Day 2252
December 11, 2023
I'm writing today's date on this entry even though it's not how I normally track my journal entries because it's one of the most important days of my life.
Today was Ralph's 18th birthday and today Walter adopted him as his own legal son.
Today was the culmination of 6 years of fruitless legal battles and tens of thousands of dollars spent on lawyers to convince Drew to relinquish his parental rights and allow Walter to adopt Ralph. I refuse to give that waste of space one more second of my time and attention so I'm not going to get into all of the dirty tricks that Drew has pulled over the years, but there were many.
Walter was so nervous about today. He set 5 alarms the night before. But I don't think he slept a wink all night. I know I didn't.
Walter started the coffee but forgot to pour in the water. Fortunately, Ralph must have smelled the slight scent of burning. I heard Walter ask what happened as Ralph rushed past him to unplug the coffee machine before it was ruined.
I hurried into the kitchen to make sure everything was okay. Walter turned to me and asked again what happened. "I don't know, my love." Both of us turned to look at Ralph, who just shrugged and said the coffee machine didn't have any water in it as he headed back toward his room to get dressed.
Walter looked confused. "Who started the coffee?" he asked. "Wouldn't it have been more efficient to pick up coffee on the way to the courthouse?"
"Probably," I replied.
"Well, I think that's what we should do. Efficiency is key today. We don't want to be late, we don't want to be stuck in traffic, we can't miss our appointment or there won't be another opening on the docket for 3 weeks."
"I agree," I said simply. "Let's get dressed so we won't be late."
No response from Walter, I left him standing in the kitchen staring at the hopefully salvageable coffee maker as I returned to our bedroom.
I dressed as quickly as possible, pinning my hair into a simple twist. I started to apply minimal makeup when my phone rang.
Today of all days I had zero plans of answering it, but when I saw it was Allie, I smiled and knew I had to take her call.
"Good morning, Paige!" she exclaimed, "What an exciting day. Are you sure I can't convince you to let the rest of Scorpion join you at the courthouse today?"
"No," I answered, "Walter is nervous enough as it is. I think he's worried that when it comes down to it, too much EQ will show through and Toby will never stop ribbing him about it."
"I hear you, just hurry back after the proceedings, everyone will be at the Garage waiting to meet the newly minted Ralph O'Brien." I could hear the smile in her voice over the line.
"A damn fine name it is, too!" Cabe hollered from the background.
I smiled at Cabe's resounding approval. "Sounds perfect." I told her, "Just don't plan anything too over the top for Ralph's 'surprise' adoption celebration."
I could hear Allie pouting over the phone. "When have the members of Scorpion ever been anything but the epitome of good taste?"
I laughed, knowing I was beaten. "Never, not if Toby has anything to do with it."
"Don't worry about a thing, Paige. I will make sure nothing gets too out of hand, I can always bring Cabe's boot to bear if anyone needs a little kick to the hindquarters. I promise you Ralph will love it. I think you will, too."
"Okay," I agreed.
"Now you get back to getting that cute little family of yours ready. You have a very important appointment to keep."
"Wow," I exclaimed, looking at the time. "You're right, I've got to get going. See you in a couple of hours."
"Sounds good, and don't worry about anything. I've got you." I disconnected the call, knowing I would need to go search for Megan. She had picked out the dress at the store, but whether or not she would consent to wear it on anyone else's timetable was a complete unknown.
Before I could even step a foot outside our room, I saw Walter simply standing in the middle of our bedroom in his boxers and t-shirt, one sock on his foot and a non-matching sock in his left hand.
I hadn't anticipated that genius nerves would look an awful lot like the rabbit hole.
Fortunately for me, Ralph wasn't nervous as much as excited. "Ralph," I called.
His gorgeous, all grown-up, face appeared in my doorway. "Mom? Is there something you need?" There he stood in his new navy blue suit, shaved and hair combed to perfection.
