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“You guys!” he called to them, gesturing for the two of them to walk over. “Come quick!”
Since I was far too overcome with emotion, Dyson stepped in and did it for me, explaining everything to the two men.
He’d hardly finished when Dieter raised his hand towards us. “Did you say that the paperwork would be ready tomorrow morning?”
I nodded, finally swallowing down enough of the emotion I’d been experiencing to respond.
“Yes, that’s what I was told.”
Dieter clapped his hands together, rubbing them with a vigorous motion.
“That settles it,” he began, reaching inside of his suit coat for his cell phone. “You and Dyson can use my private jet. It will be ready for you within the hour.”
AVA
Dyson and I arrived home after a late-night flight from New York.
Not only had Dieter arranged for his private jet to fly us back, but when we arrived, a limousine awaited. The driver took Dyson and me to my apartment and informed us he had specific instructions to spend the night in the parking lot, if necessary.
We managed to sneak in undetected.
When the first hint of morning sunlight shined in my room, I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Dyson. Tiptoeing out of the room, I made my way towards Simon’s bedroom. Although it was a school day, I wanted him to be with me more than anything. However, my nephew hated to miss school for any reason.
I hoped this would be the exception to the rule.
After I entered, I walked across the room and sat down on the edge of his bed.
“Simon,” I began, reaching over and jostling him on the shoulder. “It’s time to get up.”
He whimpered and rolled around a bit before looking up at me through one half open eye.
“Aunt Ava?” he muttered. “When did you get here?”
I smiled, leaning over and hugging him close. Afterward, I sat up and looked down at him.
“Late last night.”
He reached towards his face and made tiny balls with his hands, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“Simon, honey,” I began, reaching down and rubbing his chest. “You’re not going to be going to school today.”
It took a few seconds for my statement to register. Eventually, however, it did, and he frowned while he looked up at me.
“But, I have to,” he said. “I’ve got a perfect attendance record.”
I smiled down at him. “You don’t have to worry, I’ll talk to your teachers. I’m sure that after today, they’ll look the other way. You just have to trust me. Can you do that?”
His tiny face held an expression of uncertainty.
I smiled at him again. “Simon, you know that I love you more than anything in this world. I would never let anything happen to you, or your perfect attendance record.”
Without speaking, he nodded at me and returned my smile with one of his own.
“Okay,” I began, standing from his bed. “Even though you aren’t going to school, you need to get up and get ready.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
Channeling Dyson, I winked at him. “You’ll see.”
Shortly after, I left Simon’s room and called the school to speak to Mrs. Marberry. I told her what was happening. She couldn’t have been more understanding, not to mention thrilled.
Of course, I mentioned Simon’s concern about his unblemished attendance. She informed me that for some strange reason, Simon’s attendance records seemed to be missing that morning. She wasn’t expecting them to show up again until the following day, and to the best of her knowledge, she wasn’t expecting to mark him absent.
After having a good laugh with her, I thanked Mrs. Marberry for everything, promising her the proof of adoption she needed to keep Simon enrolled at the school. Mrs. Marberry congratulated me and promised Simon would have his place there next fall.
By midmorning, Dyson, Simon, Jillian and I arrived at the courthouse. Overnight, Ed had texted me with instructions to meet him when we got there.
It’s a strange thing when a person’s voice doesn’t match their appearance. When speaking to Ed over the phone, my mind conjured images of a narrow-shouldered man with wire framed glasses and a receding hairline. However, when we approached him after arriving, Jillian walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Is that him?”
The broad-shouldered man with a sharp, chiseled jaw line and dark, intense eyes waved at us. I glanced towards her.
“Looks like it.”
“Yum,” she purred.
I looked back at Jillian. “What about Dan?”
“Who?” she joked.
Within seconds, the four of us walked up to him. He looked straight at me.
“You…” the man said, sticking his hand inside of his briefcase. “You must be Ava.”
I nodded and smiled at him. “Ed?”
