Т Нован - Exposure Season 3

"Not for long, Harper. Not for long."

Later Mama finds me in the kitchen. The Special Agent leaves discreetly. He’ll be back here in a second if the phone rings, this I know. Mama slides her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. "I love you, mon Coeur. And those babies are coming home. Have faith. I know things."

I return her embrace, wishing my Mama could kiss it and make it all better for me. That’s what mamas do. Of course, Mother Stanton doesn’t understand a thing about that. Is she kissing them goodnight? Singing them to sleep? Making sure they’re warm enough? Fed? Keeping their diapers clean? No one on this earth can love them more than their mother and me.

I realize that with each question a fresh round of tears is released. "This is my fault, Mama."

"Nonsense."

"It is! I let her in our house in New Orleans. I let her see our babies." I gasp for air, feeling like someone punched me in the stomach. "She saw them and decided she wanted them. My God! I made Kels let her see them. And I drove them to that place yesterday. I took them there. I gave them up to her. I shouldn’t have done it. Kels didn’t want to, but I made her. I lost them!"

"Shh, my baby girl." Mama pulls me even closer and strokes my hair. "You could never have known."

"I should have," I gasp. "I should have protected my family. Instead, I lost them."

I sense another presence in the room and I realize that Papa has entered without me hearing him. He wraps his arms around Mama and me and holds us both tight. "Everyone is responsible for their own actions, Harper. We raised you knowing that. Your action was to open up your heart. Her action was to abuse it. Never be ashamed of believing in anyone. Even when you are proven wrong."

"But my children, Papa. Should my children pay the price?"

"They won’t, Harper. I believe that. You need to, as well." He kisses my hair. "Remember, even though she took them, she bought them car seats, clothing, diapers, bottles. She’ll keep them safe, because they mean enough to her for her to walk out on everything else she had."

"You think so, Papa?" I so want to believe him.

He nods. "I do. Remember your Tante Veronique?"

"She was crazy."

"That’s right, she was. She couldn’t hold down a job, barely could work around the house, mean as spit to grown ups. But how was she around children?"

I remember Tante Unique, as we kids called her. She worshipped us. Always had candy and gum. Told us outrageous stories. Played games. She was the perfect aunt until you hit puberty. After that, you knew well enough to leave her alone. But if you had a colicky infant who needed attention and soothing, Tante Unique was on the job. "I do."

"I think this Katherine Stanton is like her in that way. Isn’t that what you saw when she visited our house?"

"She was gentle with them," I concede. I remember being amazed at the time.

"I believe she’ll take care of them, because doing so keeps them with her. And if they’re with her, they’re not with you." He kisses my hair. "Remember how easy it was to find Tante Veronique around the family farm?"

I surprise myself buy laughing at the memory. "She could never hide. She was too outrageous."

"That’s Katherine Stanton. She sticks out like a sore thumb. It won’t be long, baby girl. I know it."

If Papa knows it, it must be true.

Harper and I are in our room, trying to rest and block out the world for a few moments. We’re both exhausted, physically and emotionally. We’ve cried, we’ve gotten angry, we’ve begged and bargained. I refuse to hit acceptance. I will never accept this.

The lights are off. I’m laying in her arms as she watches the evening news. Her thumb is running up and down my back. "I’m sorry," I whisper.

"For what, darlin’?"

"That she did this to us. To you. To our babies. I wish she had just directed her anger at me and left the three of you out of it. You don’t deserve it, and Brennan and Collin most definitely don’t."

"Kels, it’s not like you knew she was going to do this. I know I didn’t. What I wouldn’t give for us to have run away with our babies on Saturday."

"I know but…" Before I can say anything else, I feel Harper tense. I roll over to see pictures of my babies on the TV screen. "Turn it up."

"Reliable sources tell us that the children were abducted by the maternal grandmother during a court ordered visitation. If you have any information, please call the…."

I can’t watch anymore. God, I’ve done stories like this. I’ve sat in living rooms with distraught parents and told them how sorry I was and how I understood what they were going through. I realize, at this very moment, I didn’t know anything about what they were feeling.

So, basically, I’ve been a phony my entire life. My career is a fucking lie. Why do I feel like my life is crashing down around me? Probably, because it is. "I swear to you, Tabloid, when we get them back, I’ll never let them out of my sight again."

"I know, baby. I feel the same way." She gives me another hug, keeping me close.

"First L.A., now New York. Are we ever going to find peace, Harper?"

"Yes, chér, we are. I promise you, we are."