Building the Nursery

by Amy DeMeritt

  “Get dressed.”

  I nod and rush to my dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. I’m dressed before they even reach the top of the stairs, and I rush to be at her side to help my wife down the steps.

  “Do you want me to carry you?” Awenasa looks over her shoulder with a small smile and shakes her head. “I can walk, puppy.”

  Sequoia allows me to retake my place with my arm wrapped around Awenasa, supporting her under her shoulder. Symone and Shannon help to get several couch pillows propped in the corner of the sectional sofa, and then I help Awenasa sit down with her legs stretched out. She takes a deep breath, and clutches her stomach, leaning on her side some.

  Shannon runs off and returns a few moments later with the trashcan from the bathroom down the hall, setting it on the floor below Awenasa’s face. Symone sits with Awenasa’s feet in her lap and resumes her comforting gentle stroke on the tops of her feet. I sit down next to her head, and run my fingers over Awenasa’s forehead and cheek. She smiles at me, and puckers her lips. I give her a soft kiss on the lips and her smile widens as she closes her eyes.

  Madison and Sam sit on the other side of me and Shannon sits with Symone. They shuffle so they’re cradling almost Awenasa’s entire length of her legs in their laps so Shannon can help rub her feet.

  “Hey, do you want to try this on your neck?”

  Jaime perches just on the edge of the couch in front of Awenasa and caresses her cheek, making my wife open her eyes and look up. Jaime is dressed in a pair of light-weight sweatpants and a tee shirt and is holding up a thick rubber medical water bottle that she has filled with ice. Awenasa nods once, so Jaime carefully brushes my wife’s long hair aside, lays a dry cloth on her neck, and then places the water bottle on her neck.

  “How is that? Too cold?”

  “No, it’s good. Thank you. Are you going to be late for work now?”

  “I texted my office admin to cancel my meetings. I’ll reschedule them later. I’ll have to go in for the workshop this afternoon though.” Awenasa opens her eyes with a smile and takes one of Jaime’s hands to kiss the top of it. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

  “Its fine. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “I’m really hungry, but I don’t think I can eat much right now.” Jaime brushes her fingers through Awenasa’s hair, before resting it on her hip. “Do you want to try some toast?”

  “Yes, please. All of you need to eat too.”

  “Ok, I’ll get your toast first.”

  Jaime kisses Awenasa’s forehead, and as she stands up, I notice my mom and Sequoia are standing back watching us with curious smiles. My mom takes Jaime’s place with a cup of tea in her hands and motions for me to help Awenasa sit up.

  “Try to take very small sips of this.”

  Awenasa takes the mug and all of us watch with anxious nervousness as she takes a small sip of the tea.

  “What’s going on?”

  Sara and Keira walk in looking concerned, and Sara sits close to us on the edge of the coffee table.

  “Awenasa has morning sickness.”

  “Anything we can do?” Our mom turns to face Sara and nods once. “Yes, I want to make a strong bone broth for her. If I give you a list, can you run to the grocery store?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Sara pulls her phone out and hands it to our mom with a memo-note screen open. Jaime is back with the toast before she finishes, so my mom stands and allows Jaime to take her place perched next to Awenasa’s hip. Jaime tears off a small piece and feeds it to my wife. Again, we watch her carefully. Awenasa takes a sip of tea to wash it down, but nearly as soon as she swallows, she’s leaning forward gagging. Jaime is quick and places her hand under her mouth, catching a small puddle of tea and bread in her cupped hand. I lift the trashcan, and Jaime carefully dumps her hand in the bin, before helping Awenasa reposition to be over the trashcan.

  Sequoia comes over with a wet towel and cleans Jaime’s hand for her and wipes Awenasa’s mouth, even though she doesn’t have anything on her lips.

  “I’m sorry.” Jaime smiles at Awenasa and rubs her leg. “It’s ok. I’m sorry you feel so sick. Do you want to try watching a movie?” Awenasa takes a sip of tea and nods. “Ok, but can all of you please eat so you’re not sick too. My mom can sit with me till you’ve eaten.”

