The casual, matter-of-fact way she said it—like I already belonged there, like it was just a matter of logistics—made my chest swell.
And another tear fell.
Chapter 35
Theo
The alarm went off at six-thirty, but I’d been awake since four, staring at the ceiling and running through every way this day could go wrong. My stomach felt like I’d swallowed a beehive, and my hands shook from the moment I’d opened my eyes.
It was adoption day.
The day Debbie would officially, legally, permanently become mine.
The day no one could ever question my right to be her father.
If everything went according to plan.
I rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen, where I’d already laid out Debbie’s outfit the night before: her favorite “Sunday dress” with the purple flowers, tights that didn’t have holes in them, and the black patent leather shoes she’d declared to be “very serious.” We’d bought them specifically for this occasion.
My own clothes hung on the bedroom door—my best suit, the one I’d worn to exactly three events in the past four years,each of them involving lawyers or social workers or other official people who held Debbie’s future in their hands.
The coffee maker gurgled to life as I stood at the kitchen window and watched the sun creep over the horizon. I found myself wishing Jeremiah were here instead of at his own apartment. I knew he was probably getting ready for work and pretending not to be as nervous as I was.
As much as we both hated it, we’d agreed he shouldn’t come to the hearing.
Georgia was still Georgia.
While the social workers and case managers had been supportive throughout the process, walking into a conservative courtroom with my boyfriend felt like an unnecessary risk. Better to keep things simple, traditional, focused on what everyone could agree on: that Debbie and I were already a family in every way that mattered.
But God, I wished he were here.
“Daddy?” Debbie’s voice drifted from her bedroom, followed by the sound of her feet hitting the floor. “Is it dragon princess day?”
I smiled despite my nerves.
That’s what she’d taken to calling this day—dragon princess day—because apparently being adopted was very similar to being crowned royalty in a fairy tale kingdom.
“Yes, it’s dragon princess day, Button,” I called back. “Come on, let’s get you ready for your coronation.”
She appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing her dinosaur pajamas and bedhead that defied several laws of physics.
“Is Willie Wee coming to watch me become a princess? He calls me princess already, so he should be there when I get my crown.”
My stomach clenched.
We’d had this conversation multiple times over the past week, but she kept forgetting— or, more likely, hoping the answer would change.
“Remember what we talked about? Willie Wee has to work today, but he’ll be here when we get home to celebrate with us.”
Her face fell slightly, but she nodded. “Can we call him after the judge does his thing?”
“It’ll be the very first thing we do,” I promised, lifting her onto the counter so I could start the complex process of taming her hair.
As I worked detangler through her impossible knots, she chattered about the dragon princess story we’d been building together over the past few weeks. I figured it was her way of processing what adoption really meant.
“So after the judge gives me the magic crown, I’ll really be Princess Debbie forever and always?”
“Forever and always,” I confirmed, sectioning her hair for braids. “No one will ever be able to take that away from you.”
