Mimi's Daddy Ch. 18: The Courthouse

Going to the Courthouse, Cause We're Gonna Get Married...

There was something about watching a man work. Floating through the disappearing sunlight, motes of dust fell through the air as Adam lifted the first cabinet from the wall. The man was strong as a bear. A few years ago, two sections in the kitchen were damaged when the farmhouse suffered a roof leak during a bad storm. The sun was almost down and lighting more lanterns wouldn't give enough illumination to keep working. Mimi placed her hammer back into her toolbox and said, "I think we should practice kissing."

He eased the heavy cabinet onto the floor. "Now?"

"No. We are dusty and dirty, and only halfway through pulling these cabinets out." She removed a drawer from the bottom half of the damaged section and tried to make her case. "It's just that we are going to be kissing in front of other people on Sunday." She dampened her lips. "I want it to be convincing."

His handsome mouth quirked into a smile. "Are you sure it's not that you want to kiss me? Do you like kissing now, cupcake?"

She stammered, "Maybe, no, yes. I've just been thinking." Her face turned red and Mimi hit her hip on the corner of the counter as she stepped away.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, facing away from him, rubbing her hip.

"It's okay that you want to kiss me."

She nodded but didn't turn around toward him. He wiped off his hands on a towel and stepped toward her. When he cupped her shoulders with his palms and drew her back against him, she could feel his solid body warm against her back. "It's okay."

She turned around and stood with her cheek pressed to his chest. "But this is all pretend."

Tilting her face up to his, he said, "The two of us liking each other as people is not pretend. There is no one I trust enough to do this with but you."

"Not even Marge?"

He engulfed her in his arms and held her tight. "Marge is too smart to mess with a man like me." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "We can both get what we want, Mimi."

***

At the courthouse, Mimi waited with her paperwork in hand. She had worn her grandmother's retro robin-blue dress and a cute pillbox hat with the tiniest of veils. She was early. Adam had sent her a text that he was parking.

Impatiently, she paced, wanting him beside her before her parents arrived. When he came around the corner with Marge and his sister at his side, his mouth dropped open at the sight of her. Flattered, she watched him recover himself and break into a gigantic smile. Lifting his hand in hello, Adam walked toward her. Dressed for work in a flannel, jeans, and work boots, he looked extremely handsome. His beard was trimmed neatly. Beside him, his sister was beaming.

Adam said, "When I called this morning, they said we needed witnesses." He hugged her tight. "You look adorable." He lightly touched the edge of her lace gloves. "These are pretty."

"Thank you."

Down the hall, Mimi heard her father's boot tread on the tiles before she saw him. "I have witnesses too." In a spring church dress, her mother walked next to her father's side. Adam stiffened a little as her parents approached.

Her father nodded, unsmiling. "So, are we doing this thing?"

"Pa, we haven't even gotten in line yet."

Adam took the paperwork from her. "I'll go put us on the list."

When she hugged her mother, the older woman whispered in her ear, "Your dress is cute. It looks like one my mother used to wear."

Mimi grinned wider. "It is her traveling suit from her wedding. I might have invaded the attic and had it cleaned."

Her mother squeezed her hands. "You look beautiful in it."

"Is this his mother?" Her father was staring down at Marge,

"Nope."

Sarah flashed a grin. "I'm his sister. My name is Sarah."

Nodding as if that was acceptable, her father pulled a handful of daffodils tied together with a ribbon from behind his back. "You can give these to the bride." He pushed them toward her like he was handing her a frog.

"Thanks, Dad." After Mimi took the bright yellow blooms from Sarah, she leaned over and kissed her father's cheek. She hadn't even thought to bring flowers. Since the daffodils were blooming, she could make herself a bouquet for the wedding on Sunday.

With all of them seated in a row, Adam held the clipboard on his lap as Mimi teased him, "How much are you having to pay to marry me?"

"I paid fifty-seven dollars, but I'm still hoping that your father will sweeten the deal with a sheep."

A few seats down, her father snorted a laugh. "She is worth a lot more than a single sheep. You should give ME at least seven goats."

Adam turned toward her father. "I will see what I can do. She is better than I deserve."

Hiding a grin with her hand, her mother added, "And maybe a few chickens. Some of our layers are getting old."

Adam slid his hand into Mimi's and squeezed.

When their name was called, the mass of them gathered around the window. The clerk looked past the couple toward the family. "Which people are going to be your witnesses?" Mimi's mother stepped forward, and after a brief pause, Sarah moved to stand beside her brother.

