The Surprise Triplets

by Jacqueline Diamond

  “What a great idea.” Anya bubbled over with ideas. Even Zora, whose pregnancy weighed more and more on her mind as well as on her body, brightened at the prospect of games, refreshments and a party at the house.

  Melissa held it together until the newlyweds, Lucky and Zora went out to a movie. Then she collapsed on the couch in the den, ready to explode into a thousand pieces.

  Karen joined her. “You’re upset. I presume this has to do with Vern Grant’s visit this afternoon.”

  Melissa stretched along the couch to elevate her feet. “Caroline told you?”

  “She was worried.” Sheepishly, her friend admitted, “And I heard raised voices. Not the words, but the general tone.” While the walls between offices were thick enough for privacy, they weren’t soundproof.

  “Caroline means well, but please don’t repeat any of this to her.” It would be awful if her plight became gossip.

  “Of course not.” Glancing toward the kitchen, where Rod’s dishwashing activities had grown suspiciously quiet, Karen called, “House rules forbid repeating anything you overhear, Rod.”

  His inquisitive face poked through the doorway. “Since you bring it up, I might as well join you.” Removing his apron, he added, “I’m done in the kitchen.”

  Melissa wasn’t thrilled about sharing confidences with a third party. However, since Rod had been deprived of his daughters, he might have insight into her situation.

  She repeated Vern’s claims and Edmond’s comments. “Edmond emailed to say they’ve agreed to meet us tomorrow night at their house. They didn’t say if they’re bringing a lawyer.”

  “On a Friday evening?” Rod quirked an eyebrow. “It’d be a wonder if they found one of those bottom feeders to work such odd hours.”

  “Rod!” Karen narrowed her eyes at him.

  “I didn’t mean Edmond,” he amended.

  “Besides, the Grants don’t have a lot of money.” Which might give them an additional motive to sue me, Melissa reflected unhappily.

  “I’ll watch Dawn,” Karen offered.

  “Thanks. I’ll let Edmond know.” She sorted through her turbulent thoughts. “I keep wondering... Did I do something wrong? It’s true that they suggested the embryo transfer, but I could have refused.”

  “As I recall, they pressured you,” Karen said loyally.

  “All the same, I was in a position of trust.” Inside Melissa, flutterings indicated the girls were playing again. She hugged herself, hoping the little ones sensed the strength of her love.

  “The embryo transfer happened after their sons were born, right?” Rod didn’t wait for confirmation. “Seems to me you’d fulfilled your responsibilities as a counselor.”

  “Except that the embryos were at Safe Harbor, which means the Grants were still our clients.” Her chest felt heavy. “If I’d been more objective, maybe I’d have stepped aside.”

  “But they’d already ruled out bearing the children themselves, hadn’t they?” Karen probed.

  “That’s true.”

  “Had they chosen to donate to anyone else, they’d have never dared make a claim like this,” Karen said.

  Melissa wished the matter were that simple. “Maybe not, but I put myself in this situation by acting on impulse.”

  “These people changed their minds, pure and simple,” Rod chimed in. “If you ask me, they’re taking advantage of your vulnerability. They assume they can manipulate you into giving them what they couldn’t afford and weren’t willing to risk themselves.”

  His dismissive tone, Melissa suspected, sprang from resentment at his ex-wife’s betrayal and the loss of Tiffany and Amber. He’d only reconnected with them this year after Tiffany ran away from San Diego to see him and her grandmother, who lived in Safe Harbor. Since the grandmother had a fondness for her former son-in-law, she occasionally arranged for Rod to join her and the girls, without the parents’ knowledge, although Portia must suspect.

  She had persuaded her husband that there was no harm in allowing Tiffany and Amber to be flower girls at Jack’s wedding, since he’d been close when they were little. But in Melissa’s opinion, Portia and Vince simply liked to act important at social events, especially those involving the hospital staff.

