Walking up to the small cafe they had chosen, Stephanie's chest begins to tighten. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all? No, she has to do this - Brie's family and the McMahon's have been at odds for too long. It's about time they put everything to bed. If their rivalry continued for much longer, it would get to a point where it's completely unfixable, if it isn't already there. Plus, something has recently changed in Stephanie's life, and it's made her realise just how pointless their feud is. With that being said, she isn't fully convinced that Brie will be willing to forgive her.
In hopes they wouldn't get swarmed with paparazzi or fans, they'd chosen a very small place to meet each other. Besides, the conversation they're about to have is probably best kept away from the public. Say what you like about feuds in wrestling, but they draw a crowd, and today's a time where they'd rather not have one.
Stephanie sighs with relief when no one in the cafe seems to recognise her; she's seated at a small table in the corner, decorated with a vase holding a single sunflower. While it's only a tiny little place, with room for barely 20 people, it felt very cozy and welcoming. Stephanie has never been here before, but Brie had mentioned about going a few times before now; she can see why she likes it.
After checking her phone, she realises that she'd arrived quite early - Brie wasn't going to turn up for about five more minutes. To fill the gap, Steph texts her husband to let him know where she'll be for the next couple of hours. Normally, she'd tell him in person, but he wasn't home when she left, so a text will have to do.
Some time goes by, and Stephanie looks up from her phone to see a brunette beauty striding through the doors, wearing a white boho dress and some cowboy boots. She chuckles to herself - the outfit was so stereotypically Brianna, she couldn't help but snigger a little.
Steph stands up to greet Brie, but it instantly becomes awkward. Do they hug..? It seems right to hug but they're supposed to be bitter enemies? A handshake is too formal though, and doing nothing at all would be the worst option. So.. what are they supposed to do?
"Screw this.." Brie giggles, wrapping her arms around Stephanie for a quick hug, in hopes of it breaking the tension.
Thankfully, both women were able to laugh the awkwardness off pretty swiftly. They sit down at opposite ends of the table, and contemplate what to say first. With so much needing to be said, it's difficult knowing where to start; Brie has so much to get off her chest about how the other woman made her feel, and Stephanie has the world to apologise for. After all their history, looking to the future isn't so simple.
"Nikki and Bryan really didn't want me coming.." Brie says.
"Can't say I blame them for it.. I'm half surprised that you turned up." Steph replies.
"Hey, I prefer to leave the past in the past.."
This was Stephanie's chance - her chance to say sorry for everything that's happened between them. Yes, Brie just said that she prefers to let things go, but apologising must help with that process. Even from a selfish point of view though, Stephanie feels a huge weight of guilt on her shoulders; telling Brie that she's sorry for it might finally help to relieve that. Either way, it can't hurt - it's not like their situation can get much worse. Brie said herself that her family didn't want her to innocently come on a coffee date.. if that doesn't prove the wedge, nothing will.
"About the past.. that's the main reason I wanted to see you.. to apologise for it." Stephanie admits.
"Apologise for what... exactly..?" Brie teases, a playful smirk plastered across her face.
"For calling you a bitch all those times..."
"...and?"
"Paying Bryan's physiotherapist to claim she had an affair with him.."
"And?" Brianna laughs.
"All of the times I slapped you.." Steph laughs too, suddenly realising how petty and ridiculous it all is.
In all seriousness, neither woman had comprehended how dumb their rivalry is until they've said the reasoning out loud. Nikki and Bryan are acting like Stephanie's murdered someone, but in actuality - she just gave Brie a few slaps. Besides, Brie got her own back with the slap thing by getting Stephanie arrested at one point, just another ridiculous feature of their pointless hatred.
Plus, the fact that they're able to laugh about what happened now just proves how little bad blood their actually is, if any. If you genuinely hated someone, you wouldn't be able to talk about why without getting angry, or at least passionate. But Steph and Brie.. they're just laughing? Just like normal friends would.
"I didn't expect you to be so forgiving.." Stephanie says.
"I didn't expect you to be so apologetic.." Brie responds. "Listen, I think we've established that the past is behind us.. but one question I do have - why now? Why say sorry after nearly 5 years?"
Steph takes a deep breath. "Honestly..? My daughters." She admits. "I feel like we're growing more distant everyday and.. well, I don't want to add to that by being a bad role model for them."
Brie's face scrunches up. Obviously, it's easy to understand why some people would find Stephanie a bad role model. But her own daughters? They get to see their mother being the chief brand officer of a successful, global empire every single day - surely, that's an empowering thing to see? Although, it is sad to hear that Stephanie feels like she's drifting away from them. As much as parenting Birdie can be stressful at times, Brianna knows that she'll miss these times when she's eventually a teenager like Steph's kids.
"How's Paul with them? A good dad?" Brie enquires.
"Yeah... yeah, I mean, he's at home alot more than I am.. I don't think they like me working so much.."
"Bryan doesn't like me working so much either.. he wants more children, but I get overwhelmed with just one at times.." she reveals.
Strangely enough, the pair were finding more common ground than they thought. Brie assumed that there'd be an apology, and not much else after. But the apology is over and done with, and they're sat here talking about some really deep topics. Brie hasn't even had the courage to tell Bryan about her reservations of having a second baby yet, but she's told Stephanie almost straight away. Also, not many other people know about Steph feeling distant from her daughters. They're different situations, but fairly similar when you look closely; at the very least, they felt comfortable enough to tell one another.
"You know what? I know what we need - Cake. A solver of all problems. I'll go and buy us both a slice.."Brie says before walking over to the counter.
Stephanie chuckles as she leaves her eyes on Brianna - doing all she can to potentially work her out.