Certificate

         Pierre burst through the front door, the widest grin on his face Elodie had ever seen.  Springing from her seat, she ran to greet him.
         “What is it?” she asked.
         “It’s arrived!  We’ve got the visas.  We’re going to America!”
         They hugged for a long moment, then Elodie pulled back, a serious look on her face.
         “We have to get married.”
         “I agree.  I’ll go to the county clerk’s office tomorrow to apply for a marriage license.”
***
         The cold January sun shone down on Paris and Pierre as he walked to the clerk’s office after taking the metro to the quatorzieme arrondissement, the next one over from where they lived.  He loved winter and all its freezing glory, from the biting cold to the occasional snow that fell.  Excitement grew in him as he made his way through the clerk’s office up to the appropriate window.
         Doom set in when the window clerk told him that he was ineligible to apply for a license because he hadn’t brought his divorce certificate with him.  Having been previously married, they required the certificate for the new marriage license.  Doom invaded him because he had lost his copy of the divorce certificate, and obtaining another would be very hard to come by.  His ex was from Algeria, and that was where they got married.
         “We’ll go to Algiers, it’s no problem,” Elodie said. 
         “Yes, but they’re so slow with everything they do.  Obtaining official records from them is like pulling teeth.”
         “But it must be done.  I don’t want to move to New York with you without being married.”
         “I understand.  I’ll book us a flight for this Friday.”
***
         Obtaining the divorce certificate did prove difficult as Pierre had anticipated.  Their flight was delayed, their hotel was completely booked and had lost their reservation so they had to stay in a two-star hotel which proved to be a less than pleasant experience, and they couldn’t hail a cab to save their lives.  They were exhausted when they finally arrived at the registrar’s office after having walked the twenty blocks to get there from their hotel.
                Despite the inconveniences, they did enjoy their visit to Algiers, having done a bit of site seeing for a few hours before leaving, but were happy to be back home.  They were one step closer to their new life together not only as a married couple, but living in America.

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