  “Ok, I’ll leave your toast here in case you want to try eating again.”

  All of us give Awenasa a kiss on the forehead and as we’re walking out of the room, Sequoia takes my seat next to Awenasa.

  “Hey, when are we going shopping?” I look over at the dining room table where Talia and Joey are eating with our dad, Tahoma, and Madison’s siblings. “I don’t know. Awenasa has really bad morning sickness and can’t keep anything down.” Talia looks concerned, but also frustrated. “I’m sorry she’s not feeling good, but does that really change our plans? I mean, isn’t that one of the benefits of having so many wives? Plus, Mom and Sequoia are here.”

  “I know she doesn’t absolutely need me, but I need to be here with her. This is her first day feeling like this. I can’t leave her like that.”

  “Ok, I understand. If you can’t go out, can I borrow one of the many cars you have around this place and go exploring?”

  “By yourself?” Talia scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not a child, Kayla. In a year, I’m going to be in a completely different state all by myself, when I go away to college.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean, you may not be the only person who wants to go out and explore. Maybe Joey, Ashley, and Jacob want to go out.” Talia smiles and relaxes her arms. “So, that’s a yes?”

  “Yeah, you can borrow a car.”

  “How about some spending money?” I laugh and take the glass of juice Shannon is offering me. “Yeah, sure. Let me see how much cash I have.”

  “You could just give me a credit card.” I laugh hard and turn to walk away. “In your dreams, baby sister. You’d probably come back here with your own private jet or something.”

  I go to our office and grab a stack of twenties out of the safe. As I set it down in front of Talia, she gasps and snatches it up, fanning the bills with her thumb.

  “You’re just giving me five-grand?”

  “You have to evenly share it with whoever goes with you.” Joey hops in his seat with a giant smile on his face. “Can I buy a drone with mine?”

  “Sure, but you should take Dad with you to buy that so you don’t get ripped off for a piece of junk.”

  “I think your sister wants a grownup-free day today. Joey, I’ll take you to look for a drone another day. Spend the money on something else.”

  “Go get dressed, squirt. We’re going out.” Joey jumps up with a big smile and runs out of the room. Talia looks up at me with a grin and fans the bills again. “So, how many of these do you have back there? You know I’ll be here for a full week.” I laugh and shake my head. “Go get ready, you spoiled brat.”

  Talia stands up with a giant smile and walks out of the dining room clutching the stack of twenties to her chest. Jacob and Ashley look between each other and look up at me as if unsure what to do. Madison walks over and loops her arm in mine to face them.

  “If it’s weird for you, you don’t have to take the money, but it’s not a big deal if you do.” Jacob stands up and gulps back the rest of his coffee, before he smiles and shrugs a shoulder. “We’ll see. It might be more fun to watch Talia and Joey spend it all. Besides a private jet, is there anything I should try to steer Talia away from while we’re out?”

  “Drugs and hookers.” Everyone laughs at me and Madison smacks me in the stomach. “Please don’t let her be a big nerd and buy school supplies or something.”

  “I can do that. I hope your wife feels better. Is there anything we can grab for her while we’re out?”

  “No, Talia would hate it if we turn her big adventure into an errand trip.”

  �
��Hey, uh, girls?” Shannon’s mom, Debbie, walks in with a hand towel folded over as if she’s hiding a small dead animal in it. I turn to face her full on and she slowly opens the towel just a pinch, and whispers, “Does this belong to one of you? It was in the dryer.”

  I lift the towel more, revealing a pair of hunter green lace panties.

  “They’re either Shannon’s or Symone’s.”

  Debbie gives me a look like she’s disgusted with me and walks over to Shannon, who lifts the panties to look at them more closely.

  “Symone, did you do laundry last?” Symone walks over wiping her hands on a napkin and chewing a bite of food. “I don’t wash my panties in the machines. You and I have that same pair. What size is it?” Shannon looks at the tag and Symone smiles and shakes her head. “That’s yours. I’m a size bigger than you. You know you shouldn’t wash those in the machine. It wears them out faster.”

