Chapter 8

Nine months later...
Nadia and James’s house

“So, we’re all agreed to the terms listed herein, namely that Mr. Jackson will formally sell and quit any claim to this residence at 345 Sandwich Drive to Mrs ... and Mrs. Cardigan? And Mrs. Jackson consents to this as well, given her own rights to it as marital property? Please sign whenever you’re ready. Very well, then. And Mrs. Cardigan, are you prepared to hand over all remaining possessions of Mr. Jackson’s that were on your new property?” the lawyer we had retained for this purpose proceeded with the final separation of assets from my previous marriage, delayed by bizarre circumstances.

“Yes,” Jill blushed as Karen and she whispered and then confirmed.

Jill handed me the last duffel bag full of my overlooked possessions, after which she signed and so did Karen on the bill of sale. Then she presented me with a cashier’s check for the full price that I asked her for the house. Karen must have been richer than I thought, because Jill didn’t have the means for this herself. That was another reason that Jill must have wanted to hang on to her marriage. I signed the bill of sale and then so did Consuela, my loving bride, my second wife.

We were almost done with our order of business for the day, but not quite. There was one last, very important detail to be resolved. The attorney, Mrs. Roberts, was quick to get to it, much to her credit, of course. This was an extremely critical matter, but it had to be dealt with in all due haste. Judging from the look on our counselor’s face, I got the impression that she had an ulterior motive, but that would be a matter for the four of us living in this house to discuss before any action was taken.

“And now, the adoption papers for the child. You know, for future reference, Mrs. Cardigan ... and Mrs. Cardigan, if you just leave the father’s name off the birth certificate, this will be much simpler for you, both of you. Here you go, anyway. Mr. Jackson, are you prepared to sign away your parental rights to your son, so that Mrs. Cardigan can legally adopt him?” Megan Roberts turned to me now.

“Yes, that will do. Karen, for the record, it’s only because I know that you will be there for our son that I trust you with this ... and because I want you to have full parental rights, in case there is ever a custody fight. As the adoptive mother, your rights are now equal to Jill’s, as his birth mother. What is his name going to be now? Is it still Jackson Thomas Cardigan? Sounds like a law firm to me,” I teased as I signed the adoption papers, trusting Karen more than Jill with the upbringing of my only son.

“We’ll just call him Jack for short, at least for now. And we’ll love him to pieces, I swear it. Thank you for this. Only ... our business isn’t quite finished. I want you to witness this. Megan and Karen both know what I’m talking about here. Here’s ... my draft for a postnuptial agreement with Karen. In the event of a divorce, she gets primary custody of Jack, with me having secondary. Marital assets get split down the middle. Fifty/fifty. Neat and clean.

“However, there’s a special penalty clause for marital infidelity. A straying spouse would only get thirty-one percent of marital assets, the other sixty-nine percent going to the betrayed partner. The betrayed spouse would automatically get primary custody of Jack as well, with lesser custody for the unfaithful mate. This is intended to protect Karen more than me, as she tends to be faithful, anyway. And jealous, of course.

“Yes, per this agreement, I’m confirming that we’re no longer an open marriage. We’re a closed, monogamous one, as part of my promise and commitment to Karen. Any future children, if any, must be the product of in vitro fertilization and I must be willing to use my own womb for that purpose. That’s due to her maturity, so as to make it physically easier for Karen. It also means no more pressure for her to do things that go against her sexual orientation.