Tonight is FINALLY the new Hart of Dixie! YAY! I loved reading your guys reviews for the first chapter of this story and I hope you enjoy this update. Thank you again for reading and I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone!
"Well the house hasn't burned down yet so I'm guessin things ain't been that bad for yall since we left." I joked with him and Wade just rolled his eyes at me like he'd heard it before.
"We're halfway done with our house. I just finished the insulation earlier this morning. Got a lot to do still but it's lookin real good. I don't think we'll be here for that much longer." Wade assured me.
"To be perfectly honest, I'm hopin that we won't need to move back in here soon. We're tryin to win some championships. Though Lemon would be more than thrilled if we lost, just so she could come back to Bluebell. At first I thought she'd be like a fish out of water in Tuscaloosa, but she's not actually doin too bad there. Misses Bri—" I was in the middle of telling him when his phone went off. Wade has never been one to answer the phone while he's with people…even when he knows it's Zoe. He would always just brush it off with a "I'll call her back later." Or something of the sort.
"Hey Baby. Are you okay? When you coming home?...*pause*…. I'm sure you could close down a little early…*pause*….It's Friday. Lavon's here." I couldn't help but be confused at his obvious apprehension over her working. I guess it has been too long since we've been home. Wade and Zoe's relationship seems to have transformed into an adult one.
"Sorry about that Lavon." Wade apologized. I meant to ask him what that was all about but he asked me if I was up for going out to a nice dinner and dancing in Mobile with the girls. I knew Lemon would be up for it so I told him it was a date. I went to text Lemon and let her know to be ready for on her way over here but saw her walking up the driveway instead.
"Sweetheart what are you doing here? What happened to visiting AnnaBeth?" I questioned. "She was stuck in a meeting and we decided on Sunday. No big deal. I need some Zoe time anyway." Lemon promised me and gave me my kiss.
"Lemon. Good to see ya girl. How ya been?" Wade hugged Lemon and it actually looked genuine. Hard to believe how much times had changed.
"I've been great. Even been starting to miss you…Wade of all people…lately. It's crazy." She laughed. I wasn't too worried about it though because I knew Alabama wouldn't keep me on contract forever. They almost never did. We were going to enjoy the trip while it lasted.
"So how ya feelin'? I never got a chance to congratulate you two on this one." Wade mumbled, pointing to Lemon's belly.
"Not too bad. Started out rough but it's calming down as of late." She told him.
"Well pregnancy agrees with you Lemon, you're glowing." Wade smiled. It was nice to see them finally getting along for a change.
Lemon and I followed Wade back into the house and she took a seat at the kitchen island. He handed me a beer out of the refrigerator. After I took my first swig I took a minute to take a look around my old home. It looked the same. Zoe had added a couple random decorations that I could tell were hers and Wade had a couple pairs of shoes randomly spread through the house. Looked about right.
It had been all day since we ate anything so instinctively I went to the refrigerator and opened it to make a sandwich. It was definitely Zoe's house. There was spinach, lots of fruit and vegetables, chicken and fish and the only bread they had was whole grain. The milk was even skim milk.
"She got you on a short leash these days, huh? Look at this diet yall got goin' on." I teased him and patted him on the back.
"Remember what you told me the day I married her? Happy wife, happy life? Not a battle worth fightin' man." He laughed.
"Ain't that the truth. You mind if I make a sandwich?" I asked after I started making it. To stay in her good graces I made Lemon one too.
"Not at all brother. I think that's Zoe who just pulled in. I'll be back in just a minute." He let me know and ran outside to greet her. Lemon must have had the same confusion I did over what was going on because we both peeked out the window. Wade helped her out of the car and engulfed her in his arms. They didn't talk and for a few moments didn't even move. We saw him point at the house and it looked like he was just telling her we were inside.
By the time they made it back into the house we were sitting at the counter eating turkey sandwiches. "Lemon!" Zoe welcomed her and ran over and squeezed her. "You look so good. How are you feeling?" She went into Doctor mode.
"I'm feeling wonderful. This pregnancy has been smooth sailing so far. It is so good to see you. You must have a lot going on, lord knows you haven't returned a single one of my messages this week." She laughed.
"Lemon, I am so sorry. With work and the new house I have been in completely over my head. It is really great to see you though. You two Lavon." She finally turned to me and gave me my hug. It was about time, I was starting to feel ignored.
"We miss you guys. Try not to fall off the map again." I told them both. Zoe pacified me with a "will do".