  “I know. I typically hand-wash them. This pair just snuck passed me.”

  “Here, I’m finished eating. I’ll put them away for you.” Shannon hands her the panties, and Symone starts to walk out, but she stops and asks, “Your drawer is on the top and to the far-right?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Debbie scoffs and spins around quickly, looking at Symone in disbelief. Symone just smiles and walks out of the room. Debbie spins around to look at Shannon for only a moment, before facing me with her arms crossed on her chest and giving me a very dirty look.

  “Ok, Debbie, what did I do wrong now? Symone does a favor for your daughter so she can eat and go be with her sick wife, but I know you’ve already twisted it into something horrible that is somehow my fault. Come on, tell me how horrible I am.”

  “Why do they have the same panties? Did you see them on Symone and then want my daughter to have them too so you can live out some kind of fantasy through her?”

  “Wow, that was even more twisted than I expected. You really should write books. You would really write some good scandals.” Debbie actually smiles, but quickly replaces it with a scowl. “Believe it or not, they are very close friends and go shopping together. They bought those together.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a bit strange for your ‘best friend’ to have the same panties as your wife?”

  “I’m sure there are thousands of women out there with the same panties as my wife.”

  “So, you think I could write books?” I laugh and nod as I turn to the counter to grab a muffin. I lean against the counter taking a bite of the muffin. “I think you could do anything you want. You have a great imagination, so I’m sure you could pump out some interesting novels.”

  “Maybe I will.” She smiles and walks out of the room without another word. Shannon kisses my lips and hands me a plate of food. “Thanks, sweetie. Eat up.”

  I take the offered plate, and all of us sit around the dining room table to eat. The breakfast hash is cold because it took us so long to get down here to eat, but it still tastes amazing. My wives and even the squad are fantastic cooks, but there is just something about my mom’s cooking that can’t be matched completely.

  When we come back into the family room, Symone is sitting on the couch with Awenasa’s feet in her lap and she’s rubbing the tops of her feet again. Awenasa has her eyes closed and looks like she’s asleep on Sequoia’s chest. Sequoia looks up with a smile and puts her finger to her lips, signaling us to be quiet, and confirming my suspicion.

  All of us take a seat, either on the other side of Sequoia or Symone. Sam nudges my leg and nods towards Jaime and Symone with a smile. They’re sitting close together and Jaime is reaching over onto Symone’s lap to take over rubbing Awenasa’s feet, giving Symone a break. Symone tentatively slides a hand down between hers and Jaime’s leg, slipping her hand into Jaime’s hand resting on the couch between them.

  I feel a twinge of arousal and jealousy at the same time. I blink hard and look away, finding myself eye to eye with Awenasa. She’s smiling at me in an understanding way that makes my heartrate quicken.

  This morning was very intense and we haven’t had a chance to talk about what it means because Awenasa’s morning sickness kicked in. I don’t know what my wives want to see happen, but something has definitely changed between all of us. I just hope my wives are open to allowing both of them into our family, because the way Sam led Jaime and Symone on makes it sound like if they can be together that they can be with us. I’m worried about this blowing up and I end up losing both of them, which would destroy me. Jaime said Symone and her discussed this already and they didn’t think they’d be completely happy just the two of them, but they’d be completely happy with all of us.

  Awenasa takes my hand and kisses it, before tugging on it, silently asking me to move closer. I scoot over so I’m sitting pressed against Sequoia’s hip, and Sequoia lifts her arm to wrap around my shoulders. She pulls me in close and kisses the top of my head.

  “I must tell all of you that it gives me great comfort to see the level of love all of you have for each other. It helps soothe the ‘always-concerned’ mother in me to know my daughter has such a strong family to support her through this pregnancy and through life.”

  I smile and kiss Sequoia on the cheek, before laying my head on her chest so my eyes are in line with Awenasa’s.

  “Your mom is really cool.” Awenasa smiles really big and Sequoia runs her hand over my head. “Yeah, she is.”

  “How are you feeling? Are you ready to try to eat?”

  “I think so. Can you make me peanut butter and jam – the blueberry jam?”

