Selling the Drama (47 page)

She went over to sit down beside him.
Curling up against his body, she pressed her face against his
chest. "That sounds ridiculous."

"It sounded a lot more convincing when he
said it."

"I'm sorry about that. It's not right, for
him to blame you."

"Maybe he believed it at the time. Maybe
it's something he's thought up since, a story he could pull out of
his arse if he ever got found. I don't know. Iris tells a different
story. I don't care, to be honest, I really don't care. They're as
bad as each other with their finger pointing. I only care about you
and how this makes you feel. That's all I care about." He wrapped
his arms around her, sinking down further into the couch,
stretching his bad leg out to rest on the coffee table.

She lay against him, listening to his
heartbeat against her face, a need taking shape within her. A need
to reclaim their own existence. Toby was the one shining constant
in her life. The only person who consistently put her first. She
sat up and looked at him, intensely focused on the idea she wanted
to put forward to him. "We need to get married."

"We will."

"No, I mean, we need to get married now,"
Charlotte insisted, a note of urgency creeping into her voice. She
needed to make him understand, have him agree. She had no intention
of backing down now that the idea had taken hold within her.

"It's eight o'clock at night." Toby laughed.
"We can't. And what's the rush?"

"We've waited too long. Why have we waited
so long? How soon can we do it?"

"You want to elope?" he clarified, a bemused
expression upon his face.

"Yes! Yes, that's what I want. This week.
With only us, you, me, and the kids. Just us. Surely you can pull a
few strings? You have to know someone who can make this happen for
us."

"I can't make it happen this week. The
minimum would be a month."

"No sooner?"

"Sorry. But I can organise it all for us and
keep it confidential. Are you sure this is the way you want to do
it?"

"Positive," she replied, firm in her
response.

"Why?"

"Because we seem to be the only ones
considering everyone else all the time. We should just please
ourselves for a change." It sounded a little shallow, voiced out
loud like that, but it was the best explanation she could come up
with.

"What about Iris? She'll be upset she's
missed out."

"Fuck her!"

Toby's eyes widened, clearly taken aback not
only by her words, but the tone of them also.

She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging
him to disagree with her. "She thinks of no one but herself, she
always has. You know it. I know what she's going to do next, I
don't need you to tell me. She'll go after Dad, and she won't care
what that does to anyone else in the process. What it might do to
me. What it might do to our kids. So, I'm making the decision to do
this for us. Only for us. And everyone else can just go and get
over it."

Toby grinned at her then. "They can all just
go and fuck themselves."

She smirked at that. "Yes. They can."

"We still all going to get dressed up?"

"Definitely. I spent a fortune on the girls'
dresses."

He threaded his hand up into her hair, his
gaze softening. "You are an incredible woman and I love you. Will
you marry me in a month?"

She smiled at him, so happy in this moment
she was almost deliriously so. "Yes. I will."

"Awesome. Can we get started on the
honeymoon sex tonight?" He tugged at her shirt, sliding his hand up
the inside of it, a mischievous look coming over his face. "You
know you want to," he teased as his hand fumbled to undo her
bra.

"Absolutely not! I'm saving myself for my
husband."

"Regrowing your virginity back?" He pulled
her bra out from underneath her shirt, tossing it onto the coffee
table, his hands then returning back to her, sliding up under the
thin fabric until they found the place they were seeking and he
grinned at her. "Don't worry, your husband won't begrudge you one
final month of wild, explosive sex, before you tie yourself down
for the rest of your life." He whipped her shirt off over her head
then, dropping it to the floor.

"Toby, we're in the lounge room!" She looked
around wildly, as though expecting a child to pop up at any
moment.

"I know," Toby drawled, pulling off his own
shirt. "And the lights are even on. It doesn't get much wilder than
this."

"Just make sure there's no exploding onto
the couch. It's still new."

Toby groaned at her. "You just ruined the
moment!"

