The moment I set the pen down, Alex grabbed my arm and tried to drag me toward the door. "Come on, let's get to the county clerk's office and make it official. Nothing in the world is more urgent than this."
I shook him off. "My mother has surgery today. I don't have time for this."
Peggy kicked me in the shin. "Quit whining! Even if your mother dropped dead today, you'd sign these papers first!"
They dragged me out the door, hauling and shoving me the entire way to the county clerk's office.
The whole trip, Peggy ran her mouth at full volume, telling anyone within earshot that I owed a hundred million dollars.
People on the street stopped to stare.
"Apparently the guy took out a loan shark's money. His own wife's divorcing him."
"I heard he even tried to pin his debt on his brother-in-law. Wanted to weasel out of paying."
"What a lowlife. No wonder his wife and mother-in-law want him gone. I'd kick him to the curb too."
The clerk adjusted her glasses and asked, "Have the two of you finalized the terms of the divorce agreement?"
Adeline nodded and slid the document across the counter. "It's all settled. I'm leaving the marriage with nothing."