The Surprise

by Alice Ward

  “Good idea. So… was your mother happy? Upset? What can I expect?”

  “I think it’s safe to say that you can expect a full body tackle.”

  “What?”

  He laughed. “She’s beyond thrilled. She might not tackle you, but expect an outpouring of love.”

  It had been so long since a mother held me in her arms. Just the thought of it made tears burn in my eyes. “When will they be here?”

  “About an hour. Since I’m on my way, I’ll meet them at the hospital and introduce you all properly.”

  I blew out a breath and lifted my hand to check the state of my hair. Ridiculous, as always.

  “Langston…?”

  “Yes?”

  “I can’t believe you told them before the test results arrived.”

  His voice deepened. “The test is just a formality, Scarlett. I don’t ever need to see the results. I already know.”

  “Okay.” I motioned for Amy to get Sofi from me. “I’m going to go freak out over my hair now.”

  He laughed. “You’re beautiful. Don’t freak out much. Or was that wasted breath?”

  “Oh ho ho… wasted breath indeed.”

  He was still laughing when I hung up on him, then grunted my way up from the chair. Amy laid Sofi down and turned to me. “I heard. What do you need?”

  “New hair. New face. New clothes. New body.”

  Amy rolled her eyes and went to my suitcase. She pulled out a cute little gown and robe set I’d bought but hadn’t bothered to wear yet. I nodded enthusiastically. “I’m going to shower real quick. I feel like a soured milk mess.”

  It took me the full hour to do something so simple. I was nursing again as Amy dried my hair with the diffuser. I wanted to do something to my face, but beyond a swipe of mascara and a little powder and tinted lip gloss, I was too tired to try anything more dramatic.

  The soft knock came just a few minutes after four. “Come in,” I said from my perch in the bed. I’d almost chosen the rocking chair again, but liked the idea of having blankets piled on me better. They camouflaged my still significant stomach.

  The door opened and Langston appeared first. He had two orchids in his hands. One pink and one blue. I didn’t even have time to admire them before a woman of about my size came in behind him, a nervous smile on her face.

  Considering Langston’s age, she had to be in her mid to late fifties, but she could pass as forty easily. “Hello, Scarlett.” Her honey-colored eyes kept flicking to the babies in the crib beside me. They flicked to Amy and back to me.

  An older couple came in last, both with unsure expressions on their faces. Both richly dressed, the woman wore diamonds that would have blinded me had the light in the room hit them the right way. I didn’t know which designer dress she was wearing, but it looked crazy expensive.

  “Scarlett, I’d like to introduce my mother, Angela Kimbrough, as well as my grandparents, George and Hellen Langston. Everyone, this is Scarlett Alder, and her friend Amy… um…”

  Amy lifted a hand. “Amy James. It’s nice to meet you all.”

  Their last name was Langston. Now I understood yet another thing about the man standing in the middle of the room. But I had no time to comment on it because Mrs. Kimbrough was throwing her arms around me, pulling me into a hug.

  “Darling, I’m so thrilled to meet you. What a wonderful, beautiful surprise I had today.” She pulled away and looked into the clear-sided crib, her hand going to her mouth. “Oh… they’re… they’re…” Tears spilled over as she just looked down at her grandchildren. “So very beautiful.”

  There was a click, and I looked over to see Amy taking pictures. She smiled at me and lifted a shoulder. She was trying to be a badass, but she was as touched by this moment as I was.

  “Mom, Gran, Pops…” Langston squirted some antibacterial soap into his hands and picked up Sofi. “Meet Sofi Elizabeth.”

  Mrs. Kimbrough looked over at me. “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  Without any urging, she disinfected her hands too, making me like her even more. “Hi, Sofi. Oh…” She held her tight, staring down into the little face before pressing her lips to the baby’s forehead.

  Langston picked up our son. “And this is Samuel Joseph.”

  With her arms full, she just leaned forward to kiss his forehead too. “Hello, Samuel. You look exactly like your father.”

  I exhaled. There was no hesitation, no questions, no funny looks, no nothing. Just a perfect acceptance of the babies, and me.

