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Date/Timeline: December 2012 (Season 2)
“Doc, it’s, like, three o’clock in the mornin’,” Wade groaned as Zoe literally dragged him across the plantation towards the main house. “Three o’clock on Christmas mornin’,” he emphasised, though apparently, she wasn’t listening at all.
“Wade, come on!” she complained, pulling on his arm with all her tiny weight. “We have to go see Lavon. He’s my best friend, practically my brother, and he’s one of your best friends too. Why, seriously, why would you not want him to know that we’re finally together?”
“Hey now.” Wade firmly planted his feet and pulled Zoe to a halt - she stopped so suddenly, she flew back and bounced off his chest before righting herself. “I’m sorry, but you gotta know that I am totally happy with everybody knowin’ that we’re finally together,” he told her definitely. “You do know that, right?”
“Of course, I know that.” Zoe smiled up at him. “And I love knowing that,” she insisted, reaching up to kiss him firmly on the lips. “So, with that being the case, we absolutely need to go tell Lavon our good news, right?”
Wade sighed. “Yeah, I guess so,” he agreed, going along with her a little more willingly this time around.
Not that he was thrilled about it. When Zoe asked him to be her for-real, out-in-public, everyone-knows-about, actual boyfriend last night, he could not have been happier if he tried. After that, they made out some, talked some, ended up in his bed for a while, then talked some more. He had kind of hoped to keep that little loop of activities going for a while longer, but here they were at some stupid hour of the morning, heading up to the house to tell Lavon their happy news. Wade was fine with the sharing, like he said, just maybe not right this second. That being said, he had no doubt the mayor would be happy for him and Zoe.
“Or maybe not,” he said to himself, as they walked into the kitchen and found a rather sad-looking Lavon sat there at the counter with a glass of whiskey between his hands.
“Oh.” Zoe shook her head. “But this is not... Lavon?” she said carefully, her hand slipping from Wade’s own as she went over to her best bud. “What happened?”
“Ruby, she found out about me and Lemon,” he said, shaking his head. "She dumped me, and then I went to see Lemon, and I yelled, and she cried, and... It really ain't much of a merry Christmas around here," he admitted, downing his drink in one.
Zoe looked back at Wade who made desperate throat-cutting motions in an attempt to get her to not tell Lavon their news. After all, wasn’t that just rubbing the poor guy’s face in their happiness, when he had just lost so much of his own?
“Um, so we came over here with some good news, which I’m hoping will make you feel just a tiny bit better, but now I’m wondering if maybe... well, it could probably wait until later, if you want us to go or...?”
“Us?” Lavon echoed, turning to look between Wade and Zoe. “You two have good news? Good news that I might not... No, no, no,” he said, as he often did, though a smile was pulling at his lips on this occasion. “You two finally figured things out?”
“Seems that way.” Wade nodded, unable to keep from smiling like a loon. “Prob’ly not somethin’ you wanna hear right now, but we are just happy as clams about it.”
“Nah, man, that’s the best news you could give me,” Lavon said definitely, reaching to shake Wade’s hand and then hug Zoe, smiling yet. “I am more than happy for you two, and thank you. If you guys can find happiness together, then that gives me the best Christmas gift there is - hope.”