I gestured toward Walter, "Your dad is more nervous about the big day than I anticipated. Can you get Megan ready while I deal with him?"
"Sure, Mom, he's probably running traffic flow probabilities and got a little stuck." Then Ralph disappeared down the hall calling for his little sister. "Megan, I've got something for you…"
Megan's voice carried down the hall, "You can't catch me!"
"Oh, I think I can…" Ralph replied.
With Megan taken care of, I turned my attention to Walter once again.
Walter had taken to wearing his hair shorter the past couple of years, so that made it easier for me to tame his curls into a style appropriate for court. Hair combed, check.
I managed to give sufficiently detailed instructions that Walter successfully dressed himself with minimum fuss. I had no idea where each of the mates of the socks he held had gone, so I did have to get a new pair out of the bureau drawer. But with that as the biggest wardrobe hiccup we experienced, I called it a victory. Dressed in suit and tie, check.
Shaving was the only real tricky proposition. Fortunately, Walter used an electric razor. It wasn't perfect but we managed. Stubbled shaved, check.
Looking at him dressed in his charcoal gray suit, light blue dress shirt, and deep blue tie and pocket square, my husband took my breath away, even after all these years. I hoped he felt the same way about me. I felt a bit plain in my simple maroon sheath dress and sensible heels that were much lower than I used to wear in the early days of Scorpion.
Bless Ralph for getting Megan dressed!
He got her to brush her teeth and let him brush her lovely dark brown curls.
I heard what sounded like the start of trouble when Megan wanted a very specific hairstyle of two braids that twisted down behind her ears. I really don't know why Ralph continues to amaze me. He has an IQ of nearly 200, of course, he can braid his little sister's hair. He had seen me do it before and his eidetic memory allowed him to recreate the style and honestly, it looked better than when I do it.
Megan was so thrilled with her hair that she eagerly agreed to put on the dress and declared herself the Princess of the Universe. I briefly wondered if I would ever get her out of the dress again.
With 3 minutes to spare we were ready, even Megan and Walter! And we were on our way out the door.
There wasn't time to stop for coffee now, but I doubted that Walter would even remember that he hadn't had any this morning. I buckled Megan into her car seat as Ralph grabbed the folder with the adoption paperwork from its place on the table in the entryway.
Ralph urged Walter out the door, locked it, and then made sure Walter buckled himself into the front passenger seat. I hadn't planned to drive, but without even needing to discuss it, Ralph and I had both known that Walter wouldn't be up to the task today.
Ralph pulled up the address to the courthouse and programmed it into my GPS as I backed out of the driveway. Fortunately, there were no unexpected traffic delays and we made good time to our destination.
Parking was easy, Cabe had given us a temporary government parking ID tag, so we were only a few yards from the side door of the building. We found our judge's courtroom and sat on the bench along the wall, while we waited for our names to be called to appear.
Now that we were only moments away from Ralph being Walter's own, the fog seemed to lift from his mind as he quietly kept Megan occupied.
Taking a moment to breathe, I put an arm around Ralph's shoulders and thought about all the times it had been "just the two of us" before Megan... before Scorpion... before Walter... and how many times I had believed it would never be anything more than the struggle as a single mom to keep my son fed, housed and safe. In those days, I would never in my wildest dreams have ever imagined that our lives would turn out like this.
I asked Ralph if he was ready.
"I've been ready for this moment since September 22nd, 2014," he replied a hint of amusement in his tone.
I considered his words. "I know, baby, on some level I think I was too."
I dropped my arm from around his shoulders and turned so that I could take his hand in mine. "Do you wish that we had been able to do this sooner?"
Ralph closed his eyes for a moment to consider the question, then opened them and gazed directly at me, "In some ways, yes, but mostly I wouldn't choose for it to work out any other way. It gave Drew a chance to show his true colors. And seeing Walter's devotion through all the disappointments and setbacks only made me love him more."