  I simply sank into the warm welcome of both Mr. and Mrs. Langston, then grinned as they held the babies close.

  “This is such a happy day,” Mrs. Langston said. “I never thought this rascal would ever settle down.”

  “Gran…”

  “Don’t you Gran me, young man.” It was all said with love, with twinkles in eyes, an easy air filling the room.

  “I went shopping,” Mrs. Kimbrough said, patting Sofi’s bottom, and her father rolled his eyes.

  “Did she ever? I hope you live in a palace because I think you might need one. My daughter practically bought out the store.”

  Langston’s mom gave a little eye roll. “Don’t listen to him. He’s exaggerating. But, oh, I wanted to. The newborn clothes were so precious. I could have shopped all day.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Kimbrough. I—”

  She gasped. “My lovely Scarlett, please don’t call me that. I’m Angela until you feel comfortable enough to call me Mom.” She stroked my cheek with her hand. “I always wanted a daughter, so please excuse me if I dote.” She leaned down and kissed Sofi’s cheek. “And a granddaughter and grandson all on the same day. I just can’t get over it.”

  Oh my god, the tears. They burned an aching path into my sinuses and nose, springing to my eyes so fast and hard, I was surprised they didn’t jump from my tear ducts and splash her in the face.

  “Angela… thank you. I know this was a surprise and miles beyond conventional, but I appreciate your kindness and understanding. In truth, I have very limited storage in my apartment.”

  Her eyes snapped to Langston before landing back on me. “Langston has plenty of room. In fact—”

  “Mom—” Langston’s voice held a warning note she ignored with a wave of her hand.

  “There’s an entire floor just for the nursery suite. The house has an elevator, so you wouldn’t have to worry with—”

  “Mom—”

  “Heaving babies and all their stuff up and down the stairs. There are only two official bedrooms and bathrooms on that floor, but I’m quite sure we could have a contractor build a third if you’d like a nanny to help you with things.”

  “Mom!”

  She sighed and stroked my cheek again, and it took everything inside me not to lean into the touch. “Think about it. When I met Langston’s father, I knew within minutes that I’d be living the rest of my life with him. Well, the rest of his life as it sadly turned out.” She leaned closer and whispered in my ear. “We slept together that first night too, and I never regretted it. Not for an instant.” She leaned back and raised her voice again. “Dating is a reasonable course of action, but under the circumstances, maybe a more reasonable course of action would be for you to date while in the same home.”

  “She means living in sin,” Mr. Langston said and got a stiff stab in his ribs by Mrs. Langston. She looked down at Samuel to make sure she hadn’t jostled him too much. She had to be in her late seventies, but she was as spry as someone much younger.

  “George, you stay out of this.”

  “I will not. I think they should just get married.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a little box. “When we went by the house, I got this out of the safe.” He snapped it open, and I almost couldn’t hear my gasp over Amy’s. It was the size of a refrigerator. Okay, maybe not that big, but it was big. “This was Langston’s great grandmother’s engagement ring. Get down on your knee, boy, and make this beautiful girl an honest woman.”


  We all stared at him. There wasn’t a sound in the room.

  “Pops, um, I—”

  I looked up at the father of my children, who looked like he might very well pass out. I reached out and grabbed a handful of his scrubs to keep him steady.

  “Mr. Langston,” I began, “I—”

  “Call me Pops, young lady.” The ring was still extended in my direction. “And those two can call me G-Pops when they get old enough to talk. If you don’t want to marry my grandson, you can move in with Hellen and me. We’ll take good care of you, don’t you worry.”

  Another elbow. “George!”

  “Dad!” Angela scolded. “Scarlett can stay with me if she wants.”

  “No!” Langston yelled over the chaos. “She’s with me.”

  The riot of raised voices startled Sofi awake. Her face scrunched up and she began to wail. Angela began patting her on the bottom, looking anxious to have caused her granddaughter distress.

  “Hey!” That came from Amy, of course, who was marching into the middle of the room, her hand in a “time-out” motion. “Cut it out, people!”

