A Lovely Surprise

Big Family

Her & I sat there & hugged for a while till Willow pulled on my arm.
" Aunt dre." She whined.
" Willow stop." Josh hissed
" she fine." I said softly, putting her in my lap
"Willow this is your cousin Aria." I said
"Hi." Willow said then hiding her face in my chest.
" are all three of them my cousins?" Ari asked. "Yep their triplets." Erin said smiling.
"Holy moly!" Ari said.

Everyone introduced themselves to eachother.
" I'm Elizabeth." Ari's adoptive mom smiled hugging me. We hugged eachother tight. "Thank you for giving her things I couldn't." I said. She rubbed my back, "Thank you for sharing her with us. She's definitely a blessing." We let go of each other. We both had tears in our eyes giggling.
" Hey I remember this little guy! He's not so little anymore." Josh said hugging James as james giggled
" yep he's becoming a man." Elizabeth said.
" Mom I'm getting hungry." Alice said to Elizabeth.
" I better start dinner. " Liz (Elizabeth) said.
" Do you need help?" Erin offered. "Sure. Company would be lovely." Liz smiled. They went into the kitchen, I look over & Josh is holding Ari.
Tears fell down his cheeks embracing her.
"You know your mom loves you." He told her.
She nodded.
We sat & played with the triplets while we talked. "I have a little brother. " She smiled.
" how old is he? " I asked. " 2 I think. Hold on. Mom! Is daddy dropping Jayden off tomorrow?" She hollered.
" yes." Her mom hollered back.
" Grandma Katherine use to always watch him but daddy drops him off here now to give grandma a break." She said.
" I guess your daddy & Nina work a lot?" I asked.
" who's Nina?" She asked confused.
" isn't that his girlfriend or wife or something." I asked.
She looked really confused, "daddy doesnt have either of those. He's single, that's why we have to watch Jayden cause he's a single dad." She said. " oh...." I said surprised. I wonder who Jayden's mom is then?
"I have a lot of questions." She stated.
" I know. I'll answer what I can." I told her.
We laid on the ground with pillow & blankets facing eachother.
"Did you & daddy ever love eachother? " She asked softly.
" I loved your daddy very much." I told her. "Did he love you?" She asked. I shrugged. " I thought he did at one point but I'm not very sure." I told her
"How did you guys meet?" She Asked curiously.
" we had a class together in high school. We just sorta clicked. I was sneaking out to see him cause my parents were very strict. We fell in love, I started living with him then a couple months later I found out I was pregnant with you." I smiled brushing my thumb across her cheek. "Daddy said it was hard for you to balance being a mom & going to school." She said. It took everything in me to not roll my eyes. Yeah it was hard to balance especially when I had no help.
" theres a lot of other things that made it hard but you were worth it all." I told her. " then why did you give me up? " She asked sad. I pulled her closer to me. Tears swelled up in her eyes, "sweetie look at me." I told her trying to stay strong for her. "I wanted you so bad. You were the only thing right in my life. I had no money, & we were homeless. I was also very very sad at that point in my life. The only that made me happy was you. I was not fit for you, okay?" I told her. She nodded burying her face in my chest crying. "It hurt me so bad to give you away but I wanted you to have a stable mom & dad, a good home & for you to have everything you needed. I wanted what was best for you & it was not me at that time. Giving you up tore me apart. I wanted you all to myself, but I knew the right thing was to share you with your new family. I know it hurts you that I gave you up but I would have hurt you more if I kept you. You were such a happy baby & I was a very sad angry person. I love you so much Aria." I told her kissing her forehead.
" why were we homeless, where was daddy?" She asked rubbing her eyes sniffling.
" baby, there's just somethings I can't tell you yet. There's a lot of hurt that's in our broken little family that's needs to be figured before we tell you." I told her. " okay. Do you think you & daddy will get back together so we won't be broken anymore?" She asked.
I wipped her tears as I shook my head no, "theres to much damage. We're not good for eachother." I told her. She nodded.
