Irreplaceable
Chapter 15

A mile wasn't a long enough walk to clear Mia's mind. Maybe it was because the object of her thoughts was with her the entire time. How could she plan their impending separation and divorce if he was right there? All handsome in his suit. The same suit he always wore to work, but he still was handsome in it. She wished he had worn it last night for their wedding. He was far s*xier in jeans, but it was a wedding, after all.

During the ceremony, she wondered if it was the same words she and Rafferty heard last night. Probably. Looking across the happy couple to see if he was paying attention, she saw he was looking at her. Her dress wasn't as wrinkled as she thought it would be. She could only hope Ruth would think it was because of the plane ride.

Ruth looked beautiful in her off-white, form-fitting dress. It was stunning with her white hair and blue eyes. But it was the look on Anderson's face when he saw her in it for the first time. It took his breath away, and Mia saw it happen. He was so in love with her. Mia loved that she was a part of this little moment of their lives.

After the ceremony, Mia and Rafferty signed a marriage certificate that was a copy of theirs, but this time, their names were on the witness line The group went out for a fancy supper that lasted longer than any of them actually thought it would. Or maybe it was just longer than Mia thought it would be. She needed alone time to think.

By the time she made it back to her hotel room, it was close to nine p.m. The previous day was catching up with her, and all she wanted to do was climb into bed. So, after taking off her wedding dress, literally, she threw on the T-shirt she had worn that morning, or afternoon, and started to flip through the TV channels for something good. Something that would take her mind off weddings and grooms and s*xy guys in jeans.

She never found anything good on since she fell asleep so fast that she woke up to the weather channel the next morning. Her phone was ringing. Rolling over, she saw it was her cousin Mandy from next door. Well, she would be next door if she was in Landstad, but instead, she was in Las Vegas, which Mandy didn't need to know, so she ignored the call.

With a start, she realized she had about twenty minutes before the car left for the airport. Jumping from bed, she hurried through changing and packing and was only five minutes late meeting Mr. and Mrs. Miles in the lobby. There they were, looking just as much in love as when they had parted the night before. Of course, Rafferty was there too, but he looked anything but in love this morning.

"How is everyone today?" she asked carefully as Rafferty angrily grabbed her bag from her and headed to the car. At his actions, she answered for them. "Grouchy."

Once at the airport, they could relax since they had over an hour to wait for the plane. Sitting next to Ruth while the guys went to hunt down something to eat, Mia asked, "How's married life?"

"About the same as single life," Ruth answered and smiled at her. That's how Mia felt about it, too. She didn't feel any more married to Rafferty than she had last week.

"When are you going to tell the dragon?" Mia asked about Ruth's mom.

The woman was a legend in town as someone you didn't mess with-or slip anything past, though Ruth had from time to time. Mia had always applauded the woman's pluck. She never managed to get anything past her own mom, and she didn't fear her as much as Ruth's mom.

"I don't know. I'm starting to think we're not going to tell anyone. I mean, we'll get married one day. In town, that is. I mean, we did this for us. Maybe one day, we will do it for everyone else," Ruth said quietly, To quietly, like she was hiding it. "Did you just get married so your baby would be born in wedlock? But really, you like living in sin with Anderson?" Mia questioned, wondering exactly how much money the couple had spent on this little trip for nothing.

"More like I feel bad that everyone didn't get to be there. I mean, Hazel gets married next week, and she'll have everyone there. The ceremony was beautiful, but I missed my friends being there. I really want to get married with my friends there," Ruth admitted. Mia almost told her to try thinking about getting married and not even remembering it. That was a bigger bummer than not having people there.

"I found muffins for us." Anderson came back toward them with a bag he handed to Ruth.

"Good," Mia said, grabbing the bag from Ruth. She was starving.

Ruth looked at the guys and said, "I was telling Mia that I want to keep the wedding to ourselves. Just get married later. I want the church wedding." Rafferty looked at her. "So, nobody will know you're actually married?"

"Yes. Can you guys do that? For me?" Ruth pleaded, looking from Mia to Rafferty.

"Are you sure, Angel?" Rafferty meet Mia's eyes as he asked. Was he thinking about telling people about their wedding? Because she wasn't. Not ever.

"Yes, Rafferty, as sure as I hate that name. Stop it. Both of you, actually," Ruth said to Mia and Rafferty.

Mia looked up in confusion from the bag of muffins with one already in her hand. "What? Me?"

"Yes, from now on, you two do not call me that. It's Ruth," she told them.

Mia took a bite of muffin and said with a full mouth, "Just not Ruth Miles?" "Correct." Ruth nodded.

"Where are we going to say we spent the weekend?" Rafferty asked.

"Ruth and I went on a little vacation," Anderson provided.

"I was sick," Mia said, finishing her muffin.

"I went to visit a college buddy since Anderson had the day off." Rafferty made up an excuse easily, too easily as he grabbed the bag from Mia, just as she was reaching in to get another muffin.

By the time they got on the plane, Mia had to change the name she called her friend, hide her friend's marriage, lie about what she did all weekend, and hide the fact that she got married. Maybe she should have just said no to this trip.

To top it off, this time she had to sit with Rafferty instead of the bride. Apparently, the bride and groom wanted to sit together. Odd, since the other bride and groom didn't. Or at least the bride didn't. They were a few rows behind the happy couple, so they could discuss their impending divorce.

Mia took the window seat and ignored him until they were in the air. Once the seatbelt sign went off, she stated, "I want a divorce."

"Can't we just give it a try? See if we're compatible?" Rafferty joked, though it didn't sound like a joke. It was definitely a joke though.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned back into her seat, trying to get comfortable. "No, and we will also be keeping this under wraps. No need for the entire town to know my business."

When the flight attendant came by with drinks, they declined.

Rafferty crossed his arms. "We'll have to, or else we'll have to tell on those two."

"Once I move to Grand Forks after Christmas, I'll get a lawyer, and we'll get it done down there. Nobody will ever know."

"You're still leaving?" he asked.

"Yes, before the new year." Which was probably starting to not look like a reality anymore It was only a few months away, and she was nowhere near ready to leave her business yet. "You do realize it is mid-October, right?" Rafferty reminded her.

"I do. I have some irons in the fire." Actually, she didn't. She'd tried to hire a manager for months, but with no luck. Managers for small cafés were in short supply in Landstad or anywhere close. In reality, she was having enough trouble keeping waitresses lately. But suddenly, she had more motivation than before to move away from Landstad. She needed a new life and a divorce. At this point in her life, she could be married for a few months; she had nothing else going on. Hadn't for a long time now. And she didn't see that changing anytime soon.