  What if her own daughters grew up amid court battles and conflicting claims? The legal fight had drained Rod’s savings. If Melissa lost hers, how would she raise three children?

  “Surely the Grants will come around.” Karen’s guarded optimism contrasted with Rod’s skepticism.

  Melissa shivered. “I’m dreading tomorrow night.”

  “You’ll do fine,” Karen said. “Edmond will be with you.”

  “Yes.” That was the one positive note in this experience.

  Rod’s phone beeped with a text. “It’s Tiff,” he reported. “The girls are spending the night at their Grandma Helen’s house and the coast is clear.”

  “Helen invited us over for game night,” Karen explained. “I hate sneaking around to see the girls, but the Adamses leave us no choice.”

  “I don’t hate sneaking around,” Rod responded cheerfully. “I enjoy it.”

  “Because you’re thumbing your nose at Vince,” Karen said wryly.

  “You bet.”

  To Melissa, Karen asked, “Are you okay alone? I don’t have to go.”

  “I’m fine.” To forestall further offers, she said, “Go! I insist.”

  The house fell quiet after they departed. Gazing through the glass doors into the summer night, Melissa had a startling idea.

  Fate had presented her with a strange opportunity, if she chose to view it that way. Saying yes to the Grants might not only save her career, it might also clear a path for her and Edmond to be a couple again. To be a family with Dawn.

  A wave of despair washed over her. I can’t give them up. They’re my daughters.

  Melissa had always been sensible, and tonight the arguments lined up like bowling pins. But her heart ordered her to throw the ball and smash them to bits.

  To hell with being sensible.

  * * *

  THRILLED TO SEE her aunt on Friday even though she’d been warned that Melissa and Edmond had to leave after dinner, Dawn bounced in her chair through the meal at Karen’s house.

  “What do the triplets look like?” she asked eagerly.

  “They’re about six inches long,” her aunt said. “And— Oh, you mean what will they look like when they’re older?”

  “Yes!”

  If this was a touchy subject for her, Melissa hid it well, Edmond reflected. “They’ll probably be blonde, but they aren’t identical. That means they were born from separate eggs, so they’ll be as different as any three sisters. One might have darker hair, for instance.”

  “I’ll bet they’ll be cute,” Dawn said.

  “No cuter than you.”

  The little girl beamed.

  Edmond saw no harm in bringing his niece to visit her aunt after keeping them apart all week. Dawn was doing well in her new home, as Dr. Brightman had agreed at Thursday’s consultation.

  “We aren’t out of the woods yet,” she’d told Edmond. “But you’re handling this very well.” Strangely, the praise mattered more to him than the fact that his law practice was growing and that he’d received compliments from both Geoff and Tony this week.

  Tonight, however, Edmond was entering alien territory. If only he had some idea what to expect at the meeting with the Grants. On the phone, Vern had been calmer than Melissa described him, but there was little chance he’d changed his mind. He might even have hired an attack-dog attorney to lie in wait for them.

  Should that happen, Edmond would have to work at controlling his temper. The saying went, “An attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client.” But he was only participating as M
elissa’s friend. If this matter did end up in court, he’d hire someone who didn’t have a personal stake in the outcome.

  After dinner, Edmond reminded Dawn that he and Aunt Lissa had adult business to take care of.

  “Karen borrowed some games from Tiffany and Amber,” she said. “We’ll have fun.”

  “I’m sure you will.” He hugged her.

  “Thanks for babysitting,” Melissa told her friends. “I owe you.”

  “No, you don’t,” Karen answered. “We’ll enjoy this.”

  Assisting Melissa along the driveway to his car, Edmond noticed how much larger she’d become—again. “Are you sure you’re well enough for this?”

  Melissa adjusted a clip in her hair. “Yes. I’m still able to work, remember? Although I’ll start riding with Karen on Monday.”

  “I approve.” He’d have offered to drive her himself, but he had to take Dawn to sports camp. And starting in a few weeks, to school.

