She hiccups again, still blinking through tears.
“So you’re not angry?”
“We’re not,” I confirm in a growl. “And we love you, sweetheart. This is just a bump in the road, but always know that you’re our number one.”
My declaration only makes the sobs start afresh.
“I love you too, Chris and Chase,” she hiccups. “But I have a confession.”
“Anything, baby girl,” Chris growls from beside her, his blue eyes intent. “You are our everything.”
She hesitates for a moment, looking between us. “Well, I was going to tell you last week, but I suppose now is just as good a time. I’m pregnant with your baby, Chris and Chase. You’re going to be daddies.”
My body freezes in shock. My brain whirls crazily, replaying Patty’s words again and again until I finally make sense of them. Meanwhile, Chris is in the same boat. I can see the stunned surprise on his face, but then both of us break into ecstatic smiles as I let out a whoop of joy.
“Holy shit!” Chris yells. “Good news! A baby’s coming!”
Patty laughs at us, even if her eyes are shiny with tears again. “So, I guess you two are excited about the news?”
“I’m more than excited,” I growl. “I could do a backflip if you weren’t sitting in my lap right now.”
“No don’t!” she laughs. “The baby’s not ready for a somersault yet! He’s still tiny in there, just the size of a tadpole.”
That’s when the two of us get down on our knees to press kisses to her slightly bulging belly.
“No wonder you’ve been avoiding alcohol and caffeine,” my friend breathes as he stares at her lush curves.
“And why you’ve been eating the strangest things,” I add. “I thought the ketchup on everything was weird, but now there’s a reason for it.”
Patty strokes our hair before leaning down to press tender kisses to our mouths.
“There’s a reason for everything,” she agrees, her eyes bright with happy tears. “And meeting you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“For us too,” my buddy growls, seizing her mouth firmly with his own. They lock lips sensuously, and then our woman turns to kiss me as well.
“We love you,” I rasp against her plush mouth. “Always and forever, sweet girl.”
After all, Patty made the ultimate sacrifice in order to provide for our trio during our time of need, but it was unnecessary because Chris and I will always take care of her. This woman is our everything, and with a baby on the way, our lives couldn’t be more perfect.
Epilogue
Patty
* * *
Six months later.
Right now, I’m ginormously huge, but it’s been nice because this has been such an easy pregnancy. My friend Rachel says she had terrible morning sickness and ankle swelling when she was expecting, but I’m okay actually. Of course, I’m as big as a house, but that’s normal. What’s not normal is eating everything in sight like a giant dump truck gobbling up all sorts of food items.
But what’s important is that I’m healthy, and that our child is healthy too. We’re both doing great in that department, and the only thing strange is my over-the-top emotions during this period. I’ve always prided myself on keeping a level head even when I’m stressed out, but things are different now because the littlest thing can set me off. Literally, I was watching a commercial about heart medication the other day, and I burst into tears because it showed a man playing with his dog at the end. There was nothing sad about it, really. It was just a joyful man enjoying time with his small dog, but for some reason, it put me over the top.
But all’s well that end’s well because I can’t wait for the baby to be born. The timing’s worked out too because I just graduated from the Wellness Atrium last month, so I’ve finally gotten my degree. I’m a real physical therapist! Well, I still have my licensure exam, but it’s okay. I’m going to wait to take that until after the baby’s born so right now, I’m just enjoying being pregnant.
Meanwhile, my boyfriends’ new business, C&C Fitness, has really taken off. Chris and Chase didn’t tell me at the time, but their building is right across the street from Fast Theory. Imagine that! So not only did they keep their best clients, but Fast Theory management has to see those same clients entering C&C every day. It was such a blow, in fact, that my boyfriends’ prediction came true. Fast Theory went out of business, and they shut their doors for good last week.
That terrible place deserves it though. We never got any clarification about what ‘unbecoming conduct’ Chris and Chase engaged in, and my opinion is that it was made up. I’m not even sure it’s because of our alternative lifestyle anymore. My boyfriends told me that they had a hellish manager who seemed to hate them for being successful, so he probably just fired them to be nasty.