by Marla Monroe
“Yeah, winter will be here before we know it. They say that they can be harsh here. We’re going to have to be sure we are ready for it.”
“I think we’ll have plenty of vegetables to eat, but I don’t know about meat. We might need to make a run to the city to stock up on frozen meat before it starts snowing.”
“Well, we’ve got a month or six weeks before we have to worry about that.”
“I guess so. I sure don’t need to wish the time away. I need it to tend to the garden.”
“Hey, you two! Come on to bed and stop talking. I’m tired.” Greg’s voice carried into the bathroom.
Janet giggled and climbed out of the tub. She and Steven dried off then padded into the bedroom to get into bed. She couldn’t wait to see Carmen again to see how she was doing. Maybe they could still have that harvest dinner they had been talking about before she had gotten sick. In the meantime, she would work to get the harvest done.
Chapter Fifteen
Janet had almost finished harvesting their garden. She was exhausted and had little appetite. She’d lost some weight and Greg had been all over her to eat more. She tried. She honestly did, but the food didn’t settle well in her stomach. She had even gotten sick one day when she’d managed to eat some.
“Here’s the bath cloth. Run it around her forehead.” Steven handed the cloth to Greg who wiped her brow with it.
“Baby, do you think you’re pregnant?”
“Ah, hell. I hadn’t thought about that.” Steven’s voice reached her where she knelt over the toilet.
“I don’t know. God, my stomach is rolling.”
“Sit back and let me wipe your face, baby.”
Janet sat back and Greg ran the cloth around her face before handing it back to Steven to rinse again.
“Think about it. You haven’t had a period in a long time. I know it’s been at least six weeks.” Greg squeezed her hand.
“I–I guess so. I really hadn’t paid any attention because I’m never regular.”
“I think we need to go to the doctor and see if you are. You probably need to be on vitamins as well.” Steven handed the cloth back to Greg.
“I guess you’re right. I hate going to the doctor. He’s going to want to take my blood.”
“Don’t worry, he’ll get ours, too,” Steven reminded her.
“The cell, that mutated thing that’s in everyone’s body. What if it’s in my body, too?”
“Don’t worry about it, now, Janet. We’ll talk to the doctor about it. He said that there were other women with children on the planet, so don’t worry about it.” Greg bent down and kissed her forehead.
“I think I can get up now.”
They helped her to her feet then Greg picked her up and carried her to the bed.
“Go back to sleep, baby. I’m going to call the others and let them know we’re going to the city.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Steven said.
Greg nodded and smiled at her before heading downstairs.
Janet relaxed but couldn’t go back to sleep. Too much was circling around in her head to sleep. What if she was pregnant? What would she do with a baby? She knew that it had always been a possibility, but she had hoped to have a little more time to prepare. She still didn’t have all the harvest in and would need to be able to finish that. Then there was the wintertime coming up. They had never been through a winter on the planet yet.
“You’re awful quiet to not be sleeping, love. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Just wondering if now is a good time for me to be pregnant. I mean, we’ve only been on the planet a short time. We don’t know about what the winter will bring or about this stupid cell in our bodies, for that matter.”
“Everything will be fine, Janet. Don’t borrow trouble. Just relax and try to rest until we get ready to go to the city. I think I heard Greg go outside to pull up the transport.”
“I’m sorry you’re missing work. I know it’s hard to keep on track when you miss a workday.”
“It will be fine.”
A few minutes later, Greg returned. She turned her head toward the door as he walked through.
“I have the transport out by the front door. Brad and Kirk aren’t working today, either. It seems they think that Carmen is pregnant, too. They’re getting ready to take her to the doctor as well.”
“Well, can you believe that? Both of them pregnant at the same time. That’s almost spooky,” Steven said.
“Let’s get her dressed and into the transport.” Greg pulled out her jeans and a top.
They helped her dress then Steven carried her downstairs to the transport. They headed for town with her strapped in between them. When they finally arrived, it was to find the others already there.
She walked into the office and prepared herself for whatever she might find out. She wanted to see Carmen, but the other woman was already in a room with her husbands. They sat out in the waiting area for nearly thirty minutes before a man greeted them and introduced himself as Scott, the doctor’s nurse.
“Let’s get you set up in the other exam room.”
They followed him into the room. He handed her a gown and told her to strip and put it on and then climb up on the exam table.
“I’m going to draw some blood from each of you while you’re here,” he said.
They all suffered through the brief stick and watched as Scott labeled each vial with their names and the date. Then he left them to get Janet ready for the doctor.
“I don’t like doing this. It reminds me of all the exams we had back on Earth.” Janet pulled on the oversized gown.
“I can agree with you there, baby. I didn’t like giving blood all the time.”
Steven helped her back up on the exam table once again. They waited another twenty minutes before the doctor walked in.
“Hello everyone. I’m Doctor Jeff Davis. Let’s see how you’re doing, young lady.”
