Page 49 of Suddenly Single

“This crazy stuff happens with alarming regularity up there.” I muttered, and when I glanced up, I saw Asher in the doorway. He’d packed us each an overnight bag, and his eyes glittered with excitement.

“Yes, now you see why I wanted to avoid a big wedding.” Asher placed the bags on the floor and sat across from me. “But, before we elope, make sure it’s the right decision for you, Carter. I’m happy marrying you in a quickie ceremony, or at the country club. Whatever makes you happy. I just don’t want you to regret it years from now.” His blue eyes locked on mine.

“Let’s get out of here. I didn’t know this, but Washington D.C. is an excellent city for getting a fast and easy ceremony. We could wait until morning to hit the road, or we could…” I began, but Asher held up his hand.

“If we wait around, everyone will find out, and they’ll try to stop us.” Asher came around to my side of the desk and perched on the edge. “Let’s go tonight. It’s only…” Asher pulled his phone out of his pocket, “...eight o’clock.” He typed on his phone, then grinned at me. “The last train for D.C. leaves at ten. We’ll wake up tomorrow morning and get married before anyone can stop us.”

“Call an Uber.” I stood and kissed Asher on the cheek. “I can’t wait for our honeymoon.”

“Did you remember to tell the driver to keep driving past the main house?”

We were standing outside on our front porch, both of us checking the time every few seconds. It felt like we’d been waiting here forever, and we had to make it to the train station in a matter of minutes.

“Yes, of course.” Asher huffed, tapping his foot impatiently. It was an eerie night, with wisps of fog blowing around the grounds. A female voice yelled in the distance.

“What the hell was that?” My hand flew to my chest.

“Who cares?” Asher pointed up the driveway. “The driver’s here.” Headlights were slowly heading toward us, and a few moments later, we were piling into the back seat of a red Nissan sedan.

“The train station on Staples Mill Road, right?” The driver asked. He was a little younger than both of us and had bright red hair with skin covered in freckles.

“Yes, and step on it. Our train leaves at ten.” Asher shut the door, and the driver turned the car around and began driving toward River Road. We passed the main house without incident, then with a stifled scream, the driver slammed on the brakes.

“What the hell is that?” He pointed toward his passenger window.

“Jesus.” I muttered. Like a scene out of a zombie movie, a tall blonde woman covered in dirt and leaves was stumbling toward the car. “It's Lori Stallings. Oh, and that girl is right behind her. Driver, please hurry. We have to get away from them!”

We didn’t have to tell him twice. The tires squealed as we raced past the wedding planner and her messed-up assistant. I heard another scream, and both Asher and I turned in our seats to see what it was.

“Aw, bless her heart.” Lori had fallen down, and while we watched, the girl Mindy tripped over her. I pointed at them. “Asher, that is why we’re eloping.”

“Good morning.” I stretched my legs out, then laid my head on Asher’s chest.

“Good morning.” Asher’s voice rumbled in my ear. “But it’s only morning for about twenty more minutes. We need to hurry and get our marriage license.”

I barely remembered checking into The Four Seasons last night. Even though we’d both slept for the two-hour train ride, I still felt exhausted. But it was tinged with excitement. Finally, after enduring one catastrophe after another, we were getting married in peace.

“Have you checked your phone?” I asked, because I was afraid of checking mine.

“No.” Asher replied. “But I guess we have to let them know we’re alive. Here.” Asher sat up and handed me my phone from off the nightstand. Then he grabbed his phone and started scrolling. “How bizarre.” He showed me the screen and said, "I only have one message from Mom."

Don’t blame you one bit

I snickered, then saw there were zero messages on mine. “They’re all recovering from the party last night and think we’re back at the cottage.”

“Mom probably didn’t drink too much because of the judge.” Asher shook his head. “I imagine she sent Florida to the cottage to find us this morning, and when we weren’t there, she put two and two together.”

Asher tapped on the screen, then showed me the message he’d sent.

Let everyone know we’re alive and we’ve eloped

“Sign here and here.” The woman behind the glass screen passed our marriage license through the tiny metal opening at the bottom. “That will be $45, please.”

Asher handed her a credit card, and I pulled a pen out of my jacket pocket and scrawled my name. Then Asher wrote his name, and a minute later, she handed him a receipt.

“The justice of the peace is on the third floor.” The woman grinned. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” We spun around and raced for the elevator. It was already after three, and the courthouse closed at 4:30. We didn’t want to come back in the morning, and had already decided to fly to Colorado and spend a quiet week there for our honeymoon.

---