Harper & Lee Plus Three

Lee's Sweet Surprise

 "What are they doing here? I want these evil assholes out of here, now!" I said to Detective Swan.

"Harper, please," said Talia, putting her hands up. "Just hear us out."

"Why? You literally haven't spoken to me or Lee since we moved in. You've never even seen your grandkids!" I was yelling loud enough that Lukas started to whimper. I took a breath and tried to calm myself, but I was seething with anger. "And suddenly now, almost a year later, you're trying to help?"

"I...feel like I'm missing something here," said Detective Swan.

"Our family doesn't have the best relationship with Harper," said Stanley Senior. "We didn't approve of her and Lee's lifestyle choice. We've put a strain on things."

"Just a strain? You did one of the worst things you could possibly do to a person!" I said. "You took your name off our lease and we almost got evicted! We're lucky that Lee got promoted just in time for us to meet the income requirement!"

"I know. And again, we're sorry," said Talia. "But I know that's not what you want to hear. That's never what you wanted to hear. We made the worst mistake we could've ever made. It's been all this time and we still feel guilty about it."

"As you should!" I said.

"When I heard that Lukas was missing and they had no leads anymore, we started working long hours to save up to hire the private investigator. Sometimes we worked twelve-hour days, seven days a week," said Stanley. "We figured the least we could do was help you get your son...our grandson, back."

"And without your efforts, I truly don't think we would've found him," Detective Swan said.

"We want to make things right. We want you and Lee in our lives. Sticking to our morals means nothing if it means we can't have our son and our grandkids in our lives," said Talia.

I looked down at Lukas as he slept, then did something I never thought I'd do ever again: hug Lee's parents. They seemed really surprised, like they weren't expecting it. They hugged me back. I couldn't wait for them to hug Ella and Zozo.

"Thank you. The both of you," I said, backing away and wiping my tears.

"I really hope you'll forgive us," said Talia.

"How can I not, after all this? It's hard, but I want to move on. Being angry isn't gonna get me anywhere. It was a long time ago now. We're human. Every person does dumb shit, but not every person helps someone get reunited with their missing child, and somehow you did. That's more than enough to show me you're sorry," I said.

"Thank you so much, Harper," Talia said, starting to cry herself. "Do...do you think we can start coming over to your place sometime, to see the kids?"

I nodded. "We're having a surprise party for Lee at my house later. You can come if you want. It's at six."

"We'll be there," said Stanley.

We hugged again and left the police station. I waved goodbye to Lee's parents and drove all the way home. I walked in the door and Etsy squealed when she saw Lukas. She had the girls up and fed already, both in their jumpers and watching Blue's Clues on the TV. She was the best babysitter ever.

We unboxed and struggled to put together the third jumper I bought for Lukas in case he ever came home. When it was finally put together, we set him in it and let him watch TV. I put him in the middle of the girls. He looked confused because he'd never seen them before. Except for like, in the womb. But I don't think he would've remembered that.

Ella was reaching out to try and touch him, while Zophia just looked from afar. He was too focused on the TV.

I made pancakes and sat on the couch with Etsy. I watched the triplets jump and play and make cute little baby noises. There were some days where I never imagined seeing my three kids together again...but here they were.

I told Etsy the story about what Lee's parents did and how she was coming to the party tonight, but she wasn't having any of it. She was convinced that what they did was somehow an evil ploy to get back into my life and cause me more harm than before, but I wasn't going to take it.

"Don't like it, don't care. I live here too, and you move out in less than a week. It's my boyfriend's party and I can invite whoever I want," I said.

She rolled her eyes and kept doing college stuff on her laptop.

We sat for a little while longer, and then it was time to put the babies down for their afternoon nap. The girls were tired, but Lukas had to be on a different sleep schedule. I held him in our baby carrier and helped Etsy decorate.

We put up streamers, blew up balloons, and baked a cake. Etsy covered all the messed up spots with a ton of funfetti frosting. I wrote Congrats, You're a Legal Adult! On it. Now that one of us was eighteen, we were going to start looking for houses to buy.

Everyone showed up around five. Sophia, John, and all my siblings were just over the moon when they saw Lukas. I told everyone to make sure they used his name when talking to him, so he could get used to hearing it and know that he was not Lukas, not Jacob, like the crazy psycho called him.

Lee's parents showed up on time with a bunch of presents for Lukas and the girls. They spent time holding each one of the babies.

"Quick! Everyone hide and turn off the lights!" I said as Lee's car pulled into the driveway.

We hid behind the dining room table and kitchen countertops. Etsy dove underneath the coffee table. I hit the lights and took Lukas from Sophia. I had to be the one holding him.

Lee unlocked the door and took off his jacket.

"Harper? I know you're up to something!" he said, turning on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" we all shouted.

Etsy grabbed his legs from under the table and he jumped, which made us all laugh.

"I knew it! I knew it as soon as you said you had plans with your family tonight!" he said, coming over to give me a kiss.

"Whose this?" he asked, patting Lukas on the back. "You babysitting for one of the neighbors again?"

"Lee...no," I said, my eyes filling up with tears. "It's Lukas."

"What? How?" he said, almost starting to cry himself.

"They found him yesterday and I picked him up this morning! It's really him!"

"Oh my God...can I hold him?" I handed him over, and Lee quickly wiped his tears on the sleeve of his dress shirt from work. "Hi buddy. It's me...your dad."

"Hi!" Lukas said back.

We all gathered around and had a group hug. My life was so perfect. Things could only get better from here.

I suddenly felt a knot in my stomach. I quickly ran upstairs, got to the bathroom, and threw up. I got myself cleaned up and went to look in the vanity for mouthwash. Then I noticed my tampons.

I'd been so stressed that my period had been coming on and off since Lukas went missing. I picked up the box. It was collecting dust. How long had it been since I'd even had my period? I tried to think back. Two months...maybe? I felt like I was going to throw up again. What if I wasn't just stressed, but pregnant again, too?