At seven months pregnant, life was nearly perfect. My husband Peter and I were preparing the nursery, arguing over baby names, and soaking up the excitement of becoming parents. My parents, married 37 years, were just as thrilled—until the night my dad showed up at our door.It was nearly 11 p.m. when Dad knocked, looking disheveled and carrying a bag. He claimed he was divorcing Mom and needed space. I was stunned. Divorce? After nearly four decades together?
That night, I caught him snooping in the nursery. He claimed he got lost, but something felt off. The next morning, he was gone—leaving only a note saying he’d gone to the lake house. When I called Mom, she was confused—he had told her he was working late. But the real shock came when she told me: they sold the lake house last year.
Suddenly, things didn’t add up. Mom and I drove to a mystery address she suspected, believing we’d uncover an affair.Instead, we walked into a room filled with streamers, balloons, and familiar faces shouting, “Surprise!” It was a baby shower—mystery-themed—and the whole thing had been an elaborate act. My dad’s “divorce,” the nursery visit, the late-night knock—it was all part of the plan. Even Peter and my OB-GYN were in on it
.I was furious, then overwhelmed with laughter. The man who once read Nancy Drew to me had staged a real-life detective story—just for my baby shower.In the end, I didn’t get the scandal I feared. I got something better: a room full of love, laughter, and the perfect mystery-themed celebration for our tiny investigator on the way.