Chapter 30
THIRTY
The courtroom gallery is filled for her.
It’s the fourth of January and my wife is about to be officially sworn in as the re-elected First Circuit Criminal Court judge and we are all here to witness her make history again.
She’s still the youngest judge to occupy this bench and our family and friends are here to support her
To my surprise, Shuga didn’t object when I mentioned Alami wanted to attend.
In pure Shuga fashion, she smiled and just said she was okay with it.
Today was the first day she’s put eyes on Alami, and when she did, I saw the astonishment on her face.
Although the settlement was signed and the divorce finalized right before Christmas, the hurt and pain of Asali’s betrayal lingers.
I think seeing the product of Asali’s infidelity was one thing, but the fact that Alami looks so much like him and us was another. Shuga smiled, even hugged her, then quickly excused herself to the restroom. She returned with dry eyes, a perfectly combed fro, and redder lipstick.
My wife’s friends are sitting on the bench with me and Niya. Alami, Kenya, Aven, Duke, and Shuga are behind us and my brothers, Sade, and the twins are on the third and fourth rows. We are in here deep and the smile on my wife’s pretty ass face shows her appreciation for our presence.
“Daddy, I gotta pee,” Niya whispers right after the opening remarks from the Chief Judge.
“Can you wait?” I ask and she pouts and shakes her head. I feel soft taps on my shoulder so I turn back. It’s Alami.
“I’ll take her,” she says.
“You sure?” I ask, praying she is. The administration of the oath by the mayor is next and I really don’t want to miss any of that. Plus, I’m participating in the actual robing after the oath. That’s a huge honor. I’m so proud of my wife; I want to be a part of every step of the process.
“Yes, I got her.” Alami stands and I tap Niya’s leg.
“Your auntie is going to take you,” I say and Niya gets up.
They quietly walk out and the mayor, Chief Judge, and my wife all stand in front of the bench. She chooses the bible and the mayor holds it. When she places her right hand on the bible, the Chief Judge reads the oath and she repeats it.
“I, Mireya Coleman-Bako, solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Crescent Falls, that I will administer justice without respect of persons, and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent on me as Judge of the First Circuit Criminal Court of Crescent Falls, to the best of my skill and ability, so help me God.”
The Chief Judge nods at me and I stand and join them. I grab the robe from the hanger behind the bench, then stand behind my beautiful wife. I place the robe on her left arm then the right. Once on, I adjust it and she bends to connect the zipper. Right as she starts to zip, Niya and Alami return.
“I got it,” Niya exclaims and everyone laughs. She rushes toward us and grabs the zipper, taking it as far as she can before my wife takes over. Once it’s zipped, she hooks the top button and smiles. Unable to help myself, I kiss her lips.
“Congratulations, kyau,” I utter.
“Thank you, baby,” she says before we turn for pictures with Niya standing between us.
Then Niya and I step aside so my wife can make her remarks.
“I wish my grandparents were here today. I lost them five and three years ago. However, I still want to thank them today for teaching me what was important in life: family, faith, friends, and education. They also taught me how to treat people the way we wanted to be treated. I carry those lessons with me every day and days like this, when I’m celebrated, I find myself missing them more.
“I also want to thank my family and friends.
My sisters who have been with me through every step of my judicial journey.
Thanks for staying constant through the ebbs and flows.
To my husband and little girl… You both came into my life quick and fast and the love followed just as quick and fast. I love you both.
To Duke and Kenya, thanks for putting up with me, all of me, I love and appreciate you both.
And to my new family, thanks for being here. I truly am blessed.
“A life of service is a life that counts. Being a judge really is the best job in the world and this is the best court. I am truly honored to continue to serve. I gratefully accept my renewed tenure and promise to always rule justly and fairly,” she says and we all clap.
The mayor gives the benediction and the ceremony ends.
While in her robe, she takes a million pictures with the Chief Judge and the mayor, her girls, us, my brothers, basically everyone here.
Once the Chief Judge and the mayor leave, the room gets less formal and everyone congratulates her.
Niya and Alami also sit on the bench and pose for pictures with the gavel.
I think my wife’s Black girl magic has inspired both of them to be judges.
My brothers, Sade, and the twins leave first and Alami rides with Ace. Her girls leave next. Once it’s just us and Shuga in the courtroom, she unzips her robe, I remove it and return it to the hanger.
“Are you ready?” Shuga asks Niya and her little brows furrow. So do my wife’s. As far as they know, the three of us are going to an early dinner to celebrate. However, I have made other plans.
“Where we going, Nana?” Niya asks.
“To get some crab legs then to my house to paint. I miss you and I want my princess with me this weekend. You can even miss school tomorrow,” Shuga says.
“And not with Mommie and Daddy?” Niya asks Shuga, but looks at Mireya and me. Still confused at the seeming change in plans, my beautiful wife eyes me too.
“No, baby girl. We are going somewhere else but we will be back Sunday evening. Hopefully you and Shuga can make us some masa,” I say.
“Can we?” she asks Shuga.
“Of course. We can make a whole batch,” Shuga says. “Now, give them a hug so we can go.”
Niya hugs us both then leaves with Shuga. As soon as they are out of the courtroom, my wife glares at me with her pretty eyes. She has a half smile on her face and her head is tilted to the side.
“And where are we going?” she asks.
“Away. We never took a honeymoon and you deserve one. This is only for the weekend; we can plan another one later, but I have plans. We leave at five.”
“Five? That’s in an hour and I need to pack and change,” she says in a panic.
“I already packed and you can change on the plane.”
“I can only imagine what you packed for me. I’m going to be ass out wherever we go.”
“Nah. Not ass out, just fine and gorgeous. Trust your husband; I got you. Now, let’s go. We have a plane to catch.”
With a smile etched on her pretty face, she places her hand on my chest and asks, “You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nah, I’m not. Not until I have you on the plane. Let’s go, Your Honor.”
“Don’t call me that, baby. With you, I’m just kyau.”
We leave the courtroom and head to CFA, the airport.
Because I truly want to give her the honeymoon she deserves, I chartered a private flight and BillionAir will be taking us to our final destination.
When I pull into the parking for the private hangars, there’s a golf cart with a driver waiting to take us to the plane.
We exit and I grab our bags from my trunk.
After she slides into the golf cart, I join her and she grabs my hand.
Excitedly, she squeezes my hand for the entire short ride to the plane.
As soon as we are on the luxury plane, my kyau straddles me and rests her elbows on my shoulder.
While rubbing her hands over my head, she kisses me passionately.
“You want to know where we’re going now?” she asks once our lips part.
“No. At this point, I don’t even care. I just need to know how long the flight is because I want to shower and make love to my husband in that bed the flight attendant just mentioned.”
“That sounds like the perfect flight. We have six hours.”