"I'm going to go jump in the shower and get ready. I'll just be a few minutes." She told us, Lemon and I decided to go back to Bricks and do the same.
An hour later we were all in the Navigator on our way to Mobile. Zoe was country now. She was wearing a black dress with cowboy boots. That country music was playing in the background. The song Like Jesus Does by Eric Church came on the radio.
"I think this was the best night of my life." I heard Wade say. "Babe remember?" He asked Zoe. "I do. The four of us. Eric Church concert in Mobile. The one where you told me you loved me for the first time? I'll never forget." She told him. The more I saw them together in their married life, the cuter they were. I noticed in the rearview mirror that Wade didn't let Zoe's hand go the whole drive.
"Zoe, did you hear about George and AnnaBeth?" Lemon asked her.
"No. What's going on?" Zoe's interest peaked up. "They're expecting." She told her.
"Wow. Really?" Zoe asked, I noticed her doing math in her head. Their wedding was two months ago. "Definition of a honeymoon baby." We all laughed. Zoe and Lemon went into a side conversation about how AnnaBeth was going to have some explaining to do when they saw her later this weekend.
We stopped at a crab shack on the Gulf for dinner. It was beautifully lit up with Christmas lights that they kept up all year round. The line was out the door but the reservation we made got us right in to a table on the dock. We spent the next hour or so reminiscing about our younger days and catching up on our present ones. I couldn't decide who I missed more, Wade or Zoe.
I surprised everyone by taking them a jazz club which was having an open mic night that I had been to a few times back in my NFL days. It was a place I used to bring my dates, but Lemon didn't have to know that. It was mostly dark inside, with hints of blue lighting up the room. The tables were close together and we got there just as the place was filling up. Once we sat at the table we ordered a round of drinks and watched the first musician play. He sounded like a young BB King. I liked it and it looked like everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves too.
I pulled Lemon onto the dance floor with me and we stayed out there for a couple of songs. When we got back to the table there were a couple additional empty glasses covering the table and the waitress was taking Zoe's order for another. Wade and I ordered our second drink and Lemon ordered another "virgin screw driver". We all laughed. I knew Zoe liked to hit the bottle here and there on a weekend but I've never seen her passing Wade in the alcohol department like this.
After the first couple of musicians were done the place started to clear out. By that time Wade and I were in full on sports mode chat, talking about Bama football and how they played Auburn this season.
The song Oh, Sweet Nuthin' by The Velvet Underground was filling the room.
"Where's Lemon?" Wade asked and started looking around the room.
"I think she went to the bathroom." I told him. "Where's Zoe?" I asked Wade in return.
"I have absolutely no idea." Wade told me. We figured she went to the bathroom with Lemon. She had to be bombed by this time.
We turned our attention back to the stage, though no one else was really watching. The people that were still here were in small side conversations or out on the floor dancing. The song playing was slow and was actually rather depressing.
At that point we noticed Zoe walk from the corner of the stage up to a pole a couple feet in front of our table. She didn't say anything and didn't seek anyone's attention. Her eyes locked with Wades and he didn't take his eyes off her. She was slowly going around the pole, not in a slutty way but in a way that looked like she just had her heart ripped out.
"She had another miscarriage." He told me while still focusing all of his attention up on his wife.
"What? When?" My heart broke from them.
"Tuesday." He told me.
"This Tuesday?" I questioned immediately. Tuesday was barely three days ago.
"Yeah. This is her third." Wade told me and began faultering "It's not fair Lavon. People like us, we wait until our thirties to start having kids. Then we wonder why the babies aren't so easy to make anymore. And every day another million fourteen year olds get pregnant without trying. It's terrible feeling this helpless, man. We just watch these babies grow, and then fade. We don't know if we're supposed to name them or bury them, or…"
Zoe's eyes were filled with tears and I looked over at Wade and saw a tear run down his cheek. I knew the pain wasn't just from losing another baby, but from the pain of watching his wife hurt like that. Their faces showed grief, loss, sorrow and everything in between.
I couldn't help but feel terrible for coming to visit right now. They needed time. Lemon was pregnant and that couldn't be easy to be around, not to mention bringing up George and AnnaBeth in the midst of it.
My soul was actually aching for them. When the song finished Zoe hopped off the stage and came and sat on Wade's lap. He put his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Even with them closed the tears were still streaming.
Lemon came back from the bathroom and looked at them and then back at me. I reached for her hand and pulled her with me to go pay the tab and wait for them to meet us in the car.
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