" dinners ready" Erin said. We all ate dinner, the triplets,erin, josh, James and Alice sat at the kitchen table. Liz,shawn, me and Ari sat in the living room and ate.
" I love mash potatoes!" Ari said shoveling them into her mouth.
" mash potatoes was the first table food you ever had." I told her.
" That's so weird, I mean she would live off those if we let her." Shawn said as we giggled.
" yeah, she started kicking her feet and kept trying to get more after michael gave her a little bit. She also loved cheerio's." I said.
" Still do " She smiled eating her steak.
" Tell me more stories." She said excited.
" You were definitely a daddy's girl. I could never get you to stop crying but as soon as Michael held you, you stopped. Any time you heard or saw him your eyes lit up like the fourth of july. You guys adored eachother." I told her.
" not much has changed. That's how she was with Shawn once she got use to us & everything. But even when michael texts her you can tell cause she just starts smiling." Liz said.
" I love my dads, what can I say." She giggled.
" Especially when you get mad." Liz said nudging her.
" Oh yes, She was like that when she was a baby. I was trying to wipe her face and she got fussy & swung her hands and slapped me. I grabbed her hands & told her no. And did that make her mad. She was screaming for Michael." I laughed.
" This is great. Honestly, having you & Michael here is a lot more comfortable then I thought." Liz said.
" You probably expected us to be crazy & try to get her back didn't you?" I giggled. She nodded giggling.
"Though we'd love that, we're just a big huge family." I said.
" I love having a huge family! Dad has so many siblings!" She beamed.
" He does, I don't know how Katherine did it." I giggled.
" I cant wait to tell grandma your here! I forgot to tell her mom!" She said looking at Liz.
"I told her already, but no one is interacting with eachother till your birthday party. These next few days are for you & your mom to spend time together." She told her.
" I cant wait for my party! My whole family will be together for the first time!" She said excited. I tried to be excited for her but I was not looking forward to seeing michael or his family..... "are your parents coming?" Shawn asked. I shook my head, "no, we never got a long, especially when I was with Michael & when I had Aria." I said. "Why?" She asked sad. "They're just very mean hateful people. They only wanted to have son's. So when they ended up having me, they were disappointed. Everything I ever did was a disappointment to them. I Don't want you to have that in your life." I told her.
" oh." She said.
"So you never had it easy, did you?" Liz asked. I shook my head. "Not till a few years after I had given Aria to you guys." I said. It was silent for a while.
"Can we go too Eddies for ice cream? !" Ari gasped.
" is your room clean? " Shawn asked her.
" Yes! " She smiled.
" Fine. Go asked Josh & them if they want ice cream." Shawn said. She got up with her plate, "do you want me to take your plate mom?" She said looking at me. "Sure, thank you. " I told her.
" So while she's gone, should we keep you & michael separated for a while?" Liz asked.
" i..... I don't know..... I think we'll keep our distance on our own." I replied.
"Okay, I mean we've been told to be prepared for you guys to argue. We just don't want you guys to get all stressed out and upset." She said.
" I don't know what's gonna happen." I told them honestly.
" we just need to know what we need to prepare her for." Liz said.
" I never wanted her to see us fight. Hopefully we'll keep it together at the party but it's like a ticking time bomb.for us." I told them. They nodded, "we understand there's a lot of problems between you two." Shawn said. I nodded.
" can we.go now?! Everyone is going!" She smiled.
We all got ready & went to get ice cream.
" what do you want Ari?" Shawn asked her.
"Moose tracks! Duh!" She giggled. "Ugh moose tracks are my favorite!" I groaned wanting it. We all got our ice cream and sat at a picnic table.
" mom! Look who's here! Hi Thomas J!" Ari said waving at a blonde haired boy.
" Hi Aria!" He greeted walking over to us. " Thomas J! You know how I'm adopted?!" She asked excited.
He nodded. "This is my biological mom!" She said.
" Hi Thomas." I smiled shaking his hand. "Hi" He said shyly
"Can I go play with Thomas J, mom?" She asked begging
"For a little bit then we have to leave." Shawn answered.
