Heart of the Matter

14

July 13, 2019

Stevie was staring at Kendall all dressed up for her wedding and she was wiping tears from her eyes. People magazine was doing a spread on the "Idol Wedding" and Stevie was trying her hardest not to cry on camera but she was having a hard time. Stevie and Kendall had matching blonde hairdos. Curly and slung up in low prom-like buns. Kendall wasn't wearing Stevie's wedding dress yet, but Stevie was wearing a red chiffon dress. The skirt fell in a layered handkerchief style and from her waist up keeping with the chiffon style, it was tighter around her midsection and chest but the sleeves were flowy and fell about three quarters down. The overlay, however,  was lace and it created a rose pattern. On her feet where normal high heel shoes. They were about six inches tall and the top was strappy. Lindsey came up behind her and placed his hands on her biceps and started rubbing them. 

"Lindsey, she's getting married." Stevie breathes out shakily.

"Yes, she is. But we're here. We're not missing it. We aren't missing anything else dealing with her for the rest of our lives." Lindsey coos kissing her temple. 

"Lindsey lets get remarried." She sighs.

"What?" He asks.

"Let's get remarried. obviously not today-maybe while they're on their honeymoon and we can ambush them when they get back." Stevie suggests. 

"Well, I did propose on May 20th right before we filmed the dance and then you wanted to be married before we went on the Dance tour so we did get married on August 1st. They'll be home on the fifth." Lindsey smiles.

"And then you could move back into our house and then they could move into yours. Their lease expires in September and Craig said they were in talks about getting their own house so Kendall could finally get a dog." Stevie turns around in his arms and smiles up at him.

"Alright, I like where your head is going." Lindsey nods.

"Good. I'm going to kiss you now, and our picture is probably going to get taken." Stevie warns before clasping their lips together. 

After parting their sweet kiss, Stevie turns to Kendall who had just gotten her makeup done. "Momma, can you pin me?" 

Stevie smiles at Kendall and takes the little diamond headband. As Stevie's pinning her headpiece on,  flashes go off and Stevie and Kendall share an identical smile. 

"Alright, are you ready?" Stevie asks helping her stand up and takes her over to the curtain. 

Once she's dressed and ready, Stevie helps her slide into a pair of shoes that Stevie dug out of her closet. Surprisingly-or not surprisingly given they're around the same height-Kendall can fit into Stevie's shoes so when Stevie found her old Brown clog sandals she immediately offered them up for Kendall's wedding. Something old. The wedding dress was borrowed, even though it would be staying with Kendall, but it had been her mother's. Something new was the silver diamond crescent moon around her neck which had been her birthday gift from Stevie. Finally, her something blue was a little sapphire and diamond bracelet that Stevie gave, which had been Barbara Nicks'. 

As the mother and daughter appeared Lindsey clasped his hand over his mouth and the tears started welling up. "You look just as good in that dress as your mother did when she wore it about 22 years ago."

***

After the pictures had been taken and the beautiful ceremony came to an end, the party was in full swing and Lindsey and Stevie were taking a break sitting in their "family" section. They were making small talk and holding each other's hands when a woman sat down next to them. It was Lucy, and they both knew that. They hadn't met her until pictures were taken and Kendall requested that a picture be taken with Lucy and her family. 

"I just want to say that I am so sorry. Pam had followed a man out here to LA and we lost touch with her for a very long time. She just showed up one day with a baby in her arms saying that it was hers and there wasn't a dad. We didn't question much as like I said, we knew that she had followed a man out here. But when she died, and we found out that she had been hospitalized in the Cedars-Sinai psychiatric ward and we saw Kendall's original documents my heart fell to the pit of my stomach. She had always been a fan of you Mr. Buckingham, and I had an inkling that she was sick especially because she, well she would write you letters but our mother would take them out of the mailbox before they could be sent. Then when she wouldn't get one back her eye would twitch and then she'd throw a tantrum but she had a picture of you in her bedroom and she'd calm herself down when she'd look at it and I swear on her grave, she would say "it's okay I still love you" and she had a picture book of what her wedding to Lindsey Buckingham was going to look like and what your kids were going to look like. I don't know how she found out that Kendall was born the night that she was discharged, but she did and if I would' ve known...I just...I'm sorry." Lucy says sadly. 

All Stevie does is place her hand on the other woman's. "Lucy it's okay. We're not mad at you. Sure I was angry at Pamela for a while and maybe I still am, but I don't hold anything against you, because that woman died around the time that a girl needs her mother the most and you took on the role when I couldn't and I can't be mad at you for something you had no control over. What matters is that she's with us now." Stevie sighs.

"But you missed so much." Lucy shakes her head.

"We did miss a lot your right. But we got to see her wedding, we're going to hopefully get to see her have kids someday. Maybe even win a grammy and those moments are just as important as prom and graduation." Lindsey explains.

It was then that Edge of Seventeen started blaring through the speakers at the DJ Booth and Stevie rolled her eyes. "OH MY GOD!" 

Kendall approached the table and gently hugged Lucy before grabbing at her mother's hands and pulling her towards the dance floor. 

The two of them sang along to Stevie's recording as they danced together on the floor and Lindsey leaned back against his chair with the largest smile spread across his face.