Keep It Kasual

I stood in front of the mirror and sighed. Today was a day I had been waiting for and yet have been nervous about. It was Friday at 7:45 a.m. and I was dressed for our court appearance in about an hour. We had to be there at 8:30 a.m. when they opened so we could hopefully avoid being recognized. I had a blue dress on that matched well with Kris’ blue suit. Alex would be going with us as he had to be there as well. He matched his dad’s blue plaid shirt. We definitely looked like we belonged together which was part of the point.

We left the house at 8 a.m. for the 15 minute drive. Yes we would be early, but early was always better than late in situations like this. We found a parking spot that wasn’t too far away from the courthouse and joined the cue to get in. We were joined after a few minutes by a female lawyer I didn’t know but Kris did. “Ms. Pinard, good morning.” He was hold Alex which was fine by me. I had been persona non grata since Kris came home Wednesday evening.

“Bon Matin. He has gotten so big since I last saw ‘im.” She took a good look at Alexander. “You _did_ remember to bring the letter from his pediatrician, correct?” She was looking at Kris a bit sharply.

“I made sure his entire shot record, height and weight chart and the letter from his doctor was in his bag last night.” I said as Alex began reaching for me. I was standing in the morning sun and Kris had been in the shadows. “Oh, tout à coup, je suis celui que vous voulez. Vous êtes un petit garçon volage, et je vous aime encore. (Oh, suddenly I'm the one you want. You're a fickle little boy, and I still love you.)” I took Alex and tickled him as Kris chuckled.

The lawyer just smiled. “You must be Ms. Brassard. It is a pleasure to meet you in person, I am Elisabeth Pinard. We have spoken on the phone.” I nodded and noticed the doors were being opened. “I am sure that with everyt’ing we have on Ms. LaFlamme everything will go smoothly. I like how you all match each other, it presents a nice united front. Smart to have dressed Alex up as well, it will go a long way wit’ t’e judge we ‘ave, Madam Justice Kear-Jodoin. She is well versed in family law. I ‘ave no doubt everything will go smoothly.”

Before either Kris or myself could say anything Alex shouted. “Meme! Papi!” He leaned out towards them lovingly. Marie and Claude had been over as much as our schedule allowed and were clearly ecstatic that Alex called to them.

“Il est mon beau petit fils. (There is my handsome grandson.)” Marie hugged Kris before letting Alex make his way into her arms. “Kalista, j'aime la façon dont vous vous habillez cette famille. Nous tout le match! (Kalista, I love the way you dress this family. We all match!)” Both she and Claude were also wearing blue.

The six of us made our way through the guard station in the front of the building and to the front of our courtroom. Looking at the page posted outside Catherine’s Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights was the first case and my official adoption was second. I swallowed as I read that. I was nervous about this, I may not have a reason to be but I was. I followed Alex as he walked around in front of the doors. Soon enough we were able to file into the courtroom and take seats.

Just as the bailiff called for us to rise, Cat and her lawyer came breezing in. I heard both of her parents gasp as they stood at the other table while Madam Justice Kear-Jodoin came in. She regarded us all coolly as she stood there in her very red dress. Kris leaned over to Ms. Pinard as the bottom dropped out of my stomach. She’d done just what my worst fears were, gotten her own lawyer to contest this whole proceeding.

The judge took the bench and told us to sit. Catherine’s case was called and my nerves shot up. To try and cover it I distracted Alex, not that doing that was difficult. Judge Kear-Jodoin began to speak. “For this and it’s subsequent hearing we will be in English.” Kris leaned across the divider and squeezed my knee. “Are all parties present?”

Catherine and her lawyer stood. “Johnana Sarfati for the Applicant Your Honour. My client Catherine LaFlamme is here.” They then sat down.

Guided by our lawyer, Kris stood and straightened his tie. “Elisabeth Pinard for the Respondents My Lady, my clients Monsieur Letang and Mademoiselle Brassard are here as well as the child in question.” She waved behind her back and I stood with Alex in my arms. Alex was engrossed in his book so he didn’t look up at all but I noticed that the judge smiled when she looked at us. After nodding Ms. Pinard had us all sit back down.

The judge then took over. “It is my understanding that this is a case of the mother of the child, Alexander Letang; here after to be known as the minor, is here to voluntarily give up her parental rights to the minor. Is this correct?” She looked up at Catherine and her lawyer who were whispering back and forth.

Ms. Sarfati looked up after the judge cleared her throat and then stood. “It is Your Honour. My client no longer wishes to be the mother of record to the minor.” Half under her breath she continued. “I don’t know why though.”

