Page 126 of Hail Marry
I shoot her a look that saysdon’t try to take the fall for this.She thinks she’s in a safer position than I am to take the blame. But the blame doesn’t belong with her. If it weren’t for me and my past decisions, this never would’ve happened. Tori and I might have parted ways and never seen each other again.
It’s an awful thought.
“I’m sorry,” says the officer on the left. “I’m not sure I follow.”
There’s a knock on the door, and it opens. The secretary stands in the gap. “Sorry for the disturbance, officers, but I have a person here with an urgent message for you. He says it’s regarding this case.”
I glance at Tori, but she’s every bit as confused as I am. Confused and nervous.
The officer on the left frowns, then motions with a hand. “Send them in.”
The secretary nods and steps out of the way, and Zach appears in her place, looking slick as ever in a suit. He’s got a stack of papers in hand.
He opens the door and steps inside, then moves out of the way.
My jaw goes slack as Bennett and Dallin appear in the doorway behind him.
Zach walks over to the table and puts out his hand. “I’m Zach Moretti, Luca Callahan’s agent. Pardon the interruption. This is really important, though.”
Both officers take his hand with obvious reluctance. “We’re in the middle of an interview, sir.”
“I understand. And I don’t mean to take up much of your time, but what I have to say affects the interview.” He slips the stack of papers in his hand onto the table between the officers. “These are character statements from Mrs. Callahan’s family and the San Diego Admirals.”
The officer on the right’s brow knits as he takes the stack in hand and flips through a few of the papers.
“Zach,” Preston says with a shaky laugh, clearly worried this stunt is going to potentially cost us.
“Just a minute,” Zach says, and he turns to Tori and me. “Are you guys still planning to…?” He doesn’t finish, but I know what he’s asking.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Good.” He turns back to the table. “Before you proceed with this case, it’s important for you to know a couple of things.” He straightens. “First, if it weren’t for me, these two wouldn’t be married.”
The immigration officers stare at him, nonplussed. I take it Stokes interviews don’t generally get hijacked.
I glance at Bennett and Dallin, who are standing about ten feet back, their faces impassive. Bennett must sense my gaze on him because his eyes flick to mine.
I send him a questioning look, but he just winks.
“In that stack of papers,” Zach continues, “you’ll find a statement from Luca’s lawyer, James Monroe, familiarizing you with the specifics of the situation and charges that started this whole…situation. You’ll also find a result of the appeal Luca and Mr. Monroe filed, which was granted about an hour ago, meaning Luca Callahan no longer has a criminal record.”
My breath hitches, Tori’s hand tightens around mine with a vengeance, and Zach looks at me with a smile.
Is he serious right now? He has to be. He’s not dumb enough to hand these officers forged legal paperwork.
“He never should have been convicted in the first place,” Zach continues, addressing the immigration officers. “But he was, and his request for expungement was denied, which put him in the position of not being eligible for the visa that would have made him eligible to play in the NFL.”
To my surprise, the immigration officers are listening carefully to Zach, who, to his credit, is a skilled speaker. EvenI’minvested in this story, and it’smystory.
“As he and I discussed the options,” he continues, “or lack thereof once the expungement petition was denied, I mentioned that marriage was really the only route. It was meant as a joke, but I wasn’t clear enough about that. So, when Luca and Tori showed up at my office a week later, married, I was shocked. Shocked, yet suddenly hopeful—hopeful that all the work Luca had done, and all the work I had done, might not be in vain. And in that state of hope, I chose not to tell them how serious their choice was. Because, let me assure you, they were ignorant of that.” He chuckles and leans a little closer, as though he’s about to share a private joke with them. “I mean, neither of them have even seenThe Proposal, which, as you know, is the entire basis of my generation’s knowledge about green card marriages.”
The immigration officer on the left shifts in his seat, apparently starting to get impatient. Looks like Luca and I aren’t the only ones who haven’t seen the movie.
“The point of this all”—Zach straightens again, apparently sensing that his joke didn’t land—“is to help you understand that the bulk of responsibility here lies with me. Had Mr. and Mrs. Callahan realized the gravity of what they were doing, they wouldn’t have gotten married. But they did get married. And they sit in front of you today in a genuine, loving, romantic marriage. They also happen to be important and contributing members of this community, which is why I’ve brought that stack of papers and invited these two men to join us.” He steps aside and gestures for them to come forward.
Bennett steps forward first.
“My name is Max Bennett,” he says. “I play with Callahan on the San Diego Admirals. We’re both wide receivers, so we spend a lot of time together. But I was primed not to like Callahan before we even met. I saw him as a threat to my starting spot. And I talked a lot of sh—“ He stops, glances at Zach, then corrects himself. “A lot of smack to him because of that, doing everything I could to press his buttons. But the man is impossible to rattle. Instead of snapping like I hoped he would, he just worked harder. He’s been a team player from the start, and”—he clears his throat, looking a little uncomfortable—“I’ve grown to respect him. Against my will.” His eyes dart to me.
