Page 14 of The Loophole

Once we were alone, he said, “I wanted to check in with you when we didn’t have an audience. Are you alright?”

“Sure. Why do you ask?”

“You seem kind of stressed out.”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s okay if you’re not.”

After a pause, I admitted, “I’m worried about being able to pull this off. There’s so much at stake, and without that money—well, you know.”

“I do. Also, I didn’t mean to put pressure on you. We don’t have to go to Las Vegas if it’s too expensive, and I don’t need such a big amount every month if you can’t afford it.”

“No, it’s fine. I made sure to keep enough money to live comfortably for a year, after I liquidated my restaurant’s assets and paid down my debts. That’s why I’m not scrambling to find a job in someone else’s kitchen. I wanted to allow myself the time to plan out every detail of my next restaurant.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure.”

I petted the dog, who was shifting in Embry’s arms, and said, “I think Dusty’s getting impatient.”

“Yeah, I’d better go, but please don’t worry. I know we can do this. I also know everything feels weird and uncertain right now, but let’s both try to think of it as an adventure and have fun with it.”

“That’s a good suggestion.”

I walked him out, and after he stepped onto the porch, he turned back to me with a smile. “This is going to be great,” he said. “You’ll see.”

I had no idea if he was right about that. All I knew was that my life was about to change in a big way. Whether it would be a change for the better remained to be seen.

5

Embry

Around noon on Friday, Bryson arrived at the Pink Victorian to take us to the airport. First though, there was the prenuptial agreement to sign. I invited him in, and he looked around curiously as we went into the living room and took a seat.

“I can see why you like living here,” he said. There was nothing fancy about this place, but it was warm and welcoming. I thought it was nice that he could appreciate it.

JoJo and Vee joined us, sitting side-by-side so they could read one of the thin packets of papers while I read the other. When they finished, JoJo took off her red-framed reading glasses and said, “I’m not a lawyer, obviously, but this all seems pretty standard.”

“It basically says if your marriage ends in divorce or annulment, you’re not entitled to any of his shit and he’s not entitled to any of yours,” Vee told me.

I grinned a little. “Good to know my hoodie collection is safe.”

Bryson and I signed both copies, and he handed one to me. I passed it to JoJo, because what was I supposed to do with it?

Then Bryson muttered, “I’m glad that’s over.” He’d thought it was embarrassing, but I totally got it. He was going to inherit a lot of money at the end of this, and according to California’s divorce law, I’d be entitled to half as his spouse. He had to make sure I wasn’t a gold digger looking to fleece him for all he was worth.

He had one more task to take care of, and it ratcheted his embarrassment right back up again. Bryson put an envelope on the coffee table and said, “That’s your stipend for December, in cash.”

Vee picked up the envelope and counted the money before announcing, “A thousand bucks. Nice. Bonus points for not prorating it, even though it’s already the sixth.”

Bryson looked mildly offended. “Of course not. I have no interest in nickel-and-diming your friend.”

I pulled out a few bills and pocketed them before handing the envelope to JoJo. “This is for the back rent I owe you, plus this month’s rent.” She and Yolanda charged me next to nothing, which had always bothered me. They had a mortgage and bills to pay, and in this housing market they could have gotten so much more for my room.

She tried to give the envelope back to me. “You should hold on to this. You mentioned you were pretty tapped out, so put this in the bank.”

I got up and said, “Please take it. I like knowing it’s taken care of.”

Everyone else got up too, and JoJo asked, “Did you keep enough for groceries?”

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