Chapter Fourteen: Filing at the Courthouse
Brian and Justin arrive at the courthouse just before 4:00pm. Before they get out of the car, Brian has Justin sign the civil union papers. He makes sure he has everything in order and they head for the courthouse. Once inside they read the wall to see where they need to go. It turns out that the civil unions are taken care of in the same room as marriages and just two doors down from the office to legally change your name. Both are on the second floor, so they head to the elevator to go up.
"What should we take care of first?"
"I don't know. Let's just go to the civil union office and we can ask someone there."
When they get to the second floor they follow the sign that says the license office is to the right. They walk down the long corridor until they see the sign next to the door. When they enter a nice older woman sitting behind the reception desk asks what they are there for and then assigns them a number. Brian asks her about civil union or name change first. She tells them that a civil union certificate will make the name change filing go quicker. She points them to the waiting area and they go sit down.
"Well, now not only will we be married, but we'll be legally recognized as a couple too."
"Yeah, because what I need is some government official to sign a piece of paper to make our commitment real. Ha! What a joke! Getting married showed my commitment. I wouldn't care if the government recognized it or not, except that it will let you adopt Gus and be covered by my insurance."
"If this is what it takes to make everything easier, than it's what we'll do okay."
They hear the automated system announce their number and tell them to go to window four. They get up and walk over to widow four where they see a familiar face.
"Hey Todd, I didn't know you worked here. Did you Brian?"
"No, I thought you only worked the back room at Babylon. How long have you worked here?"
"I'm going on seven years. So what are you two here for?"
"Justin and I need to file for a civil union or domestic partnership; whatever there calling it."
"Want to make that commitment legal huh?"
"Yeah, Justin wants to get his name changed and I want to get him on my insurance."
"That makes sense. Do you need the forms or did you take care of that already?"
"I've got them right here. So how long will it take because I have an adoption hearing set for Monday?"
"I'll process it immediately and it will be legal as of tomorrow."
"Brian what hearing are you talking about? I thought you said it was Wednesday."
"This is a different hearing; I'll tell you about it later. Hey Todd, do you know how long it takes for a name change to go through?"
"That takes a little longer. Once you submit the paperwork a hearing is set. It's really just a formality and only takes a few minutes especially if you tell them it's because you have a domestic partnership. Did you fill out that paperwork too, because I can actually handle that from here, so you don't have to go down the hall and wait again? We'll be closing soon and their might be a wait there too. I work both offices on a regular basis, so I have access to the system."
"Yeah, here it is. Thanks Todd; this is a big help. I'll make sure you get free drinks next time you're at Babylon."
"No Problem; us queers need to help each other right. Hey, you said you have a hearing scheduled for Monday. What time is it at, because they actually have a couple of slots open on the docket for Monday?"
"It's at 10:30."
"The earliest slot open is at 1:15; right after they recess for lunch. Can you do that?"
"Hey if you can get us a slot that soon we'll take it and make it work."
"All right, you're all set. Hopefully by this time Monday you will officially have the same last name. It's not something I think I'll ever want to do, but more power to you. I guess this means I won't be seeing you in the backroom anymore."
"We'll be there; maybe not as often and not with anyone other than each other, but I have no intention of giving up the backroom. Hey don't knock the marriage thing so fast. If you had told me five years ago that I was going to let some kid take ownership of my heart I would have told you to go fuck yourself. Yet here I am, after fighting it for so many years, happily married to this extraordinary person. It could happen to you to; just wait."
"You'll have to excuse my husband; he's become quite the sap since we got back together. I'm not complaining mind you; but a visit to the backroom might help me to know that Brian wasn't taken over by an invasion of a body snatcher."
"I don't need a backroom to prove that. I'm sure we can find a nice quite bathroom stall right here in the building." For a minute Brian is almost forgetting about his troubles which is good, because it doesn't look like he'll be trouble free for a while.
"Okay, we better get going old man. I'm sure we have other things to take care of. Thanks a lot Todd, It seems like you just made things a lot easier for us. Brian and I definitely won't forget it."
"No problem guys. Good luck with everything."
Now back on the road heading to meet Mickael and Ben at Bri-Tin, Justin decides to broach the subject again. "So Brian, what hearing were you talking about to Todd happening on Monday?"
"It turns out that Larry isn't that bad of a lawyer. He had taken it upon himself to schedule a hearing for you to be able to adopt Gus. I took it as a sign. Those bastards claiming to be Lindsey's parents think they are just going to go to court and walk out with my son; sorry I mean our son. Not if I have anything to say about it. It may be a little sneaky slipping this in before the custody hearing, but they don't call me the advertising shark for nothing. I know how to work things to my advantage."
"So we just go into court and they grant me custody. It can't be that easy."
"Not quite. Larry already re-established my rights this morning. I couldn't believe he took care of that so quickly, and I didn't even have to be there. He says that since he was able to prove why my rights should be reinstated, it should make the adoption go a little smoother. The girls named you in the will which means that they trusted you; you are married to me, Gus' father which means I trust you; I gave Larry a bunch of pictures, of you and Gus from over the years that prove that you were in his life all along; you have done a lot of charity work. All in all I think you play out as a perfect parent."
"I thought queers weren't allowed to adopt kids in Pennsylvania; is it different because Melanie and Lindsey put it in their will?"
"No, we still can't adopt a random kid; I don't know who the hell would want to do that anyways. The only way a queer can adopt a kid is if it is the biological child of their partner. Lucky for you."
"Geez, can we actually be having a bit of luck, or will the floor drop out from under us at any minute?"
"Shit, it better not. I've never worked harder for anything in my life."
"I believe that's true. Don't worry because as soon as this whole mess is over, I'll buy you some recreational favors to take the edge off. We'll just make sure we have someone to babysit Gus.
I know that I told you a few months ago that I didn't want you to change…"
"And when you came back I told you that I knew I had to change."
"I know; I was a little leery about it, but I'm actually getting used to the new and improved Brian Kinney. There is just enough of the old Brian to keep me satisfied, and this new Brian who wants to take care of me and be faithful is truly touching."
"I'm glad one of us is used to it. Every time I do something these days I have to pause to make sure it's really me."
"So you were worried about body snatchers too?"
"The only body snatcher I see is you and can we stop using that term because the last time I checked I didn't have a snatch for anyone to steal. Let's leave that for the merry munchers of Liberty Ave."
"See, there he is again; that dry humor that made we fall all those years ago. I just hope the judge agree with Mel and Lindz; that I'll make a good parent for Gus."
"You already are so I see the hearing as a formality. It's Wednesday that I'm worried about. If they bring up my promiscuity from the past, it could really help their case."
"We can't do anything about that right now so let's just get our son and go home."
"Actually your mom was going to take him to a movie later. She said she would bring him back around 8:00."
Justin sees the lust creeping into Brian's eyes and places his hand in his husband's lap where he feels something starting to expand in his grasp. "So what your saying is we should get rid of Michael and Ben as quickly as possible. Then we can find another room in the house to christen."
"I love how you can always read my mind."