"Yes! Thank you." She grinned happily running to the play ground with Thomas.
"Hold me! " Willow whined. I picked her up putting her on my lap.
I looked over to see shawn & Liz whispering to eachother, having a dicussion.
Alice sat by me and was asking me about fashion & stuff.
" Do you shop at Victoria secret?" She asked.
" sometimes. I really like Michael Kors bags though." I said.
She gasped "me too! I got one for christmas!"
"Oh god you got her talking about fashion." Shawn giggled.
"She knows a lot about it." I giggled.
" yeah. She's our girly girl & Ari is our tom boy." Liz smiled.
" Oh my gosh I love your nails! Mom I want nails like these! " She said gushing over my nails.
" Maybe for your birthday." Shawn answered.
" Alice, look there's Katie & kevin!" James said they went & talked to their friends.
"So have Alice or James met their parents?" I asked.
" Oh no, Alice's parents died of a drug over dose & James was born addicted to heroin. His mom couldn't stay off drugs & we have no idea who his dad is." Liz said simple.
"Wow, that's so sad." I said sincerely
"Yeah but I think that's why some family's aren't meant to have babies of their own. Theres to many babies that need parents." She smiled.
"That's very true." I smiled back.
"But there's some babies you can never contact with." She said staring at Ari.
" what do you mean? " I asked confused.
" Aria. I mean she fits into our family. I really do feel she's ours but she's definitely shared. We've had Alice & James since they were a week old, they've never cared to meet their parents or talked about how they felt like they were missing something. There will always be this bond that she shares with you & Michael that she'll never share with us. It's not a bad thing is just hard. Though I know giving her up was a lot harder but you never wanna share your kids." She spoke honestly as her eyes filled with tears
" yeah but some kids are meant to be shared & it's such a blessing." I replied.
"That's right. & she loves being shared cause she has such a big family." Shawn said smiling.
"She's a very special little person with a big heart. & I just hope you and Michael can figure your problems out so she can be with you both at the same time." Liz said wipping her tears. " I can try." I said softly.
" That's all I ask." Liz said. "Oh gosh, I am sorry. This whole experience is just so emtional." She giggled. "You're fine." I giggled.
We went back to their house and just chatted , that is till the triplets started getting crabby.
So we got our things , shawn took the kids to the car along with Erin as I said bye to Ari.
" I don't want you to leave." She said sadly. "I don't wanna leave. I just wanna hold you like I use to when you were a baby & never let go." I told her. " hey! Maybe we can have a sleep over tomorrow!" She said. " ask your mom okay?" I giggled. "Here's my phone, put your number in it so I can text & call you." She said eagerly. I did as told.
I gave her, her phone back. "I like that I can call you & daddy now whenever I want, especially when I'm missing you guys." She said softly. "Me too." I replied looking at her greenish eyes. "Well I've got go sweetie." I told her. She jumped on me, hugging me tight.
" I love you baby girl. " I said holding tight
"I love you more." She replied.
" I love you the most. " I giggled.
" I love you too infinity & beyond." She laughed
"You got me there, but I'll try to be here before lunch, okay?" I told her. "Okay but daddy drops Jayden off at 10am & we suppose to keep you guys separated." She said. I tucked her hair behind her ear. " don't worry about me & your dad, alright? We will be okay eventually." I told her kissing her cheek. " okay. " She smiled.
I gave her one last hug then left.
I got into the car.
Half way through the ride Josh started talking. "So how are you feeling." He giggled.
" I feel okay. For the first time in for ever I feel okay." I smiled.
" not great or fantastic?" He asked.
" theres to many unresolved problems to feel that way yet." I said. "That is very true." He replied
"But that was the best surprise I've ever had in my life." I said on the verge of tears.