She stood, rolling her eyes as she gathered
up their discarded clothes. "We have four and a half kids. I'm sure
we can salvage the moment once we get into the bedroom. We should
be well practiced at experiencing everything in moments here and
there by now." She headed up the hall, smiling to herself as she
listened to him grumble about having to get up when he was so
comfortable already. Halfway up the hall, she paused, her eyes
zeroing in on a photo of her parents, framed and hanging in a
central place within the arrangement of family photos Charlotte had
put up onto the wall. She stared at it for a long moment before
taking it down. She slid it into the hall cupboard, in under the
towels they never used.

"Congratulations. With the powers invested
unto me by the Commonwealth of Australia, I now pronounce you,
husband and wife." The registrar smiled at them both, his role in
the ceremony, now done.

"Please, do not kiss the bride." Justice
Hale's voice held a note of amusement as she elbowed Toby in his
side. She had graciously offered him the use of her chambers for
their ceremony, along with herself and her associate as witnesses.
Toby could not help but think she might have a little bit of the
romantic in her. Buried deep. Real deep, but still there to tap
into.

He turned to her with a wide smile. "Thank
you. We really appreciate this."

"Yes, thank you so much. You're all just
amazing to do this for us at such short notice. And thanks also for
the Whiz Fizz." Charlotte looked over at the kids, sitting side by
side on the judge's floor, furiously working their way through
packets of sherbet. "I don't think they've ever been this quiet,"
she remarked, looking back at Justice Hale, with amusement.

"You're welcome. You know what?" The judge
looked at both of them, a smile widening on her own face. "It was a
real pleasure." Focusing her attention back onto Toby, her face
turned serious. Walking over to her desk, she opened a draw,
pulling out a thick official looking envelope, which she passed
over to him. "Sorry to turn this all serious and work related, but
while I have you here."

Toby looked down at the envelope within his
hand, sealed officially by the Queensland Government, and then
across to Charlotte, his heart thumping within, more rapidly by the
second.

"Should I leave?" Charlotte dropped his hand
and made a move to collect up her bag. Toby sought her out, but she
had moved just out of his reach.

"No." Justice Hale gestured to Charlotte
with a wave of her hand. "You need to stay. This is not about a
case." She looked at Toby, a smile playing about her lips. "Hurry
up and open it. I have to get going."

"I have to open it here?" He swallowed
roughly, his mouth suddenly dry, nerves clenching his stomach.

"Yes," Justice Hale insisted. "I want to see
your face when you read it."

Toby dropped his gaze back down to the
envelope, his hands shaking slightly as he lifted the seal.
Unfolding the heavy paper, he began to read the contents, his
nerves transforming into a heady sense of excitement. Glancing up
at the judge, he announced: "I got silk."

Charlotte gasped, her hands flying up to
cover her mouth.

"What is silk?" Ashley asked, looking up
from his place on the floor.

"I know what silk is!" Bree answered,
jumping up. "It's what you use for fancy dresses! Can I have
it?"

Justice Hale turned her gaze down onto the
children, her smile widening. "It's a term we use, to describe
becoming a Senior Counsel. What it means, is that your daddy has
just become the youngest barrister to ever be invited to join the
Senior Counsel. This is a moment of history, and we all just became
a part of it by being here together this morning." Justice Hale
looked up over at Toby again, laughter erupting out of her at the
look on his face. "What did you think was in the envelope?" she
asked, surmising by his stunned appearance that he'd had no inkling
at all about the contents. "Actually, don't answer that. I'd rather
not know. Congratulations."

Toby met the Justice Hale's gaze, nodding as
he passed the letter across to Charlotte, who was standing there
with tears in her eyes and the widest of smiles. He held out his
hand to the judge, shaking warmly as their palms connected. "Thank
you. I am completely overwhelmed."

"You shouldn't be surprised. You are an
incredibly talented barrister. You'd make a very good judge one
day. I have to go now. I will now doubt see you later in court."
She turned once more to face the children, looking down at them
with a warm joyful expression upon her face. "Bye kids. Have a nice
day."

