Chapter 21

The rest of the summer was busy with the garden and the crops. There were also canning and freezing to start. Both of my wives seemed very happy during this time, and I continued to read their ancestors' diaries and make notes from them in the evenings. The second week of August we heard from some friends in Boston that the first batches of O'Connell's Irish Ale to be produced there were being tested at The Burren and its sister pub Skelling. There was still some work to be done on the brew.

Also by the first week of August, I had decided that if I was going to write these stories using material from the diaries, I was going to need more writing skills than I presently had. I checked the University's web site for writing classes for authors and found one that wouldn't interfere with my other classes and decided to try it.

We went in to school early during sign up week this year to get our class schedules and book lists. I was a Senior this year and didn't have any trouble getting the extra writing class. My wives were Sophomores this year. We picked up all of the books we would need also.

Ever since removing the curse in June, we had been attending church in town, but my wives hadn't been singing in the choir. The old minister stopped us on Sunday, the 11th of August, to inquire if everything was all right.

"Oh yes, Reverend. We are just not singing lately. We have a lot on our minds and school starts soon, so we have other things to do," Katie told him without being specific. Later Margie told me the real reason.

"We won't be coming into town for church after we get pregnant. We are reducing our commitment now so that when we don't show up there won't be any questions," she told me just before she kissed me, and I was way too busy then to worry about what she had said.

Classes started on Monday, the 19th of August, and it was the usual opening day disaster. My wives had been very passionate for the last week-and-a-half, and I found it hard to get up for classes today. They on the other hand were very cheerful, and continued that way all week. They eventually gave me some rest at night and started concentrating on their schoolwork, but they still seemed very happy.

They seemed even happier after the beginning of September and were singing in the music room every afternoon. This lasted through the first three weeks of September. Saturday morning, the 20th of September, they both threw up after getting up and starting breakfast. It happened again on Sunday morning also. That was when I asked them what was wrong.

"We're pregnant!" Margie told me.

"Pregnant!?" I asked in shock.

"Yes, we missed our periods the first of the month. That's why we were so happy, but we never thought about morning sickness," Katie told me before both wives rushed over to the sink again, and tried to bring up everything they had eaten in the last week.

"Oh God," Margie said after they settled down again, "Mama never mentioned morning sickness when she talked about having babies."

"You need to see a doctor if you are pregnant," I told them.

"Yes, we need to see an OB/GYN. We'll check at school tomorrow," Katie told us.

"I'm going to call some of the women that we met in Boston to see what they know about a spell for morning sickness," Margie told us.

"We can contact Etain in the Otherworld if they can't help you," I told her.

We didn't go into church that Sunday, as my wives weren't up to it.

That afternoon, Margie called some of the female Talents they had met at The Burren to ask about a spell for morning sickness. She didn't get any spells, but they did tell her about a tea that she could make from some common herbs to fight its effects. It was made from grated ginger root, peppermint leaf, spearmint leaf, and chamomile flower, and wouldn't harm the baby. The sisters had all of those herbs in their herbal supplies and made up the tea to drink that day and each day for the next couple of weeks until the morning sickness disappeared.

Monday they got advice at school on an OB/GYN and got an appointment to see him on the 1st of October. This was where things could got tricky. Were we ready to admit that I was married to both of them? The three of us weren't sure of that, and my wives decided to go to the doctor's office alone this first time. If things seemed all right, I could go with them later. If too many questions were asked, they wouldn't tell them who got them pregnant. It seemed like the prudent thing to do.

Afterward Katie told me that the doctor confirmed that they were about six weeks pregnant, and then asked if they wanted an abortion. She said that she and Margie came unglued at that point, and were ready to turn the doctor into a frog or something similar. Luckily, he saw their agitation and recommended that they see another OB/GYN, if they were going to keep the babies. The sisters left his office in a very bad mood.

"Can you imagine that?" Margie demanded in anger. "After all of the time we have wanted a baby, and that fool was going to give us an abortion!" I had never seen Margie so mad. The next day they got an appointment with the other doctor, who was a woman, for Thursday the 4th of October.

Katie told me about the trip to the female OB/GYN that evening. This doctor was a lot more understanding she told me, but did ask if they were married.