" I thought you were gonna have a heart attack when we got to her house." Erin giggled. "I felt like it. Seeing her, & seeing she's happy just makes me feel okay. That's all I've ever wanted was for her to be happy. & Liz & shawn are great people." I said. "I'm so glad your feeling this way. You deserve it." Josh said
"I just have to figure out how to get through this birthday party." I groaned. "You're gonna be fine, we all will be there for you if things get hard but you gotta push through this. This will be your biggest test Dre. This is it. I mean if you can make it through this week, I really feel like you'll be nearly complete. There's so much emotional damage, & no one has ever talked about it that was involved. This is it." Erin said
"I know & I'm scared. But I know I won't let him break me. I'll be okay but I'm just not prepared for the fighting."
**
*
"Mom!" Aria screamed running to me as I walked into the door. I hugged her tight, "hi baby girl."
"Did you get my text?" She asked excited. I nodded smiling, "we get to have a sleep over!" She said excited.
" I know, I'm so excited." I said tickling her sides. She squealed.
" Arwe(Ari in baby talk)" I heard a little voice day.
I look down to see this little boy who looked exactly like Michael.
" mom this is my little brother Jayden." She said hugging him.
" Hi Jayden." I smiled, he waved back shyly.
" who are you?" He asked. "I'm Aria's mommy." I said.
He looked confused.
"Our daddy & her had a baby together who was me. " She tried to explain. "Are you my mommy too?" He asked.
" Oh no, I'm just her mommy." I asked in kind of a panic. "Oh. " He said sad.
" I'm tired Arwe." He yawned.
Liz laid Jayden down for a nap, I couldn't help but be confused about Jayden's mommy situation.

Aria and I played card games and we're asking eachother random questions. "Whats your favorite color?" She asked as we played go fish.
"Black. Do you have any 4s?" I asked.
" nope." She said as she wrote down my answer to her question.
"Okay what's your favorite type music?" I asked.
"I like all music, I really like R&B though." She smiled.
" That's your daddy's favorite genre or music." I smiled.
" I like the music he listens to. What kind of music do you listen to?" She asked.
" mostly R&B,.but I also like old music." I said.
"Mommy. Can I ask you a question?" She asked.
" I thought that's what we were doing?" I giggled.
" Oh yeah."
"Go ahead." I told her.
" are you & uncle Josh rich?" She asked embarassed.
"Why are you scared to ask me that?" I giggled.
" mom says you never ask ask none about money." She replied.
" that is true but uncle Josh is wealthy.He has worked very hard for the money he gets. Then after I graduated college I got in on the business. So yes we do make a lot of money." I replied.
" I thought you dropped out of high school?" She asked confused. I sighed, "I did but I went back to school a year after a I gave you to your new mommy & daddy." I told her.
" That's good." She smiled.
" I don't wanna play card games any more. Hey! Wanna cook something? " She asked. "I don't know baby girl, I'm a terrible cook." I said unsure.
" me & mommy can teach you! " she said excited. "Okay." I giggled.
*
*
"Dre, you put this into the bowl." Ari said. She c isn't calling me mom because Liz is in the same room & it'd be too confusing calling us both mom.
" okay, what about this stuff?" I said holding up a bottle.
" that goes in last silly." She giggled.
" Ari your dad is calling your phone." James said bringing her, her phone.
" hi daddy!" She said excited.
" me & mommy are teaching mom(dre) how to cook. She can't cook very well." She giggled.
" Jayden is paying with Alice in the living room." She told him.
" mom, michael is on his way to get Jayden." She told Liz.
" alright, I love you too. Bye." She said hanging up her phone.
"Mommy we have to go up stairs to my room." She told me.
*
We sat in her room as she showed me pictures of all things she's done& the places she's been.
"Ari, michael wants to see you!" Shawn said.
Her eyes lit up & she ran down stairs.

"Hi daddy ." heard her greet him.
"Hi baby girl," I heard him speak making my heart stop. I never wanted to hear his voice again.
" Jayden used the potty today. " She told him.
" Good job buddy." He replied.
" I'm a big boy!" Jayden squealed.
" My mom had to help him." She v said.
" which mom? " Michael asked.
" Dre. " She replied.
He didn't reply.
"Your still coming v to my birthday party right? "
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. " He told her.
" okay not tomorrow but the next day." She told him.
"I know babygirl. Grandma & everyone else is coming too." He said.
Oh great....