"So how's the missus?" Chuckling at his own joke, Sonny Corinthos looked up from the files he'd been working on when Jason walked in. Taking in Jason's tired, washed out appearance he could tell life was a little rough for his long time friend. Well good. It was about damn time.
Pausing mid-stride, Jason frowned. "Brenda tell you?"
Leaning back, his eyes dancing Sonny tsked. "My wife gossip? No of course not." Waving his hand in the air, Sonny rolled his eyes. "Of course she told me. Why didn't you?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Heading now to the wetbar, Jason growled deep in his chest.
Checking his watch and whistling low, Sonny shook his head. "Drinking before noon? Not a good sign buddy. Next thing you'll be going to meetings with AJ."
Knocking back some of Sonny's strongest imported Whiskey, Jason whipped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She drives me insane."
"Elizabeth hasn't even been in town for twenty-four hours and she already has you drinking."
"She all but spit in my face last night." Turning around to Sonny's laughter, Jason wondered why he ever thought he'd get some kind of sympathy here. He'd been up till four that morning warring with himself. Flip-flopping back and forth between fighting for Elizabeth or letting her just walk away.
"Was this before or after you used your impeccable verbal skills to tell Elizabeth the two of you are still married?"
Then there had been that. He'd humiliated her. Left her standing there blinking. Until a tear rolled from her eye and she dashed from the room. Thank God Max had been outside waiting to take the girls to Emily's after dinner.
"I should've left."
"You should've, but who could say no to a dinner at the Quartermaines?"
And hadn't that been a real treat. Monica and Alan hounding him with questions he sure as hell didn't want to answer, while Edward nearly yelled himself into a stroke.
"She was purposely pushing my buttons -." It was a lame excuse, and seeing he couldn't find a way to un-wedge his ass from his backside, it was all he had left to defend himself.
"No shit you say." Getting up from the table to refill his own drink Sonny wondered when Jason took the bullet to the head. "You took off while she was all but in a coma. Sent her divorce papers without warning, messed with her bills. I'm surprised she didn't remove your ballsack with a rusty saw."
"I love her Sonny."
"Jason you really are a Jackass aren't you?" Looking at his friend like it was the first time he'd ever seen him, Sonny snorted. "There's another thing I have to admit my wife was right about."
"I'm being serious. I want her back."
"So embarrassing her in front of the Quartermaine's was the way you decided to go?" Cocking his head to the side, Sonny made a face. "I can't say that's quiet the way I'd try and win a girl's heart."
"Fuck you." Glaring at his jerk of a friend, Jason turned his back and headed to the door.
"What do you want me to say Jason?" Waiting until Jason stopped, Sonny went on. "I don't know where the hell you're coming from anymore. You're all over the place. Married a girl you didn't even know in Vegas while on a drinking spree. Decided to throw caution to the wind and make a go of it. Then take off the first time you're put to the test."
"I thought she would've been better off without me."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You know, I never got that." His arms went wide as the liquid in his glass went sloshing over the side. "You think Michael's any safer than Elizabeth would've been? It didn't stop you from fighting tooth and nail with Bobby, then the Quartermaines over custody. What happened to Elizabeth had nothing to do with the business."
"I know." God he knew.
Clearly deflated, Sonny took a seat on the couch. "Jase, why didn't you just file the papers?"
"I was going to, but I kept finding reasons to put it off. Michael got an ear infection. Moving back to the penthouse. Then I just couldn't do it. I bought tickets, I was going to fly out to Colorado to see her."
"To win her back?"
"Something like that."
"And this is what you want? Elizabeth back? You better be certain, because if you break that girl's heart again, I ain't letting you back inside my home. I have my own marriage to protect."
"Emily are you sure about this?" Standing in snow up to her knees, Elizabeth looked around the Quartermaine estate with mixed emotion.
"All my life I wanted an outdoor wedding." Laughing at Elizabeth's hesitation, she linked her arm through her friends and pulled her over to the edge of the pond. "You're just not using your artistic eye."
"Cause my artistic butt is frozen."
