"What does that mean?" Duke asks through clenched teeth.
"It means we are probably already stuck."
Duke turns to face front again, staring out the windshield. Hands on the large steering wheel, he presses a foot to the gas pedal.
And then comes the sound nobody wants to hear. The rev of the engine, followed by the spinning of tires.
We are stuck.
I share a look with my mom and Kerrigan. Mom, always useless in a crisis, retrieves a bottle of champagne from the fridge. She pops the cork, sips, and hands it to Kerrigan.
Duke and my dad open up the door and step out, a blast of cold air whipping through the RV.
"I better go see if they need help," Dom says.
I scoot off the bench so Dom can follow. After a few minutes, I make a decision. "I'm going to go, too," I say, grabbing a sweatshirt and threading my head through. Somebody has to make sure Duke and Dom don't end up in fisticuffs.
The three of them stand at the rear of the RV, examining the way the tires spit snow as they spun. Tension rolls off Duke, his jaw set tight.
"How's it going?" I ask, because I don't know what else to say.
Duke explodes. "What kind of stupid fucking question is that, Cecily? How does it look like it's going?"
Here we go. Looks like it'll be me and Duke going round for round.
But I didn't account for my husband.
He steps in front of Duke, big and broad-shouldered and defensive. "You might be her brother, and you might have a problem with me, but you watch your tone when you're talking to my wife."
Despite the cold, I've never felt warmer. More safe. More loved.
"Oh shit," Kerrigan sings. I didn't know she and my mom followed me out, but there they are, huddled together and snuggled up with their bottle of champagne. Grandma and Rainbow stand beside them.
Duke sneers. "Your wife? Don't you mean the person you got drunk and convinced to marry you in Vegas?"
"Thanks a lot, asshole." I turn to Kerrigan. "Thanks a lot to you, too, big mouth."
"Sorry," she hollers.
"You said you got married in Vegas," my dad says.
Oh goody. My dad has decided to be flabbergasted.
"I did," I grit out.
He sends an accusatory look at Dom. "You made it sound like Vegas was where you chose to get married, not that you got drunk and then got married."
Snow trickles into my sandaled feet. "It's Vegas. Alcohol consumption is implied."
He rubs his hands together, presumably for warmth. "I guess we're back to the beginning."
Snow falls, and I square off with my dad. "What does that mean?"
"You're getting an annulment, just like I told you to from the very beginning."
"First of all, no. Second of all, an annulment is not an option."
"Why, because you've slept together?" Duke scoffs. "Who cares? Lie."
