Chapter 59
“Not in New Jersey?” Liz asked. “Where are we then, back in New York?”
Lucky shook his head and stepped away from the window. He pulled off his sunglasses and handed them to her. “See for yourself.”
After shooting a puzzled look to him, she slipped on the glasses and went to the window. Bracing herself for the bright sunlight, she parted the blinds enough to see outside. The road was lines with what looked like casinos and other hotels, and across the street there was a large fountain that looked strangely familiar. She turned around, closing the blinds behind her, and slid the glasses off her face.
“How do you know this isn’t just Atlantic City?”
“It’s not, I can tell. Besides, look at the time,” he explained, nodding towards the clock that hung over the television set.
“It says 8:30, what does that prove?”
“Now look at your watch.”
Liz sighed, tired of this game, and raised her arm. She stared at her watch for a moment, confused. “10:30. Wait, you’re saying we’re in....?”
“Las Vegas,” he answered. “It looks like we’re in Vegas, and I have a bad feeling we’re married.”
“No way! There is no way we got married, there has to be another explanation,” she shouted, momentarily forgetting about her hangover, but immediately remembering when her head resumed it’s painful throbbing.
“Elizabeth, think about it. We were obviously drunk last night, or else we wouldn’t be so miserable right now. We’re in Vegas, we’re wearing matching rings, there’s an envelope on the tape that says ‘Chapel of Love,’ and we woke up this morning in bed together, practically naked, in what is probably the hotel’s honeymoon suite!”
Liz sat down heavily on the bed, trying to think of something that could prove him wrong. When she couldn’t, she looked up at him and sighed. “Maybe we should see what’s in that thing.”
Lucky nodded and picked up the envelope, afraid to open it. He sat down next to her and slid out the contents. A video tape fell into his lap, but what had captured his attention was the piece of paper that accompanied it. “Well, it’s pretty hard to argue with this,” he sighed, turning it so she could see.
“A marriage certificate,” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead in frustration. “Okay, so we’re married. What’s on the tape?”
Lucky picked it up shrugged. “Don’t know, it’s not labeled. Should we watch it?”
Liz looked up at him fearfully, not sure she wanted to know what was on it. “Um, I guess we should. Maybe it’ll jog our memories.”
Lucky stumbled over to the VCR and put in the tape, switching on the TV. He then returned to sit by Liz on the bed, bracing himself for whatever they were about to see. After a few seconds of static, they found themselves watching the inside of the chapel. Lucky was at the altar with the minister, dressed in a tuxedo and grinning like a fool. Liz glanced over at him and smiled, seeing the look of embarrassment on his face at his obvious intoxication. She couldn’t help noticing, though, that he looked really good in that tux.
The music began, and Liz came into view, staggering down the aisle. She got to the front and turned to face Lucky as the camera zoomed in. They were both giggling, and by the look on the minister’s face, he was rather amused himself.
Lucky blinked at the screen, unable to believe how beautiful she looked in that dress. He found himself wishing he could remember the wedding after all, then quickly pushed it out of his mind. He glanced over at Liz and saw that she was rubbing her face, equally embarrassed about her drunken behavior on the video.
They watched in silence as the ceremony began, shaking their heads as they watched themselves giggle and snicker through it, making fun of each other’s names. Liz covered her face in horror when they got to the rings, and she saw herself trying to put Lucky’s on the wrong finger. Finally, the minister pronounced them married, and they both braced themselves for the kiss. After a brief squabble over whether or not Lucky was “fun”, which neither had any idea of what it was about, Lucky grabbed her by the waist and kissed her passionately. They both squirmed uncomfortably as they watched themselves on-screen, knowing that underneath their drunk exteriors, there was a grain of truth to that kiss.
They continued to stare in disbelief as they made their way up the aisle. Liz groaned and covered her face again in horror as she saw herself skipping up the aisle, tossing her bouquet in the air and waving excitedly at the camera. When it was over, Lucky shut off the VCR and chuckled.
“You know, you’re pretty funny when you’re drunk. I‘m kind of sorry I don’t remember anything!”
Liz pulled her hands away from her face and glared at him. “I’m glad you can make jokes about this, but excuse me if I don’t laugh. Lucky, do you realize what this means? We got married last night! Do you have any idea what Luke’s going to do with this when he finds out?”
~*~
“I don’t believe this,” Laura gasped, scanning the newspaper article Luke had found. “How could they do that? How could he get married without us there?”
“Babe, I don’t think they were thinking straight when they did that. Either they were drunk, or it was some sort of sick dare. Either way, they’re going to try to keep this a secret from us, and you know what that means!”
Laura looked up at him and smiled, shaking her head. “Luke, you’re horrible.”
He grinned evilly and nodded. “I am, aren’t I? I figure sooner or later, the cowboy will check in to avoid suspicion. We’ll find out when they’re getting back, then we’ll make sure to have quite a welcome home party waiting for them.”
“You realize your son is going to kill you, don’t you?” she asked, walking over to the sink to wash out her coffee mug.
“Maybe, but this is all working into my plan perfectly. See, now that the press knows about him, it will look bad if he doesn’t go along with it. They’re going to have to stay married for a little while at least, and that’s when I’m going to make sure they fall in love once and for all!”
“You’re nuts, absolutely nuts.”
“Maybe,” he smirked, reaching for the phone again. “But that’s why you love me!” He quickly dialed Charisma’s number, giddy about his news.
“Hello?”
“Partner! You’re never going to believe what my kid has done!”
“What? Did they really go to Vegas?” she asked excitedly.
“Not only did they go, they got hitched there!”
“No way! They didn’t!” she shouted, laughing.
“Believe it. Check out the paper, page 5. It’s all there in black and white. Now I just have to plan the surprise party to end all surprise parties. Are ya with me?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Just tell me where and when. Should I bring a wedding present?” she asked, giggling.
“Hey, great idea! We’ll make it a belated reception. Oh, this is going to be perfect. Look, I’m going to go call some other people, I’ll let you know the details when I figure them out. Bye!” He hung up and dialed again, snickering to himself.
“Hello?”
“Caroline, darlin’! How are you this fine morning?”
“Luke, what’s going on?” she asked suspiciously. He was never that happy to talk to her!
“I got some news on our latest scheme, and oh man, is it a doozy!”
“Really? Are they back? Did they finally realize their feelings? Well, they must have, or else you wouldn’t be alive any longer....”
“Caroline, stop babbling for a minute so I can tell you!” he laughed. “They hopped onto his plane last night and flew to Vegas. Get this, they got married!”
“Married! You’re joking right? There’s no way Liz would get married in Vegas. Not unless she was really......oh...”
“Oh? What oh? Do you know something?”
“The only way Liz would do that is if she was smashed. I’ve only seen her drink once before, and she got pretty goofy, I could totally see her doing something crazy like that, but only if she had a ton to drink first!”
Luke grinned, loving this even more. “This is just too priceless. What I wouldn’t give to see their faces when they wake up this morning!”
“So, what’s your new plan? I know you must have something else up your sleeve now,” Carly prodded, knowing there was another reason to his call.
“I do,” he answered, snickering for a moment at his choice of words. “When they get home, there will be a very large surprise party waiting for them. I know my son, and his first instinct will be to keep this a secret from me, so what better way to let him know that the jig is up than to shower them with wedding presents?”
Carly laughed, amazed at the deviousness of his mind. “He’ll kill you, but it’s great. I’ll be there, just tell me when!”
“Don’t worry, I will. I better go, I have a party to plan!”
