Jon was distraught and devastated so Joe stayed the night with him. He didn't know what they were going to do when they had to catch the flight to Colorado. Jon was still drunk off his ass and in no condition to be around people. He was afraid to leave Jon alone, afraid of what he might do.
When Dixie woke up, her head was throbbing and swimming. She opened her eyes and looked around, trying to focus and figure out where she was. She felt an arm around her waist and saw it was tan, a lot darker than Jon was. She screamed and jumped out of the bed, the sheet wrapped around her. "Colby, what the fuck are you doing?"
"Good morning, my beautiful wife."
"Uh, what? Your what?"
"My wife. Mama, don't you remember? We got married last night."
"We WHAT? Colby, what the fuck is going on?!"
"Dix, we got married. You really don't remember?"
"You're lying." She shook her head, unable to believe what he was saying.
Colby walked over to her and placed his hands on her hips. "Baby, I am not lying. Why would I lie to you about that? We did get married last night. My ring is on your hand."
"Why the hell would we? I don't remember a goddamn thing." She stared at the ring like it was offending her.
"I know you were drinking, but I didn't think you were that drunk. I mean, you changed into your gown, you said your vows, and you even signed the license. You didn't seem wasted to me. Dixie, I would never have gone through with it if I thought you were that drunk."
"Colby, this is fucking crazy." She looked around and saw the wedding dress hanging up and gasped. "Oh my God."
Colby went and got the license and their picture frame to show her. "Here. See, you signed it. And look, they took this when you kissed me. It was the happiest moment of my life, mama. I can't believe you don't remember."
She looked at the license and it was her signature. Then she took the picture from him and stared at it. She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips before she got upset again. "Col, how the hell did I go from having dinner at the House of Blues with Jon and the guys, to a fucking wedding chapel with you?"
"You were upset at Jon and I ran into you as you were leaving. Do you really not remember anything?"
"NO! Okay so I ran into you…how the fuck did we end up married?"
"Well, we were driving around talking and when we stopped, you saw the chain around my neck and asked what it was. I showed you that it was your engagement ring. You started to cry and tell me how sweet it was and how much it touched you. Then you kissed me. I asked you if you still wanted to marry me and if you still loved me, and you said yes. So I said we should just go do it. We went and got a license and a dress before I found a little chapel for us to get married in. Babe, it was the best night of my life. I am so happy that you are now my wife."
"This is fucking nuts."
"I thought it was because you were upset at Jon, but you told me you still loved me, Dix. I wish you could remember."
"Why was I upset with him?" she asked, trying to make sense of what Colby was telling her.
"You said you saw him with a bunch of girls. You told me you really didn't want to talk about it. You don't remember that either?"
"No. I don't remember a damn thing. How the hell could this happen?"
"It happened because it was meant to. It may not have been our dream ceremony, but I am glad you are my wife. After all these years, you are Mrs. Lopez. I am the happiest man in the world. I can't wait to tell my family. Mom has been waiting for this for years."
"Oh God." She didn't want to think about that. She felt like she needed to get out of there so she looked around, "uh, where are my clothes?"
"They are in the bag, over there. Why?"
"I need to go."
"Dixie, you can't go. I don't want you to leave."
"I can't deal with this right now. This is too much." She dropped the sheet and went to put her clothes back on. "Where is my phone?"
Colby pointed at the drawer. "Where are you going to go?" Colby asked her with fear filling his heart.
"I am going home. I need to wrap my head around this. And I have to talk to Jon."
"You are my wife, dammit! Your place is with me now, not that worthless son-of-a-bitch! Why can't you be as happy as you were last night to be with me, huh? Why can't you kiss me and tell me you love me? You vowed to always be with me, just last night, Dixie. What the fuck changed? You wake up and suddenly you don't love me anymore? You are taking off on me again? Why do you keep doing this to me? Look, look at this picture! There are two people in love. You can't look at this then stand there and tell me that you are going home to Jon. I am your husband now and you belong with me, not running off to him. Not anymore. You love me. You married me. Not him. Please, don't leave me."