  When Samuel began to wail too, I promptly burst into tears.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Langston

  Well, this was a terrific idea.

  I didn’t know who to yell at first, but absolutely knew who I wanted to throttle.

  A ring? Pops brought a ring? Living in sin? If I didn’t love him so much, I would happily kill him.

  When Scarlett burst into tears, it was too much. I was beside her in an instant. Mom, still bouncing Sofi, was next. Then Gran and Pops grew quiet while Amy’s eyes scanned the room, ready to pounce on anyone who moved.

  “I’m so sorry, Scarlett,” I said, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders.

  “Yes, Scarlett,” Angela added. “We didn’t mean to cause you distress.”

  Pops got yet another elbow from Gran. He grunted and stuck the ring into his pocket. “Yeah. Yeah. Sorry about that.”

  Scarlett wiped her eyes on the bedsheets, and I fished a box of Kleenex out of the bedside table. She blew her nose, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “I hate to cry,” she said, “and I think that’s all I’ve done for months.”

  Because of me.

  Mom patted her leg. “Honey, please don’t cry. You’ll learn that we’re a pretty passionate crew when it’s about something important to us. And you’re important to us.”

  That got Scarlett crying hard again. I gave Mom a withering glare, and then felt sorry for doing so when she lifted her shoulders in a miserable I don’t know what else to do shrug. She had just been trying to help, give a nudge, something. I could tell that she had been just as surprised as me when Pops pulled out the ring.

  “It’s okay, Mom.”

  Scarlett sniffed hard, looking embarrassed. “Yes, it is okay. I’m not crying because I’m upset over the fighting. It’s just that you all were arguing over who wanted me and the babies.”

  My heart squeezed. I knew so little about her, but I did know that her family died when she was young. I wasn’t sure what happened to her after that. But I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything. And I wanted to spend the rest of my life making sure she never felt unwanted again.

  “We should go,” Mom said, pressing her lips to Sofi’s forehead.

  Scarlett took a deep breath. “No, please. It’s okay. I—”

  A knock came on the door. Holy shit. What now?

  It opened and Olivia came in. Her eyes sharpened when she saw that Scarlett was in tears. She rapidly crossed the room. “Scar, what can I do?”

  Scarlett rallied. “I’m okay. Just got a little emotional, is all.”

  “Do you need some privacy?” She looked pointedly around the room. Olivia pulled a white envelope from her pocket, then shoved it back down. It was from the lab.

  It was like a wrecking ball hit me in the chest, and it was hard to breathe while Scarlett stiffened at my side. Very slowly, she held out her hand, and just as slowly, Olivia pulled the envelope out again, placing it in her palm.

  “What’s that?” Pops asked.

  “George!”

  He grumbled but didn’t ask again.

  “Here,” Scarlett said, handing me the envelope.

  I didn’t take it. “I don’t need to see inside.”

  “Inside what?” was followed by, “Stop hitting me, woman.”

  The envelope hung in the air between us, suspended on the tips of her fingers.

  “Oh, good grief.” Amy marched forward and snatched it out of Scarlett’s hand. Without wasting a second, she ripped it open, and scanned the page.

  I couldn’t fucking breathe. Which was stupid. These were my babies. Mine. Scarlett and I would figure things out between us, and we’d raise them together.

  And if they’re not?

  That wicked, wicked voice whispered those hateful words in my ear. I kissed Scarlett’s hair. If they weren’t, it wouldn’t matter. I wanted the woman beside me. I wanted these children. I already loved them. I would accept them as my own.

  There were two pages. Amy looked at the second, then let them drop to her sides, her expression unreadable.

  “I don’t want to know,” I said, pulling Scarlett against me closer. “They’re mine no matter what that paper says.”

  “What paper?” Pops whispered.

  “George!” Gran whispered back.

  “Congratulations, Langston,” Amy said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “You’re a daddy.” She looked at the paper again. “At least there’s 99.9998% probability. I think that’s close enough.”