“I’m doing fine, Doctor. I really don’t think it’s necessary to go to so much trouble.”
“I know you are tired of being poked and prodded, but it’s necessary in this case. Lie back for me.”
After twenty minutes of enduring the doctor’s exam, he finally stepped back and told them she could get dressed now.
“I’m going to go check on the test results then we’ll talk again.”
As soon as he walked out, Janet jumped off the exam table and grabbed at her clothes.
“Easy, baby. You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself. We’ll get you dressed.” Greg held her arm as Steven held out her panties.
Once she was fully clothed again, Janet felt a little better. She hated doctors and hated their exams even more. Dr. Davis was nice enough, but he was a doctor.
When he returned sometime later, he was smiling. Janet was sure by the smile that she was pregnant. She had mixed feelings. She was glad that everything must be okay for him to be smiling and worried about having the baby on the strange planet to begin with. Never mind that it was one of the main reasons she had been selected. It was still a viable worry for her. There were so many dangerous things they didn’t really know about on the planet.
“I’ve got good news for you. You’re pregnant, Janet. Congratulations!”
“Is everything okay with her?” Greg asked.
“She’s fairly healthy. She’s obviously lost some weight judging by how big her clothes are on her, but it seems to be the norm on this planet. Some women always do lose weight during the first few weeks of pregnancy. The trick is to stop and turn it around to where you are gaining weight.”
“What about the cell you were telling the others about? Do we have it? Does she?” Greg asked.
The doctor’s face changed to a more serious expression. Janet didn’t like the change.
“Yes, you all have the cell inside of you. Janet’s is more pronounced than yours. I can only surmise it’s either because she is a female or because she is pregnant. I’ve had the same resul
ts in most of the women here.”
“Has anyone had anything bad happen because of this cell that’s in us?”
“No, to my knowledge, nothing bad has happened to anyone as a result of the cell. Several of the women who have been bitten or had the acid-like stuff on them have actually appeared to be healthier than the others. I can’t prove anything by it, but it does appear that way so far.”
“So what do we do from here?” Steven spoke up.
“I’ll give her some prenatal vitamins, and she needs to eat better. She is one of the few women I’ve had who became pregnant that didn’t need iron pills as well. That’s a very good thing.”
“What about Carmen? How is she?”
“She’s doing well. I can’t tell you anything more. You’ll have to talk to her yourself. She’s outside waiting to see you.”
Janet didn’t wait any longer. She threw open the door and hurried outside.
“Carmen! How are you?” She wrapped the other woman in her arms.
When she let go, she smiled at the huge grin on the other woman’s face.
“You’re pregnant,” they both said at the same time.
“Isn’t that great! We’ll have babies at the same time! They’ll be friends. I wonder if we’ll have the same kind or if one of us will have a boy and the other a girl?” Carmen was overly excited about being pregnant.
“It will be great. How are you feeling other than that?” she asked.
“I’m fine. There’s nothing really different since I was sick. I think the stuff inside of me and you has helped me.”
“I sure hope it will help. I can’t stand thinking about something foreign being inside of me.”
Carmen smiled. “I agree, but I really think that is what saved me.”
“Are you ready to head back home, Carmen?” Brad wrapped his arms around her.
“We should at least eat together while we are here,” she said.
“What do you say, guys?” Brad asked.
They all agreed it was a good idea and left the doctor’s office together. They walked down the street to a diner and talked and visited while they had an early dinner. It was only three in the afternoon, but they had a long drive back ahead of them. Janet was sure her men were anxious to return.
“Carmen, we should talk every day on the radio and compare symptoms to see if we’re doing the same things.”
“That’s a great idea!”
“We better go, Janet.” Greg stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want to get back too late.”
“Same here,” Kirk said.
They loaded up, strapped in, and headed for home. Janet spent the majority of the trip just thinking about everything. She knew that she would probably have the baby around the middle of April. That meant that the garden would fall on the men to get started. She wouldn’t be able to do it. That led to the thoughts of how to care for a baby and a house and a garden all at the same time.
Well, women did it on Earth back before the advent of the automobile and tractors and such. Surely she could manage as well. They had a fence that would keep the creatures out. She would have to worry about all the added responsibilities once the time came. She was making herself sick thinking about it too much right then.
“You’re awful quiet, love. What are you worrying about?”
“Just that I don’t know how I’m going to take care of a house, a garden, and a baby all at the same time.”
“We’ll worry about it more later. Right now, you need to concentrate on eating and gaining weight. You’ll feel better once you are able to eat right.” Greg looked over at her from the driver’s seat.
“I can’t help it. I don’t think they thought about this when they sent us out to another planet.”
“I think they did,” Steven said. “They gave you two husbands so that one could help you while the other one worked when the time came. We’ll work it all out, Janet.”
“Steven’s right. You’ll have help. Just relax and take a nap until we get home.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m always right.” Greg grinned at her then squeezed her leg.