She drew a heavy breath. "Colby, I can't do this with you. I don't know what the fuck came over me, but I need to talk to Jon. He at least needs to hear it from me that we got married. Believe me, you and I are going to talk about this but right now, I have to go."
She took off the ring and put it in his hand. She turned to walk out and Colby's words stopped her dead in her tracks. "He already knows."
She spun around, "He what?"
"He already knows. I texted his sorry ass last night so he could see you were where you belonged and all was finally right with the world."
"Why the fuck would you do that!?" she screamed.
"Because it is the truth! Dammit Dixie, why can't you just accept it!? We are made for each other and we belong together. You knew it last night so I don't get why the hell you are fighting it now."
She thought about what he said but shook her head. "I have to go."
She slung open the door and stormed out. "Dix, wait."
"No. Just leave me alone, Colby."
Joe dragged Jon out of bed and put him in the shower. The cold water hit him and he cursed out loud. His head was pounding and he felt sick, but he was sure it wasn't the booze that had his stomach churning. He couldn't get the image of Dixie and Colby out of his head. His heart was crushed and he felt as if his spirit had finally been broken. After all the things he had been through in his life, he always seemed to keep going. But now, he didn't want to go on. He was wounded to his soul and knew he could never be fixed.
Dixie took a taxi back to their apartment, the whole way trying to think of what she would say to Jon. She knew if Colby sent him that picture that he would be beside himself with hurt and anger. She couldn't believe she was drunk enough to marry Colby and not remember anything that happened after only four glasses of wine. She had no idea how she was going to handle this, but she knew in her heart that it didn't feel right.
When she got home, she composed herself before she walked in. Joe was on the couch and glared up at her with surprise and resentment. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Uh, I fucking live here."
"Shouldn't you be with your new husband?"
"Fuck. Jon told you."
"Yeah. I spent the night trying to console him and keep him from jumping off the damn building. Why are you putting him through this, Dixie? I thought you loved him."
"I do love him. I don't even know what the fuck happened last night, Joe. I can't remember shit. So please save your disdain. You can't possibly make me feel any worse than I already do. Now where is Jon?"
"Taking a cold shower to sober up."
Dixie walked off and went into the bedroom, waiting until she heard the water turn off. She was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread, waiting for him to come out. When he opened the door, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Dixie? The fuck you want?"
"Can we talk?"
"Nope."
"Jon, please. I need to talk to you."
"Nothing to say. You married that douche bag and left me again. You don't trust me. You don't love me. I have to say, you sure as fuck had me fooled though. All that shit you said about me being so important to you was all a lie. What I don't fucking get is how you keep going back to him. After everything he fucking did, you see some bitches around me and don't even give me the benefit of the doubt. Not a fucking bit of credit. You run off and marry him. After telling me that I am the one you want a life with, you fucking marry him. I am the stupidest motherfucker in the world for believing it. Why did you make me think I was special, huh? Why did you let me believe I could have that life and then take it all away from me, Dixie? Why are you here now, just to twist the goddamn knife?!"
"No, it's not like that. Baby, I swear I don't remember a thing."
"Oh yeah. That is fucking believable. You didn't drink enough to be that drunk. I have seen you drunk, remember?"
"Jon, please, just listen to me."
"No. You aren't talking your way out of it this time. I believed in you and you broke my heart. Again. But this is the last goddamn time."
"Baby, please…"
"Don't fucking call me baby. Go back to your precious new hubby; he is your baby, not me. I hope you will be very happy together. You fucking deserve each other. I am done with this shit."
He went to leave and Dixie moved to stand in front of the door. "Don't go, Jon."
"Dixie, move the fuck out of the way."
"No, I won't until you listen. Look, I don't know how I even ended up in the car with Colby, let alone marrying him. I don't want to be his wife. I don't want to be with him. I told you, that is all over. You are the one I want. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I do know I am not staying married to him. Please listen to me. Please." She felt tears falling from her eyes, terrified of him walking away from her. She really had no memory of what transpired but couldn't imagine ever being mad enough at Jon to run back to Colby.
