by Marla Monroe
He led her through a long list of commands from touch her nose with her finger to wiggle her toes. Once he was satisfied with that, he began to ask her questions about her memory. She found that with him talking to her about it, she remembered a little more than she had previously. She did remember that Earth was falling apart and she had gotten picked to help settle another planet. She also remembered being pregnant and how happy she was, but she still couldn’t remember the fact that she had two husbands or what had happened to her.
“Do you remember something strange attacking you?” Greg asked.
“No. I don’t remember being attacked at all.”
“All right, we won’t push you to remember. You’ll remember what you need to on your own over time. Let’s just get you well for now.”
“How long have I been here?” she finally asked.
“This is the fourth night,” the doctor told her.
“No wonder I’m hungry.” She felt her mouth water thinking about food.
“We’ll start out with something easy on your system like some soup.” The doctor looked over at the other two men. “I’ll have Scott bring some soup in a few minutes. Don’t push her to remember anything. That will come or not. It’s not that important at this point.”
The two men nodded then looked over at her and smiled.
“We’re just glad she’s awake and doing okay.” Steven squeezed her hand.
The two men talked to her about how glad they were that she was okay and going to get better. They kept a steady stream of conversation up until a fourth man came in with a bowl of something that smelled wonderful to her. He sat a tray in front of her with a bowl of beef soup and crackling bread. Janet was almost embarrassed by how quickly she downed the soup and bread. She really had been hungry.
“If you’re still hungry, we could…” Steven began.
“No, she can’t have any more for a few hours. Then we can try more if she still feels like she wants it,” the other man said.
“Maybe more later. I’m sleepy. I think I’ll take a nap.” She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
Two days later, the doctor pronounced her ready to go home.
“No strenuous activities for the next few weeks. Then I want to see you back and we’ll decide after that when you can go back to your normal routine.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” Steven promised.
“Let me go warm up the transport.” Greg stood up. “It’s getting colder every day.”
“I can’t wait to get home. Even if I don’t remember it. I know the bed has to be more comfortable than this one.”
Everyone laughed at that. The nurse handed the men a bag of something.
“These are her prenatal vitamins and the iron pills. She needs to take the iron pills for another two weeks. We’ll check her blood when she returns to see if she still needs them after that.”
Greg left the room as did the nurse. That left her alone with Steven. She still didn’t remember being married to the two men, but since the doctor and nurse were sure, she had to accept it. They were two very big and very handsome men. She couldn’t imagine what they saw in her. But then, if she remembered correctly, they hadn’t had a choice in the matter of who they were paired with.
It was strange. She didn’t remember them when she could remember so many other things. Like she remembered tending to the garden, and to some extent, the house. She didn’t remember the accident, but she remembered picking tomatoes from the dying vines.
“What are you thinking so hard about, love?”
“Wondering why I don’t remember you and Greg, but I can remember other things, like the garden.”
“I think it’s because we work so much, and you are by yourself so much that maybe being lonely stuck in your head. Your mind had felt alone. I’m really sorry about that. I think we are going to make some changes in how we work after this.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk more about it when Greg is with us.”
About that time, Greg walked back in and smiled at her.
“You’re going to be glad I brought those sweats for you to wear home. It’s cold out there today.”
“Think we might get some snow soon?” Steven asked.
“Not real soon. The sky is clear, and there’s nothing on the horizon like clouds building up.”
“They say that they have hard winters here, right?” Janet thought she remembered that.
“That’s what we’ve heard so far. This will be our first one,” Greg said.
“Okay, I’m ready to go home now.”
“Steven, you carry her and I’ll open the doors.”
“Oh, can’t I walk?”
“I don’t want to take a chance that you will fall, baby. Once you’re home and have rested, then you can walk around some. Let’s get you home without another bump on the head.”
Janet pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. She figured he was right, so why fight over it. She had a feeling she would have plenty to discuss with him as time went on. She got the feeling they were often at odds over things.
Steven picked her up and carefully carried her through the doctor’s office and out the front door to where a transport was idling.
“You never under any circumstances get up or out of one of these when it’s on, love. I’m going to hand you off to Greg to put you inside, but we really shouldn’t do it. We just don’t want you to get any colder than you have to.”
Janet held fast to Steven as he held her out to Greg. She let go of Steven at the last moment and clamped her hands on Greg’s muscular arms.
“Easy, baby. I’m not going to let you fall.” He settled her in the middle seat and proceeded to strap her in with the safety harness.
Steven climbed in next to her, shutting the door behind him. She looked over to where he was buckling down then back at Greg as he did the same. Why couldn’t she remember them? She felt close to them. More so to Steven than Greg, but still, shouldn’t she recognize them?
The ride out to their house took long enough that she managed a nap and was surprised to recognize the house as soon as they pulled up next to the front door. Her smile must have been noticed because both Greg and Steven grinned as well.
