by Marla Monroe
“Oh, I nearly forgot to ask. How is Megan doing? I met her on the shuttle. We were in the same area.” Hannah was ashamed that she hadn’t said anything before now.
“She’s fine. Settling in well here. Thanks for asking. I’ll tell her you asked about her.”
“See you in a few weeks, Scott.” Edward took the bag from Hannah’s hand and waved at the other man as they walked toward the door.
Once outside, the men steered her toward a row of stores several doors down from the clinic. She felt like that had gone well enough, although she had hoped that if she was going to have to come to the space station she might at least get to talk to Megan. She hadn’t really gotten to know any of the other women very well. For some reason Megan had befriended her almost from the start.
“Here we go. This one looks like it should have what you need to tide you over for a few weeks,” Porter said, opening the door to one of the shops.
When she stepped into the building Hannah nearly turned and ran. It held nothing but underwear as far as she could tell, and not normal underwear either, fancy, lacy things. She could already feel her face warming at the sight of the sheer underthings hanging around.
“Hi there. What can I help you with?” The pretty woman who came forward to help them was probably about Hannah’s age yet she seemed so much older with how she carried herself.
“Um, I’m not sure…” she began only to have Edward cut her off.
“We’re looking for some pretty things for our wife.” He smiled down at her and winked.
Porter had wondered off but quickly returned with a matching pair of pale pink panties and the demi bra that was attached to them. While pretty, she just couldn’t see herself wearing them. She’d feel stupid with something like that under jeans and a T-shirt while she was out weeding the garden.
“I don’t think this is a good place for me to shop, Edward,” she whispered.
“Of course it is, honey. You’ll look gorgeous in pink. I can’t wait to see it on you,” he said.
“They probably don’t have any to fit me, Edward. Can we go? Please?” she almost begged.
He frowned. Then looked over at Porter and pointed to the door. Porter nodded but continued looking at the selections the pretty woman was showing him. Hannah wanted to cry but couldn’t blame Porter for staying there. She followed Edward out the door and kept walking until he stopped her.
“Hey, where are you going?” he asked.
“Back to the transport to wait until you’re ready to go.” She tried to pull her hand from his, but he didn’t let go.
“No. You’re not going to sit in the transport and wait like an errant child. Why didn’t you think they would have your size in there, Hannah? I’m sure they do. I bet Porter comes out with several things for you. I wanted to see you try on some of them,” he said.
“Edward, I’m not that small. They don’t make clothes like that to fit someone like me.” She was horrified that he’d even suggest that she could wear any of those things. She’d hang over if she even managed to get them on in the first place.
“We’ve got to get something straight right now, Hannah. You’re not fat. You’re curvy in all the right places. Of course they have clothes to fit you,” he said with an even deeper frown. “I don’t understand where you got the idea that you’re so big? We’ve never thought of you as big.”
“Because back on Earth, they could never get clothes to fit some of us. We always ended up with men’s shirts and jeans. The women who handed out supplies and clothes were always complaining about those of us who were so hard to fit. They kept saying it was a good thing we were fertile or we’d be out on the streets with the rest of them because we were too big to fool with.” Hannah had to swallow hard to keep from crying. It shouldn’t still hurt, but it did.
“Honey. You’re not big. They were just jealous because you had curves they didn’t have. I can’t believe they let anyone talk to you like that. You’re perfect, Hannah. Stop putting yourself down.” Edward pulled her into his arms then lowered his mouth to hers to kiss her.
Hannah felt the pressure of his lips as he urged her to open for him. When he licked along the seam, she finally let him in and moaned at the wonderful taste of him as he explored her mouth, running his tongue along hers before sucking on it. When he finally pulled back, Hannah wasn’t sure which way was up. They’d kissed her before, but not nearly as thorough as Edward just had.
“No more nonsense about being too big or anything. I mean it, Hannah. I hear you put yourself down once more and I’m going to turn you over my knee and spank that delicious ass of yours. Understand?” he asked, looking into her eyes.
All she could do was nod as he clasped her fingers with his and pulled her alongside him toward the next store. By the time they’d looked around at the shoes and boots, Porter had rejoined them with a giant smile on his face.
“I can’t wait for you to try on what I picked out. You’re going to look amazing in them,” he said.
Hannah’s mouth flew open in horror. “You bought me underwear in there?”
He grinned. “I sure did. They’re all wrapped up in the transport.”
She started to say something but Edward cleared his throat and she remembered his promise to spank her if she said anything bad about herself. Since she didn’t know what he’d consider bad, she kept her mouth shut.
“Did you find some boots yet? You’re going to need them once it gets cold.” Porter pulled her toward the shoes once again.
For the next thirty minutes, they had her try on boots and shoes until she finally confessed to being hungry. Still, they ended up getting a pair of boots and a pair of shoes that would be more comfortable for working in the garden.
“The store clerk said there’s a sandwich shop down here somewhere,” Porter told them.