He wanted to believe her but couldn't let himself. "You…you really don't remember? How can you not fucking remember?" Jon asked, his heart pounding in his ears.
"No. Nothing. Not even what you are saying about the women. The last thing I remember was Joe trying to sing along to The Thrill is Gone and us laughing that he was off-key. Then everything is a blur. I don't know what happened between then and when I woke up this morning."
"You didn't even drink that much. How the hell can you have no recollection of last night?" He was very skeptical but he couldn't help hoping that she was telling him the truth.
"I don't know, baby. I swear I don't. That is why I came back here. Everything I said to you, I meant. You are the one I love. Not him. I will get this so-called marriage annulled. It just isn't right. Not in my heart. I mean, he showed me the picture and the dress and the license, and the ring, but it feels all wrong. I know I am not meant to be his wife, Jon. I even gave him the ring back. I am sorry this happened and it hurt you but I swear to God I don't remember a moment of it."
He didn't know what to think, but the reality of the situation was she was standing in their bedroom and telling him she loved him. She wasn't celebrating her new life with her new husband. She didn't have Colby's ring on and she was confessing that marrying Colby didn't feel right in her heart. Part of him was still upset but the biggest part of him felt relief. He reached out for her and crushed her to his chest. He held her so close to him that she felt he was going to squeeze the life out of her. She felt his hands shaking and curled her fingers in his hair. "Baby I am so sorry. Please don't cry."
"You swear you love me, not him? You swear you don't remember? You swear you are going to annul this bullshit marriage?"
"Yes, all of that. Jon, I told you, you are my soul mate. I am not sure how the hell Colby got me down the aisle but I know it isn't what is supposed to be. Not anymore."
"I just thought you married him to get back at me. I thought you still wanted him and that life with him. I know you really liked that ring…"
"I don't give a shit about that ring, Jonathan."
He pulled away from her and looked in her eyes. "You mean that?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
"Dixie…did he fuck you?"
"What?"
"Sorry, but I have to know. While you were drunk, did he fuck you?" He was going to murder Colby if she said yes. He couldn't believe how low Colby had sunk and if he had sex with Dixie while she was vulnerable, he would pay.
"I don't know. I don't think so. We were naked and there was…but…" she stopped before she finished that sentence.
"But what?"
"I mean, I wasn't sore. I was usually sore after Colby and I had sex. Jon, please don't ask me details."
"I don't want to know any more. I am going to beat his fucking ass for this. Joe takes advantage of him, and then he takes advantage of you. What the fuck is wrong with them? People call me a scumbag and a lowlife and all this shit, but I have never done anything like this, to anyone."
"I am sorry, Jon. I really don't know what else to say and I can't explain it. I need you to believe me."
"I am still fucking pissed off but something isn't right about this."
"I understand that you are mad. I don't blame you, just please don't walk out on me."
"I can't. You are blocking my way out," he said with a small smile.
"I will stand here until you know that I am not lying to you. I love you, Jon. You are the only one I want. I don't know what the hell went down last night, but I will fix it. Right now actually."
"What? How the hell are you going to do that?"
She took her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. She saw all the missed calls from Joe and Jon the night before and from Colby since she left him at the hotel. She shook her head, not wanting to contend with him right then. "Who are you calling?"
"David Simmons, my lawyer." She finally moved away from the door and Jon left her to talk on the phone. He needed to take a moment and digest what had happened. He had been on an emotional rollercoaster the last 24 hours and his nerves felt like live wires. His stomach was in knots from the stress. When he walked out of the bedroom, Joe looked at him with questioning eyes.
"What's going on, uce?"
"She says she doesn't remember anything last night. She didn't remember bolting after seeing the chicks around me or leaving with Colby, or the wedding."
"Yeah, that is what she said. Do you believe her?"