Clearly irritated by her lawyer’s lack of confidence Catherine stood. “My Lady, may I address the court?” Judge Kear-Jodoin sighed and nodded so Catherine continued. “Thank you My Lady. What Ms. Sarfati said is true. I no longer wish to be known as the mother of Alexander. I found it much more difficult than I thought to care for him while his father was working. It is not that Kristopher does not share in caring for his son, it is that _I_ can not deal with the child. I have never had a good bond with him, although I tried. When I told Kristopher that I was going to give the boy away he got very angry and came over within 20 minutes and took him out of my home completely.” She looked down at the table in front of her. “Madam Justice, I was relieved when they left me with nothing. I have a few pictures but nothing that I no longer want. Ms. Sarfati just tried to convince me that I could get sole custody of Alex, but that is not in _his_ best interest. I have seen how Ms. Brassard is with the boy. She is more his mother than I could ever be.” Catherine glanced over at me, smiled and looked back at the judge. “My Lady, _she_ should be his mother, not I. I ask that you grant not only my petition but her adoption as well.” She then sat down and ignored all attempts by her own lawyer to change her mind.

Judge Kear-Jodoin looked over her notes after Catherine sat down before looking up and speaking to Ms. Pinard. “Maîtresse Pinard, is what the applicant said true to the best of your knowledge?” She leafed through the paperwork again as she got her answer.

“Madame Justice to the best of our knowledge that is the truth. Mr. Letang and Ms. Brassard both have sworn affidavits to the incident Ms. LaFlamme spoke about. As well as the affidavits from both of Ms. LaFlamme’s parents who are also in court this morning.” Claude and Marie both raised a hand. “If you wish any of them to recount anything more I would be happy to do so.”

The judge waved a hand. “That is not necessary. I just needed a moment to find them and confirmation that they were submitted.” She read the affidavits and looked up at us. “I am ready to make my order. In the matter of the Voluntary Termination of Parental Rights of Catherine LaFlamme, this court finds that it is indeed in the best interest of the minor that this be done. I call this case adjourned. Bailiff, 5 minute recess before you call the next case.”

As the door closed behind the judge, we all let out a sigh of relief. Catherine came over and stood near us. “I have no doubt you will take good care of him.” Alex was snuggled on my shoulder as she said this. He was running one of his toy cars along my arm and chest. “If you need any medical records, you have my parents.” She nodded at her folks and walked to the back of the courtroom.

Kris took Alex and tickled him a little bit to get him giggling. “We’re almost done my son. Yes.” Alex easily gave up the giggles as Kris tickled him. “Soon we will be an official family.” We took him outside so he could walk around and get his squirms out. He toddled the hallway for a little bit before we went back in and traded places behind the table next to Ms. Pinard.

The judge came in again and my adoption petition was called to order. My stomach was trying to twist into knots as we stood there. “Ms. Brassard, your petition for adoption is an interesting one. The information I have is that you are the caregiver for Alexander and girlfriend to his father Kristopher, both of whom are behind you at this moment correct? Why should I grant this petition?”

Suddenly I was on the spot. Carefully, before our lawyer could prompt me, I stood and took a deep breath. “That is true Madam Justice. I hope you will grant this so that I could be Alex’s mother for real. Kris and I have gotten more and more serious since I literally bumped into him. I helped him take permanent custody of Alex from his birth mother, I’ve watched Alex for him so he can prepare for the upcoming NHL season and now I can not imagine my life with either of them.” By the end of my pronouncement my hands were sweating and it felt like my knees were shaking. I carefully sat down and had Ms. Pinard patted my hand in support.

The judge smiled at me. “Thank you Ms. Brassard. I am not sure that being the child’s caregiver and the father’s girlfriend is enough to grant this however. Mr. Letang do you have anything to add that might convince me that I should grant this?” I heard more than saw Kris get up and come around the divider. He stood next to me with Alex in his arms.

Alex reached out for me and was softly calling to me. “Mama, mama. Si plait mama.” I couldn’t resist him working so hard to say please while reaching for me. I held out my hands and Kris let Alex tumble into them with a giggle before he spoke.

Smiling at us he turned to face the judge. “Madam Justice, Kalista was mistaken about one detail and it is understandable.” He looked at me and winked. “After all it was _very_ late last night when I asked her to marry me.” To cover my shock I looked at the table, I felt my ears and face go up in flames as well. I’m sure it looked like I had forgotten what would be a dream come true.

From the back of the courtroom there was an outraged cry. “You Bitch! He was mine! This was supposed to bring him back to _me_!” Everyone in the room turned to find Catherine shouting obscenities in our direction. Alex began to nearly wail at how loud she was getting. Instead of huddling like I wanted to, I sat there rubbing Alex’s back and having mine rubbed discreetly by Kris.

