Uncompromising (Age Gap, gxg)

Chapter 16

I'd done well in choosing Monique. While both cases had seemed daunting up front, she'd guided me through all of it with no issues. By the time Halloween arrived, I was a mother to Jashanna and divorced from Elliot.

Jashanna's mother was the easiest, as we set things up the next week on a Monday and did the call from my office to the bank where Monique's investigator was with the paperwork for Jashanna's mother to sign, and then we released the funds as soon as it was notarized and legal. A week later we'd finally dealt with the family court and Jashanna was my daughter.

We spent the next weekend painting her room, and then the furniture arrived, and she was in heaven. It seemed like every day I got a giant hug and happy tears from her. I know a lot of kids don't like to know they're adopted, but for Jashanna it was like she was thrilled. It didn't hurt that she got to sleep in the same bed as Gracie every night, alternating beds every time, but I think even if they were just friends she would still be just as happy.

Elliot didn't fight the divorce. He did hire a lawyer, and they wanted to do mediation, but when Monique pointed out just how many times that he'd violated the prenup, and that we had multiple witnesses including his mother willing to testify to his homophobic comments, he folded right up. The process still took time though, as everything had to be filed and signed and a judge had to review the documents before it was all done. But finally, after almost two months of waiting, I was a single woman just a few days before we could go trick or treating.

That was perfect timing, because Gracie and Jashanna were so excited to help me find someone that they were driving me a little crazy. Halloween was on a Thursday this year, and the Marshalls were having their party that Saturday since everyone was doing the trick or treating on Friday.

But I also might have been sneaky and gone to the high school website and cross referenced the faculty to the girls' schedule to try figuring out who they were setting me up with. It wasn't that I didn't want the surprise, but I had to admit I was a little curious. Just looking at the biographies of the teachers, my money was on their biology teacher, Mary Bannis, who looked like the kind of woman that they might choose for me. I had to admit if she was their choice then I'd be just fine with it.

When Friday rolled around, they were giggling like they were back in elementary school then sharing whispers that were maddeningly hard to hear. I know, that was their intention, but now that I was single and I was anticipating the party tomorrow night, I was going nuts wanting to know.

"You two already have someone picked out for me, don't you?" I asked them as we got closer to the house. I saw their eyes go wide as they realized that I was onto them. "You invited them to the party, didn't you?"

They shared a look, then they both smirked at me. "Yes, we did," Gracie replied.

"And you're gonna flip out," Jashanna added. "Because we found someone you'll never say no to!"

"But we're not saying anything else. We want to see your face when you see them. But trust us, you're going to like them, okay? We wouldn't just grab a random girl off the street." Gracie was smiling like she couldn't wait, so I let it go. If it was the teacher I thought, then they had seen her every day at school for months, and no doubt talking to her outside of class to make sure that she might be interested in me and worth my time.

I was sure that tomorrow night would be interesting, if only because it would be my first time meeting anyone like this, and I hoped my girls had good taste in women! It was nice saying that. My girls. With Jashanna being a part of the family now, nothing had changed at all, as she still fit in the way she always had. From a company beneficiary standpoint though, things had changed a little. I'd talked to Henry, our Human Resources guy, and made a new change to my dependents. I added Jashanna to my medical and dental insurance, and then added her as a beneficiary to my life insurance along with the other girls. If she was a part of the family, then she was going to be treated like it.