The following weekend, the kitties were up nice and early. I think that happened a lot, since they had so much energy to burn, but on this morning, it meant that Swiftie was purring in my ear while Karma was kneading my breasts with his little paws as if he thought that was the way to get me up to feed them. In his defense, it worked, because it's pretty hard to sleep when you're literally getting pawed like that.

They got their way, with kitten food in their bowls, while I took a nice hot shower and tried to keep myself calm. This was going to be a big day, and I really wanted it to go well. The weather outside was overcast and drizzly, which fit the planned activities, I guess. I hoped that it would clear up by the afternoon, as some swimming after the meeting with Elliot might be nice. He was supposed to be here at 11am, and I had my reinforcements showing up at 10am to have a good brunch before it all started. My reinforcements were going to be Elizabeth, Quinn, my lawyer Monique, and the girls. I'd never seen Elliot over the top angry, but this meetup might do it. However, with so many witnesses, especially his mother, I didn't think he'd do anything drastic.

Honestly, the thing that might make him upset the most is that I was going to have to mention his new job issues, since he hadn't done a thing for the company in almost five months, and unlike other people on the bench who were bettering their skills, he was just sleeping with ex-clients and collecting a paycheck. Knowing him, he'd think that would count as improving a different kind of skill. That wouldn't keep him employed though. Elizabeth and I had to make sure he understood that he actually had to perform to stick around. He was also going to be reporting to someone other than me, so he couldn't complain that I was going to judge him unfairly.

I got dressed in a pair of white capri pants and a sleeveless coral colored top which I figured would be perfect to entertain in while not looking overly relaxed for what promised to be a tense meeting with Elliot. The last thing I wanted to do was get all dressed up for that, so this was a good compromise.

Preparing the breakfast while listening to some music got me humming as I sliced up fruit and made some waffle mix for when everyone was here. Waffles had to be made to order, but we always liked them a bit more than pancakes even if they were a little more time consuming. Pancakes were a close second though. In fact, we ate them so often that I had two waffle makers, just to make it easier to feed everyone quickly.

"Good morning mom!" Gracie said with a yawn as she joined me in the kitchen. I let her get the electric kettle going since I'd never had my tea, and I was sure we'd all want some.

Jashanna followed her a few minutes later, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. I didn't mention the hickey on her neck as she plopped onto a barstool and propped her chin up on her hand. "Morning mom."

"And a good morning to you. Do you want me to feed you both now, or do you want to wait for Nana and Quinn?" I had some breakfast sausages cooking now, and the kitchen was smelling yummy. No wonder my efforts were being wasted in the gym downstairs, breakfasts like this weren't going to help!

"We can wait," Gracie assured me. "We like eating with everyone else." She poured boiling water into three mugs that had teabags waiting, and we started waiting for it to be done steeping.

I checked the time, and it was close to 10am already, so I started getting the waffle makers warmed up so I could get the breakfast going. Monique wouldn't be there for the brunch, she would be at the house around 10:45am, but I still had to make some food for Quinn and Elizabeth.

"Nana's here!" Gracie yelled from the living room. "I can hear the garage door." With the drizzle, that made sense. While she did have a house key, Elizabeth never used it unless I asked her to get something because she respected our privacy. However, she also had a garage door opener that I gave her so when the weather wasn't great, she could just open the outside door and then park in the garage to avoid the rain.

Sure enough, less than a minute later, the door from the garage to the kitchen opened, and Elizabeth walked in with a wide smile. "It smells delicious in here. How are all my girls this morning?"

"Hey, Elizabeth. How are you today?" I returned her smile as I spooned some of the batter into the waffle irons. To some, her smiling like this when her daughter in law was about to serve divorce papers to her son would seem odd, but I knew she understood the necessity and supported my quest for happiness. Plus, she knew how badly Elliot had fucked up, again and again, so this was probably something she expected years ago.

"I'm good. I'm not even sad, I think this will be a good thing. Elliot needs to know that his actions have consequences, and honestly, I probably should have told you to do this years ago." She dropped her voice down to a whisper. "I know you only stayed with him for me, and I thank you for that. You deserve more though, so I hope you find the right person for you."

"I hope so too. That is my plan, but we'll see what happens. I think Gracie and Jashanna are trying to set me up with one of their teachers, but I have to act like I'm surprised when it happens." I shook my head at the girls' antics, but I would always be touched that they were thinking about me like that.

The first batch of waffles were just finishing up when Quinn arrived, which made the decibel level in the house go up several notches. It was nice to hear all the laughter as the cooking finished up, and before long we were all sitting around the kitchen table enjoying the warm goodness of maple syrup covered waffles.

Nobody mentioned what was about to happen, it was like a highway exit rapidly approaching and there wasn't anything that needed to be said about it. We all knew that in an hour it would be in full swing. Hopefully, it would be quick, and Elliot would most likely be headed to his mom's house afterwards, so he didn't completely waste his trip. Gracie had already decided that she didn't want to spend time with him today, just because we didn't know what mood he'd be in. Truly, I thought he might be embarrassed that I was doing what I was doing, but why would he care? He had his side pieces, and plenty of money from his trust fund. Me and the girls didn't add anything in his life, nor he to ours, so this should be an easy process.

But I was still nervous.

The girls were cleaning up the plates after we'd eaten when the doorbell rang again, and thankfully it was Monique with all her paperwork. The only thing that would have made the morning truly miserable would be if Elliot got to the house early, and Monique wasn't there yet. Monique was right on time though, and we got introductions out of the way. Just like I was, everyone was impressed by Monique.

