A Night We'll Never Remember

Chapter 6

I knock on her door and she opens it to let me in. We both sit on her couch and we are quiet for a bit. "So how are you feeling? When I left you said you had a headache".  "It's not as bad now. Thank you for asking. I went downstairs to have some breakfast and coffee. I think that may have helped a little".  "Yeah about that. Ruby saw you down there and she knows we are married".  "You told her? Damn it Emma".  "No she saw my ring and I told her I got married but I didn't say to who. When she came back from breakfast she guessed it was you because you were wearing the same ring as mine and a beautiful diamond".  I say with a small smile. "She promised me she wouldn't say anything and I believe her.  She knows you could get into a lot of trouble".  She just nods. "Regina I am really sorry about last night. I hope you believe me when I say I don't remember anything and I would never knowingly take advantage of you or anyone for that matter and even though we don't remember what happened last night I will do whatever you think is the right thing to do".  "I don't know what to do Emma. I don't even know where to start".  "Do you hate me?"  "No Emma not at all. I'm mostly disappointed in myself for getting that drunk".  "Yeah I hear ya. I've never been that drunk before ever".   A few minutes of silence pass again and I ask. "Regina I really need to ask you this and I would appreciate an honest answer. I know we had sex last night and neither of us remembers, well at least I don't, so the question I need to ask is do you feel like it was rape?"  "Emma why would you ask that?"   "Because Regina the last thing I would ever want is for you to think of me that way. I would never do anything against your wishes".  She takes my hands into hers and gently squeezes them. "No Emma I definitely don't think you raped me. I believe that everything that happened last night was consensual".  "Ok".  I said quietly.  "So I called my lawyer earlier and unfortunately there is nothing we can do just yet about our marriage. Not until the license has been filed with the state and since it's Saturday we may not know till Monday or even later".  I nod and then we hear a knock at the door. "Excuse me for a moment".  She gets up to open the door. "Oh Katherine what are you doing here?"  He voice is full of fear. "You called me and left a message last night Regina. Told me to come over to your hotel room today because you had a huge surprise for me along with some new jewelry. So invite me in and show me already".   Regina backs away from the door and in walks a thin blonde. "Oh I'm sorry. I hope I'm not interrupting anything".  "It's ok Kat we were just talking. Please have a seat. I'd like you to meet Emma Swa...".  Before she can say my whole name she gets cut off. "Emma. Yes. I heard that name on your message from last night. Sounded like you both were having a lot of fun and you kept telling Emma to stop biting you as you were giggling. I swear in all the years we've known each other I don't think I ever heard you giggling before".  Regina sighs and looks down. "It's nice to meet you Katherine".  "Likewise Emma. So Regina what is your huge surprise?"   Regina looks at me and says. "Emma and I got married last".  Katherine laughed. "Oh please Regina. You expect me to believe that? 3 days ago you weren't even seeing anyone. What's really going on?"  She looks between Regina and I and says. "No way, your serious, you got married?"  We both nod. "Kat please don't say anything to anyone. Your my best friend that's why I told you. No one can know. Emma is one of my students and we were very drunk we don't even remember anything that happened last night".  "That's a shame I bet Emma is a wild one in bed".   Regina lets out another sigh. "Kat I really need you to listen I could possibly lose my job if the university finds out. Besides I called my lawyer for help with ending this marriage".  "Ending it, why would you do that?"   "Kat we don't even know each other or know anything we did last night".  "Regina there must have been a reason you married Emma besides being drunk. I've known you since we were 8 years old Regina and you would never to anything you didn't absolutely want to do even if alcohol was involved".  "Kat we still have a lot to talk about and I don't even know what's going to happen next".  "Well let me help. Emma if you don't have other plans perhaps you would like to accompany your wife to my rehearsal dinner tonight and my wedding tomorrow?"   I look at Regina and she is staring down her friend Katherine".  "Well Regina and I can talk about".  "Ok so anyway are there any pictures of the wedding?"  "Well they did give us a dvd of pictures and a dvd of the ceremony but I haven't seen anything yet and I don't think Regina has either".  "Oh great. Let's see them".  Regina tried to protest but Katherine has a way of getting her friend to do what she wants. Regina finally put the dvd with the pictures into the player that was on the tv and the 3 of us watched it. There was about 50 or so pictures in all. Regina look absolutely gorgeous. The way the tiki torches made her hair glow and her eyes sparkle took my breath away. When the dvd was over Katherine took it upon herself to put in the dvd of the ceremony. It was beautiful and very elegant for a middle of the night wedding on a beach in March. Watching Regina walk down the isle in that beautiful white dress make me wish I remembered it. We said vows and exchanged rings and sealed it with a kiss. Before the video ended it showed us dancing to a song that apparently we had picked according to the minister when he announced it. The song was "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Meghan Trainor with John Legend. We sang the song loud enough that we could be heard over the music. We held each other and kissed while the song played. When I video ended I looked at Regina and she had tears in her eyes. She left the room and went to the bathroom. Katherine also had tears as she removed the dvd and place it back in the holder. "That was an absolutely beautiful wedding. I hope mine turns out that nice. I've been planning mine for 13 months".  After 10 minutes there was no sign of Regina so Katherine said she would go check on her. The bathroom door opens and Katherine steps in then the door closes again. It's about another 10 minutes before the door opens and they both come walking back into the room. "It was lovely to meet you Emma. I have to be going now. I really hope you can make it tonight and tomorrow".  "Bye Kat. It was nice to meet you to. Regina will let you know if I'll be there ok?"  "Sure. Bye Reggie. Call me later".  They hug and Kat leaves and Regina and I are alone again. She sits next to me and begins to speak".  "I'm sorry I took off like that into the bathroom. I just needed a moment".  "It's ok I understand. This is a crazy thing that we've gotten ourselves into. I'm sure you got upset when you realized that it really was me that you married".  "No Emma that's not it. I got upset because I remembered something from the wedding while we watched it. I remembered saying our vows and dancing. I even remembered when you proposed to me. It felt so real at the time".  "What if it was Regina?"  "What do you mean ?"  "I actually remembered a few things to. I remember picking out that diamond ring".  I point to her hand.  "I remember putting it on your finger to make sure it was the right size then I made you take it off so I could get down on one knee to ask you to marry me. I know we only had that one dinner together but I think of that very often. About how we talked and laughed it was nice and so simple. So what if the words I said when I asked you to marry were, are real. Don't they say that you speak the truth when alcohol is involved. It's like that Sodium Pentothal they use to get people to tell the truth".  Her eyes are starting to get watery again. "Emma those are a lot of the words you used when you did propose to me. Not about the Sodium Pentothal but about the dinner and talking. It was beautiful. I don't know if what we did was a mistake or not but I can't be caught in a relationship with a student. I could lose my job Emma".  "It's ok Regina. I really understand. Your an incredible teacher and for you lose your job would be a mistake. I'll do what you think is best. I don't want you to lose out on anything because of me. You have my number. Just call me when your lawyer figures out what we can do about this. I'll pay for everything since it was my idea that got us into this".  "Emma may I ask where you got all the money for the wedding last night?  I'm not trying to imply anything but your young freshman in college. Most freshmen have nothing after all the tuition".   "Before we left Boston, my parents sued the city, the police and school for not doing everything they could to keep me safe.  They ended up settling when they saw all the evidence of my scars and X-rays from all the broken bones".   "Well I'm glad a little good came out of that situation".  I watch her take her rings off and she tries to hand them to me. "Here take these, you could probably get some money back for them".   "No I can't take them Regina. Right or wrong, when I bought those I meant for you to have them. I'm supposed to be here till next week but I'm not so sure about that now so give me a call if you need anything".  "Ok Emma I will".  I walk to the door and smile at her before I leave.