She leaned back and closed her eyes. She didn’t sleep because she could hear the men talking around her, but she did rest. By the time they pulled up outside the house, she felt much better.
“Stay put while we get the house unlocked.” Greg jumped down from the transport and headed for the house.
Steven stepped down and waited while Greg unlocked the door. Then he reached up and unlatched the harness before carrying her over to the front door. Janet slid out of his arms once they were inside. She wanted a bath. She felt icky after the exam and wanted to clean up.
“Where are you going, baby?”
“To take a bath. I feel dirty.”
“Need one of us to run it for you?” he asked.
“No thanks. I can do it.”
“Remember you’re carrying a baby, love, and don’t boil him.”
“Ha, ha.” She shook her head at Steven.
Once in the bathroom, she took his comment to heart and was careful not to run the water too hot. Still, it was a nice temperature when she slid down into the water. It felt wonderful. She quickly bathed then climbed out and dried off. About the time that she walked into the bedroom, the men walked through the door as well.
“Time for bed, baby.” Greg began pulling off his clothes. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“I’m going to grab the one down the hall,” Steven said. “I’ll tuck you in first before I go.”
She climbed into bed and settled in the middle under the sheets. She shivered at the colder temperature of the bed. After having been in the warm bathroom, it was a startling difference.
“Snuggle down, love. We’ll be back to warm you up in a few minutes.” He bent down and kissed her.
Greg walked over and kissed her as well. “I’ll be right out.”
She never knew when they came to bed. Sleep claimed her in the middle of thinking about the baby.
Chapter Sixteen
Janet finished up most of the garden by the end of the month. She still had a few tomatoes and some eggplant left on the plants to watch and gather. Most everything else was ready to be pulled up and plowed under.
She sighed. She had made it past the morning sickness part of pregnancy but still couldn’t seem to do much at one time. She got tired easier than before. She took frequent breaks and actually took a nap almost every afternoon. If she didn’t, she ended up in bed by seven or eight that night. The men noticed and encouraged her to rest as much as possible. They didn’t think it was odd for her to be so tired.
Janet made her second trip down to the cellar to put away the tomatoes she had canned. It would probably take two more trips to get them all down there. She was tired and figured she would need to take a nap for sure that afternoon after she had lunch. As she climbed the stairs, something ran up between her feet and scared her so badly, she lost her balance and fell backwards down the stairs. Her head hit the bottom step and she slid down to land in a heap on the floor.
The first thing she thought about was her baby. She wrapped her arms around her middle and prayed she hadn’t hurt the child. Then she tried to get up, but she found that her back hurt too much to move. Then she turned her head and found that her head was hurting as well. When she ran her hand down the back of her head, it came away bloody. Oh, God! She’d busted her head open. That’s when she felt the pain in her head.
Janet tried to roll over but couldn’t stand the pain to her back and hips. Tears began to flow as she realized she was stuck until the men got home that evening. She didn’t feel anything wet between her legs, but she couldn’t reach that far without jarring her back.
Her head began pounding after a little while. Then she worried about whatever it was that had run between her legs coming back. How had it gotten in and what was it? It had looked to be about the size of a small cat. Wa
s it dangerous? She couldn’t remember whether she had read anything about it or not. She thought she remembered there being something about it, but she couldn’t concentrate with her head pounding like it was.
It was cool down in the cellar and before long, and she felt herself begin to shiver. She worried that she was going into shock. That couldn’t be good for her, especially not with having a busted head. If she fell unconscious, she wouldn’t be able to watch for the creature.
“Greg, I wish you were here. I’m so scared.”
Several long minutes later, she felt herself begin to drift. What if they didn’t find her down there? Then she remembered that the pantry door was open so they were bound to find her. But what if the creature closed the door? They might not find her for days. They could think that a wild animal had run off with her.
Just as she began to fall asleep, the creature started down the stairs toward her. She screamed thinking it would scare it away, but it just stood at the middle step looking at her.
* * * *
Greg looked over at Steven and laughed.
The other man had a black eye from running into a board and busting his nose. It really wasn’t funny, but what was funny was how Janet would treat him. She was going to smother him with attention. Greg thought it was funny. The other man hated it when he did something stupid.
“Man, you can laugh all you want, but it will be me she’s all over tonight, not you.”
“I know. I can’t help seeing you walk into that board though because you were too busy talking about her.”
“Well Kirk and Brad talk about Carmen all the time. We should be talking about Janet the same way.”
“And look what happens when you do. You end up with a black eye.” Greg shook his head.
“You don’t love her, do you, Greg?”
Greg didn’t take his eyes of the road now. He had dreaded this question for a long time.
“Greg?”
“No. I don’t love her. I care about her. She means the world to me, but I guess I’m just not that sort of person. Either that or she just isn’t the one for me. I mean, we knew that we might not fall in love with our wives when we agreed to be a part of this.”