"Do you have a moment to talk before your husband gets here?" she asked once all of that was settled.

"Of course." I led her to the office, closing the door for privacy. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, it is. Actually, I wanted to give you an update on Jashanna's mother, and while I know everyone is here to support you with Elliot, I just didn't know if they were all up to speed on that case."

"They know the basics. Jashanna and Gracie know the most because it involves them so much, but I keep Elizabeth and Quinn in the loop too." I didn't need to mention Harlow, but that would happen too. She'd wanted me to make a video call so she could see the meeting with Elliot today, but I didn't want to make it too much more of a spectacle than it already would be.

She nodded with her lips pursed in thought. "Well, it's your case, so you can decide who to tell. This part you may want feedback on, but I don't know if you want to tell the younger ones." My eyebrows raised as my heart clenched in worry at that before she continued. "My investigator found Jashanna's mother, she's up in South Carolina on her own. She wasn't exactly hiding, she just didn't seem to want to be a mother anymore. She even left Jashanna's brother with her grandmother, so he is safe, and it sounds as though she assumed you would take care of Jashanna, which is obviously what you are doing. The problem is, she wants money to allow you to officially adopt her. She wants $25k to let you make it official."

"Do it," I said quickly. I wasn't going to let money get in the way of Jashanna's safety and happiness. "Wait. Is this legal? How would we even do that?"

"The legality is questionable. I wouldn't say that she is trustworthy, but I have a plan for that. We can put the money in a bank account, do the transaction in a bank where they have a notary public to authenticate the signature on her giving up her rights and naming you as her designated replacement. Once that is signed and notarized, the bank releases the money to her, and everyone gets what they want. If you're sure you want to do that, then I can make sure it happens. It would also protect you because it will ensure she can't keep coming back for more money as she'll already have gotten what she asked for, and Jashanna will already legally be yours."

I nodded along with the explanation, liking what I was hearing. Hell, I would have paid a lot more if that was what it took to make Jashanna a legal part of my family and ensure that we could take care of her and she would have a good future. "Set it up then. I can give you the money whenever you need it and we'll go with your plan." I wasn't sitting on millions in cash or anything, most of it was invested, but I could handle $25k without batting an eye.

"Perfect. I'll call my guy after we deal with your husband. Well, almost ex." She gave me a predatory grin, and we went back out to the living room, where everyone else was.

The girls had finished cleaning up while we had talked, and I scooped the pair of them into a hug. "They found your mom. She agreed to sign the papers, and then we'll make you an official family member," I whispered to the pair. I didn't need to tell them about the money, that would make Jashanna dislike her mother even more for making money on her.

"Yes!" Jashanna yelled, just as the doorbell rang.

Oh joy, Elliot was here. Time for the next step. I took a deep breath, and walked to the door to let him in. Yes, my husband didn't have a key to the house because he didn't really live here. I was surprised to see him smiling when I answered the door, but the rain had stopped so that probably helped with the mood.

"There are a lot of cars here, are you having a party?" he asked as he walked in. He stopped short as he saw all the women waiting in front of him, looking as though he were about to be judged. Truthfully, the judging had been done long ago, and he'd been found quite wanting, so this was just a long overdue sentencing.

Monique didn't waste any time. "Elliot Meadows, as a representative of Hillsborough County, Florida, you're being served with a petition for divorce." She held out a thick envelope, and he looked over at me in confusion.

"Divorce?" he took half a step back in shock.

"Yes, Elliot. It should have happened long ago. I want this over so I can move on like you have. We're not really married, and you have your two side pieces, so you'll be fine. I'm not even asking for child support."

"What? Side pieces? I do not!" he quickly protested in vain.

"Clara Sharp and Evalyn Cline," Monique interjected. "You don't need the photos, do you? Between that and the other daughter you have, this should be a quick and easy settlement."

He went pale at that, though he had to realize I knew all about his dalliances. Hell, even if I hadn't, I knew about the daughter he had. "Can I take Gracie out to lunch at least?" he asked.

Gracie shook her head quickly. "Not today. I have plans with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" His voice rose sharply as he turned to me, red faced in anger. "You turned our daughter gay? I know about your past! There is no way I'll allow that!" I almost punched him, but Elizabeth saved him.

"Elliot!" Elizabeth yelled at him as she strode closer. "You will make this as easy and painless as possible. Believe me, if this goes to a judge, having your mother be a witness for your wife won't be a good look. And if you ever say anything else negative about your daughter's sexuality, you'll be cut off! And you'll start pulling your weight in the company for a change too!"

He just stood there staring at his mother in shock, like he was a toddler being scolded. "Cut off?"

"All of your stuff is at your mom's place," I told him, just to give him a little nudge. "I put in a couple DVDs of the kid's photos for you too." It wasn't like I wanted him to forget them, but most of the pictures he'd never even seen since he was never around when they were taken, or bothered to look at them in the years since.

He just looked around again, seeing everyone staring at him before he seemingly deflated. With a final nod, he turned around and headed for the door. "I'll have my lawyer get in touch," he mumbled before he left.

I let out a deep breath, and then we were all hugging. Today had been a good day. Even better, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds now, and it seemed like it would be a good day to swim.

"Did you bring your bathing suit?" I asked Monique. I'd told her to join us if she wanted to, but I wasn't sure if she had.

"Not this time," she replied. "Let's get your cases settled, then I'll be here for the celebration."

I had a feeling that would be a hell of a party!