They found it nestled near a coffee shop. Hannah really was starving now. She hadn’t eaten much the night before and only once slice of toast that morning. It was past noon now. When they ordered, she opted for a salad and a bowl of soup, but both men vetoed that and told her she could have either the salad or the soup but with a sandwich of some type.
“You’ve got to keep up your strength, honey. You’re carrying a child that’s going to be growing very fast. Remember?” Edward said.
“That soup and salad wouldn’t last you two hours, baby girl. You need something more substantial in you,” Porter added.
With a sigh, she knew they were right. She couldn’t try and keep her weight down while she was pregnant. It wasn’t the time. She would have to worry about it once she’d had the baby. Then she would worry about how to work on having a better figure so they would be happy. No matter how much they protested that they liked her just like she was, Hannah knew how men thought. They’d told her often enough when she was a teenager.
She prayed that she wouldn’t gain too much weight with the baby. If she got as big as a house, she’d have so much more trouble than if she only gained ten or fifteen pounds. With the men stuck with her like they were, having an affair wasn’t quite the option it had been on Earth, but knowing they didn’t desire her or were disgusted by her would kill her.
“I can’t wait to see you try on some of those clothes in the store next door. Are you finished, Hannah?” Edward stood up and held out his hand.
She’d hoped they would bypass that one. She’d seen some of the tops and dresses inside through the window. She didn’t want to have to tell them something didn’t fit over and over again, but maybe if she did, they’d realize she was right and stop pushing her to try on something she knew she’d look like a beached whale in. With that happy thought, Hannah followed them out of the café and into the women’s shop. A tiny woman of about twenty-five met them just inside the door.
“Oh, look at you. I’m going to have so much fun fitting you!” she gushed and grabbed Hannah’s hand to pull her toward the back of the store.
Chapter Ten
“Don’t worry about
anything. You two just have a seat over there and I’ll bring her out to let you see what she looks like so you can choose your favorites,” the woman said.
Hannah wasn’t sure what to think as the woman shoved her into a dressing room and told her to strip. She stood in her underwear, arms crossed waiting for the lady to return with God knew what sort of clothes. She expected that none of them would fit and she’d be so embarrassed when she couldn’t model anything for the men.
“Here we are.” The sales clerk pushed into the dressing room with an arm load of clothes and set about hanging them on the hooks around the space. “My name is Anna and one of my husbands and I run this store and the other one helps manage the space station. What do your men do?”
Before she could answer, the woman was handing her something to put on. She looked at it and cringed. It was a dress. She never looked good in dresses. Plus, why would she need one here when they were just trying to survive? Still, she wasn’t going to be rude when the woman had been nice so far.
“They are farmers,” she said as she pulled the pretty sage material over her head, praying it would at least fit.
“Ooh! They’re so important to all of us. We have to have the food they grow to live. Even if they are only growing the grain or the hay for the cattle, we wouldn’t have meat without them. I sure don’t want to eat any of those mantis creatures they talk about.” She shivered daintily then giggled. “Now, turn around and let me zip you up. I do believe it fits perfectly!”
Sure enough, when Anna zipped the dress, it fit without pulling or cutting off her air. She turned to look in the full length mirror in the dressing room and was surprised by what she saw. In the mirror stood a woman wearing a pretty sage green dress that seemed to have been made to fit her slightly rounded belly and gently swelled hips. It didn’t look like a sack stretched over her or a tent meant to hide her. She looked up with tears in her eyes to see Anna frowning at her in the mirror.
“Is something wrong?” the other woman asked.
“No. Not at all. Thank you. This is so pretty.”
The woman smiled but still looked a bit worried. “Go show your men while I decide what you should try on next. That is absolutely amazing on you.”
For the next hour, Hannah let Anna dress her in everything from dresses to shorts, trusting the woman to steer her in the right direction. Over and over again Anna talked about how much she wished she had Hannah’s curves.
“Next to you, I feel like a bean pole. I can’t wait until I start showing and put on some weight in a few months,” she said.
“Showing? Are you pregnant?” Hannah asked.
“Yes. Just a few weeks, but I’m so excited!” Anna exclaimed.
“So am I! We’re going to be having our babies about the same time, I bet.” Hannah laughed, excited at the prospect of someone to talk to who seemed to like her.
“Oh, my God! That’s wonderful! I’m six weeks. How far along are you?” she asked.
Hannah wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m not exactly sure yet. I’m not seeing the doctor until another day. He was out seeing patients today when we came in. I got vitamins though so that I’ll be healthy.”
“You have to come back when you’re ready for maternity clothes. We’ve got the best ones you could imagine. Some of them would be perfect with your hair and skin color. This is wonderful!”
They continued chatting as they left the dressing room for the last time. Porter and Edward looked perfectly content sitting on the chairs talking when she walked out. They both jumped up when they saw her walking toward them.
“Is that all? We were enjoying watching you try things on,” Edward said.
“I think I’ve tried on everything they have in the store. I’m about worn out. Anna’s been great!”