He squeezed my hand as tears threatened to fall from my eyes thinking about all those years of fighting with Drew. "No regrets, Mom. Just gratitude for today."
He was right, of course, my 18-year-old genius was right. No regrets. I blinked away the tears and focused on today. Not speaking, we sat hand in hand for a few moments more lost in our thoughts, while Walter and Megan played a math game.
It seemed like forever, but it was only a few more minutes before the bailiff appeared, pushing the judge's chamber door open as he glanced around the corridor before his eyes landed on us.
"Ralph Dineen, adoption proceedings?" he asked, gruffly.
"Yes," Ralph leaped to his feet. "That's us." A huge grin spread over his face as he replied. He turned to Walter. "Let's do this, Dad."
I saw Walter's eyes grow suspiciously misty, it took him a moment to gather himself before he rose and clapped Ralph on the shoulder. "Lead the way, Son."
They breezed past the bailiff as he held the door open, Megan consented to hold my hand "Just until the boss behind the big desk sees me being a good girl, holding mommy's hand." So hand in hand we went inside the courtroom as the bailiff closed the door behind us with a satisfying thud.
We stood there a bit uncertainly next to the door, not sure where to stand or what to do next.
"Come in," Judge Ornstein waved us forward. Ralph and Walter moved first as I tried to silently negotiate with Megan using only my eyes. She was gleefully ignoring me.
The judge looked at the paperwork in front of her on the stand. "Ralph Dineen?" she asked. Ralph nodded and stepped closer. "Paperwork?"
"Yes–" Ralph cleared his throat. "Yes, right here, Your Honor. Order of Adoption and the Consent from Paige O'Brien, my mother."
Judge Ornstein looked over her reading glasses as me. "Paige O'Brien?"
"Yes," I was grateful that my voice came out steadily and I hadn't needed to clear my throat too. Why was I so nervous? I'd helped save the world from nuclear annihilation more than once and a judge asking my name was what made me want to hide in a corner?
"Excellent," she waved to her bailiff over to collect the folder from Ralph's hand. She perused the documents for a moment, then asked, "Walter O'Brien is petitioning to adopt you?"
"Yes," Ralph replied with more confidence in his voice this time.
"And are you Walter O'Brien?" Judge Ornstein asked.
Walter looked like he might be sick. Judge Ornstein was giving every member of our family besides Megan a case of nerves. "Yes, Your Honor." he managed to get the words out successfully.
"Everything seems in order." she declared as she stamped and signed the paperwork. "Walter O'Brien, your adoption of Ralph O'Brien, née Dineen, is complete and legal in the eyes of the state of California."
There was a collective sigh of relief in the room and Megan chose that moment to wriggle loose from my grip.
Ralph and Walter hugged, laughing and crying just a bit. The tension in the room evaporated.
Judge Ornstein smiled for the first time since we'd entered her office. "Now that we got the boring part out of the way, congratulations. I can see there is a great deal of love and loyalty in this family already. Adoption days are my favorite. Right, Rusty? She asked the bailiff.
They are, your honor, they're mine too." Rusty grinned at the judge and she nodded at him. He held up a small Polaroid camera, "How about a family photo?"
Of course, we all agreed and moved to stand close together, with huge smiles on our faces.
"Thank you so much, Rusty," I told him as he handed the still-developing memento to me, I watched the image of our faces appear as if by magic on the photo paper, briefly showing it to everyone before tucking it safely into my purse.
"I have a little something for you, Ralph." The judge pulled a cupcake in a protective plastic container from somewhere beneath her desk. She opened the lid and placed a single candle into the frosting.
Rusty reached over and lit with his lighter from his shirt pocket. "Happy Adoption Day, Ralph!" they cheered.
Megan's eyes widened at the sight of all that frosting. She started twirling, allowing her skirt to flare out, "I wanna get adopted too!"
Everyone else laughed as I tried to corral her, my cheeks hot with embarrassment.