The judge had apparently had enough when she began insulting my parents. Standing she shouted. “Huissier supprimer cette femme! (Bailiff remove that woman!)” It took 4 bailiffs to get Catherine out of the room and earshot. Judge Kear-Jodoin was having trouble stopping shaking with what I could guess was controlled rage. Quietly I heard her speak. “Arrêter l'enregistrement (Stop recording.)” She took a few deep breaths and looked out at Kris and I. “I would not normally let my personal feelings effect what truly is best for a child, but in this case that was a woman who does not deserve the title of mother. Reprendre l’enregistrement. (Resume recording.)” She sat down and was slightly rattled but composed. “As I was saying. Mr. Letang, that is indeed a good enough reason. You wish your children to have the same mother, that in understandable. Seeing that there is no mother of record on the child, Alexander Letang, I see no reason to deny this adoption. Ms. Brassard please rise.” Kris steadied me as I did so with Alex in my arms.

Kris wrapped an arm around me and kissed first my temple and then Alex’s. The judge smiled at us. “With everything I have read from all of your witness statements and social services it is clear that you are already well loved by the child and the others around him. From what I have seen here today it is obvious that he and his father both love you just as much. It is my honour, then, to proclaim you to be the mother of Alexander Letang from this day forward. Félicitations à vous tous. (Congratulations to you all.)” She turned to her court reporter and accepted some documentation from him. She signed it all and passed it back to him. “Take these documents down to Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and get this registered so that his card can be updated.” We received the documents and waited for dismissal. “This concludes this happy case.”

With much lighter hearts and watching for Catherine, we left the courthouse to go to the registration place just a few minutes away. While we were in there Kris got a text message and looked pleased as punch on our way home. As we pulled into the driveway I noticed a few more cars than normal. All of them I knew. “What’s going on?” He smirked and pulled into the garage.

“I trust Madam Pinard when she says that things will go well. So we decided that you needed a pick me up. Your family agreed. They go home Monday afternoon, after all it _is_ Labour Day Weekend.” He closed the garage door and got a now sleepy Alex out of his car seat and took him into the house. As I got out I heard him humming.

I picked up the bag and followed my boys into the house. As I came into the kitchen I heard my mom and dad asking Kris where I was. He smiled and peered over his shoulder at me. He raised Alex up a bit and nodded towards the stairs. He was going to put him down for his nap. Mom came over and hugged me hard. “We are so proud of you.” I chuckled.

Dad hugged me and kissed my temple. “Votre mère serait si heureuse. Sa petite fille est maintenant une maman. (Your mother would be so happy. Her little girl is now a mom.)” As he pulled back he noticed that I was a bit off. “Is somet’ing wrong?”

I sighed, walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “I don’t know papa. I think the judge wasn’t going to allow me to adopt Alex until Kris told her we were engaged.” I opened the water and took a drink. “He lied to her to get her to go through with it.” I was bothered by that, a lot.

Mom had made herself scarce, probably corralling my brothers. Papa leaned against me and the counter. “Do you want it to be true? Do you love him?” He looked at me, paused and put his arm around me. “I went through the same fear when I thought about asking your mother. Did I love her enough? I was so afraid she would say no, but she didn’t. We might not have had long together, what we did have was full of laughter and love. So answer me. Do you love him?”

I leaned my head against my dad’s and thought about it for a moment. “Yes, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without him. I fell papa, I fell hard. They’re my boys, I think they were meant to be.” I felt my papa chuckle.

Shortly after that I found Kris looking at me oddly before my brothers came and whisked him away to go work out. Before he left, he gave me his credit card and in no uncertain terms told me to use it to buy an incredible dress for this evening. They left for the gym and I panicked. I had no idea where to get something like like. Fortunately before I could panic mom came to the rescue. “Stop. Your papa can watch Alex while we go shopping. You trust my judgement non?” Of course I did and I told her so, and away we went. I had never gone into the store she directed me to, heck I didn’t even know the name of it! “Come my daughter, we shall knock your man out with how wonderful you will look.” I had no choice but to follow her and look at the various dresses she moved out for me.

After about felt like hours, I gasped. She had found a teal cocktail dress that was adorned with ribbons. It was stunning. I could see myself in it. In fact I picked it up and went to the dressing room we were in. I slipped the dress on and sighed. It fit me like a glove. “Maman, pourriez-vous zip moi? Je veux voir comment il va vraiment regarder. (Mom, could you zip me? I want to see how it will really look.)” She did and then I turned around. She gasped too. “I know, it’s amazing.”