Clearly not put out, Emily smiled. "Just picture it. White lights sparkling in the trees. Luminaries along the paths. The chairs will be facing the two evergreens over there." Emily pointed in the direction of two medium sized Christmas trees. "A large arch between them where Johnny and the boys will be waiting. You want to talk about it now?"
"Nope."
"So a sleigh is going to bring you, Brenda and I to the end of the aisle."
Trying to envision Emily's picture perfect wedding, Elizabeth couldn't get past the fact she wanted all this to happen after sunset. It just sounded awfully cold to her. She hoped Jason froze his balls off.
"Food will be served inside, and we're going to turn the pond into an old-fashioned ice rink with fires set up along the edge in containers where we'll have chestnuts roasting."
Looking over her shoulder at the ice, Elizabeth raised a concerned brow. "Is it safe?"
"Of course silly." To make her point, Emily walked out onto the frozen pond. "I used to skate here all the time when I was a kid. You want to talk about it now?"
"Nope." Taking a tentative step out on the ice, Elizabeth heard a sharp crack and her body went ridged. "Oh god the ice is breaking isn't it?"
"No silly." Slapping a gloved hand over her mouth, Emily laughed. "It does that. Just because you have an enormous butt doesn't mean were gonna sink."
"Bite me." Shuffling her feet until she reached the bank again, Elizabeth didn't let out the breath she was holding until she was back on solid ground.
"You can skate can't you?"
"Of course. But back home we have these nifty places inside that grow ice. And amazingly, there's not several feet of bone chilling water underneath it."
"You're a wimp."
"Whatever. Me and my elephant butt feels more comfortable over here." Rubbing her hands together, Elizabeth ignored the chill that was seeping into her bones. "Don't we have a dress fitting to get to? I can't wait to see the monstrosity your gonna make me wear."
Sliding across the ice, Emily almost pitched over when she hit the edge. "I'm not the one with lime green heels that make me want to hurl."
"I still can't find those."
"I know, I'm doing you a favor." Kicking at a clump of snow, Emily let out a loud exasperated growl. "I can't take it anymore. I gave you time this morning to get over your mile high headache. I've given you room today, waiting."
"Nagging." Elizabeth frowned.
"Yea, well you knew what a pampered, spoiled bitch I can be." Emily shrugged her shoulders with out apology. "The only thing I can think is you have no idea how to start. So let me help you. What're you getting your husband for Christmas?"
"That Bastard." Unable to stop her upper lip from curling up, Elizabeth tried to regain some of her composer. The last thing she wanted was to come apart at the seems. Because if just one thread started to come unraveled she was going to fall apart.
"A lump of coal then?"
"Try a pile of -."
"I've never seen him just lose it like that in front of the family - well besides from when he'd just gotten out of the hospital."
Elizabeth didn't want to hear it. Didn't want to think about it. If she could put her hands over her ears and hum till it all just went away she would. But it wouldn't take away the sick feeling in her stomach, or worse, that tiny ray of hope that sliced through her.
But her raging anger had taken care of that. Damn Bastard. How the hell was she supposed to know there was more to the divorce process than just signing the stupid papers? It's not like she made a hobby of it.
"So what're you going to do now?" Emily's words were hesitant, spoken in a soft voice.
"You said once your brother had a sick love for his bike right?"
"Yea."
"I think I'm going to win custody of the damn thing and sell it for parts."
"Elizabeth!"
"I don't know what I'm going to do." The girls trudged their way through the snow back to where Emily had parked her Durango, a gift from Johnny. It was a pretty little package, and Elizabeth wasn't too surprised to here bullet proof windows and a tracker had been installed before the key had been handed over to her friend.
"So you haven't made any concrete decisions?" Emily stopped.
Stopping also, Elizabeth opened her mouth, only to snap her jaw shut with enough force to loosen two of her molars. It took her a few failed tries but coherent thought came back to her.
"You still don't believe it'll work between Jason and I do you?"
"Well, you must." Putting her nose in the air, Emily brushed past her. "Or you wouldn't be so confused."