  Scarlett’s hand found mine, and our fingers intertwined.

  “I think we should go and let these two be alone for a while,” Mom said, standing up, still holding Sofi. I smiled at the sight. Smiled at how happy this was making her. Glad these two little kids would give her something to focus on besides grief.

  Olivia moved first, wheeling the crib over and depositing both babies inside. “I’ll take them to the nursery for a bit.”

  Scarlett nodded. “Thank you.”

  Mom leaned down and kissed Scarlett on the cheek. “I’m sorry for the drama. I promise to do better next time.”

  Scarlett kissed her back. “Please visit again soon.” She actually looked like she meant it.

  I hugged Mom while Gran got her turn with my girl. Then they were gone, leaving only Amy and us in the room.

  “I’m going to head out too. Call if you need anything.” She met my eyes, looking the softest I’d ever seen her. “Congratulations. Really. I’m glad it’s you.”

  When she was gone, I sat back down on the bed, and wrapped Scarlett in my arms again. Our fingers automatically linked together.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, kissing her hair.

  She immediately nodded. “You?”

  I kissed her knuckles, one at a time. “I am now.”

  The silence between us was comfortable for a while, then I felt her begin to stiffen and I wasn’t sure why. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I want to tell you about why I cried earlier. I hate to cry. Hate the weakness and lack of control, so if I cry again, just let me, okay?”

  I inhaled deeply. “Okay.”

  “When I was eight, a man broke into our house,” she said, and I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming next. “He killed my father first, at least that was what I was told. He tortured and raped my mother I learned later. When Samuel woke me, I heard her screaming, she was yelling that the kids were with her sister for the week. My brother, Samuel, my twin, covered my mouth so I couldn’t scream, and he pushed me under the bed. He crawled in beside me and told me to stay quiet.”

  I shivered. “You don’t have to do—”

  “I could hear heavy footsteps moving through the house. Things were being turned over, doors opened and closed. Samuel and I just laid there, holding hands. I thought my heart was going to trip out of my chest when he came into my room. He
kicked a foot under the bed but didn’t bend down to check. I managed not to make a sound even though we laid there for about an hour while the man made himself something to eat.”

  Jesus.

  “He was getting ready to leave, I think. His footsteps where in the hallway again, heading toward the front door. Do you know what I did next?”

  “No, sweetheart. I don’t know.”

  “I sneezed.”

  I closed my eyes, beginning to understand the source of her guilt.

  “There had been no buildup. Nothing. There was no ah ah before the choo. There wasn’t any of that. I just sneezed this high-pitched sound that felt like a bolt of lightning in the room. Samuel looked at me in total horror and we waited to see if maybe the man didn’t hear it after all.”

  “But he did.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes, he did. The man’s footsteps came echoing back down the hallway. Before I could stop Samuel, he shushed me, then crawled out from under the bed. From where I lay, I saw his feet go into our closet. Then, the man came in, and he kicked the bed. My hands were over my mouth, but I screamed just loud enough for him to hear.”

  I didn’t want to listen to any more. “Scarlett—”

  “He did the oddest thing. He began stabbing the bed. It was just a single mattress with no box spring underneath, and I could see the blade come down through it over and over again. The man was laughing. It was a game to him. Every time he pulled the blade up, he said, “No blood yet, no blood yet.”

  She rubbed her side, and my teeth gritted as I knew what was coming next.

  “I’d gotten as close to the wall as I could and was on my side. One of the strikes came down just an inch in front of my face. The next one hit me, and I screamed. That’s when I heard Samuel scream too, and he came running from the closet. I couldn’t see what was going on, but I later learned that there was a baseball bat near his body and police believe he attacked the man with it. He was only eight, so he couldn’t hit him hard enough.”

  I stroked her hair, curling it around my finger as she told me the story in a monotone.

  “The man stabbed Samuel in the stomach. He fell to the floor, and I saw the knife come down in his back. When the man got down on his hands and knees to look at me, I closed my eyes and pretended I was dead. There was so much blood, I guess he believed I was gone.”