“Looks like you remember the house.” Greg shut off the engine and unbuckled his harness.
“I do. I remember all about it now. I hope everything else will come back to me as easily.”
“Don’t count on it, love. Sometimes it takes time to get your memory back.” Steven unfastened her safety harness and then his own. “The doctor said you might not remember some things at all with some head injuries. So don’t get upset if it doesn’t happen right away.”
Janet nodded and then let Steven pick her up and carry her to the front door. Greg had it open for them. He closed it as soon as they had cleared the doorway. She caught him looking around the room as if searching for something. She frowned and looked up at Steven. He was doing the same thing.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, baby. Just making sure nothing got in with us.”
“You’re worried that thing that dripped acid on me is still in here, aren’t you?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve checked the house from top to bottom. I sealed a place where I think it must have gotten in through the cellar. I don’t want you to worry about it. We’re going to keep you safe from now on.”
For some reason, this seemed to be very important to Greg. Janet could tell that he felt like he had let her down. It wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have foreseen that something would attack her, if that is what actually happened. They still didn’t know for sure how she ended up falling and hitting her head and back. Nor did they know about how the acid got on her pant leg to burn her skin.
“I’m not worried. I know you’ll keep me safe, Greg.” She wanted to reassure him that she didn’t blame him.
“Do you want to go upstairs and take a
nap or rest down here on the couch for now?” Steven held her as if she weighed nothing.
“I already took a nap on the way here. I think I’d like to sit on the couch for now. If you’ll put me down, I can walk over there.”
“Where would the fun be in that? I like carrying you around, love.”
“I’ve got to be getting heavy, Steven. Put me down and let me walk. I need the exercise or I’m going to get stiff and sore from not moving around enough.”
“Let her walk to the couch, Steven.” Greg nodded at the other man.
Steven looked at him as if he’d grown another head.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, she’s right. She needs to move around some. Just a little bit to begin with, though.” He said that as he looked at her.
Steven let her slide down his body to stand in front of him. He kept a light clasp on her shoulder as she got her balance. Then she took a step and realized she had been in bed for several days without moving. She was stiff, and it felt odd to stand upright. She managed to walk the six or seven steps to the couch and all but collapsed on it.
“That was good, love.” Steven sat down next to her and rubbed lightly across her shoulders. He looked up at where Greg was standing in front of the fireplace. “Why don’t you keep her company while I see about starting dinner?”
“Don’t take too long. We all need to talk. I’d rather do it before dinner if we can.”
“I’ll just get something started and be right back.” Steven disappeared into the kitchen.
“How are you feeling?”
“I swear, if you both don’t stop asking me that I’m going to scream. I’m fine, Greg. I’ll let you know if I feel bad. I promise.”
“All right, I’ll expect you to do that.” He smiled and sat down next to her. “Lean back and let me hold you for a while. I’ve missed you, baby.”
“Tell me about us. I can’t remember. I feel like we weren’t always happy with each other.”
Greg’s expression changed to one of caution. “I had hoped you wouldn’t remember that part.” He sighed.
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t treat you as well as I should have. I was demanding and expected you to change without doing a lot of changing myself. I’m sorry, Janet.”
“But we still got along, right?”
“We did, for the most part. I was an asshole, though, a lot of the time.” He hesitated then sighed and continued. “I realized when we almost lost you that I loved you and couldn’t imagine living without you in my life.”
“You hadn’t told me this yet?”
Janet felt her heart stutter in her chest. He was saying that he loved her. How did she feel about him? She couldn’t remember. It was so freaking frustrating.
“No, baby. I hadn’t told you because I had convinced myself that I wasn’t going to fall in love with you. I didn’t think I had the ability to love someone so different from what I was used to.”
“And I wasn’t conforming to your idea of a dream wife.”
Janet swallowed hard around the knot forming in her throat and sinking to join her heart in her stomach. What if he woke up from feeling guilty about her getting hurt to realize he really didn’t love her? What would happen then? She couldn’t change who she was, and he obviously had different views on marriage than she did.
“Love doesn’t know boundaries, Janet. Just because I had always gravitated toward one type of woman didn’t mean that I was going to fall in love with that kind. I fell in love with you. It’s you who I can’t imagine spending my life without. You are the woman who’s having our baby. I want to see you grow with that child and feel it kick and wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t know what to say, Greg. I don’t remember how I felt about you or Steven. I remember that we had our differences, but that’s about it. Maybe we just need to start over as if I’m not going to remember and go from there.”
“That’s a real good idea.” He bent over and kissed her.
His lips sipped at hers before he ran his tongue lightly along the seam. She opened her mouth, and he ate at her hungrily before settling down to stroke her tongue with his. When he pulled back, they were both struggling to breathe. She couldn’t find fault with his kiss. That was for damn sure. If he made love the same way he kissed, well then, she wouldn’t mind finding out.
