Chapter Twenty-Three
As they sat outside the courtroom waiting to be called in, Megan adjusted Mason’s blue and white striped tie for the hundredth time. “Mommy, no,” he pleaded.
She snatched her hands away. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Tank you,” he replied, going back to his game on his tablet.
The truth was her nervous hands needed to be doing something. Sensing her need, Pesh reached over and took her hands in his. “Relax. Everything is going to be fine.”
Megan wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t help feeling anxious. She wouldn’t be able to calm down until the ink had dried on the paperwork. Her feet, encased in black heels, tapped anxiously on the floor. The clattering noise echoed around the atrium. As she glanced between Pesh and Mason, Megan had to smile. The two men in her life looked almost identical today in their navy suits and ties. Of course Mason’s was considerably smaller than Pesh’s.
When the door opened and a clerk poked her head out the door, Megan’s heartbeat started thrumming faster and faster. “Megan Nadeen?”
She shot off the bench. “That’s us. I mean, I’m Megan Nadeen.”
The clerk smiled. “You guys can come in now.”
Taking a deep breath, Megan reached for Mason’s hand. “This is it, baby.”
He grinned and then glanced up at Pesh. “You be my daddy now?”
Pesh smiled. “Yes, I’m going to be your daddy for real now.”
They walked through the massive doors of the courtroom. The judge, in his ominous black robe, gazed down at them from his bench. “Good morning,” he said, politely.
“G-Good morning,” Megan stammered.
“I understand that we’re here today to petition for the adoption of the minor child, Mason Patrick McKenzie?”
“Yes,” Megan and Pesh replied.
“First, we need to swear you all in,” the judge said.
Megan went through the motions of the procedure, trying desperately to calm her nerves. When Pesh had first broached the subject of formally adopting Mason, she initially had been thrilled and honored. But then she had to worry about whether Davis would allow Pesh to adopt Mason or not. Although he still had nothing to do with his son, Davis hadn’t shown a lot of enthusiasm about the prospect. The closer they got to the adoption hearing, the more Megan worried that he would refuse.
“Dr. Nadeen, I understand that you wish to adopt the minor child of your wife?”
Pesh nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, your honor, I would.”
“I see that you and your wife have been married less than two months, and that you’ve only known her a year.” The judge adjusted his glasses that had slid down his pointy nose. “Do you think it wise to legally bind yourself to this child after such a short time?”
Megan fought the urge to stalk up to the bench and smack the judge. Instead, she took deep breaths and tried to reign in her temper. She glanced over at Pesh who merely smiled pleasantly at the judge. “Your honor, I realize that on paper it might seem as though I am rushing into things. However, I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life as I am about my love for Megan and in turn, my love for Mason. I’ve waited a long time to be a father, and I don’t want to have to waste another second.”
“I see.” The judge eyed the folder open before him. “I understand the biological father has had no contact with the child.”
“That’s correct,” Megan replied.
“He has also waved his parental rights so that Dr. Nadeen can adopt his son.”
Megan exhaled a relieved breath that Davis had signed the paperwork. “I’m glad to hear that, your honor,” she said.
“Do you feel that your husband will make a good father for your son?”
“I never would have dated, least of all married him, if I didn’t believe that Pesh would be a good and loving father to Mason.”
“So the fact that he is a wealthy doctor had nothing to do with it?”
“How dare you!” Megan cried. When Pesh grabbed her arm to silence her, she slung him away. “You’ve known us for two minutes and you’re making assumptions about me, my husband, and my marriage? If this were about money, I could have used his father for child support considering he is a wealthy NFL player. But I would have sacrificed everything to ensure that my son had a good father!”
“Mrs. Nadeen, I will ask that you control yourself, or I will have to hold you in contempt,” the judge said sternly.
Pesh wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her against him. “Easy,” he murmured.
Although she hated to do it, she said, “I’m sorry, your honor.”
When he smiled at her, she gasped in surprise. “And I am sorry for rattling you, Mrs. Nadeen. I often say or do unorthodox things to see the true nature of the people who come before me.”