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “Warm milk with honey and cinnamon.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but you can’t have cinnamon during your pregnancy. It can cause uterine contractions and induce early labor. This early on and in small amounts, it may not be a problem, but it’s probably best to just avoid it. Why don’t you try vanilla instead?” We look over at my mom sitting in the armchair across from us, who is watching us with a proud loving smile. “Ok. Vanilla sounds good too. We need to go over the herbs and supplements I can and can’t have. I’ve done some research, but I didn’t know about the cinnamon.”

  “I have it all written out for you, but we’ll go over it later when you’re feeling better. I’ll make your sandwich and milk.” My mom stands, but I sit up and shake my head. “I can do it.”

  “I don’t get to take care of all of you very often. Let me do this.”

  “Ok, thanks, Mom.”

  She pats my cheek with a loving smile and walks out of the room. Sequoia pulls on my shoulder, so I lay back down on her chest to snuggle with her and Awenasa.

  My wife kisses my lips, and says, “Your mom is really cool too.”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing? Sam, why don’t we snuggle like that?”

  Sam’s and Madison’s parents have walked in, and Eliza, Sam’s mom, is grinning at Sam like a big goofball. Sam rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, while leaning into Shannon.

  “Don’t be weird, Mom. Awenasa has morning sickness.” Eliza smiles sympathetically at Awenasa and sits perched on the arm of the couch next to Sam. “I’m sorry, honey. When I was pregnant with Sam, I had to eat and drink a little bit of something before I could get out of bed in the morning. I kept crackers and water on the nightstand and spent about twenty minutes slowly eating and sipping the water before I tried to get up. Most mornings, it helped. After I was up for the day, drinking hot tea or even just plain hot water helped. Oh, and the smell of lemon – that was a lifesaver. I don’t know why, but the smell of lemon helps.”

  “I did the lemon scent too.” Susan, Madison’s mom, sits in the armchair my mom had been in, and crosses her leg over her knee. “Fresh cut lemon is best, but even a good lemon candle or oil infuser will help. Do you have a good candle store around here? We can go out and buy some for you.”

  “Yeah, hang on. Let me text Sara to get some lemons. She went
to the grocery store.”

  Madison jumps up and runs upstairs to get her phone. Shannon’s mom and grandmother, Debbie and Yvette, walk in, so Awenasa slowly sits up and motions for Symone and Jaime to move in closer, so the rest of them can sit down. Awenasa slides her hand in Symone’s, interlocking fingers with her, and cradles her hand in her lap, which does not go unnoticed by anyone. All of the mothers’ glance at each other and then at their daughters, but no one says anything. The only one that doesn’t react or seem surprised by it is Sequoia.

  Madison comes rushing back in with her phone and plops down between Shannon and I, halfway landing on my lap because she’s not paying attention. She giggles and kisses my lips.

  “Sorry, baby. Sara is still at the store. She’s going to get a bunch of lemons and said she’ll look for the candles too. She wants to know if there’s anything else she should pick up while they’re out.”

  “I don’t know. All this talk about lemons is making me thirsty for lemonade. Oh, and cheeseburgers and those tempura-fried vegetables that Jade makes.” Madison giggles and kisses my lips before relaying my craving to Sara. “Oh, we should have chocolate cake too.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t accidently get pregnant too?” I look at Eliza and gasp, grabbing my stomach. “What? No!” I look at my wives with fear and panic flooding my veins. “You don’t think? Do you?” Everyone laughs hard and Awenasa rubs my knee. “No, puppy. You like food. Cravings is nothing new for you.”

  “Oh, good. Oh, my god, don’t scare me like that. Wait, do you think I should take a test to be sure?” Everyone laughs again and Madison tickles my side. “No, you don’t need to take a test. We were very careful.”

  “Why does that terrify you so much? You do plan on having a child of your own, don’t you?”

  “Each child we have will be her own. Kayla doesn’t have to bear a child for it to be hers.” Madison is staring hard at her dad, and tension immediately fills the room like root beer foam exploding from a shaken bottle. “But, you are going to have a child, aren’t you?”