"I want to, man. I mean, I don't know how she could have been so fucked up that she doesn't remember, but if she wanted to be married to that asshole, why did she rush over here to me? Why did she take the ring off and come home to explain?"
"I don't know. Maybe she regretted it?"
"I am sure she does, but she wouldn't lie to me. Not about this. I don't know, man. She seems sincere and things just don't add up."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I have seen her drink whiskey and chase it with beer like she was drinking water. She still never blacked out or forgot what happened. And Colby, why the fuck was he even there and just happens to run into her when she takes off, upset at me? Just looks suspicious as hell and you know, I wouldn't put anything past Colby anymore."
"You don't really think he planned this…"
"Sure I do. Joe, she only drank four glasses of wine. You think that would fuck her up bad enough to marry him and not remember? No, he is behind this. I don't know how he did it, but I am sure as hell going to find out."
"David? Hey it is Dixie."
"Good morning. What can I do for you, Dixie?"
"I need to have a marriage annulled."
"What?"
"Yeah. Somehow I got drunk and ended up marrying Colby last night. I don't remember shit about it but I know I don't want to stay married to him. That part of my life is over. So what do I have to do?"
"Well, first things first, I will need to look up Nevada law regarding annulment. If you were drunk, you shouldn't have a problem challenging the court for dissolution of the marriage. Wait, are you sure it is legal?"
"Unfortunately. I saw the marriage license."
"What do you mean you saw it?"
"This morning. Colby showed it to me."
"Hmmm. That is odd."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, it is customary for the officiator to file the license after the ceremony. Most of the time, they don't give it back to you."
"You mean it isn't legal?"
"Well yes and no. It not legally binding as a contract, which marriage is considered. It is not official until it is filed with the court and recorded into the books. Signing gives it the weight of law but only when both parties knowingly understand what they are agreeing to. You being intoxicated, it can be argued that you didn't truly understand at the time."
"But if Colby hasn't taken it to the courthouse, it isn't actually binding yet? Is that what you are saying?"
"Yes."
"Oh, thank you. I have to call him right now and make sure he doesn't. I will call you back later."
"Of course. Good luck."
"Thanks." She hung up and immediately called Colby.
He was sitting in the bed staring at their wedding photo. He honestly thought things would not go like that when she woke up. He was expecting her to be surprised, but not go back to Jon. 'Maybe Jon will kick her out and she will come running back to me.' He figured Jon would be pissed off and maybe, just maybe, finally he would let her go.
When he saw Dixie calling, he was hoping she was calling to tell him that Jon didn't want to have anything to do with her and she was coming home. He answered, "Hi mama."
"Hey, Colby. Okay so look, what did you do with the license?"
"What?"
"The marriage license. What did you do with it?"
"Why?"
"Because I just got off the phone with David…"
"Your lawyer!? You already called your fucking lawyer?! Is it really that bad being married to me, Dix?"
She exhaled into the phone, "as I was saying, I just got off the phone with David and he said it isn't legal until the court files it. So all you have to do is rip the damn thing up and no harm, no foul."
"No."
"Excuse me? What do you mean no?"
He decided to lie. He was going all in on this and had come too far to back out now. "I already mailed it."
"You what? Colby, why the fuck did you do that?"
"Because I love you and I am glad we got married goddammit! You are my wife now, Dixie and I am not letting you go just like that. Hell no."
"Damn it, Colby!"
"So do what you have to but in the eyes of God, and soon, the law, I am your wedded husband."
"You are going to fight me for an annulment?"
"If I have to, yes. This is fucking ridiculous. You know you love me or you wouldn't have stood there and said those vows to me."
"I can't believe you are doing this."
"You can't? Well I can't believe you are fighting me on this. Things really don't have to be that hard. But if you insist, I will call a lawyer too and I will find a way to block you from acting like this marriage never happened. I think the legal word is contested. I will not let you act like it doesn't mean anything to you because it means everything in the world to me."
"I just can't with you." Talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. He was exasperating and she couldn't seem to get through to him.
"By the way, how did Jon take the news?" he said with chuckle.
