Look Closer

The morning was slowly passing. Jack had been sitting on the courthouse steps for nearly an hour waiting for Chelley. He had tried to call her a few times but it would ring and then send him to voicemail. He could feel himself losing patience. Of the two of them, he was the one who didn't want the annulment. And yet he was the one waiting.

With a sigh, he stood and walked up the steps and into the courthouse before he realized he had no idea what exactly it was that he was doing. Quietly, he approached a girl behind an open window.

She smiled warmly at him. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"I need to file for an annulment," he said and was unable to hold back the heavy sigh that followed.

"You do that with the County Clerk's office," the girl responded politely.

Jack leaned on the counter in front of him and covered his face with his hands. He just stood there for a minute then proceeded to rub his eyes that he hadn't realized were as tired as they suddenly felt. "I called the County Clerk's office and they said I had to come here," he said. Another sigh followed. But he wasn't upset with the girl behind the window.

The girl's bright smile fell. "Someone gave you some bad information," she said.

Jack didn't make any effort to move. His hands were rubbing his eyes, his face and it took everything in him to not sigh again. "There's no way to do it here?" he asked, finally lifting his face from his hands. He blinked a few times to clear his vision.

She looked at him for a moment, seemingly studying him. She took in his tired expression and defeated demeanor. And finally, her smile returned. "I'll tell you what. I can print the forms out for you from our website. But you'll have to take them to the County Clerk to file and pay the fee," she said.

Another sigh escaped Jack, but this time it was one of relief. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much, really. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

The girl's attention was focused on her computer, but still she smiled at his statement. "Oh, I think I have a little bit of an idea," she said.

He shook his head. "I'm not even the one who wants this. She has been pushing this for weeks and can't even manage to show up when we agree on a day and time. Really pisses me off. All I've tried to do since the beginning was be good, no, great, to her. And she fucking pulls this," he said and the quickly added, "Excuse the language."

She nodded. "So, what happened? If you don't mind me asking," she said.

Jack shook his head again. "It really shouldn't have ever happened," he said. "I will give her that much. See, she was dating my best friend." The girl behind the window quickly turned her head toward him and a look of disbelief covered her face. "It's really not as bad as it sounds. She was dating my best friend and he was cheating on her with his ex. Now, he and his ex were totally meant for each other and they should have never broken up in the first place. But my friend, he's kind of an idiot and screws up a lot. His ex just got fed up. Anyway, like six months after they broke up, him and his ex," he clarified, "they somehow ended up in bed together on her birthday. But it didn't stop there. So, I don't know, from the moment I met the girl he was cheating on I just kind of knew she was special. We hung out a little." The girl shot him another look. "Totally innocently, I swear," he said quickly." And I come to find out she's really great. Smart, pretty, just so much fun to talk to. And the more I thought about it, the more I hated what my friend was doing to her. So I told her about my friend and his ex. Not that they were messing around but just that they had previously dated. She confronted him and he admitted everything to her and she dumped him on his ass. And then she and I started hanging out a little more and we all ended up going to Vegas for a few days. One night, we're having a party, drinking a little, having a good time and the next thing we know, we're waking up in a strange Vegas hotel room with wedding bands and huge hangovers."

"And what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas," the girl said.

Jack chuckled. "No, no I guess it doesn't. Anyway, it's been over a month since it happened and first she was pissed at me then we were friends and all along the way I just kept falling harder and harder for her," he said. "But she doesn't feel the same."

"Did you tell her that?" she asked. "Sometimes girls do crazy things when a guy tells her he loves her."

"I did," he said with a nod. "She just gave me this look she always gives me. The one that says 'never gonna happen' louder than she could ever scream."

"Well, it sounds like she doesn't know what a good thing she has. Maybe she'll come around some day. And if not," she said, sliding the papers across the counter, "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone who will."

Her sincerity surprised Jack. "Thank you," he said. "Truly. I appreciate that."

She nodded as he turned to leave. "Oh, wait," she said a pulled a business card from a holder on the counter. "This is the number of a family law facilitator if you have any questions," she said and turned the card over and started to write on the back of it. "And this is my number, if you ever just need someone to talk to." She flipped it back over and handed it to him. "I'm Amber, by the way."

"Amber," Jack said, sliding the card into his pocket, "It was nice meeting you. Thank you for all your help," he said.

Just as he turned to walk away, his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and considered letting it go to voicemail when he saw who was calling. But it was childish and wouldn't get either of them anywhere.

"Hello?" he said just as he exited the courthouse.

"Jack, I'm so, so sorry. I've been at work for three hours already and I just remembered that I was supposed to meet you this morning. God, I suck so much," Chelley said.

"I thought you didn't work until later?" he said.

Chelley sighed. "Yeah, I know. I wasn't supposed to. But I got a call this morning that someone called in and they needed me to cover. And it completely slipped my mind that I said I'd meet you until just a few minutes ago. I ran away from my register as soon as I got a second so I could call and apologize," she said. "Please don't hate me."

If her apology hadn't sounded so heartfelt, he would have just blown her off. "I don't hate you, Chelle," he said.

"Thank you," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Look, can we meet tomorrow morning at the courthouse?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," he repeated, looking down at the papers in his hand. "You know, I'm actually busy tomorrow morning. And I have possible plans for the day after that. But, you know, don't worry. We'll get it figured out," he said.

Chelley nodded. "Yeah, sure," she said. "I feel really awful about this. Can I make it up to you?" she asked. And before Jack could say anything, she continued. "I'm having dinner with friends after work. You remember Bry, Meghan and Trish, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, "From the party."

"Right," she replied. "Well, we're getting together for dinner tonight. You should come. And let me buy your dinner. Because I really, really feel awful," she said.

A laugh escaped Jack. "You really don't have to do that Chelle," he said.

"I do," she said. "I really feel like I owe it to you. And if you don't let me do this, then I'll just find some other way to make up for being such a huge jerk."

He stayed quiet for a minute. "Dinner with four beautiful ladies?" he said. "I don't see how I could turn down an offer like that."