Chapter 10
Her mom started texting apologies almost immediately after they left, but it took a couple of weeks for Ellie to respond.
Even longer to agree to meet her mom for lunch.
But she told Nancy in no uncertain terms that she and Clark were adopting Marjorie together, and that if she wanted to be in her granddaughter’s life, she wouldn’t be speaking to anyone the way she had that day they’d come to visit.
Ellie and Clark got their court date surprisingly quickly. And because they were the baby’s aunt and uncle, because the parental rights had been signed away with no coercion or second thoughts, the adoption went smoothly.
After two months of living with Clark and Ellie, Marjorie was ready to be adopted.
Ellie dressed the baby in an outfit that was essentially a giant ruffle, and put on a pink sundress of her own. Clark was wearing black jeans, black cowboy boots, a black T-shirt, and a black hat. And he looked mouthwatering.
Honestly, it was getting harder and harder to be in close proximity with this man all the time and not have inappropriate thoughts about him.
She would have thought that it would get easier. That she would get used to him, or something.
But no.
If anything, it got more difficult the longer she was exposed to his pheromones, or whatever the attraction was.
It was so strange, because on many days she felt more grownup than she ever had.
The house was a very real house. Very adult.
And Clark was a real adult roommate. Unlike Jason, who’d propped things up on cardboard boxes and played video games for half the night.
Clark just had it all together.
But in many ways, she felt more like a teenager than she ever had. Obsessing over a brush of his hand against hers when he passed the salt at dinner. Thinking about him before she went to sleep.
Getting giddy when he came in at dinnertime.
Yeah. She was more than a little bit of a lost cause.
Today, she needed to channel the most mature version of herself, not the one that was losing it over a cute boy.
She had to coparent with him.
Then she got emotional. Her eyes filled with tears as the truck pulled up to the courthouse.
“Are you okay?”
“We’re really doing this. She’s going to be ours.”
It was a strange thing, because they would share a baby, but they would be separate. Distinctly so.
And that made this moment feel just a little bit … less unified, maybe, than it should. It shouldn’t make a difference. And yet she found that it did.
She sat there while he lifted Marjorie out of her car seat, and then she got out of the passenger seat and stepped onto the lawn of the courthouse.
He carried their daughter—Marjorie was really going to be officially and legally their daughter at the end of this hearing—and she followed along with him.
And then just as they got to the bottom of the steps, with Marjorie still curled into his right arm, he reached out and took her hand. The touch of his skin against hers was electric. His palm was calloused from all that hard labor. His hands much rougher than she’d imagined.
Her heart began to pound harder, and she wasn’t sure if it was because they were headed into the courtroom or if it was just because of his touch.
She looked at him, and the heat in his eyes did something to her.
Oh, Clark.
They walked inside the building and up to the reception area, which was enclosed in glass. The woman behind the glass hit a button so that she could speak to them through a microphone.
“Name?”
“Porter and Parks. We have an appointment in Family Court.” His voice was so sure and strong. Everything about him was sure and strong.
They got their passes, and were buzzed back into the courtrooms, where they waited until their number was called.
When they walked into the room, they were joined by Daisy, the attorney representing Marjorie, and of course, the judge.
They went through the process, each of them answering questions and passing the signed petition to the judge, who granted it instantly.
“I’d like to make a special acknowledgment of the biological parents.
Their signing over their rights rather than putting their daughter through the system for years, years of struggling with their addictions, was a selfless and caring gesture on their part.
Reunification is always a good goal, but it’s also an outcome that happens far less often than any of us would like.
And in this case, I’m grateful that not only did the biological parents have placement they thought would be ideal for their child, but they made it easy. ”
Ellie was grateful for that too.
When they were finished, the judge descended from his bench and held Marjorie for a moment.
Emotions swelled in Ellie’s chest. It felt like a coming together. Their being able to care for Marjorie. Her having a place to be.
So much love had gone into every step of this adoption. Starting with Melanie and Ty. Even if some people couldn’t understand that.
The judge had. That mattered.
It really mattered.
Because when she told Marjorie about all of this, she would mention that fact.
That even in court, the role her biological parents had played in her future was appreciated, acknowledged. And that it mattered.
They’d gone into the courtroom as three separate people holding on to each other and walked out as a family. Whatever she and Clark were to each other, they would always be Marjorie’s parents.
And that was an amazing, humbling thing to realize.
An incredible and awe-inspiring gift.
“Should we go out to dinner?” Clark asked.
Yes. It would be their very first meal as a family.
“Let’s go to the Italian restaurant back in Caldwell.”
“All right. Fancy.”
She laughed. “It’s a fancy day.”
“I suppose it is.”
It was more than a fancy day. It was the beginning of something. It was the beginning of their family.
And for the first time in more years than she could remember, Ellie felt more whole than she did broken.