I casually glanced back at Crystal, who had the biggest smile on her face.
“Anyway, I drove her home that night, and that’s when we began dating, your Honor.”
The judge looked me up and down, and for a moment, I was concerned. “Can you tell me some details about Crystal?”
That was easy to answer. “Of course, your Honor. Crystal practices holistic health, and one day she wants to open up her medical practice. She’s taught yoga with her life-long best friend for the past few years, too. When she wakes up in the morning, her hair immediately cascades over her face as though she were leaning forward.”
I snuck another glance back at Crystal, who had a surprised look on her face.
“Her favorite foods are Italian: tiramisu, pizza, Italian roast coffee, and biscotti. She prefers the outdoors to being inside all of the time and misses living near the ocean in Hawaii. Crystal also talks to the plants in our garden, encouraging them to grow and flourish. It may sound crazy, but it works. I can honestly say that she’s the most down to earth person I have ever met.”
The judge looked over at Crystal, whose jaw was a bit slack. “The court needs to know that you married her out of love, not so that she can collect this money, Mr. Tillery. I’m an expert at reading people, so keep that in mind as you continue talking.”
I looked back at Crystal one last time. “Before I met her, your Honor, I never saw myself settling down with anyone. I work upwards of sixteen-hour days, have to travel the world for my job. And the women I’d met in the past were only interested in my money, not Crystal, though. My wife is not someone who wants or even needs a lot of material items. If my wife had the choice between living on the beach surrounded by nature or having a fat bank account while living in a mansion, I’d go so far as to say she’d be happier with the former. That’s when I knew that I was in love with her, your Honor.”
Everything that I had said was the truth, even though Crystal might have thought it was a line.
I didn’t know if the judge had believed me, though. “Thank you, Mr. Tillery. You may be seated.”
Crystal, her lawyer, and I sat silently as the judge looked over all of the paperwork. Once again, I held her hand underneath the table, doing my best to reassure her and myself that we had convinced him of our marriage and that it was perfectly legal. Yet the longer he shuffled through the documents I had prepared, the more nervous both of us became. We kept waiting for him to find something that proved they were fake, or for him to say that we had only married so she could collect her inheritance.
After a few minutes, though, he picked up a pen and signed the paperwork. “I’ll be honest with both of you. Before you spoke about each other, I was wary about the validity of your marriage. I also took my time reviewing all of these documents to make sure they were legal. After hearing your testimony, it’s apparent that you are together and not for monetary purposes. At this moment, I authorize the courts to release the funds into Mrs. Tillery’s bank account.”
“Oh, excuse me your Honor.” Crystal raised her hand and my heart skipped a beat, not knowing what to expect.
“Yes, Mrs. Tillery?”
“There is just one thing. I haven’t changed the name on my bank account, so it’s still under Crystal Ann Hotchkiss, sir.”
“Noted,” the judge struck his gavel, “court dismissed.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, relieved, and followed Crystal through the courtroom’s heavy doors. As soon as we were outside, both of us let out huge sighs and hugged each other.
“We pulled it off.” She whispered, giving me a quick kiss. “Thank you, Gavin. I’m so blessed by all of this.” Crystal sniffed and wiped away a few tears as we held each other’s hands and turned away from the courthouse, making our way back to the President Hotel.
* * *
Later on that evening,Crystal and I dined at Vatra Neamului. Our driver had recommended it because they served local wine, which we learned was often made my Moldavians in their home. Crystal especially loved the red wine while I was partial to the white.
She swirled her glass and inhaled the aromas. “I can’t believe we did it, Gavin, and I don’t think that I could ever thank you enough.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Crystal. I’m just happy that we got the judge to believe us.”
I suppressed the urge to tell her that everything I had said to him was true. We had yet to say ‘I love you’ to each other, and as we sat in that romantic restaurant, I wanted to blurt it out for everyone to hear. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that I was in love with Crystal Hotchkiss, and that I knew, without a doubt, that she was the one for me. But I couldn’t help but wonder if she felt the same.
“I did my best to calm my nerves up there, too. As soon as I looked the judge in the eyes, I felt my knees buckle and thought I was going to pass out.”
“You did an excellent job of keeping it together, sweetie. No one would have ever guessed you were nervous. How did you stay focused?”
“I thought about Mom and what she would have said to me at that moment. I try to do that whenever I get stressed out, but it’s not always that easy. As I steadied my breathing and looked back at you, suddenly, it wasn’t so hard to speak.”
“Well, you did a great job telling him our story.”
I reached across the table and held her hand. Maybe it was everything that we had gone through together, the wine, or the whole trip in general, but my heart was bursting at the seams. In the back of my mind, I knew that she was the one.
Crystal started to play with her bracelet. “You said a lot of interesting things about me up there, too. Although, saying my favorite cuisine is Italian is pretty cliche. Isn’t that everybody’s?”
“It used to be mine, but after that Moldovan pie and all of the food we’ve been eating here, I’d say it’s now my second. I would love to revisit this country.”
