The man looked from Reyona to Maxwell.
"Pardon me, but I need to get this straight. You were not married earlier, but now you are."
"Yes, exactly that. We have established this already. Is there any reason why my wife and I need to answer such a question again, Mr. Han? You have a copy of our marriage certificate too."
"Yes, yes. I understand that, President Rohan. But then I will need you to bear with us because these questions need to be asked. It is only protocol, I am sure you understand."
"I do. I just hope you will make it as fast as possible. I understand that the kids are to go to the new home you found for them today?" Maxwell asked matter-of-factly. His no-nonsense tone negated what he was feeling anyway.
God damn it, but he was nervous.
How ridiculous was that?
He was not nervous because of the procedure or questions.
Oh, they had that down to pat.
He was nervous because of the woman sitting unmoving next to him.
Even a blind person could feel that she was no blushing bride.
Yes, they met very early that morning, so they could practise everything they were going to say when they asked them questions.
Any curveball question not part of what they already rehearsed was left to Maxwell to handle.
She had been very polite since they met that morning and very cooperative too.
She had even taken his arm willingly before they entered the official building that morning.
She had surprisingly turned to him with an adoring smile when Maxwell announced to the associate commissioner that the report he got was correct; they were indeed married and would like to have custody of the children.
The associate commissioner had been surprised, but then he told Maxwell that he would need to question them first before they could proceed with anything.
Since the children were supposed to go home with another couple that day already, things might be inconvenient, but they can make things work.
Then he invited them to his office while announcing that the social worker in charge, Miss Macaulay, would also be joining them.
Well.
When the man looked at Reyona before he turned away to lead them to his office, she even laid her head against Maxwell's shoulder with a blissful smile on her face and patted his hand lovingly.
The associate commissioner showed his teeth in a smile and said "Come with me, please. We will start immediately."
Reyona immediately created a distance between them as soon as the man turned his back.
Though she still held his arm, the distance between them might have been that of a canyon.
"Do you think he believed us?" she whispered while looking straight at him.
Maxwell had an insane urge to kiss her on the nose but he simply half-smiled and said "I am sure we are about to find out."
It was clear that the social worker was not buying their ploy, and she had no intention of hiding it, while the associate commissioner was diplomatic about his feelings about all this.
Also, Reyona had been quiet since they were seated and her arm was long gone from his, so yes, he was nervous.
Not because of any questions those in front of him might ask, but because he was not sure of what the woman beside him might do.
What if she decided she suddenly wanted nothing to do with this again?
What if she gave the wrong response on purpose?
What if…
"Yes, they are to leave for their new homes today." the associate commissioner answered in response to Maxwell's initial question. "In fact…"
"But that would no longer be necessary, would it? I mean we are here now, and we can just take them off your hands and take them home where they belong."
Mr Han had an awkward smile on his face as he looked from Maxwell to the unimpressed Miss Macaulay, to Reyona, and then back to Maxwell. "Yes, uhm…" he cleared his throat. "We will get to that in a moment." he shuffled the file in front of him and looked back to Maxwell. "So, I will proceed with the questions now, and I need you to answer me as truthfully as you can, please. Is that understood, President Rohan?"
Maxwell nodded.
"Mrs. Rohan?" he called inquiringly.
Mrs. Rohan.
Hearing that out loud did something to Maxwell.
A second pause, and then Reyona answered "Yes, I understand. Go ahead."
"Thank you," Mr. Han said with a smile. "So, how did you meet?"
How long have you been together?
Was your marriage a hasty decision because you wanted to have custody of the children?
Does your family know about this?
Will they be able to back up your claim?
What is your favourite thing about your partner?
Have you ever discussed having kids?
How many kids would you like to have?
Do you think you are ready to have kids now?
Do you think you are ready to take responsibility for kids now?
Have you ever had to deal with grown-up kids before?
What would you do if….?
On and on the questions went and Maxwell soon realised that his fears were for nothing.
She handled the questions like a pro, and he could see that she was not going to back out on him after all.
It was crazy that even though he knew that she was a woman of integrity who wouldn't freely give her word without intending to see it through, he was still nervous anyway.
Only she could do that to him.
He had long stopped trying to understand why.
She was an exceptional woman, and he was proud to have his name linked to her as they easily fielded the questions that the associate minister and even the social worker threw at them.
The sceptical social worker was the one who asked most of the questions that they hadn't rehearsed, and she mostly directed them at Reyona.
But then Reyona handled them so well that Maxwell felt like applauding her right there and then.
Eventually, they had no further questions to ask them.
The associate commissioner informed them that even though there would still be due processes to be followed and follow-ups to be done, there was no reason why the children couldn't go home with them that day.
They just needed to fill out some forms first and the next steps would be taken.
"I do hope you are not in a hurry, please. This might take a while."
"No, not at all. We are not, right?" Maxwell said as he looked at Reyona, and she nodded with a pleasant smile.
That was when Maxwell noticed that they were still holding hands.
In the course of the questioning, they had ended up holding hands. It felt so natural and surreal to Maxwell, and he knew she would distance herself again if she realised.
So he smiled at her and looked back at Mr. Han. "We are good. We are here for them and will wait for as long as this takes."
"That is good to know, sir. We will try to make it as swift as possible. Please, get me the forms, Miss Macaulay," he said to the lady, and the latter left.
He turned back to Maxwell and Reyona, "Congratulations on your marriage. May your home be blessed." he said conversationally.
"Thank you," Reyona said, and she reached for the forms that Miss Macaulay had brought.
There are two of them.
Maxwell was just reading through his when Reyona frowned suddenly and asked, "What is this?"