Page 33 of Love & Other Drunken Mistakes
The first ten minutes of the drive are filled with awkward silence only interrupted by the GPS’s cheerful directions. Alex still hasn’t said anything about his discussion with Theresa. I can guess the subject—he needed to explain our marriage at some point—but I can’t guess her reaction.
Sometime after I’ve merged onto the highway, he finally speaks. “Theresa wants to handle the annulment.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I glance at him to gauge his reaction before refocusing on the traffic around me. “That’s … not what I expected. Do you want her to handle it?”
Alex is quiet for a long moment before he says slowly, “I think so. Sheisa good lawyer, so I trust her to handle our case professionally.”
“I don’t know how I feel about your ex being involved,” I admit. “It’d be like if I called up Nick and asked for his advice.”
“Is he also a family lawyer?” Alex asks dryly.
I snort. “No, he’s a librarian.”
Alex shifts in his seat, leaning his head against the window. Some of the tightness leaves his expression as he gazes at me. “How did you meet Nick anyway?”
“Through a string of mutual friends. An old college roommate wanted to arrange an online game campaign. One of the other players invited Nick. We only made it through a few sessions before people started dropping out. Then one session, we were the only two who showed up. No one had officially canceled, so we decided to give them fifteen minutes past the start time. We started talking and fifteen minutes turned into an hour which turned into six.”
“Six hours?!” Alex exclaims. “I didn’t think you were the type to talk for six hours straight.”
My lips twitch at the correct assessment. “Nick did most of the talking. He’s very good at filling silences.”
“Aren’t librarians supposed to be quiet?”
“Probably why he talks so much outside of work.”
“So, you went from RPG to LDR. A real modern-day romance.” After a second, he flinches and mutters, “Shit, probably not the best thing to say about a failed relationship.”
“It’s fine. If I’m honest, I’ve barely thought of him the past few days. It turns out getting married is an excellent way to get over your ex.”
Alex is quiet for a long time before murmuring, “Yeah, I guess it is.”
Not wanting the conversation to lapse into awkward silence, I ask, “How did you meet Theresa?”
“She assisted with my sister’s divorce. We met briefly during the process and once everything was settled, she asked for my number.”
It doesn’t surprise me that Theresa made the first move. Or that Alex accepted. At some point during Alex’s drunken ramblings about her, I created an image in my head of a towering Valkyrie with flowing blond hair and a large mouth that never stopped issuing demands. The poised young woman I met at the lawyer’s office didn’t match that image at all. Her auburn hair was neatly tied back in a no-nonsense bun. The suit she wore was tailored to hint at curves while offeringher proper armor to face off against her foes in the courtroom. And her mouth of course didn’t overtake her face, her bowed lips meshing perfectly with her other striking features. She was a beautiful woman with a vibrant personality.
But she doesn’t belong with my Alex.
I shake the thought away. Just because we’re married on paper doesn’t make him ‘mine.’
“So what was the RPG?” Alex asks.
Long enough has passed that it takes me a moment to connect the question with our previous conversation. “Oh, it was something my buddy homebrewed.”
“Homebrewed?”
Since it seems like Alex doesn’t want to talk about himself right now, I fill the rest of the drive explaining table-top game terminology, campaigns we’ve done in the past, everything I can think of. He was right when he guessed I wasn’t usually bursting with conversation, but this is an easy topic to talk about. Especially when someone who knows almost nothing is asking all the right questions.
The GPS interrupts my explanation of the various dice, and I have to stop talking while I focus. When I finally pull into the parking lot, Alex’s jaw drops when he sees the building. I place my folded arms on the steering wheel and my chin on top of them as I take it all in. I’d seen pictures, of course, so I knew what to expect, but Alex had no preconceptions.
The building is two stories tall with a wide expanse facing the street. The owners have taken advantage of the space by filling the windows with a variety of pixelated figures, all kept PG-13. All the characters are unique enough from their video game counterparts to slip under the radar. A pink princess runs from a green, blobby pursuer. Or maybe they’re both running from the large neon sign spelling out "Lingerie" in capital letters. On the other side, a knight in blue armor fires a blaster at a sign that says "Adult Toys." Above it all are the giant green letters spelling out: Plug + Play.
“Is this avideo gamethemed sex shop?” Alex demands.
“Yup.”
“This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he replies, his voice filled with genuine reverence.
