Harper & Lee Plus Three

Happy Birthday

I woke up to three two-year-olds jumping on my bed. I rubbed my eyes because I couldn't believe this was really happening. How were my little babies so big already?

    "Mommy! Wake up!" they were saying.

    I groaned and pulled the blanket over my face, but a little pair of hands ripped it off me.

    "Guys, I know it's your birthday, but Mommy is tired!" I said.

    "Mama, hungry!" Zophia said.

    "Okay, everyone go downstairs. Mommy will make everyone their special breakfast," I said.

    They quickly got off my bed and ran downstairs in my pyjamas. I took the frying pan out of the cabinet, then cracked two eggs into the pan and started scrambling them.

When they were done, I took everyone's Star Wars trays out of the cabinet. Each kid had a tray that was their favorite and that only they could use. Lukas had the one with R2-D2 and BB8, Ella had the one with Baby Yoda, and Zozo had the one with BR-EZ, the pink robot thing from the new movie. Lee had the kids very excited for the new movie, which was the last stop on our "day of fun."

    I put the eggs in one square, some dry cereal in another, and started working on the big birthday treat for the day: Funfetti pancakes. I took out our little griddle and made three pancakes: two for me and one for the kids. I cut up the one pancake into small pieces and set it in the last available square of each tray.

    "Here you go, munchkins! Happy birthday!" I said.

They picked up their little forks and started eating. I waited, then cleared my throat to try and get their attention. Nothing.

    "Excuse me, what do we say when someone hands you something?" I asked.

    "Thank you!" said all three of them at the same time.

I got my pancakes and sat down across from the kids, scrolling through my phone. We still wanted to buy a house, but we got Brian to lower our rent a little, and we were pretty comfortable here. This house was also really close to Lee's new office job, working for the state. He made enough for me to stay home with the kids, which just about kept us afloat. There was no way we'd be able to afford daycare for three kids.

Since Etsy moved out, Lukas slept in her room and we had enough space for everyone. She still came to visit whenever she had breaks, and we talked all the time. She was drinking a bunch and wrecking her grades so bad that she almost lost her scholarship, but now she's back on track.

    I grabbed a glass of juice for myself and took my fertility pills. It turned out that I really was pregnant the night of Lee's birthday, but the baby didn't make it. After my miscarriage, Lee and I were super careful. We started trying again for another baby a year ago and had no luck, so we went to a clinic and I'd been taking fertility pills for a few months.

    One by one, the kids got up from their seats and went back over to the couch to watch TV. They already knew how to work the remote. I could hear Paw Patrol in the background. I let the kids watch TV while I cleaned everything up by hand, watching the falling snow outside. I seriously couldn't wait until we had a house with a dishwasher.

    "Okay, let's get changed and ready for the day! Everyone upstairs!" I said, placing Lukas's red cup in the drying rack.

We walked upstairs, and after the mess of getting everyone's teeth brushed, I got everyone lined up so they could change. I put Lukas in jeans and a light red sweater, then he wandered off to his room. Next was Ella. I put her in a pink sweater and black jeggings. Zohpia wanted to wear her favorite grey leggings that had little rainbows on them. I put her in a matching grey sweater that had sparkles all over it.

I liked dressing the girls differently. I felt like them being in different outfits would make people not automatically assume they were identical twins, and therefore, not talk to me.

Now, it was finally my turn to get ready. I let the kids play in the girls' room and prayed that they'd behave while I was in the shower. Right after I got the shampoo out of my hair, I heard the door open and a bunch of crying. I quickly rubbed the soap out of my eyes and opened the curtain a little.

"Oh no, Lukas! What happened?" I asked.

"Someone peed!"

I blinked a few times, trying to find the words. I looked down at his soaked jeans.

"Lukas, you, peed," I said.

"Pee pee!" he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Just take them off. Mommy will help you get changed."

I got out of the shower, wrapped myself in a towel, and changed Lukas, then finally put my clothes on. I grabbed a free pair of leggings and my last clean sweater. I seriously needed to do laundry, but I hated taking the kids to the laundromat. I couldn't do it without Lee.

I moved Lukas and his toy cars into the girls room so I could be on my laptop while making sure all three of them didn't get into trouble. I was looking up four-bedroom houses, because it seemed like the right idea for us and the kids. Lukas could have his own room, the girls could have the other, and the new baby could have the last one. When I finally got pregnant, of course.

An hour later, it was time to get the kids all packed into the car. It was a mess of coats, boots, hats, and mittens. The kids were finally ready to go a half hour after I started getting their coats on. Once we were in the car, they each reached into their car bags to color or play with their toys. I really wanted to get them tablets to stay entertained, but Lee insisted we wait until they're older. He didn't want "iPad kids."
    "Are you guys ready to see Grammy?" I asked them, pulling into the parking lot of the prison.

"Yeah!" they said.

I got out of my car and took ther big stroller off the hitch on the back of the car. We scored an old RunAbout triple stroller off ebay for only a few hundred bucks. Even though it was heavy and huge, I loved it because it would fit all three kids and could handle anything. It went right through all the snow and slush in the parking lot leading up to the prison doors.

I walked through the doors and pushed the kids through security. Once I showed them my ID, I was taken down the hallway by a guard. We went into a common area, where lots of other people were waiting. I tried to keep the kids occupied.

A few minutes later, the prisoners came in one at a time. My mom, dressed in her usual uniform of a grey t-shirt, black sweatpants, and flip-flops, was elated when she saw the kids. She smothered each one of them in kisses, then gave me a big hug. She always felt so skinny. 

I put Lukas on her lap and let the girls sit across from her at the table with their coloring books.

"I don't have good news," my mom said.

"You didn't call, so I figured," I said. "No parole? Still?"

"At least I only got three years left."

"It's been a long time. I can't wait for you to finally get out of here."

"You and me both," she said. "I want to spend time with all my grandbabies!"

"I can always use an extra pair of hands," I said, chuckling.

"Oh, who are you coloring, Ella?" asked Mom.

"Grogu!" she said, scribbling on the picture in the coloring book with green crayon.

"Baby Yoda," I said, giggling. "Ella loves Baby Yoda. Right, Ella? Are you excited to see him later?"

"Yeah!" she said.

"It's gonna be their first movie," I said, turning to my mom.

"Oh, that's so exciting!" she said.

We sat there, talking and coloring with the kids, chatting about how excited they all were to see the new Star Wars movie later. I gave Mom a goodbye hug when it was time to go. The guards checked everything again when we left, and then we were on to our next destination.