And therein lied how I planned on doing it. I wanted to marry her as soon as possible. Right then and there if she would let me. As she sank into my chest, an embrace of love so pure that I felt it fill my heart so much I thought it might burst, I knew this was the time. I didn’t want to wait another day. This was the day I wanted to marry my Dee.
I just wanted to start my family with her already in it. When Rose became my daughter, officially, I wanted her to become Dee’s daughter too. But I didn’t know all the legal ins and outs of the matter. So I figured I would just start with me going through the rest of the steps and finalize the adoption after we got married and figure the rest of it all out from there. I was sure it would work out. The two of us could figure anything out, always.
“I have to get Wendy here,” she said as she pulled me to arm’s length. “She would absolutely kill me if I got married without her there.”
“Alright,” I said, turning to the judge.
“I’ve got all day,” he said. “You folks get who you want to get, then get down to the county building and get a marriage license. Tell them I will fast track it for you and come knock on my chamber door when you’re ready. I haven’t got anything else on my docket until tomorrow, and my wife is out of town with her sister.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” I said.
“Sam,” he said. “Just call me Sam. I’m only ‘Your Honor’ when you’re in trouble.”
I grinned.
An hour later, I was sitting in the defendant’s side of the courtroom, waiting to hear from Wendy or Desiree or Malia that Dee was ready. Wendy and Desiree had shown up at almost the exact same time, both of them having been so instrumental to Dee’s life in both the long and short term. Desiree was also important to me, and I was glad she was there, along with her husband, Aiden, and their two boys.
Wendy showed up with Finn, but both Olly and Hope were staying elsewhere for the evening. Wendy said she needed free rein to get Dee ready if she was going to be her maid of honor, not thinking for a second that Malia would have that title. It was okay, though—Malia was happy to share the role with her so long as when we had a big ceremony, which I planned on doing later, that Wendy would plan it as well as she had done Malia’s.
Finn, Aiden, and I sat in the courtroom, waiting on the girls and shooting the shit with the judge.
“You know,” Judge Sam said, “I’ve married twenty couples in this courtroom. Not one of them has gotten divorced.”
“Really?” Finn asked. “That’s incredible.”
The judge shrugged.
“Indeed,” Aiden said. “I’m just glad you were available today. Lucky break.”
“I tend to be on days where I have guardianship hearings,” he said. “They tend to not be as easy as this one was. Usually there is another party to contest everything. Not so here.”
“Yeah, my sister just isn’t ready for all this,” I said.
“And you were?” he asked.
I laughed.
“No, I wasn’t,” I said. “But I adapt better than she does. Besides, it brought me to Dee again, so there’s that.”
“So, what’s the next step?” Finn asked. “As far as the adoption goes?”
“Well, it can take a little while,” the judge said. “There is a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork. There will be interviews and some hoops to jump through.”
“I can help guide you through it,” Gerry said. “I know the process is a little different here in the states than it was in Quebec, but it’s mostly similar. Hank and Lana would love to help you too.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “I’m not scared of it. I know it’s going to work out.”
“So, your sister is really out of the equation?” Aiden asked. “She is. She freely signed away her rights.”
“Fortunately,” Sam said. “It’s fortunate that she not only knew herself well enough to know she couldn’t care for this baby, but that she brought her to you. I can tell you that as a judge, I have seen far less capable people come in here looking to retain or establish guardianship of children. If the way you handle yourself is any indication, she did that baby the best favor she could have.”
“He’s right,” Finn piped in. “I know you and Wendy have some complicated history, but from what I know of you and from what I’ve seen this past month, I think you are more than equipped to be a great father.”
I appreciated their kind words as it did make my nerves calm a little and make me feel even more hopeful for the future. But I was still a bit of a nervous wreck. I had made such an impulse decision to marry Dee, and while I had no doubt in my mind that it was the right one, what if she didn’t feel the same way?