Swaying beside Adam, feeling dizzy and like the situation was surreal, Mimi didn't understand the clerk the first time they explained what to say. Patiently, the clerk asked her to repeat after them and she numbly did. Her own voice felt far away. Adam repeated his part, and the clerk's voice buzzed in her head. When Adam touched her cheek, Mimi snapped out of her blur.

As his face came down toward her, she almost bolted. What had they done? His gentle touch held her in place as his lips brushed hers in a chaste kiss. Marge, Sarah, and even her mother congratulated them.

***

Walking to the parking lot, their footsteps echoed down the hall. Their families had said goodbye and left them to wait for copies of their wedding certificate. Adam needed several for his lawyers. Papers in hand, they headed back to work.

"Did we really do that, Adam?" They paused in the empty hallway.

He reached out and took her hand. "We did. Are you okay?"

"I think so. What happens now?"

"We go back to work and I will meet you at your house after."

"Just like that?"

"We need to make this look real, and no man in his right mind would stay away from you the first night he was married to you."

"There is a key under the mat if you get there before me."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's going to be okay, Mimi. We are both going to get what we want."

***

Mimi stood in front of her trailer with her hand resting on the side of his truck. Adam was already here, inside her house, her bona fide husband. Okay, her fake husband, but their wedding had been real. His grandmother's ring caught the sunlight. That was real, too. She hesitated to go in. What would she say to him? Draped over her arm, her wedding dress rippled in the breeze fluttering against her legs.

"Welcome home," Adam said, breaking her reverie. In a t-shirt and gray sweatpants, he stood in the open doorway, looking delicious, waiting for her with one of her kitchen towels draped over his shoulder. "I heard you drive up."

"I'm sorry that I'm late."

Without a word, he extended his hand toward her in invitation. Uncertain if she should kiss him, shake his hand, or just walk past him into the house, Mimi started up the steps to the porch. When she tried to step past him into the house, he blocked her path with a muscular arm. "I believe I'm supposed to carry you over this threshold, young lady."

"I'm not superstitious and..." Adam swept her off the ground before she could finish her sentence. Barely keeping her grip on the dress, she thumped against his solid chest, held in his arms as easily as a child.

"I'm not either, but I'm not missing the chance to carry you in my arms."

Warmth bloomed in her body as if sunshine spilled outward from her chest. Wade had pushed his way into the hotel room without considering her at all on their wedding night. She'd stood outside in the hall while he rushed to the bathroom. Eventually, she gave in and followed him into the room. That first night, they had barely kissed.

Adam carried her through the door as if her weight was nothing to him. A wicked grin curved his lips. "Are you hungry, or should I take you to the bedroom for more science experiments?"

Turning her face away from him, to hide the blush heating her cheeks, her stomach answered for her, loudly rumbling. The smell of roast chicken and root vegetables couldn't distract the rest of her from how solid his body had felt, or how delicious it was to be cradled effortlessly in his arms.

When she said nothing, he eased her to the ground, and she ached with the loss of being close to him. Unable to look directly at his face when he took the dress from her hand, unexpected waves of longing rippled through her. When his fingertips brushed her cheek, she closed her eyes. His voice was gentle, as if she was a skittish horse. "There is no rush, pretty girl. Let's sit down and eat."

With his back facing her, he hung her dress on the hook on the back of her front door. Twisting her hands together, Mimi said, "Thank you for making dinner."

"You should thank your mother. She brought food over and told me to leave it in the oven on warm." Next to the front door frame, several presents rested on the floor. "I found those gifts on the porch when I arrived."

He lifted a bottle of wine from the small pile and turned toward her. "From Marge. Shall I open it?"

"Yes, please." She shifted back a step as he passed her.

On the kitchen table, daffodils filled a blue vase. He said, "We had success today. Why aren't you smiling?"

"The afternoon was long. Teddy Snoot's adoption failed." Thoughts of Adam and their wedding night had distracted her all day. Only Teddy's sad, smooshy face had broken through.

"At the shelter?"

"Yes, the family brought him back, even though we warned them he would need some patience and training." Unzipping her jacket, she added. "It's sad. This is his second adoption fail."

Adam stepped behind her and helped her ease her jacket off her shoulders. "Sounds like a rough afternoon."

"Awful. He cried when they walked away without him. I think he thought he was there for a visit."

When Adam wrapped his arms around her, she settled against him, finding shelter in his hug. "I think I know a remedy."

She looked up at him, and he cupped her face. "Go get into something comfortable and think of a movie you want to watch. I'll spoon us up some plates of food and join you on the couch."

"I wanted to get more done on the farmhouse."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "Not tonight. Tomorrow."