“That’s me,” he said. Glancing past my shoulder, he continued, “It looks like you have some company.”
I turned in place and introduced all of them, leaving Simon for last.
“That has to be Simon,” Ed began, pointing at my nephew. “You’re a very lucky young man. Your Aunt Ava loves you very much. You know that, don’t you?”
I looked down at Simon and he nodded. “Yes,” he replied.
Ed smiled for a couple of moments and then produced the paperwork he’d reached for in his briefcase moments earlier.
“As you can clearly see,” Ed began, winking at me. “The counter party has already signed the document as we discussed. The only thing left now is to have the applicant for adoption sign… here.”
Ed held the paper up in front of me and pointed at the empty signature line below Gene’s. The moment seemed like a dream. I still had a hard time believing any of it was real. Frozen in a state of denial, I remained still while Ed held the paper.
Jillian leaned in, nudging me. “Ava, what are you doing? Sign the paper.”
“Yeah,” Simon added. “Come on, Aunt Ava.”
Ed smiled and placed the paper flat on top of his briefcase. Using his pen, I leaned over the page and lowered the tip to it. With a few forceful swipes, I’d signed it within seconds.
Ed glanced at my signature and then looked up at me.
“Well, it’s official. How does it feel?”
Without thinking, I lunged in his direction and kissed him on the lips. Stunned, he staggered backwards while I held on to him. Curious onlookers milling about the courthouse stopped and stared at us.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Dyson said, stepping towards us and pulling me away from him.
I glanced at him and felt heat flush my neck and face. Dyson winked at Ed.
“Back off, or we can take it outside.”
The two of them shared a laugh at my expense, but soon enough, Ed passed me the document I’d dreamed of having for years.
Overcome, I looked at Simon and opened my arms. He ran towards me, and we hugged, holding onto each other, crying with joy, a family at last.
AVA
Not long after, Ed excused himself, citing other casework he had to handle. Before he walked away, I approached him one last time.
“Ed,” I began, trying to form a coherent thought in the midst of my profound joy. “I don’t know how to thank you enough for what you’ve done. You’ve literally made my dreams come true.”
He snapped his briefcase closed with efficiency and smiled at me.
“Ava, I’m only doing my job,” he began, gripping the handle of his briefcase. “If I can help people, good people, like you every day—that would make me a lucky man. It’s my pleasure.”
Before he walked away, I hugged him one last time. And then he turned, walked down a short hallway nearby, and vanished. When he did, I turned and looked at Simon.
“Simon, do you know what this means?”
Simon looked up at me, his big brown pools shining in my direction. I knelt down in front of him.
“Give me your hands.”
I took them mine, caressing them in silence for a moment before looking at him.
“I’m going to leave the decision up to you, okay?” I said, nodding and looking into his eyes. “For as long as you like, and that means forever, if you want to call me Aunt Ava, you can. However, if you want to call me Mom, you can do that as well. None of it matters to me so long as we are together. Do you understand?”
Simon looked at me, unblinking. His tiny eyes filled with moisture. I opened my arms and we hugged. With my spirit soaring, I released him after a minute or so and stood once again. During the entire time, Jillian and Dyson remained silent. I looked in the direction of my best friend to see her overwhelmed with the same joy consuming me.
Without wasting a second, I walked towards her and we hugged. The strength I’d managed when talking to Simon melted away when we embraced. We sobbed, convulsing with long overdue tears of happiness in the middle of the county courthouse. That continued for a minute, maybe more, I don’t really remember.
What I do remember is what happened next.
“Women,” I heard Dyson say. “You can’t take them anywhere.”
Sniveling messes, Jillian and I separated from each other, and I looked in his direction. Dyson stood there, with his large hand draped across Simon’s tiny shoulder.
“Are you girls about finished?” Dyson asked.
I shook my head and smeared away the tears from my cheeks. “Shut up.”
Dyson chuckled and looked down at Simon again. “You sure about this? Because if you’re not, you need to tell me right now, bud.”
