Page 15 of The Loophole
“I guess we never discussed it, but I intend to cover Embry’s food costs while he’s living with me,” Bryson told her. “It makes sense to cook for both of us, and to buy his groceries at the same time as mine.”
I started to tell him he didn’t need to do that, but just then, Hal hurried down the stairs with a big suitcase and called, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“You’re fine,” Vee told him, when he came to a breathless stop in the doorway. “We just got done signing the prenup. Now I need to go find Clementine, so I can say goodbye to him.”
As he left the living room, Bryson asked, “Who’s Clementine?”
“His parakeet.” I went into the hallway and looked around for Dusty.
Bryson seemed concerned. “Did it get out of its cage?”
“No. He has the run of the house.”
“Isn’t Vee concerned about the bird escaping out an open door?”
“If Clementine wanted to escape, he would have done it a long time ago. I’m going to find my dog, so I can say goodbye. You can come with me, if you want.”
Bryson followed me upstairs to my room, where we found Dusty curled up on my bed with the cat. I picked up the dog and kissed his head while Bryson took a look at the cluster of images on one wall. There were photos, sketches, post cards, and magazine clippings, and while a few were pictures of my friends or pretty shots of San Francisco, the rest were all decorated cakes. “That’s my inspiration wall,” I explained.
“I do that, too. There are a pair of big, magnetic boards in my home office. One’s covered with design ideas for my next restaurant, and the other has notes for new dishes and sketches of different ways to plate them.” I’d been pretty sure we had nothing in common, so it was nice to discover that similarity.
I turned my attention back to Dusty, ruffling his ears as I told him, “Pretty soon, we’re going to go on an adventure to Bryson’s house. Won’t that be fun?” He wagged his tail, and I explained, “First, I have to go away for two nights, but you’ll have yourAuntie JoJo and the rest of your friends looking after you.” I gave him a hug and put him back down. Tears started to well up as I whispered, “I love you very much, and I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
Bryson asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve never left him before, and I feel guilty. His last owners dropped him off at the animal shelter because they didn’t want him anymore. What if he thinks I’m abandoning him, too?”
He really didn’t know what to do about the fact that I was getting upset, and he fidgeted awkwardly as he told me, “We don’t have to go to Las Vegas if you don’t want to. There are plenty of other ways to get married.”
“Eloping to Vegas makes sense. It’s the perfect story to tell your family. Besides, I really do want to go. I’ve never been anywhere before, outside of the fair route through California and the Pacific Northwest. I’ve never even been on a plane. Which reminds me—if I end up losing it, I apologize in advance.”
Now he looked worried. “Is that… I mean, do you think you’re…”
“I don’t know. I might love flying, or it might freak me out. I guess we’ll find out together.”
I petted Dusty and the cat, and then I glanced back at them as we left the room. They both seemed perfectly content. I knew my dog was going to be fine this weekend, but I still felt guilty.
When we got back downstairs, Vee and Hal were standing side-by-side in the foyer, looking like total fashion opposites. Hal was sleek and sophisticated in all-black, from his slim-fitting T-shirt and pants to his knee-length cardigan and stylish ankle boots. Meanwhile, Vee wore a red mesh T-shirt, pink camo cargo shorts, and flip flops. This was toned down for him. He usually wore a lot of eclectic jewelry, but he’d packed it instead, because he didn’t want to set off the metal detectors at the airport.
As I grabbed my denim jacket from the coat rack and put it on over my pink hoodie, JoJo went into full mom mode. I loved that about her. “Do you have your ID? You’ll need it at the airport, and also to get your marriage license.”
“I have it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Also, Yolanda texted me from work and wanted me to ask if you packed extra bandages and antibiotic cream.”
“I packed a whole first aid kit, but my finger is mostly healed.” I held up my index finger to show her I was down to just two regular bandages where I’d cut myself.
“Remember that Yolanda and I are your emergency contacts. We can hop on the next plane if you need us.”
“I appreciate that, but if anything happens to me in Las Vegas, I have Vee, Hal, and Bryson to help me.” Since I was accident prone, everyone expected me to maim myself, all the time. I gave her a hug and said, “I love you, JoJo. Please don’t worry.”
Just then, Clementine flew into the foyer and headed directly for my soon-to-be fake husband, who yelped and hit the deck. The bird landed on Bryson’s back and exclaimed, “What the fuck!” It was the only thing he ever said, but he had a way of timing it beautifully.
Bryson was spread-eagled face down on the floor, as if he’d dodged a sniper’s bullet. He called, “A little help here!”