  In the car, Edmond navigated across town toward the address Vern Grant had provided. “I wish you’d reconsider about formulating a strategy,” he said. Melissa had declined his earlier suggestion to discuss tactics.

  “I’d rather just listen to them.” In the fading light—the days seemed shorter already, although July had barely yielded to August—her gaze sought his for understanding.

  “You’re more comfortable relying on intuition,” Edmond summarized. “It’s still best to have an opening gambit, a fallback position and a bottom line.”

  “How do you strategize options about losing the children you love?” She rested her forehead against the passenger window. “The opening gambit, the fallback position and the bottom line are all the same. My answer is no.”

  “We used to discuss best and worst case scenarios in difficult situations, remember?” Until the divorce, anyway. “That helped prepare us.”

  “Sure, like when we heard my parents were in an accident in Hawaii,” Melissa said bleakly. “Best case scenario was that they’d recover. But we got our worst case.” Her mother had died a few hours after arriving at the hospital, while her father had passed the next morning.

  “But it gave us a chance to research how to handle funeral arrangements while we were still in a hopeful mood,” he pointed out.

  She sighed. “This isn’t making me feel any better, Eddie.”

  “I guess not.” Weaving through the Friday evening traffic on Safe Harbor Boulevard, he searched for a way to lighten her mood. “If something goes wrong, it doesn’t have to be the end of your dream of becoming a mother.”

  “Doesn’t it?” she asked tearfully. “If I lost my little girls, I’m not sure I could go through another pregnancy.”

  That heartbroken expression on her face tore at Edmond. These children meant the world to her. She was their mother. But he was not their father, and he reminded himself that the best way to help Melissa and the triplets was to remain impartial, even if he wanted to defend them to the ends of the earth.

  He halted the car in front of a one-story bungalow with shutters and a wide porch. Such a pretty place. But they were facing a scene that might not be pretty at all.

  Determined, he got out and circled to help Melissa.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Vern didn’t immediately launch into an attack as he admitted them, but his taut body language told Melissa he hadn’t lost his determination. Holding on to Edmond’s arm, she gazed around their small living room, which she’d never visited before.

  Playpens, stuffed animals, a changing station and a bounce chair obscured whatever the décor had been preparenthood, while the scents of baby powder and laundry soap lingered in the air. Nell sat on the carpet watching a blond baby creep toward a glittery ball.

  The new mom rose, revealing a tall, slightly pudgy figure, and removed a towel from her shoulder. “The other two went to sleep, but Tommy’s our explorer.” Nell brushed back short hair a shade lighter than Melissa’s. She’d cut her once-flowing locks during her pregnancy.

  “They never all sleep at once,” Vern said. “It must violate their union rules.”

  Edmond gave a polite chuckle. Melissa wasn’t sure how to respond. In the past, she’d joked and chatted with the Grants like a close friend. Now, she hesitated about what to say. Who could tell what remark might set off a tirade of accusations?

  “May I sit down?” she asked.

  “Of course.” Nell hurried to remove a baby blanket from the couch. “My gosh, you’re huge. How far along are you? I’ve forgotten.”

  “Almost five months.” Melissa lowered herself to the seat. “I have to stop driving soon. You remember that stage.”

  “I’d put it out of my mind.” Nell glanced uncertainly at Edmond. “You’re her ex-husband?”

  “I’m here as a friend.” He stood with hands clasped in front of him. But behind those glasses, his brain was measuring and assessing. While Melissa appreciated his analytical powers, she’d much rather be assured that he was fiercely in her court, committed to her and to the babies. “Is anyone else joining us?” An attorney, he meant.

  “It’s just us,” Nell said.

  “We can speak for ourselves,” her husband added with a touch of belligerence.

  On the floor, Tommy scooted for the ball. It rolled a few inches off, arousing a dismayed grunt from the child. Another scoot, and the ball rolled again. The baby’s complaint rose to a wail.

  Vern scooped him up. “Can’t have him waking the others,” he said. Nell stretched her shoulders and neck.