Danielle and Courtney gave her a wave.
Ashley got to his feet and stuck his little hand out. Justice Hale
took hold of it, despite how sticky with sherbet it appeared to be.
With pride, Toby watched as Ashley addressed the judge with such a
serious expression on his little face, and the utmost politeness
within his voice. "Thank you for the sherbet. It was very good to
meet you. I hope you have a nice day."

Justice Hale smiled widely at him, shaking
his hand firmly. "It was very good to meet you too. Thank you for
helping me get rid of all this sherbet. I had far too much sitting
in my drawer." She turned to Bree, who was waiting for attention
patiently beside Ashley.

"Thank you for the sherbet! Are you the
Prime Minister?" Bree asked her, a wide eyed look upon her face as
she took in Justice Hale's polished appearance and her long judge's
robes.

The judge's mouth twitched as she resisted
the urge to laugh. "No. I am not. I am only a judge."

Bree's eyes widened further. "A judge? Well,
that's way more important! I think you might be even more important
than my daddy!"

Justice Hale touched Bree on the cheek
lightly, her smile even wider now. "I think you might be my
favourite little girl."

Bree beamed at that, her back straightening
with pride at the judge's praise. Justice Hale stepped back then
and turned towards the door, pausing with her hand on the knob,
throwing over her shoulder, "You can kiss the bride now." She
opened the door, slipped out and closed it behind her.

The registrar and judge's associate both
laughed, taking their turn at congratulating Toby before bidding
Charlotte and the children farewell. Once they were alone, Toby
looked over at Charlotte who was reading his letter, her fingers
tracing lightly over the embossed paper. When she looked up at him,
he was struck by the pride in her face.

"I am so proud of you. This is amazing.
Really incredible. I don't know what else to say. It's so important
and profound, and I am just completely thrilled to bits for you
because I know what an achievement this is." She put the letter
down onto the judge's desk, stepping forward before throwing her
arms around him. "What an amazing day."

He held her tightly, closing his eyes so
that he could concentrate exclusively on this moment with her. She
was his wife now. After so long, she was at last his wife. As if
one significant milestone was not enough, he had also achieved the
very thing he had been working towards within his career, years
before he had expected it to happen. Opening his eyes, he looked
over Charlotte's shoulder, to his children chattering with each
other on the floor. He imagined he could feel his fifth child
against his body while holding Charlotte this close. It was a
moment, a single moment of perfection, and as he absorbed it, he
realised he no longer feared the risk of it shattering.

"So," Jenna said, adjusting a sleeping
Bailey on her lap, "You just went in and got married after
breakfast?"

"Pretty much. Are you disappointed we left
you out?"

"No. Not at all. At least now I don't have
to buy you a present."

"You still have to buy me a present."

"No, I don't," Jenna countered. "A present
is usually given in exchange for a meal at the reception. No meal,
no present."

"That philosophy doesn't count when it
involves someone you love."

"I'm sorry, I am still not seeing the reason
why I need to give you a present." Jenna grinned at her, giving a
mock gasp a moment later. "Did you just give me the finger in front
of my son? You are such a bad influence, you may need supervised
visitation."

"Your son is asleep."

"So you think, but I guarantee that if I put
him down anywhere other than on my lap, he'll be awake and
hollering in less than sixty seconds. He could have potentially
seen you if I'd been about to shift him, so keep your naughty
finger to yourself."

Charlotte laughed at her. "You're an
idiot."

"Whatever." Jenna flipped her the middle
finger with a cheeky grin that belied her age.

Charlotte sat quietly, wanting to get this
over and done with, move right past the awkward so they could get
on with the rest of their lives. "So," she began carefully, "You
heard about my dad?"

Jenna stared at her for a beat too long.
"Yeah, only five hundred and eighty six times though over the last
few weeks, so if you'd like to give me a refresher, I'm up for
it."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, that's not
what I really wanted to talk to you about."