Heart of the Matter

7

When San Francisco won Lindsey shot up with a cheer causing Stevie and Kendall who had both started falling asleep on him jolt.

"I can't believe San Francisco won." Craig pouts.

"Alls fair in love and war." Lindsey gives him a look. 

"Alright, since that's over...how about I make dinner." Stevie sighs.

"Oh, you don't have too. I can cook something it's your birthday."  Kendall shakes her head. 

"Sweetheart, I didn't get to make you dinner for twenty years, so I'm going to make you dinner. I was going to breastfeed and you wouldn't latch right after birth so they said to wait until the morning and give it a try. I never got to give it a second try. I can't breastfeed you now, but I can sure as hell cook you, food." Stevie stands up and takes her cheeks in her hands.

"Well alright,  pots and pans to the left of the stove. Utensils in the drawer next to the fridge. Everything else you're going to need you can see through the glass windows on the top cupboards." Kendall explains. 

"She's a nurturer. If you ever go to her house she's going to do everything for you." Lindsey explains. 

"She made me tea earlier." Kendall shrugs.

"Exactly." He nods. 

"Alright, enough about me...so let's talk about this wedding," Stevie says pressing a button on the microwave. 

"70s." Kendall states.

"70s themed? Like VW Bus, platforms, and velvet suits?" Stevie asks. 

"Yes but no...like I want to wear a flower crown, I want my dress to be like chiffon with bell sleeves and lace, I want it outdoors, except for the reception but even at the reception, I want like...tapestries and flowers. Lots of flowers. I will be wearing platforms because that's pretty much all I own... I'm only five-two. But no velvet suits, no VW Bus." Kendall shakes her head.

"I would be fine just going to a courthouse and not having a reception." Craig pipes up.

"Yeah you don't have a say...all you and Lindsey do is pick out suits and show up on time." Stevie points a whisk at them. 

"Kendall, you want like Boho-Country?" Stevie says after a minute.

"Yeah...kind of like that. What was your wedding?" She flips around on the couch to properly face her mother. 

"Which one...I was married twice." Stevie asks.

"Both of them." She states.

"Well, when I married Kim in 83...that was a doomed marriage, to begin with, but when I married him we did go to a banquet hall and the courthouse. I wore an ugly white dress with a black lace-like top thing over it. I wore fishnets and I had a fishnet veil...I call it cocaine trashy because that's exactly what it was. I married Kim in grieving because he was my best friend's widower and I wanted her baby. Not my proudest moment. No one of importance came to the wedding and I was too high to function. When I married your father, we got married in Hawaii. He didn't even wear a suit he wore flipflops black dress pants a white halfway buttoned button-up...I wore...you might actually like my dress. I can pull it out of the box when you bring me back home. Anyway, that theme was Lilies and fairy lights. Super pretty. I'll have to show you some pictures later too." Stevie smiles.

"I want fairy lights and roses..."Kendall smiles.

"And you'll get fairy lights and roses." Stevie smiles.

"Wait...you can officiate. You married John McCauley and his wife Vanessa in 2013. I was working with him in Nashville." Craig states.

"I am, but I'm not going to officiate my daughter's wedding. That's not going to happen." She shakes her head. 

"Darn, it would've been cheap." Craig pouts.

"Craig...my networth is 120,000,000 dollars. I make that yearly...Stevie's is 75,000,000 dollars. You're not paying for shit." Lindsey replies

"No, you guys can't pay for our wedding we just met you we can't ask that of you." Kendall shakes her head.

"I didn't just meet you. I met you in October of 1997 when Stevie kneed me in the groin trying to crawl over me to bolt to the bathroom." Lindsey explains. 

"But with everything that happened I..." She starts.

"Kendall, stop it...you're not going to win," Stevie speaks up dropping something into a sizzling pan. 

"What are you cooking?" Craig sniffs the air.

"Chicken in a garlic butter sauce with green beans and a salad," Stevie explains. 

"Can we keep her?" Craig turns to Kendall.

"Can we keep you?" Kendall turns to Stevie.

"Sadly, I'm going on tour in a couple of months...but I'll tell you what, until I leave you guys can come over for dinner once a week. That includes you, Lindsey." Stevie points at him.

"Oh, I'm back in your good graces?" He asks.

"Stop it...I fired you because I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't look at you without wondering what could've been, wondering if our baby would look like you or me. If she'd have your hair, your bright blue eyes. I couldn't look at you without seeing the girls you slept with. I want to use this firing as a time to work our shit out especially because we've got her back Lindsey...we got her back. There is a reason why I'm still a Buckingham." Stevie says to him.

"Alright..." Lindsey says standing up and making his way into the kitchen. He kisses her head and then opens the fridge. 

He grabs at one of Craig's beers and then Stevie points to the picture of iced tea. He pours two glasses and then grabs another beer. After he disperses the drinks Stevie plates the food and carries them over to the kitchen table. 

"So who are you inviting to the wedding?" Stevie questions bringing a bite of food to her mouth. 

"American Idol friends, judges included." Craig starts.

"Yes, I know the girls I want for my bridesmaids...all the friends I made on American Idol, but here's where it's going to get sticky...I want to invite Lucy, and her husband and daughter." Kendall looks down.

"Lucy?" Lindsey questions.

"Lucy is Pamela's sister. She was really the only family I had for a very long time and I don't know..." She shakes her head.

"Honey, she wasn't the one that took you. Did she know?" Stevie grabs at her hand. 

"She claims she didn't. When we found the chest she seemed just as shocked as I was." Kendall shrugs.

"Okay, when do you wanna get married?" Stevie nods. 

"Well, when are your breaks from the tour?" 

"End of April, May, July, obviously Thanksgiving and Christmas." Stevie tries to list.

"Maybe July of 2019 would that be okay? Can we make it work?" Kendall looks between everyone.

"What did I tell you when you started working with me?" Lindsey inquires.

"That you can make anything work." She smiles. 

"Then do you think we can make it work?" He asks.

"Thanks, daddy." She jumps out of her seat and wraps her arms around his neck.