“You mean, you said that to get a reaction from me?”
“Yes, I did. And you unwaveringly rose to my challenge. I can see that you are truly concerned with the wellbeing of your son.”
Still reeling from the judge’s behavior, Megan mumbled, “Thank you.”
Peering down over the bench, the judge surmised Mason. “Son, do you know why you’re here today?”
“I gettin’ ‘dopted,” Mason replied.
The judge smiled. “Yes, you are. Do you want Pesh to be your daddy?”
“Uh, huh.”
“Do you want anyone else to be your daddy?”
“No,” Mason replied quickly, shaking his head back and forth.
“Then come up here while I sign the paperwork.”
Mason happily ran around the side of the bench to the judge. He climbed up onto the judge’s lap. After signing several sets of papers, the judge handed Mason his gavel. “Once you bang that gavel, Pesh is officially your daddy, and you are Mason Nadeen.”
With a broad grin, Mason brought the gavel down. Tears stung Megan’s eyes, and she gladly let Pesh pull her into his arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she murmured.
“I love you,” he replied, squeezing her tight.
“I love you, too.”
Their attention was drawn to where Mason kept banging the gavel. The judge chuckled. “Okay, I think that is enough. Why don’t you go to your mommy and daddy now?”
“Tell the judge thank you,” Megan instructed.
“Tank you,” Mason replied, before he hopped off the judge’s lap and came running to them. “I ‘dopted! I ‘dopted!”
Pesh bent down to pick him up. “That’s right, buddy. You’re my son for now and always.”
Megan smiled and patted Mason’s back as they started out of the courtroom. “Come on. Let’s go to Papa’s. We’ve got a big party for you there.”
Mason’s face lit up. “Ice cweam?
“Oh yes, there’s lots of ice cream just for you.”
“Yay!” he cried.
When they drove up at Patrick’s, Megan did a double take at the sight of an inflatable bouncy castle out on the lawn. John, Percy, and Georgie were already making good use of it. “Emma, the Party Planning Monster has struck again,” she mused.
Pesh chuckled as he got out of the car. He went to get Mason while she started into the house. Balloons and flowers filled the foyer and living room. Over the dining room archway, there was a giant CONGRATULATIONS MASON sign.
When she got to the kitchen, she sucked in a breath at the sight of all the catering pans. “Emma Fitzgerald, what have you done?” she questioned.
At the sound of Megan’s voice, Emma jumped. Clutching her chest, she whirled around. “Okay, so maybe I found a really excellent deal on the bouncy castle. Like ridiculously cheap.”
Megan crossed her arms over her chest. “The food? I thought Mom and my aunts were cooking.”
Holding up one hand, Emma replied, “Just Williamson Brothers BBQ. Nothing fancy.”
“Anything else I need to know about? Live band or celebrity bursting out of a cake?”
Emma giggled. “Nope. That’s it.”
Megan watched Emma bustle around the kitchen, setting up the plates and cutlery. “Um, is there anything I can do? I mean, I feel pretty shitty considering this is my son’s adoption party,” Megan said, with a smile.
Pink tinged Emma’s cheeks. “I’m sorry.”
Megan threw her arms around Emma and squeezed her tight. “Don’t be sorry. You’re amazing to do all of this for us.”
Emma smiled. “You’re more than welcome. I’m so happy for you and Pesh and for Mason.”
“Thank you.”
When Megan pulled away, Emma said, “Oh, there is something you can do. Go tell Aidan we’re about to start. He went to get Caroline up from her nap.”
“Sure. I’ll be happy to.” As Megan started down the familiar hallway, she stopped outside of Aidan’s boyhood bedroom. Through the crack in the door, she could see him walking around the room, bouncing Caroline in his arms. At the sound of his singing, she had to stifle a laugh. Ankle was many things, but a singer wasn’t one of them.
“Sweet Caroline, dum, dum, dum. Good times never seemed so good,” he crooned off-key.
When Megan pushed open the door, Aidan jumped. “Um, hey,” he said, a flush entering his cheeks.