“We can’t thank you enough for taking care of our wife for us,” Porter said.
“It was my pleasure! She’s the sweetest person! So, what did you pick out?” Anna asked walking with them over to the rack of clothes by the counter.
Hannah had to veto some of the outfits as not being practical enough for living on a farm but did let them get her two dresses to wear for special occasions.
“It’s not a good idea to buy too much when I’m going to change in a few months. I might not ever be able to fit into these clothes again after the baby.” Before Edward could say anything with the scowl that settled over his face, she pushed on. “When you have a baby, your body changes, guys. I might have larger boobs and that means some of those things won’t fit anymore.”
That got their attention and smoothed over Edward’s obvious annoyance at her comment about not fitting into her clothes after the baby. Both men eyed her chest with obvious appreciation and perhaps some anticipation as well. She didn’t bother smothering the giggle that escaped.
“Why don’t you stay here until we get this all loaded into the transport, baby girl?” Porter kissed her then grabbed two bags while Edward managed three. “We’ll be right back to get you.”
“I can come with you,” she said.
“No need. We’ve got one more store to look at down this way before we leave. You’d just be making an extra trip for nothing. Rest. You’re bound to be tired after trying on all of those things. We’ll be right back,” Edward assured her before slipping out the door.
“They love you very much,” Anna said with a broad smile.
Hannah started. “Oh, well, I think it’s too soon for that. We don’t really know each other very well yet.”
“Sometimes all it takes is a look. I think they took one look at you and fell head over heels for you. It’s so obvious how happy they are with you.”
“Maybe,” was all she said.
Anna got busy with another customer, leaving Hannah to stew on the other woman’s words. She hoped that they did care about her for more than the fact that she was having their baby, but she didn’t think it was love. It was too soon.
But I already feel as if I love them. I want more than anything to make them happy and for them to love me back.
She could only pray that time would bind them closer to her until they did fall in love with her. She wanted that so very much.
After several more minutes of waiting, Edward walked in and strode directly to her. “Ready, honey?” he asked.
“Where is Porter?” she asked.
“He’s waiting for us next door.” He led her toward the front of the store and Hannah waved bye to Anna.
When they walked into the store, Hannah couldn’t understand why they would be in a store that had jewelry and pictures and such in it. She wasn’t one to want to decorate her home with all that sort of stuff. She hoped they didn’t want to live in a fancy home.
“Why are we here?” she asked Edward in a soft voice.
“You’ll see. Come on.” He drew her with him toward where Porter stood talking to a man behind a counter filled with pretty jewelry.
She dragged her feet as they drew closer to where Porter was studying something on top of the glass case. When she stood just behind him, Edward spoke up.
“Did you find something?”
Porter turned and grinned like a child at Christmas. “I sure did. Come here, Hannah.”
She took a step closer and Edward pushed her the rest of the way. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“You don’t have a ring, baby girl. You need a ring.” Porter picked up one and held his other hand out for hers.
“I don’t have to have a ring, guys.” She was mortified. If they’d been married back on Earth she would have had one already.
“We want one that we picked out on your finger, honey,” Edward said and pushed her closer to Porter.
When Porter took her hand and slid the ring on her finger, she was sure it wouldn’t fit, but it did—perfectly. She dragged her eyes from Porter’s to look down at her hand and gasped. It was perfect. How had he known what she would like?
The sliver ring had no stones, but was etched with black
Celtic designs that called to her. She hadn’t wanted a gold band or one with diamonds in it. Porter had picked out the perfect ring. There was no way she could refuse it. She just nodded and looked up to see him grin even wider.
“Told you she’d like this one,” he said as he bent down and kissed it on her finger.
“My turn,” Edward said and pulled her to him for a proper kiss. When he let her go, she felt light headed and would have dropped to the ground if he’d let her go.
“Looks like you decided on the little love knot,” the man behind the counter said. “Great choice.”
“Thank you for all of your help,” Edward told the man. “Are you ready to go, honey?”
She nodded and let them lead her out of the shop and across the street to where they’d moved the transport. Evidently while she’d been waiting on them, they’d gone ring hunting. They’d surprised her with the ring. Had they picked out anything else, she’d have probably refused to wear it. Instead, they’d chosen something she couldn’t refuse. It looked just like the rings her parents had worn to the day they died.
* * * *
“Look at her,” Porter whispered. “She’s worn out.”
Edward chuckled. “She probably tried on half the store at that shop. If Anna hadn’t been married, I might have kissed her for how she made Hannah feel. She had fun.”
“She really thinks she’s too big?” Porter asked again looking down at where their woman’s head lay against his shoulder.
“Yeah. I don’t get it. She’s perfect. I love how good she feels in my arms and the fact that I can hold on to her at night.”
“You know how people are. There’s always someone who has to try and tear someone else down to make themselves feel better. I love her just like she is. I don’t want her to change, but if she does, it won’t make any difference. She’s here with us and is giving us a son. I’d care about her for that alone,” Porter told the other man.