  Melissa decided to raise the painful subject that had brought them here. “I was surprised to hear from Vern yesterday,” she ventured.

  “I didn’t know he intended to drop in on you,” Nell said.

  Melissa doubted Vern had acted without some encouragement from his wife. “He indicated you’ve been upset.”

  “That’s right.” Vern adjusted the baby on his shoulder. “She misses her little girls.”

  Edmond’s eyes narrowed. He was probably wondering how the woman could miss what she’d never had. But before this pregnancy, Melissa had missed having a child, so she understood.

  Don’t be too understanding. You’re not here as their advocate.

  “It’s been hard caring for triplets, I won’t pretend otherwise.” Nell perched on the arm of the couch. “But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten my other babies.”

  These are no longer your babies, she thought, struggling against a flare of temper, but Nell’s attention was fixed on Melissa’s belly. “How are the girls doing?”

  “Fine.”

  “Can I feel them?”

  Edmond took a step forward as if to block any such attempt. Much as Melissa appreciated his protectiveness, she doubted it could do any harm. “Go ahead.”

  Easing down beside her, Nell laid her palm on Melissa’s bulge. After waiting a minute, the other woman appeared disappointed. “Nothing going on right now, huh?”

  “Sorry, they’re not being very active at the moment.”

  Nell removed her hand. “They’ll soon be active all the time. I want to be part of this.”

  “Excuse me?” Melissa asked.

  Nell took a deep breath. “Giving away our daughters—I wasn’t thinking clearly. And to a single mom! The girls deserve a father.”

  “I raised that point myself.” Melissa couldn’t believe the woman was revisiting the issue now. “You said it didn’t matter.”

  Nell cleared her throat. “You should have counseled us to keep our options open, that we might change our minds.”

  Melissa strained to hold in her frustration. “I did.”

  Vern glared. “Like hell!”

  Edmond raised a cautionary hand. “Let’s keep this civil, shall we?”

  The two men faced e
ach other as if they were a pair of, well, male animals. Edmond had never been hotheaded, however, and luckily Tommy’s fussing distracted Vern.

  “I reviewed my notes today,” Melissa said, glad she’d kept careful records. “I advised you repeatedly that frozen embryos can remain viable for years. However, you informed me if I didn’t take them during my next cycle, you’d find another recipient.”

  “It hurt to picture them cold and alone,” Nell admitted, then put in, “I might have been suffering from postpartum blues, which you should have understood.”

  “I asked you about signs of depression. You denied experiencing any. All the same, I urged you to consult a counselor before deciding what to do with the embryos.”

  “I don’t remember any of that,” Vern said.

  “Neither do I.” Nell lifted her chin. “Those are our daughters you’re carrying, our genetic children. From now on, Vern or I will attend all your doctor’s appointments and ensure you’re eating the right diet. When the girls are born, we’re taking them home. Otherwise we’ll go to the hospital administrator and have you fired.”

  Intrude into her medical exams? Run her life and commandeer her children? Fury powered Melissa to her feet.

  “What do you think I am, your slave?” she demanded. “Was this your scheme, to trick me into serving as your unpaid surrogate?”

  She could see Edmond staring at her in surprise. And with a hint of admiration, too.

  Nell’s eyes widened in shock. “How can you accuse us of tricking you?”

  “I never considered embryo adoption until you brought it up,” Melissa retorted. “Then you pressured me to implant the embryos immediately.”

  “It was still your decision,” Nell protested.

  “You urged me to hold your little boys, when you should have realized that would remind me of how much I wanted a baby.” Melissa had no idea where these words sprang from, but they kept flowing. “You told me you’d dreamed that I was meant to be the mother of these babies.” She was so angry, her hands shook.

  Edmond hurried to her side. “Your blood pressure might rise—”

  “You bet it’s rising!” Melissa roared. “These people are treating me like a brood mare and trying to steal my babies!”