75 : Officially American. Again.
1:37AM.
Crying niño. Growing pains. Nestling into Oxbear’s arms for the rest of the night, he got his little muscles rubbed down and forgot to continue the whimpering.
Some twelve hours later we were waiting on the third floor of the St. Charles County Courthouse for our attorney and the honorable Judge Elizabeth Swann (a character name from “Pirates of the Caribbean”, I realized later).
It had taken some effort to prepare the boys to dress for the occasion. As Puck pulled on his suit coat, I told him he looked preppy. I guess he took this as an insult.
“Do I look like a dork?”
“You don’t look like a dork.”
As we walked towards the courthouse in the heat of the early afternoon, he wanted to check one more time.
“Are you sure I don’t look like a dork?”
“You don’t look like a dork.”
Inside, our attorney was running behind from working a federal case downtown. About half an hour later, he called me again.
“So, I’m here. And you’re not. And the judge is irate. … Kidding! Kidding!”
We got a tease.
As we took the elevator, I asked Oxbear if I looked okay.
He shrugged. “Well, you don’t look like a dork.”
So we walked into an almost-empty, small, courtroom. The judge was very pleasant. Oxbear and I both were called up to the stand to testify, asked a few questions, mostly to make sure we were actually married as indicated on the paperwork. And that was that.
“Congratulations!” Judge Swann smiled at us. “He’s a cutie! And what’s your name?” she asked Puck. “You’re a handsome guy.”
Our attorney also complimented him on his suit coat.
We celebrated later that evening at Red Robin, which we realized might have been the first time since Yali came home from Colombia that the four of us ate a meal out together.
Stuffed with burgers, fries, and freckled lemonade for Puck, we returned home just in time for Yali’s bedtime. A happy officially U.S. citizened, officially Silverspoon familied, Yali.
Meanwhile in the other room his big brother was singing about a “one-eyed purple pupil eater”.