“The County Clerk,” Alex says, exchanging another confused look with me, as if I might know why she’s calling.
“Right! Well, I’ve been conducting a deep dive into the documentation for your wedding, and I have great news! Normally, this would actually be terrible news, so I’m glad to be delivering it to a couple who will appreciate it,” she confides.
As her energy rises, my heart slowly drops.
“Your officiant had their ordination revoked last month. It turns out, you aren’t the first drunk couple this minister has married. After the second, the ministry revoked their ordination. Unfortunately, because it was so recent, they still have their certificate, which was enough for Virtual Vows. Luckily, I discovered the issue!”
“What does that mean?” Alex asks, something in his voice that sounds uncomfortably like hope.
“It means the wedding was never valid!” Stephanie doesn’t give us time to react before exclaiming, “Congratulations! You aren’t married!” Then she laughs and adds, “Never thought I’d say that to anyone.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, but not before I see the smile spreading across Alex’s face.
“Really? So we don’t have to worry about an annulment?”
“Really! No annulment, and there’s nothing else you need to do!” Now that she’s delivered the news, her excitement tones down. “This is the first time anyone’s ever been happy about a marriage invalidation. Usually, there are tears and anxiety, and we have to review their options. It’s so nice to be the bearer of good news for once.”
“Honestly, it came at the perfect time,” Alex assures her. He thanks her again for the good news before hanging up. When I finally look at him, he’s smiling wider than ever, eyes bright with joy. “This is great! Now we don’t have to worryabout all the legal shit! How about we go out to dinner to celebratenotbeing married?”
All the wild hopes I’d so recently built up for our marriage are sufficiently squashed under his genuine relief. Of course he’s relieved—it’s the logical reaction to finding out a drunken mistake won’t chase you for a lifetime. But I feel like I just smashed into the brick wall of reality.
One of these days you’re going to crash, and I’m worried you won’t survive. Calder was right in one sense. Whether I meant to or not, I’ve been steadily falling in love with Alex, bit by bit, with every part of himself he shared with me. One happy week with a man and I rushed straight to ‘let’s stay married.’ I didn’t even wait to see if Alex was sitting in the passenger seat, coming along for the ride.
I force myself to smile, to share in his joy even if I can’t feel it yet. Maybe one day I’ll find relief in the way things ended, but right now I’m trying to hold on to the last night we have together before we return to being strangers. “Sounds great. Anywhere specific you want to go?”
For once, he knows the answer immediately. “There’s a new Asian fusion place on the other side of town.” He continues chattering about the restaurant and its menu as he starts the car and navigates through the downtown traffic.
I watch him the whole drive, unable to pull my eyes away from him for even a moment.
Because I know tonight might be the last time I see him like this.
Chapter Thirty-Three: Alex
The new restaurant wastoopopular—people packed inside, every surface amplifying the noise of their chatter. Any conversation died the minute we sat down. Just trying to exchange a few words drained all my energy. Now that we’re home, all I want to do is change into pajamas and cuddle on the couch. “Want to watch a movie?”
Euan’s smile is soft and fleeting. “Actually, I need to pack.”
I stare at him blankly for a moment before echoing, “Pack?”
“I have an early flight in the morning.”
In all of today’s chaos and excitement, I somehow forgot Euan is leaving tomorrow. And without the annulment, he doesn’t have a solid reason to come back. “Do you want some help?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve got it. You go ahead and relax.”
Despite what he says, I trail him to the guest bedroom. As soon as I lay eyes on the twisted, filthy bedsheets, I brighten. “I still need to do laundry. Guess you’ll have to sleep in my bed again tonight.” I keep my tone light, teasing, even as my heart squeezes with anxiety.
“It’s probably better if I sleep on the couch, since I’ll have to wake up around four a.m.,” he replies, his back to me as he starts gathering the things he’d unpacked.
“That’s fine. In fact, why don’t I drive you to the airport?” Anything to extend the time we have together.
He pauses and glances over his shoulder at me, dark eyes difficult to read. “I have to return the rental car.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll at least want to say goodbye, so you’ll have to wake me up for that anyway.”
“Alright,” he says, “I’ll wake you up before I leave.”
I watch him pack for a bit, but I really don’t know what else to say. After the clean break with Theresa and the County Clerk invalidating the marriage, I thought the tangled knots of our strange relationship had been safely unraveled. Instead, it feels like they’ve been sliced apart, even cutting through the ties I wanted to keep. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”
