Page 95 of Victorious Vice

“Great. And the fact that she’s underage isn’t an issue?”

He pauses. “Assuming that parental consent was given for the marriage in Colombia, which complicates things slightly, it doesn’t remove your right to an annulment based on non-consummation.”

“Great. Let me know what else you need from me.”

“Just the certificate of marriage. Send it over when you can. I’ll get the paperwork filed. I’m pretty sure we can get this moved along pretty quickly.”

“Good.”

“But about your wife… If you’re not married to her, she won’t be able to stay in the country.”

“Wait… What?”

“When a marriage is annulled, it’s legally treated as if the marriage never existed, which could have implications for any immigration benefits she may have been seeking through that marriage.”

“Shit. A divorce then?”

“Immigration law isn’t my specialty, Vinnie.”

“She wanted to come here. That’s part of why I agreed to the marriage. She’s an intelligent young woman, and she wants to go to culinary school. She doesn’t have those opportunities in Colombia.”

“They don’t have culinary schools in Colombia?”

“No. It’s not that. Her…family. They don’t believe a woman should be doing anything except pushing out babies to seal deals with other families.”

He pauses again. “I see.”

“How can we get her legal status here in the US?”

“Does she have another form of legal immigration status? Like a work visa or student visa?”

“No. This all happened very quickly. I brought her here as my wife.”

“A divorce may be a better option for you, then. Though immigration status could still be affected. We have an excellent immigration attorney here at the firm. You should probably talk to her. I think maybe your best bet is to wait until she turns eighteen, have her apply for residency and a green card. Then instead of an annulment, get a divorce.”

“Crap.”

“What’s the issue? So you wait a year or so.”

I rub at my temple with my free hand. “The issue is that I want to marry someone else.”

He pauses again. “That is a problem. But if you’re not sleeping with your wife, you can still have the relationship that you want. I’ll confer with my partner, and we’ll find a solution for you.”

“Much obliged.”

I end the call and sigh. That throws a kink into things.

But I don’t have time to dwell on that right now. I call Mario.

“Hello…son,” he says into the phone.

His voice makes me want to throw up. “I’m not going to call you Father. Or Dad.”

“Grandfather’s fine,” he says.

“I don’t like that either. None of it is true. I’ve decided I’m going to call you Mario.”

He chuckles sardonically. “Have it your way. I got word from Agudelo in Colombia that you disappeared. With his daughter. Without sealing the deal.”

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