"Does it make a difference?" Margie asked her.

"Yes, in a financial way. Who is going to pay the bills?" the doctor asked us.

"We will," I told her. "We have a trust fund and can draw money from it to pay the bills for this as well as for our schooling."

"You aren't worried about raising the children alone?" the doctor asked us. "You aren't worried about child support?"

"No," Margie told her. "It's a very large trust fund, and will take care of us a long as we live."

"You two are certainly an enigma," the doctor told us. "When I first examined you, I thought from the condition of your vaginas that you were much older than the 21 that you indicated on your histories. But looking at you, I wouldn't think you were more that 17 years old."

"Yes, we like sex a lot, but always used protection before, but we wanted to get pregnant now," I told her.

"So this was intentional, and not an accident?" the doctor asked us.

"Oh yes. It is definitely intentional," Margie told her.

"All right, I'll need to see you once a month. Since you are in school at the University, the appointments will be in the afternoon. What are you taking, by the way?" she asked us.

"We're in the Linguistics program," I told her.

"Linguistics?" the doctor asked us.

"Yes, we intend to specialize in Gaelic and other Celtic languages," Margie told her as we prepared to leave.

"Those languages aren't commonly spoken anymore," the doctor protested.

"They are among the people that we know," I told her with a grin before we left to pay the bill and get out next appointment," Katie finished.

By the end of October my wives needed new clothes, as they couldn't get into their old ones any more, and by the time we left for my parents' house for Thanksgiving, they had gained enough weight and were showing their condition enough to wear maternity clothes. My Mother was shocked when she greeted us on Tuesday, the 26th of November.

"Are you girls pregnant?" she asked in shock.

"Oh yes," Margie answered with a big smile.

"But how ... when!!?" Mom stammered.

"The usual way in late August," Katie told her.

"When are you due?" Mom asked still startled.

"In late May," Margie told her.

"And you're this large already?" Mom asked in amazement.

"Yes, we gained a lot of weight, and started showing very quickly," Katie told her.

Needless to say Dad, and later Uncle Dan, were also surprised at this revelation. My wives helped Mom with preparations on Wednesday, but on Thanksgiving, Katie and Margie were upstairs resting most of the afternoon, and my siblings didn't see them until they came down for Thanksgiving dinner. The shock in the dining room when they appeared was something else to see.

"What the hell is going on here?" Peter, my oldest brother, asked.

"Yes, what is going on? What have you done, Mark?" William my older brother asked.

"Take it easy, all of you," Mom told them in a loud voice, and looked expectantly at Dad.

"Hhmmm," Dad went as he cleared his throat, "It seems that your brother married both of these ladies in Ireland in August of last year. We haven't told any of you before this, as it's a bit illegal, but now that they are pregnant, I don't know how they can hide it any longer."

"We don't intend to hide the fact that we are pregnant," Katie told them with a smile.

"We couldn't even if we wanted to. Just look at us!" Margie added.

"We will keep the fact that we are married a secret, however," Katie continued. "There are plenty of single women that have families today."

"But how will you name them?" Carol, my youngest sister, asked in confusion.

"Why, they'll be O'Connells, naturally," Katie assured them. "They will inherit our land and our fortune."

"What fortune!?" everyone asked all at once.

"Why the $195 million that we have in investments and the $800 to $900 million in gold," Katie told them, nonchalantly. The silence for a short time after that announcement was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

"WHAT!?" came the reply from ten throats when what Katie had said sank in.

"Are you serious?" Dad asked in amazement after a time.

"Oh, yes. Our family has made a lot of money over time," Margie told them. "How else could we afford to go to Ireland last year, and all of us go to school full time also?"

"We all thought you had money because of the nice clothes you wear and that car you drive, but we never dreamed that you had that kind of money. Why didn't you say something before?" Mom asked.

"We are very private about our money and our lives. There is much that no one knows about us, or our family. We believe it is best to keep it that way," Katie told them.

"Is there something wrong or illegal?" Dad asked.

"No Dad," I answered, speaking for the first time. "It just isn't the right time for certain things to be brought out. There are things that concern not only Katie and Margie, but me also. Things that we need more time with before we reveal them. Now just isn't the time."