Nodding she smiled. “You look incroyable. T’is is it.” She turned me a bit and looked critically. “Oui, t’is one. Take it off so we can pay for it and get ‘ome.” I did so and tried hard not to balk at the $2700 price. On autopilot I got back into the car and really “came to” again as maman was talking about what accessories I would be using.

“I’m sorry Maman, I wasn’t really listening for most of that. Did you ask what accessories I will wear?” She chuckled and nodded. “Um, I think I’ll go really simple to show off the dress more. A pair of gold hoops and gold choker I have and I think I have a pair of gold sandals too. I think my hair should be off my shoulders too.” As I spoke I could see the outfit taking shape in my head. If I could pull it off like I envisioned it, Kris would indeed be blown away.

We got back to the house just minutes before Kris and my brothers. Coming in I heard dad playing with Alex, they were playing Godzilla. This is where you first make a whole bunch of block towers and then go rampaging through them growling like a monster. Papa used to do the same with all of his children, why should his grandson be any different? As I passed Alex spotted me and chirped out a happy, “Mama!” I smiled, waved and continued on into my side of the closet. I wanted this dress to be a complete surprise.

Hours later we were all starting to get ready for our big celebration dinner. Kris was on the phone with someone when Frankie came up behind me and laid his head on my shoulder. “Vous êtes un tel bon maman. Il vous adore. Son papa fait trop. Je suis heureux pour vous sis. (You're such a good mom. He adores you. His dad is too. I'm happy for you sis.)” He then wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “Even if Kris does make us stop after practice and wait for ‘im to get somet’ing special.” He then kissed my cheek and toddled off to go get ready. I knew Frankie, he was either teasing me with nothing important or going me a clue about what to expect this evening. I hadn’t seen Kris come in with anything unusual so I ignored Frankie.

Shortly after I stood at my vanity in the bathroom doing my makeup. I tried not to wear a whole lot most of the time, not that I didn’t wear any normally but this was a special occasion. After getting my foundation on I started on my eyes. I wanted to do a really great smoky eye for tonight and that took time. With care and attention to detail I normally did not have time for I completed my eyes and stood back a little bit to get the full effect. I was very happy with the results.

Kris came in to check on his 5 o’clock shadow and caught me looking in the mirror. “Whoa. T’ose are some hot looking eyes baby. Is your dress even better?” He’d been teasing me about my dress since they got home and I told him not to peek at it. “I am going to ‘ave to bring my A game to keep you w’ere you belong.” I laughed, there was no way anyone else could hold a candle to the man in front of me. He’d seen me at my worst one morning when Alex had been up and down all night with a bad cold, and would see me at my best so far in a little while. I picked up my dual-ended lipstick and put on the darker shade. I then kissed him firmly on the lips.

As I pulled back a little to let us breathe, I grinned at him. “No one holds a candle to you. Vous tenez les clés de la mon cœur. Mon âme chante quand vous êtes à proximité. (You hold the keys to my heart. My soul sings when you are near.)” Was it cheesy, a little. Was it true all the same, definitely!

He whispered at me then. “Je prie que je suis digne de la chanson de ton âme mon bien-aimé. (I pray that I am worthy of the song of your soul, my beloved.)” He lowered his lips to mine and lightly brushed against them. “Tout mon être crie de joie quand vous êtes à proximité. Plus tard ce soir, je vais vous le prouver. (My whole being cries of joy when you're nearby. Later tonight, I'll prove it.)” He steadied me on my feet and took a step back. If we didn’t stop now, we’d be late for dinner.

As he walked out of our bathroom, I started taming my hair to how I wanted it to look. I was able to get it sleek but not too sleek, now for the tricky part getting the curls to lay just right. It took me two tries before I was happy with how they were and they stayed. I went into my closet and unzipped the bag my dress was in. It still looked like the perfect dress for me tonight. Carefully I slipped into it and began zipping it up. At home I could easily fasten a string to the zipper and pull it up, that was more difficult when I was out.

That done, I put on the minimalist jewelry I was wearing tonight and found my Carvela sandals, which I had gotten on sale. They were a gold tone what worked well with dress and my necklace. To keep my dress a secret, I put on my bathrobe and went to see if I needed to dress Alex. I quickly got shooed away by every male currently in the house and told to wait in our room.

I did what I was told and waited, soon enough I heard Kris calling to me from the living room. It was time for the big reveal. We both counted to three and then I walked out of the master suite. My boys were standing there in matching suits looking very dapper. As I looked at them I saw Kris’ jaw literally drop and had to giggle. I knew this was the dress. Then I saw that their ties both matched my dress. This could not have been a coincidence.

