THE VISA PROBLEM

There must be an anti Isaac Valentine campaign going on somewhere. That’s the only answer I am willing to accept.

 After my bold declaration of a complete and utter bullshit, i topped it off with a second glass of wine in the five seconds my family was silenced.

 Silenced!

I did that!

There has never been an event that silenced my entire family, even the kids at the table knew not to make a sound.

 Poor Barnabas though, he took his leave immediately after.

Then the spell wore off and came the barrage of questions, all of them non stop.

 “I’m drunk, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” I had said, my chair scraped backwards, everyone was talking, but I wasn’t listening.

 I took the elevator faster than they could blink, and all they could do was watch me go down, and then I made a mistake that made me think, yes of course, I am drunk.

 I got into my car, and drove.

Alcohol is something else, usually I had strong opinions on drunk drivers, but now I know, they could have been running away from their lies and it’s consequences.

 My phone went off from there.

Non stop ringing.

As if that weren’t enough, I was taken in by traffic police.

 “Really, two glasses of wine. That’s all I had.”

“Sure. Please wait here.” The officer says drily, like she had heard the excuse a thousand times before now.

 My phone starts ringing again, my father this time, with a wince, I watch it ring till the end, before I could heave a sigh of relief, a new message pops up.

 From my mother,

“Izzy, we’ll be at your house for lunch with your fiancé.”

I groan, scrubbing my hands over my face.

 What have I done?

I am utterly screwed. And they must know it.

 Another buzz,

“We just want to meet the new member of the family, that’s all.”

Where am I supposed to find a husband? I haven’t been in a relationship… ever.

If I lie about it, they would just think it was a cry for help, an intervention, even more reasons to hook me up with more Barnabas’s, Earl’s and Ryan’s who is definitely straight.

 What am I supposed to do now??

Scrolling through my short list of contacts, my finger hovers above Lester, we haven’t talked since the last time we slept together, over three years ago.

 Our agreement was purely sexual, plus, he wasn’t out yet, he wouldn’t agree to play the role of a husband.

  “Court, you need to help, I am on the verge of imploding right now.” I say as soon as my best friend swipes accept.

 Her eyes on the facetime narrows, the service here has to be one of the worst because her face freezes a few times, voice coming out after her mouth moves.

“Bitch, where are you?”

Glancing around me, licking my lips, I can only taste the alcohol now, the buzz a distant memory. The officer has left me alone.

 “In court, the waiting room to be precise.”

She lets out a string of cusses.

“You finally snapped and killed someone? You didn’t need someone to hide the body?”

She sounds way too excited about that, and I feel bad to ruin it for her. Heaving a sigh, I rub my eyes.

 “Drunk driving.”

She lets out a disappointed sigh,

 “Oh, it’s the last Saturday. Is that why you called? I could be in an emergency surgery right now.”

I snort.

“Like anyone needs an emergency nose job.”

She glares at me,

 “Maybe you would, if I can reconstruct it, don’t you think I can deconstruct it?”

That has been a regular threat in my life since she finished med school and started practicing.

 “Court…”

“What is it?”

“Do you know anyone who needs an urgent husband? For a few weeks.”

“I’m sorry what??!”

I sigh, and give her the details. She’s been my best friend since high school, so she knows my family like I knew hers.

 She cackles into the speaker, and the evil sound freezes, forcing me to find another spot, I’m sure the officer wouldn’t mind.

 Still, her laughter doesn’t unfreeze.

Courtney knows all the hot guys, simply because she made them hot. According to her, she’s the God of every hot man and woman that lives in Goldshore and it’s environs.

  Maybe she knows one that would play my fiancé and eventually my husband for my family’s satisfaction.

 “Why-did--you-”

It freezes one more time.

Great.

 With my phone in the air, I walk into one of the doors I find, keeping my eyes on the screen, waiting for an influx of good service.

 “-We would have to send you back, and I would hate to do that.” A voice says, but she sounds like she’s thoroughly excited to do it.

 “Miss Evangeline. These people stole from me, I could have my visa right now if they didn’t… surely there’s something you can do for me.”

 The voice that says this is so thick with an accent, so deep, it stops me in my tracks. His voice washes over me, making me tingle.

 It’s been a while since I felt that way.

Miss Evangeline sighs.

“Mr. Romanov, as I have said before, you could find a new job.” she waits a beat, like she was deciding whether to continue or not.

“Marriage to a citizen is one of the few ways people regularize status.”

Get married? To a citizen?

Did I just…?

 Is this real??

Halting by the door, I pause, holding my breath.

The man lets out a string of curse words that makes both Evangeline and I sigh.

 Next thing I know the door is pushed open, and out steps one of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen.

 Court would talk about his nose for months, possibly years… or all eternity.

He doesn’t even glance at me and walks away, reminding me that he was a real man, an actual person.

 And I immediately return to my senses.

Raising the phone to eye level, I see Court had already disconnected the call, leaving a message.

 “Call me when you don’t sound like you’re calling from a microwave.”

With a sigh, I return to the waiting room, only to find him there.

Again.

 Another officer was talking to him.

“Ten days? That’s all I have to find work? Or I would get deported?” he sounds incredulous, his accent gets even thicker as he does.

 I wet my lips.

Taking him in, he could be straight, he could be an asshole.

But I would be the bigger asshole if I saw someone struggling to live here while I had the solutions to his problems.

 Not work of course…

The other thing.

“Another thing, Miss Evangeline is retiring and handing your case over to someone else, they may not be as kind as her.” The officer says with a wince.

 “Fucking fantastic.” he cusses, storming outside the court, and without thinking, I follow after him, into the night.

 He walks fast, super fast, I have to sprint to catch up with him.

“Hey!”

“What is it??” he hisses, turning around to face me, his expression feels like he put a stake through my heart.

 Swallowing, I dust my hands on my shirt.

Usually, I make it a point of duty not to talk with strangers, no matter how hot.

 But every time I close my eyes, I think about all the other last Saturdays I would spend with a different variation of Barnabas by my side.

 “I kind of overheard everything back there.”

His dark eyes glare at me so hard I swallow.

“So?”

I exhale a puff of air.

 “So, would you marry me?”