"How do you think?" she answered sarcastically.
"Very bad I hope. I hope he was drowning in a pool of his own tears. Much like when you left me. No less than he deserves."
"I have never known you to act like this before. Ever. What is wrong with you, Colby?"
"My wife is not here with me and is with another man. I should act happy?"
"I am with the man I love!"
Her words cut him to the bone but he tried to recover quickly. "He isn't your husband though, I am. I know you cheated on me before, but are you really going to commit adultery on top of that?"
She sighed, hating that he was rubbing her face in it. "We are only married on paper, Colby. Not in my heart. And not on paper for long."
She hung up on him, furious with him but also with herself. She couldn't accept that she would willingly go through with a wedding with Colby when she loves Jon so much. This was promptly turning into a nightmare for her. No matter how hard she tried to be good for Jon, she always managed to hurt him more. This time, she didn't know how they would cope and if he was willing to be there for her while she had to fight Colby for a divorce. She sat back on the bed and covered her face, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't think she could make it without Jon and was petrified of losing him.
Jon and Joe heard her side of the conversation and could only imagine what Colby was saying to her. Jon was getting madder by the second. "I am going to fucking kill him, Joe." Joe just nodded. When he heard her get quiet, he decided to go check on her. He opened the door and saw her crying her eyes out and knelt down in front of her.
"Dix, what did he say?"
"He already mailed the license in and he will fight me in court so I can't annul this sham of a marriage."
"He can't fight you if he is dead…" he muttered.
"Oh, Jon, what am I going to do!? I am sorry this happened. We were so happy and everything was so great until I fucked it up."
Jon pulled her into his arms and she clung to him. "It wasn't all you, Dix. We will take care of this. Whatever we have to do, we will do. I am not going anywhere."
"I don't deserve you to love me so much. Oh God, look at your hands!"
"I'm fine. Yes you do. Babe, this is not all your fault. I am just so goddamn relieved that you came home and you aren't staying with him, that the rest of this shit really doesn't matter. The legal shit is just an afterthought. You still love me and I am the one you still chose. Your heart is all mine now and even those vows weren't enough to pull you away from me again. He finally doesn't have a hold on you anymore."
"No, he doesn't. Not anymore. You are my life, Jon and it kills me that I hurt you again. I don't mean to keep causing you pain and grief."
"Dixie…"
"No, I mean it. How can you still love me after I have put you through so much?"
"Because I truly love you. You are everything to me and I can deal with the whole world being against me if I have you, remember? Nothing else fucking matters. I am in this for the long haul and I won't let you go if you promise not to let me go."
"Never. Never ever."
Joe watched them from the door and he had to admit he was surprised. He had seen a side of Jon that no one besides Dixie had ever seen. He frankly never thought he would see the woman who could capture Jon's heart and make him fall so deep in love. He never expected him to be as understanding as he had been. The night before, he was devastated and drunk, completely hopeless and lost without her. He swallowed his pride and let all his anger go in favor of love. He could see that they were built to last. He never saw that when Dixie was with Colby, but always told himself it was just because of his feelings for Colby. Now he saw that they were never meant to be and she was always meant for Jon. No other woman could heal his heart so fast after he thought it was irreparably broken. He whispered, "when a man loves a woman, can't keep his mind on nothing else, he'd change the world for the good thing he's found; man, Percy, you sure knew what you were singing about."
Colby was back at the hotel packing his stuff up. He didn't know what else to do now that he had dug himself a hole. He thought he had planned for everything but didn't plan for Dixie not being thrilled to finally be married to him. He realized he might not have thought everything through enough, now wondering where to go from here. He knew he should just give it up, but he couldn't. He loved her too much, and as much as he loved her was how much he hated Jon. He took her dress off the hanger and packed it up as well before folding the license and putting it behind the frame. He had a plane to catch and would spend his time wisely, thinking of a way to drive them apart, and her back to him. He stared at the picture before closing his suitcase. "Till death do us part, Dixie Lopez."