I stopped in front of Kris who was now recovering. “Regardez la beauté de votre maman Alex. Vous êtes le garçon le plus chanceux du monde d'avoir une si belle maman. (Look at the beauty of your mother Alex. You are the luckiest boy in the world to have such a beautiful mom.)” Alex giggled and made grabby hands at me, he wanted up.

Alex settled for holding my hand to the car, but only just. Once we were in the cars, I asked where we were going for dinner and Kris refused to answer. We rolled along highway 40 and then 15. Why were we in Laval? Then the answer came to me as we pulled up in front of The Keg. Standing there and looking good were Max, Jass, Flower, Vero and little Estelle. As we got up to the front I spotted Kris’ mom and step dad. Hugs were quickly given and we went inside. In there was Kris’ dad, half-sister and half-brother with their other halves. I stood there trying her not to be overwhelmed when someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned and spotted someone I didn’t expected. “Danny.” My smile, which had felt slightly forced with the inundation of all of Kris’ family, suddenly felt effortless.

“Surprise.” He hugged my tightly. “Les garçons sont allés à leur maman pour l'école si c'est juste moi. (The boys went to their mom for school so it's just me.)” I chuckled as he looked around to see who else was here.

“You’re always welcome Danny, you’re as much family to me as everyone else here.” Danny kissed my cheek and flushed at that. “Speaking of, what _are_ we doing here?” I turned to Kris who had by now gotten to the maitre d’s station. That’s when I heard him say he had booked the private room. We were efficiently shown to the private room and had the door closed. There were even 2 high chairs already in the room.

Once we all had drinks, Kris stood and tapped his glass for a toast. “First I would like to say t’ank you to you all for coming tonight. Today ‘as been a very big day for our family and it is about to get even bigger.” He pulled a blue pouch out of his pocket and gave it to Alex. “Alex, donner ce à maman. (Alex, give this to mama.)”

Alex lit up and turned to me with the biggest grin and spoke as he handed it to me. “Here mama.” He put the pouch in my hand and then turned to grin at his papa. Kris gave him a thumbs up.

I chuckled and hefted the pouch, it was rather light. “What is this Alex? You got me a gift?” I carefully opened the pouch and peered inside. There was a ring. I gasped as I tipped it out onto my palm. It was an eternity band. It was yellow gold and had citrine stones in it. “How beautiful. Thank you so much Alex.” I put the pouch around his neck and then looked at Kris. “Did he tell you which finger this was to go on?” Kris tapped my ring finger on my right hand. I put it on and it was a perfect fit. I gave Alex a kiss and Kris a slightly longer one.

Through a lovely meal with our extended family, I kept getting the feeling that they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. After eating we ordered dessert. Christiane moved Alex down next to her so she could supervise his ice cream. Now I knew something was up. Kris and I were splitting the brownie sundae. They set the plate in front of me and before I dug in I noticed words around the plate. Kalista, épousez moi? (Kalista, marry me?)

My left hand went to my chest as I read what was written. I looked over at Kris and he was kneeling with an open box in his hand. In the box was a ring in the shape of a lotus flower. The diamonds were set in rose gold. It was breath taking. I looked up to his face and saw just how much he loved me. “J'ai parlé trop tôt ce matin, mon amour. Pardonne-moi s'il vous plaît. (I spoke too soon this morning, my love. Forgive me please.)”

I reached out with my right hand and touched his cheek. I knew what my answer was, I just wanted to draw it out a little bit. Leaning in I whispered. “Je vous ai dit comment je me sentais plus tôt.  Je ne serai jamais vous laisser aller. (I told you how I felt earlier. I will never let you go.)” I kissed him tenderly. “Rien ne me rendrait plus heureuse que d'être votre femme. (Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife.)”

You felt the tension fly out of the room as I said that. Kris’ face lit up as he, hand shaking, took the ring out and carefully put it on my finger. I saw Flower get up and go to the door. A bit later the waiter came in with a bottle of champagne and glass for all the adults. By now I was trembling a little bit. Flower stood and spoke. “Amis et famille, levez vos verres à Kris et Kalista. Le deuxième meilleur couple sur les Penguins. (Friends and family, raise your glasses to Kris and Kalista. The second best couple on the Penguins.)” Everyone laughed and toasted us.

Soon after the kids began to get tired and we broke up the party to go home. After putting Alex to bed and getting ourselves ready, we laid tucked up in our bed nearly asleep when I thought of a come back for Flower. Nudging Kris, I told him what I was thinking. “We can take them. We’ll be the best Pens couple before they know it.”