“What are you guys talking about?” Steven walked in, drying his hands on his jean legs.
“Have a seat. We need to talk about how we are going to work things around here.” Greg had recovered and was back to business.
“First of all. Janet and I think we should start over as far as getting to know each other. She may not ever remember anything, but if she does, then she’ll have that much more information about us.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Janet, Steven and I have decided that from now on, someone will stay with you at all times. One of us will work and the other will be here to help you. You’re going to need help this spring and summer with the baby coming.”
“What about the houses? You can’t stop working. What about the others?”
“We’re all in agreement. With both of you pregnant, we need to be able to help you first and foremost. With winter coming up, we won’t be working on the houses that much anyway. In fact, we probably won’t be able to leave the house for several weeks at a time from what everyone has been telling us.” Greg ran a hand up and down her arm.
“You’ll get tired of us by the time spring arrives,” Steven added.
“I doubt that.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that they were going to be with her all the time now. She felt a little like a child not being trusted to play by herself.
Yeah, look what happened when I was alone, and I don’t even have a child to take care of yet.
“What are you thinking, Janet? We need to be honest with each other.” Greg squeezed her hand.
“I’m just thinking that I’m not sure how I feel about one of you being around all the time. I mean, I feel almost like you don’t trust me.”
“Baby, it’s not that.”
“Not at all, love.”
“We trust you, but without some help, you can’t handle the garden being eight and nine months pregnant.”
“Even if you could do it somehow, you don’t have to. We’re here to help. That’s why there are two of us, baby,” Greg said.
“Maybe you’re right. I’m just sensitive about not being allowed to do things. I shouldn’t have to have anyone’s permission.”
Greg looked up at the ceiling then down at where his hand held hers. She watched as a barrage of expressions flew across his face.
“The thing is, you probably feel that way because I was very stern with you on your health and safety. I didn’t want anything to happen to you and thought by telling you what you could and couldn’t do that I could keep you safe. I was obviously wrong.”
“Maybe you weren’t all the way wrong. Maybe we both need to give some. I’m not single anymore. I’m married, to two men, no less. That means that I have to take into consideration your views and needs as well as mine. I’m sure the blame isn’t all yours.”
Greg smiled and kissed her knuckles. “Thanks, baby.”
“We thought that for the first week, I’d stay here and Greg would go to work. Then the next week we would switch. How does that sound to you?”
“When do you start that?” She really hoped she would have them both with her for a couple of days. She needed to get used to them again.
“Starts on Monday. That’s two days away,” Steven said.
She nodded and sighed. “I’m thinking I need a nap before we eat. Do I have time, Steven?”
“You’ve got plenty of time. Do you want to go upstairs or just rest down here?”
“I’m going to go upstairs. I want something really comfortable for a change. That hospital bed was awful.”
“I’ll
walk up with you, baby.” Greg stood up and held out his hands toward her.
She smiled and let him gently pull her to her feet. Then she stood there for a moment to be sure of her balance before she headed toward the stairs.
“Come get us when it’s ready, Steven.” Greg walked next to her as they slowly climbed the stairs.
Halfway there, she began to feel light headed. She held on to the railing with both hands. Greg’s arm went around her waist.
“What is it?”
“I’m getting dizzy. I think I’m moving too fast.”
“I’ve got you, Janet. Just relax against me.” He easily picked her up and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs and into the bedroom.
Once he had laid her on the bed, he crawled up beside her and pulled her into his arms so they could sleep. Janet enjoyed the feel of him surrounding her. She felt safe and cared for. Loved? She wasn’t sure how she felt about him yet, but he certainly seemed to love her. Only time would tell, and she had lots of time.
* * * *
Steven finished setting the table and checked the meal one more time. It was almost time to wake them for dinner. He hoped Janet was getting some rest. She needed it after the long drive and then sitting up on the couch for nearly an hour. She had only been sitting up in bed for about eight hours now. Walking and climbing stairs had to be taxing on her strength.
He was a little jealous that Greg was getting to hold her while she slept but knew that his turn was coming. They would each have quality time with her from now on. Jealousy had no room in a ménage relationship. He needed to keep that under control. Besides, Greg needed the extra time with her to convince her that he had changed where she was concerned. He didn’t envy him that at all.
Checking the time, he hurried up the stairs and walked into the room to find them both sound asleep. They looked so comfortable, he hesitated at waking them. Janet needed to eat, though. She was eating for two and had a lot of making up to do. It was only stew. Still, she needed to start slow, according to the doctor.
Steven walked around to the other side of the bed and eased up on the edge of the bed to wake Janet. He didn’t want to wake Greg and startle her.