Page 86 of Minted
“Hey, Aunt Barbara.” Elizabeth glances at the girls. “I heard Uncle Bentley was going to be inside?”
“Look,” Nikki says. “If you all show up, he’ll know right away that she’s here to propose.”
And of course, Killian bursts out laughing. I want to kick him.
“Shut up, all of you,” I say. “The girls and I are going in first, and the rest of you can come later. Okay?”
No one argues, and we all stroll inside.
“I don’t understand,” Nikki says. “If they all show up, even if they come after Uncle Bentley’s done with his trial or whatever, how will he not immediately realize—”
But we’ve reached the courthouse doors, and I press hard enough to open them both at once. It’s a little sad that Nikki, at eleven, already knows that once they open, if court’s in session, she has to be quiet.
“Ah, the ladies of the day are here,” the judge says.
Nikki’s and Ricki’s eyes widen, and their heads swivel toward me. “Surprise,” I say.
“What’s going on?” Ricki asks.
“We thought you might like to be here today,” I say, “you know, for your formal adoption hearing.”
“For—what?” Nikki starts to sob.
Ricki tackles me, nearly knocking me over.
“But before the adoption,” I say, “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Me?” the judge says.
I shake my head, and after it becomes clear that I’m utterly unable to dislodge Ricki from her place around my waist, I just start walking, dragging her along like a very closely adhered barnacle. “I had a quick question for the younger Mr. Harrison, Your Honor.”
The judge, Bentley’s father, is smiling. “Go right ahead.”
“You already know the question,” I say to the judge. “Because I called last week to ask your permission to propose to your son.” And then I pull a ring out of my pocket. “This isn’t a Tiffany’s ring, because unlike your son, I can’t afford Tiffany’s.”
Bentley’s staring right at me, and he’s already beaming.
“I found this company called Staghead Designs, and they make the coolest wedding bands. It started with this family who made bands out of things they had around their property. Barn hinges. Old trees. Things that had meaning to those people in particular. Well, I had my parents’ wedding bands, which were both very simple, melted down, and they made them into a design they call fire-treated distressed, with a seascape finish.”
I hold out the box, and he takes it.
“You’ll see that the finish isn’t smooth and shiny. It’s a little rough, and a little weathered, just like me.”
Ricki has popped her head away from my side, finally, and she’s watching carefully. Nikki’s staring, too. She’s followed us along, like a little duckling trailing its mother. “I thought there might not be a better day than today to propose to you. Without you, I might not have recovered from losing my parents. Without you, I might not believe my happily ever after was ever coming. And without you, I might not have trusted that anyone would ever want the three of us—beautiful, but battered souls.”
“But I do want you. All three of you.” Bentley looks behind me. “Which is why your foster mom asked me to come today. She told me that the two of us could adopt the two of you. If you’ll have us.”
Nikki nods slowly, and Ricki beams. She detaches herself from me, and tackle-hugs Bentley.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Bentley says. “And I’m hoping that you’re okay with my dad being the judge for the final hearing.”
“Of course,” I say. “But you never answered my question.”
“I need my ring back to do that.”
I pull it out of my bag. “I thought you might want it.”
Bentley pulls the blue lid off. “The moment I saw this ring in that store, I knew that I wanted you to have it. And I knew that I wanted to have you. Forever.”
