Kate wanted to finish her statement before Mrs. Stanger, or Bruce blurted anything out.
“We got married in Paris.” Too late. Bruce beat her to it.
The room was silent initially.
Mrs. Walker was the first to speak. “Married.” It was more a comment than a question.
Kate flexed her fingers and showed the ring. “Married.”
Mr. Stanger bolted outright out of his seat. “Well, son, we thought this would be the next step. Congratulations.”
Kate could not decide if the look on Mrs. Stanger’s face was one of confusion, anger, or sheer surprise. She looked to her own mother who sat stoically, while her father rubbed his temples and sighed.
“Thanks, Pop. I appreciate it.” Bruce hugged his father. Mr. Stanger turned and hugged Kate, who was happy to have some kind of response from someone.
“Is everyone just going to sit there? These two have gotten married. They love each other and have made it official. That should be something to brag about.” Mr. Stanger stood in the middle of the floor, throwing his arms in the air in disbelief.
Kate looked over to her parents, waiting for them to say anything. Bruce pulled Kate closer to him.
“I love this woman,” Bruce began to confess. “She is the single most important thing in my life. I could not wait to marry her and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy.”
Mr. Walker stood up. Kate braced herself for what would happen next. He extended his hand to Bruce first.
“Then I guess congratulations is in order.”
Bruce received the handshake. Mr. Walker then turned to shake Mr. Stanger’s hand.
“Welcome to the family,” Mr. Stanger said to Kate’s father. The men then looked to the women.
“So does this mean that we aren’t having a wedding?” Mrs. Walker questioned.
“We planned to have a ceremony here very soon with our friends and family.”
“Please forgive me,” Mrs. Stanger jumped in to the conversation. “You know how us womenfolk are about weddings and brides. It just felt like, for a moment, that we would not be allowed to be a part of such an important time in our children’s lives.”
Mrs. Walker nodded in agreement.
“I assure you both, we will have the whole ceremony.”
Tears came to Mrs. Stanger’s eyes. She pulled a tissue from her purse to dab at them. “What happened? When did you propose? When did you decide to marry? Can we have some details?”
Kate and Bruce looked at one another. He gave her a gentle nudge.
“Well, we’ve touched on the subject of marriage from time to time. So we always knew it was a possibility on the table. Last year, Bruce gave me a beautiful promise ring to let me know he was going to be here and be patient with me.
“He whisked me off on a trip to Paris and everything was so magical. When he proposed, the only thing I could say was yes.”
She turned to look at Bruce, who gave her a reassuring smile. Kate continued.
“He has encouraged me to be spontaneous, and live in the moment. So we decided to get married. At the base of the Eiffel Tower. The day was perfect. And to be honest, I was happy to not have the stress of wedding planning on my back. So now, I feel like I can take the time to plan this wedding the way I would like to be because we’re already married.”
“Well then, I guess we need to get to planning a wedding.” Mrs. Walker approached her daughter with open arms.
Tears came to Kate’s eyes. She snuggled in her mother’s embrace. All she wanted was to know that her parents supported her decision. As her mother hugged her, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Mrs. Stanger, with an approving expression.
“Bruce, you kept this a secret. But I knew it. I knew how much you loved this woman. Me and your father love her too.”
Mrs. Stanger gave Kate a tissue to wipe her tears. The ladies laughed as they stood there hugging.
“Why don’t we all grab a cigar?” Mr. Stanger offered. Bruce nodded in agreement and showed the fathers the way to the balcony.
The women sat back down.
“So tell us everything,” Mrs. Walker encouraged.
“Oh wow.” Kate was still sniffling, taking in the gravity of the moment. She wiped away another tear.
“Bruce is such a wonderful man. He is exactly what a girl would ask for when it comes to love. Mom, after talking with you, I did not want to lose the man that has been the love of my life. And I always have all of you telling me that I don’t focus on my social life and my personal life enough. I simply decided to take everyone’s advice and put as much time in to my love life as I do my career. And that worked out.
“I’ve never thought about having the huge wedding with all the trimmings. That’s not me. I would rather have a quiet ceremony with friends and family. A simple dress. Good food and good music. And of course, the man I love.”
“Well then, that’s what we will do.”
Kate was surprised. She turned to her mother. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. You and Bruce should do this your way. It will be your memory.”
“Mom, that means the world to me. I had no idea what you all would think when I told you that we got married.”
“Oh dear. Bruce’s father and I absolutely love the two of you together. I have to apologize for my reaction. I was taken aback. Bruce has always been one to be spontaneous, and I knew the two of you were obviously on the path to marrying. But I had no idea the two of you would go off and get married. But I’m happy that you did.”
“Thank you. You two don’t know how much this means to me. I was so worried about how our family would react to the fact that we left for vacation and came back married.”
Mrs. Stanger gave Kate a pat on her leg. “Dear, we do things when we are in love. We’ve all been there.”
Mrs. Walker confirmed. “Yes, I have to agree with that.”
“But I will say, the two of you will not leave us mothers out of the planning phase. We will not be denied that much.”
Kate smiled, filled with happiness that he night had gone better than she imagined.
“It’s a deal.”