"Megan O'Brien," Judge Ornstein beckoned to Megan, "I need you to come over here so I can speak to you." Megan looked up at Walter uncertainly.
"Step closer to the judge, Megan, it sounds like she has something important to tell you." Walter urged Megan forward. He took her hand, "I'll go with you." Megan pressed her face into her dad's hip.
Once the two of them were directly in front of the judge, Megan raised her face just enough to see that Judge Ornstein winked at her, and, feeling confident once again, Megan smiled at the judge.
"From everything I've read in your brother's file, I might like to be adopted by your parents too." Megan giggled at the idea of her parents being parents to the older woman before her. "They have proven to be stellar parents. But you are one fortunate little girl, you got to be born to them and didn't even need a judge to say that they could be your parents."
Megan eyed the judge carefully. "Did you know that I listened to my mama and I held her hand when she asked me to even though I didn't want to?"
Judge Ornstein gravely considered the small girl standing before her, "I did not know that, but that is quite impressive."
"Does that mean that I get a cupcake too?" Megan asked, shining her brightest smile at the judge.
"Sorry, Miss O'Brien. Cupcakes in the courtroom are only for when you're adopted. But I do have something else you might like if it's okay with your mom and dad."
The judge gestured toward her bailiff and Rusty produced a lollipop from a bin strategically hidden on the side of the stand. Paige nodded as he looked her way, eyes asking for permission.
Megan considered the candy for a moment. "Is it red flavor?" Rusty nodded. "Red is my favorite flavor. Better than cupcakes." She accepted the candy from Rusty's hand as everyone laughed, relieved that Hurricane Megan had been averted.
"Congratulations to you, Ralph O'Brien, and to the new father, Walter O'Brien," the two hugged again.
"I love you, Dad," Ralph murmured.
"I love you too, Son," Walter held his one hand out toward me, pulling me toward them, joining them in their embrace. I allowed myself a brief sob of joy and relief as Walter's arm curved around me.
He kissed my temple softly. "Thank you," he whispered, "thank you for this day, for our son, for our daughter."
I almost gave into my desire to melt into a sobbing heap of maternal feelings, and maybe I would have done it, except that at that moment, Megan's voice cut through the haze of emotions as she called out, "Me too," I wiped a tear that was sliding down my cheek and looked at my beautiful little girl, the living embodiment of my love for Walter. "I want a hug too!"
Ralph broke away from our embrace and picked up Megan to join us for a family hug.
"This is why I love adoption day." Judge Ornstein declared, and Rusty nodded his agreement. "Now, go on, get out of here, you've got better things to do today than hang around in this stuffy old courtroom."
Judge Ornstein turned to her bailiff. "Next case! Rusty, show the O'Briens out."
With Megan merrily leading the way we left the courtroom, and then left the Justice Center, pausing for a moment on the steps. I asked a passerby if he could take a photo of us with my phone, which he graciously did.
From there we piled back into the car and headed for the Garage where the rest of our Scorpion family was waiting for us.
Later that evening, I decided to add one more note to today's entry:
To anyone who ever reads this journal in the future, the thing that I want you to know is that Walter never gave up. He spent so much time and money that he really couldn't afford to spend. He never wavered. He never accepted defeat. He showed Ralph every day of the past 6 years how much he loved him. How devoted he was to becoming his father in every sense of the word.
Walter O'Brien showed me the depth of his devotion to our family. He showed me that to him there was no delineation between biological and chosen family. This process, as awful and frustrating and heartbreaking as it was, put his character into the spotlight in a way nothing else could have. And it was never, not for one moment, found lacking.
There is no better man to be the father of my children.
Author's Note
I did some research into adult adoptions in the state of California and some of what I learned is in this entry. However, the actual process of how adoptions proceed in front of the judge was not something I was able to find information about. So basically everything inside Judge Ornstein's courtoom was the product of my imagination and watching too many episodes of Law & Order. Any errors or omissions are mine and mine alone. Thank you for your understanding.