Chapter 70 Epilogue 1
Friday Before Father's Day
Anushka's P.O.V.
I'm so excited. Not only am I basically back to normal now, but today is going to be life-changing for three families. Jordan, Bobby, and Gavin are going to officially become fathers today. We are going to the courthouse to finalize the adoptions. I don't know who's more excited: the kids, the dads, or us moms. We thought doing it right before Father's Day would be perfect.
"Mommy, are you ready for me to adopt Daddy?" Dakota asks, running into the bedroom with her blonde curls bouncing. She's wearing her favorite blue dress that her grandpa bought her. She insisted that we all wear blue to match. So I'm in a blue dress, and Jordan is in black pants with a blue button-up shirt. I lean down to kiss her cheek. It still hurts when I lift her.
"I can't wait. Is everyone else ready?" I ask, taking her hand.
"Yep." Dakota leads me out to the living room, where everyone is gathered. Courtney is with Bobby, Sarah, and Tyler. Dina is standing next to Gavin. He's holding Noah. In the past few months, we have all become one big family. Jordan walks over to me and kisses me lightly.
"I'm so glad this day has finally come," he says. We had been through so much at the beginning of our relationship, but through it all, he was the rock that held everything together.
"Me too." I kiss him again until Dakota pulls on my hand.
"Come on. We have to go adopt our daddies," she says. She's the leader of all the kids, whether they realize it or not. Tyler just turned five, Sarah is now three, and Noah is four. He's the one Dakota has truly taken under her wing. Dina said he didn't like to be around anyone other than her and the caregiver she hired before he met Dakota. Now, he's more comfortable with new things, especially if Dakota is with him. He talks more and is even going to preschool.
We head outside, where a large SUV limo is waiting for us. I look up at Jordan with my eyebrow raised, and he raises his hands.
"It was the only thing that would fit all ten of us," he argues while the others laugh. I'll let this one slide since it is an important day. We climb into the limo, and Dakota sits next to Noah, holding his hand. It's the only thing that seems to keep him from rocking when he gets a little anxious. It makes my heart break that my mom was robbed of being a grandmother. She would have loved Dakota and made all of these kids her grandchildren. At least they all have a surrogate grandpa.
When we pull up to the courthouse, we see that there aren't many people around. We scheduled the latest time possible on Friday to help Noah stay calm. Dakota takes one of his hands when we get out, and Gavin takes the other. Dina walks over to me, smiling.
"I don't feel like I'm needed anymore now that he has those two," she says. I put my arm around her shoulders as we head up the steps. She and Courtney are like sisters to me.
"Oh, he still needs you. When I think Dakota is big enough to run off and rule the world, she crawls onto my lap and wants to read a story." I reassure her. When we walk into the courthouse, Noah turns and looks for his mom. "See, he needs to know you're here."
Dina smiles, and we continue to the courtroom. We arranged to have all the adoptions done at the same time. When we get there, the courtroom door is open. Jordan had told the judge and everyone about Noah and how important it was to make sure he was comfortable.
"Welcome, everyone. This is a big day, and I'm so happy you allowed us to be a part of it," the judge says. He's a round man with thinning gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses. Dakota and the other kids all hold hands and walk toward the front.
"We're here to adopt our daddies," she says. I swear, the judge, clerk, and court reporter look like they're going to cry. Ever since Dakota learned what adoption was, she has insisted that she is adopting Jordan. She said she and the others got to pick their daddies out of all the daddies in the world, so they know they're the best.
"Yes, you are, little one. You must be Dakota. I'm Judge Donovan," he says with a smile.
"Yes, I'm Dakota, and this is Noah, Tyler, and Sarah. We picked out our daddies and want everyone to know they're ours." There are no dry eyes now. Judge Donovan takes off his glasses and pats his eyes with a handkerchief.
"Why don't you kids show me who your daddies are, and we'll begin." The judge says. Dakota takes Noah to Gavin while Sarah and Tyler run to Bobby. She then runs to Jordan, and the men pick up their kids.
Courtney, Dina, and I stand together, holding hands while we cry. All three of us were single moms until these amazing men came into our lives. They are all incredible dads who have loved our kids like they were their own. When the judge is done, all three men hug their kids tight while everyone cries.
"Does this mean I can put you in time-out when you're bad?" Dakota asks Jordan. We start laughing, and I hug them both.
"What makes you think I'm going to be bad?" he asks her.
"I don't know. Grandpa Chrissy said you should always have a bargaining chip," she replies, raising her eyebrows at him. I think my dad has gotten used to being called Chrissy, even though he doesn't like it. All four kids call him that now.
"Well then, if I do something bad, you can put me in time-out," Jordan says, kissing her cheek. Dakota giggles and squirms to get down.
We thank the judge and go outside to the limo. We don't want to overwhelm Noah, so we order pizza and ice cream to be delivered rather than going out to dinner. Pizza and ice cream were the kids' idea. Who can argue with four kids who haven't stopped smiling?
As we sit around and eat, I can't help but think Dina, Courtney, and I were doing okay on our own as single moms. However, seeing the change in our kids since having their dads around shows that even though we were okay, they wanted their daddies. These three men weren't daddies before they met us, and they're not our kids' biological fathers, but Dakota was right. They picked the best daddies in the world.