes, I understand. It's just something that we're keeping small. We plan to have a reception in a few months, with everyone we love."

Bradley's keeping cool, as usual, one of the many qualities she loves about him; he's not one to get easily ruffled.

"This is awfully sudden, isn't it? I'm not trying to tell you how to live your lives..."

Stefani holds out her hand, indicating she'll take over but he shakes his head, putting a finger up. "No, if you think about it. I love your daughter, sir, and I plan on doing right by her."

"I'm not worried about that. I know how much you love her. You both have good heads on your shoulders. I just figured that Stefani would want her family there."

"You're on speaker, Dad."

"Oh," Joe clears his throat, "well, your mother is here, too, obviously. Keeps telling me to hand over the phone." They hear a shuffle in the background before Cynthia gets on the line.

"Hi," her voice is honey warm and instantly, Stefani relaxes a little, her hip sitting flush against Bradley's. "I hear congratulations are in order."

Truth be told, she was slightly more concerned about what her mother might think. She was decidedly more liberal than her father in many ways but strangely traditional in others; she couldn't believe when Stefani had gotten her nose pierced and she wasn't overly crazy about the tattoos but she'd freely accepted her sexuality with no hesitation. The idea of eloping was something she assumed Cynthia wouldn't be thrilled by and she'd braced herself for a less than positive reaction.

"Thank you, Mom, and look, if we could have all of you guys there, we would in a heartbeat. But this is really, really low-key. We'll take lots of pictures and we can FaceTime and like Bradley said, when we get back, we'll have a big party. I know it's not the same but it's something."

She's desperate to make her parents understand and it's difficult because they've been by her side for all her important moments in life but she knows the way they are going about this is completely right for them and it's exactly how she wants it to be.

"Honey, listen, I'm not disappointed. Is this a little bit of a surprise? Yes, but I respect your decision. Your father and I are behind you, both of you, one hundred percent."

She doesn't mention the inevitable public reaction and no one asks, thankfully, if it is a shotgun wedding. Just by the tone of their voices, she can tell her parents wish they would give it awhile longer, maybe have a ceremony where they can actually attend but they're obviously respecting her wishes and she asks them to let her tell her grandmothers herself.

They end the call with "I love you," and when it's finished, she looks again to Bradley. "That went much better than I expected. "

He lets out a sigh of relief in the form of a puff of air he'd been holding in the hollows of his cheeks. "Me too. I thought your dad was going to chew my ass out for whisking you away to another country to get married without anybody around."

"Oh, really," she questions, nudging him, "thought you could handle him."

"Doesn't mean I want him mad at me."

She laughs, leaning into him, "first of all, my father adores you. You're like the son he never had. And secondly, I don't think he really believed it was your idea. Not for one second. He knows one of my grand schemes when he hears it. He also knows that I'm not gonna back down when my mind is made up about something. It used to drive him insane when I was a kid. But," she drops a kiss on his cheek, "he'd be the first to tell you that my tenacity has paid off."