Page 8 of Takedown

“Okay,” she says, lowering her voice as if the only other person present isn’t a toddler, “but you better make sure nobody finds out. Jason is on full big brother protective mode. It’s kinda sexy,” she says as she bites her bottom lip.

I roll my eyes and look toward the ceiling.

“What?” she asks. “Itissexy, but I’m still going to help you.” She lowers her voice again and says, “You should know that we’re seeing Tina today.”

“I’ll never agree to an annulment or divorce,” I say, adamant. If I wasn’t in front of my friend and her toddler daughter, I’d punch a wall at the very idea.

We’re interrupted by a loud knock, and when I open the door, Addison’s nanny, Sylvie walks in. She’s a stout woman, probably in her fifties, with skin the color of midnight, a long face and bushy eyebrows.

“I have to get ready for work. I’ll text you tonight.” Alex says. I thank her and walk out of her apartment.

5

Alex is breathing heavy and holding her belly by the time we get to the Bean Town Café, which is owned by her half-sister, Tina. A former family attorney turned restaurant owner, but she’s still licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

It’s the lunch rush, and when Tina sees us, she points to a nearby booth. After a few minutes, she slides in next to Alex.

“Hey, baby,” she says to Alex’s belly. “Your Auntie Tina can’t wait to spoil you.” She lowers her head and kisses Alex’s stomach three times. “So, what is going on? Your text sounded really ominous, Alex.”

I clear my throat, and when Tina finally looks at me, her smile drops. “Oh, God. What happened?” She immediately reaches across the table and grabs my hand.

“Mellie got herself into a bit of a situation in Vegas,” Alex says on my behalf.

“You didn’t get married, did you?” Tina throws her head back and starts to laugh. She sobers up when she realizes she’s the only one at the table laughing. “No!” she says, gasping loudly. “Melanie Dupree!”

“I don’t remember it. He must have drugged me.” Alex looks at me, narrows her eyes, and purses her lips. I cut my eyes at her and turn back to Tina.

“Oh my God! Please say you didn’t marry Adam. He went to Vegas too, right?”

Neither of us responds, and Tina puts both hands to her mouth and looks from me to Alex. I finally nod slowly, acknowledging the fact that I’m married for the first time today.

“Okay,” Tina says, taking a deep breath. She rubs her temples before looking back up at me. “You want my help getting a divorce.”

“An annulment,” I clarify. “I want to erase the fact that we were ever married.” I can picture the hurt look on his face when I tell him I’m not going to continue with this farce. A memory from the other night tries to rise to the surface. I see his face. He’s smiling and his blue eyes are locked on my brown. I remember the soft skin of his cheek under my hand when I reached to stroke his face. Someone at the table clears their throat, and I force the memory away.

A waitress comes by and places food in front of us. We come here so much, she already knows our lunch order. A chef’s salad for me and grilled chicken and veggies for Alex.

“You can get an annulment for several reasons in Massachusetts. If the person you married had a living spouse at the time of your marriage, if one party was defrauded, impotency, coercion, if he hid a fatal disease from you or if one of you is underage. Or you can file a no-fault divorce. There are two options there. One where you both agree that the marriage is not salvageable.” She takes a deep breath and says, “But I have a feeling Adam won’t agree to that so easily. You can still file it even if the spouse doesn’t cooperate, but it’s a little bit more complicated. You’ll have to file a written complaint with the court and then serve Adam with it. He’ll have to file a response.”

I lay my head in my hands, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. I refuse to succumb to tears again, though. I did that all last night and the only thing it got me was a splitting headache. No, tears won’t fix this. Only action will.

Tina reaches across the table and holds one of my hands. “How did this happen? I mean, we all know he’s crazy about you. The first thing he does when he walks into a room is find you. I’ve watched him. He doesn’t take a breath until he knows you’re there. It’s kind of sweet.”

I pull my hands away, unwilling to hear this. “He is not sweet,” I hiss. “He’s just not used to being told no. He’s only been interested this long because I keep turning him down. If he knew the real me, he would have run by now.”

“Mellie, what the hell are you talking about?” Alex says. “You are fucking amazing, and everybody knows it. Stop with that shit.”

Tears fill my eyes and I reach out and grab my sister-in-law’s hand.

“That’s because we’re besties. You have to say that.”

“No, I don’t, but seriously, stop talking shit about one of my best friends. Listen,” she says, looking around the place. “Why don’t you just talk to Adam? Have a conversation before you decide on what to do. Tina’s not going anywhere.”

“She’s right. I’m not. I’m here or you can always call me or stop by my house, but Mellie,” she reaches for my hand again, her tone now turning serious, “are you sure you were drunk? They wouldn’t have married you if you were too drunk to know what was going on.”

I take a deep breath, but another scene from that night flashes through my mind. This time I’m leaning closer to him. His scent fills me when I rub my nose against his strong jaw. I push the thought away, deep, deep into the recesses of my mind. And because I’m surrounded by friends, I do manage to keep those memories at bay. Unlike last night.

“Of course, I was drunk,” I insist. “The alcohol hits differently on the west coast.” I widen my eyes and look around the table to show my outrage, to prove my point. “You think I would choose this?” I break eye contact with Tina, but in my peripheral vision, I watch as she looks at Alex and they have a conversation with just their eyes.

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