Page 22 of Dr. Bell

He briefly ducked his head then was back to observing the people moving through the lobby. Upon further inspection, he wasn’t the only guard posted out here. He was just the most noticeable.

Adir and I headed to a set of elevators. Once we were on the elevator, he used a key to request the fourth floor, then the elevator was off. The doors opened to a hallway with four French style sets of doors. One set of doors bore the name Judge Allistair Bell. For whatever reason, my nerves took over. Although I’d met Judge Bell last night, knowing what I knew about the Bells, I was a little intimidated to be around them again.

Adir opened the door and ushered me inside. Judge Bell’s office was so big that my entire apartment could fit in here. His desk and a dozen filled bookshelves were directly in front of us. To the right was a large square oak table occupied by Judge Bell, two other older gentlemen who looked just like him, and Minnie. Her smile was infectious and welcoming. She stood from the table to give me a hug. Shamefully, my eyes misted with an emotion I couldn’t explain. It was as if my mother hugged me.

Adir introduced me to the other two gentlemen, Courtney and Dothan, who were seated at the table. They were his attorneys. Once Adir and I were seated, the meeting began.

“Tell me about your father, Pretty,” Dothan requested. I’d seen him last night, also. He heavily favored the Bells. His hand moved swiftly as I relayed information to him.

“As far as I know, he’s still in Orlando. I haven’t seen him since my mother’s funeral. And even then, we didn’t talk.”

“Is he listed on Quilo’s birth certificate?” he questioned.

I shook my head. “We carry our mother’s last name. He was in prison both times my mama gave birth.”

He scribbled on the notepad and simply nodded his head while Courtney opened a thick folder and removed several documents from it.

“These are documents that require your signature, Pretty. They include your marriage license, your Last Will & Testament, as well as your binding agreements with Adir Bell outside of your marriage.”

I glanced at Adir, whose face was unreadable but soft. He was used to contracts, so I wasn’t surprised that any of this was out of the ordinary for him.

“Don’t worry; we’ll go over all of them,” Dothan assured me. “We also have documents pertaining to Quilo, including his adoption papers and name change.”

I knew nothing about adoption or how the process worked or if any of this was by the book. However, as Dothan and Courtney went over each paper one by one, I found my stiff shoulders relaxing.

Once Adir and I completed signing the documents, Judge Bell spoke for the first time.

“Because I’m sure this is a lot for you, Pretty, I will assure you that my son is a good man. He will protect you. He will honor you. If there’s ever a time that you feel like he needs to be put in order, don’t hesitate to get me or his mother involved.”

Judge Bell addressed me, but his eyes were glued to his son. Some unspoken words floated between the men. The hold they had on me was broken by Minnie.

“We need a wedding,” she stated. “This weekend.”

“Is that really—"

She cut Adir off with a sharp cut of her eyes. “No one’s going to take this seriously without a wedding.”

Judge Bell cleared his throat. “I have to agree with ya mother. Although none of us care about what anyone else thinks… It is imperative that you make it clear that you and Pretty are an item.”

Adir set his stern expression on me. “How do you feel about this?”

I glanced between the three of them, then down at all the documents I’d just signed.

“This is ‘til death do us part, right?”

“It is,” all three unanimously confirmed.

Looking up into Adir’s eyes, I said, “Then, I want a wedding.” There was no use in not having this go the way I wanted it to go. If I was going to pledge the rest of my life to this man, then I wanted to at least have the experience of a real wedding.

Adir’s face relaxed. “Aight.”

Minnie clapped her hands and shrieked like this was her wedding we were talking about.

“The guest list will be very small but intentional. Since it’ll be this weekend, we have a lot of work to do, Pretty.”

My heart raced a mile a minute. This was all happening so fast. However, there was no backing out now. I’d signed the damn papers.

“That’s perfect,” Judge Bell added. “The Mayor’s Grande Ball is next month. You can arrive as Mr. and Mrs. Adir Bell.”

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