“I never really pictured you as a Neil Diamond fan,” she said, with a smile.
“Yeah, well, Sweet Caroline seems like the right thing to sing to her.” He cleared his throat. “What are you doing in here?”
“Emma wanted me to come get you.”
“Oh,” he said. In his arms, Caroline began to whimper, her little fists flailed. “Shh, it’s okay, sweet pea. Where was I?”
“I’ve been inclined,” Megan answered him.
“Right,” he said, over Caroline’s cries.
When he picked back up with the song, Megan said, “That’s really unfair to torture her like that.”
As Aidan scowled at Megan, Caroline began to quiet. Aidan’s expression then turned triumphant. “See? She likes it when I sing to her.”
“But you can’t sing,” Megan protested.
Aidan shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to her.”
Megan laughed. “She has a mother with a killer voice, yet she likes to listen to you?”
Flashing his signature cocky grin, Aidan replied, “What can I say? All women love me.”
With a roll of her eyes, Megan said, “Give me a break.”
Glancing down at Caroline, Aidan said in a sing-song voice, “Don’t you have the sweetest, handsomest, and most wonderful daddy in the whole wide world?” Caroline cooed at his question and kicked her legs. “She’s a smart girl because she knows how lucky she is.”
“You’re terrible,” Megan said, with a grin.
Aidan looked from his daughter over to Megan. “You want to hold my most perfect little princess?”
“I would love to.” She held out her arms as Aidan passed Caroline to her. Outfitted in a frilly purple dress and purple bow, Caroline looked like she could be modeling baby wear. Unlike Noah’s strawberry blond hair, hers was a deep auburn. She had also inherited her mother’s green eyes. “I have to agree that you’re a lucky girl because you look just like your mother,” Megan said.
Aidan laughed. “Yeah, she is a little mini-Emma, isn’t she?”
“She is. Boy, she’s going to give you hell when she’s a teenager,” Megan teased.
“I know. Trust me, I know.”
As Caroline smiled up at her, Megan couldn’t help sighing. “You’re a bad influence, missy. You make me want to have another baby.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Aidan asked.
“No, it’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I asked Pesh to give me a year of marriage before we start trying. I know he’s ready right now, but I just want this time with him. You know, just the two of us.”
“That’s understandable.”
“But holding her…” Megan shook her head. “You’re just bad for business, Miss Caroline.”
Aidan laughed. “Tell me about it. Whenever I hold her or Noah, I think how much I’m going to miss it when they’re not babies anymore. It nags at me enough that I think I’ll be okay if we have more.”
“No vasectomy on the horizon?”
He grinned. “No yet. Still not ruling it out though. And as far as you and more babies, you’ll know when the time is right. And if anyone is patient and understanding, it’s Pesh.”
“That’s true,” Megan murmured.
Mason appeared in the doorway then. “‘Mon, Mommy. Want ice cweam!”
Megan laughed. “Okay, let me give your little bad influence back to you,” she said, handing Caroline to Aidan. She then took Mason’s hand and started out of the bedroom.
“Daddy says I have ice cweam first.”
“Did he?” Megan said, as she planned to strangle Pesh.
“Uh huh. ‘Cause it’s my ‘doption day.”
When she met Pesh’s eye, she raised her brows. Immediately, his face flushed. “Spoiling him rotten already, aren’t you?” she questioned in a low voice.
“I couldn’t help it. It’s a special day.”
“Mmm, hmm, and when this special day turns into an all nighter because he’s hyped on sugar, you’re going to deal with him.”
Pesh grinned. “I will. I promise.”
Megan leaned up to kiss him. “You’re too sweet for your own good. You’re always going to have me playing bad cop when it comes to discipline.”
“But you love me anyway, right?” he murmured against her lips.
“So much I was almost ready to reconsider our plan about when we’re starting a family.”
His eyes bulged at her response. It took him a few moments to speak. “That means a lot that you would do that, but deep down I know how you really feel. So, I’m going to be good and patiently wait ten more months before confiscating your birth control.”
“It’s a deal,” she replied, before kissing him again.