Chapter 12

He turned to the congregation. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr John Freeman and the two Mrs Freeman. You may applaud.”

After a burst of handclapping, he gestured to John to proceed. John offered an arm to each of his brides, and they paraded down the centre aisle to the front door of the chapel.

Once they had exited, the pastor told the hearers, “A buffet and drinks are available outside, provided it is still dry. If it gets wet, we move to the canteen. The happy trio wish to meet you all outside.”

He led the way. The trio, along with the Best Man and Bridesmaid, were standing near a set of tables laden with finger food. Bob’s wife and child hastened to his side. His wife wanted to ensure that her husband was given his food and drink, while he looked after the baby. He could do that while still in the receiving line, she reckoned.

For everyone else to get at the food, they had to first pass the newly-weds, Best Man and bridesmaid, then a table with drinks.

Catherine’s parents were first in line. Her mother embraced Catherine, who said to her, “Welcome, Mummy. You know John and Elizabeth, I think. She used to be Miss Frobisher.”

Her father looked at Elizabeth in recognition, finally declaring, “OUR Miss Frobisher?”

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at him, correcting him, “Mrs Freeman, please!”

Catherine’s mother grabbed him by the arm, declaring, “Your daughter-in-law, dear. Now please move along.” Dawes looked bemused at what had just happened.

The other sets of parents were next, and were told how much the girls were in love with John. They accepted the way things were, and congratulated all three.

Next came the Governor, accompanied by two ladies, both obviously pregnant. They knew the Colonel, but the black lady was a stranger. The Governor explained, “This lovely lady is my other wife, Ruth. She is a psychologist and is our Director of Social Services. I am so proud of both of them, and they are carrying my first children.”

Catherine jumped in with, “Elizabeth and I are both carrying John’s first children, too!”

Ruth’s face lit up. “How wonderful, ladies. We must get a maternity hospital set up as soon as possible, if this is the way things are going to go.”

Once the rest of the small congregation had congratulated the trio, Elizabeth took it upon herself to introduced her parents to the other two sets of parents, and make sure they were all happy at their children’s marriage. While they found it surprising, they accepted it as a fait accompli, and chatted together.

Mr Dawes made a point of speaking with her again.

“Miss ... sorry, Mrs Freeman, I hadn’t realised you had also taken a shine to our butler. I thought it was just Catherine. When did this happen?”

Elizabeth decided to be vague. “It happened slowly, Mr Dawes. By the time I left your employ, I had feelings towards him, and once I got a job with his company, we came to know each other again, and I realised I was smitten. I spoke with Catherine, and rather than fight over John, we agreed to share him. We were prepared to just live with him as a family, but he wanted to marry us both, so coming here was the only solution, and as it turned out, the best solution.

We have all got jobs in the colony, including your clever Catherine, so we can make our permanent home here, and start our family.”

Dawes was amiable. “So you want to have children?”

“Yes. Catherine and I, both.” She had decided to let Catherine announce her pregnancy.

He already knew. “Catherine surprised us by saying that you and she have already made a start that way.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, isn’t it wonderful? John is so happy. We are planning our house to be big enough for a growing family.”

“Well, congratulations on both events. You are an efficient young woman, so I hope you will encourage Catherine to be a good wife and mother.”

“Yes, sir. That will be one of my jobs in the family. I trust everything got sorted out, legally, back in England?”

“More or less, after a bit of haggling. Financially, we took a hit, but Mother here says we can cope. She has insisted that we do not get involved in underhand dealings in future, so I have accepted her orders.”

“I am so pleased for you in that case, now that you are my in-laws. I had my suspicions at times, I have to admit. Perhaps you will get a chance to come visit when the babies come along. We will be very pleased to see you.”

Mrs Dawes now saw more to the former Miss Frobisher than she had done before, and became thoughtful. She remarked, “I apologise for the way I treated you in our employ, Elizabeth. I was very selfish. I think you and John will be good for my Catherine. We will probably take up that invitation, when it comes.”

Elizabeth leaned over and kissed Mrs Dawes on the cheek. “Thank you for coming ... mother.” Mrs Dawes smiled happily.

John’s parents took the opportunity to speak at more length to their son.

His father said, “John, we have not given you the attention in the past that we ought to have. We are proud of what you have achieved, and for you to marry two wonderful girls is a real bonus. Please don’t forget us with your new life in this colony.”

He went on, “We still thought you were in the army. You were so secretive about your army work, we wondered what you were up to. Your Elizabeth told us you were invalided out and retrained as a butler, of all things! She says you have got a job in the security department here, as a Major; and she is a Sergeant in the same department; and that even Catherine has a job, making a star map of the heavens here. Life is going to be interesting for you, young man.”

“You have that right, Dad. The reason I was so secretive about my army life was that I managed to get into the SAS, and it was during an operation that I got injured. Physical fitness for the SAS is a must for that service, and with a plate in my leg I was not up to the standard any more. Here, it doesn’t matter so much, and I have a job training other members of the Security Department. My boss, Colonel Kempe, was in the U.S. Special Forces, so she understands my background and we get on well.”

“She? Your boss is a woman?”

“Yes, Dad. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Well, no. It was just a surprise, that’s all.”

“She also happens to be the wife of the Governor of the Colony. See the man over by the food table, with the black lady by his side? That’s the Governor.”

“The Governor was at your wedding? Well, well. I didn’t expect your boss to be a black woman, either.”

“Dad, you have it wrong. The black lady is his OTHER wife. The white woman in the uniform, with the baby bump: that is the Colonel.”

“The Governor has two wives? That explains a lot.”

“In part, that is so. When his first wife told him to marry Ruth as well, he had to do something about the Colony laws before that could happen. Between them, they set up the colony laws to be minimal; with one bank organisation, no complicated court system, and only one state-approved religion: the Church of Love. There are no income taxes; investment from Earth is banned. All local companies have to be locally-owned and financed, and the corporate taxes are low as well.”

His father was amazed. “How does the Colony support itself, then? Subsidy from Earth?”

“Theoretically, yes, but the colony has exports that sell well on Earth, and that produces a considerable income for the Colony.”

“Exports by themselves can’t produce enough to support a colony, John.”

“True, but exotic weddings on another planet sell well. A couple from Earth coming to have their wedding here pay through the nose for the privilege: half a million dollars a time. There are plenty of families with money – and they are queueing up to spend it!”

His father was staggered. “I hope yours cost a lot less!”

“Yes. Local residents get married for cost price only. It pays to live here, Dad.”

“No doubt, but your Mum and I don’t need to marry again.” He grinned as he said this. “You looking to start a family, son?”

“Well, we have made a start. Both of them are expecting!”

His father grinned, but his mother admonished him, “Shame on you, anticipating the wedding.”

“Mum, they insisted. It was almost a competition, to see who could become pregnant first.”

“Still, I brought you up to be a good boy.”

“And I promise I will be a good father, Mum.”

She nodded, mollified.

“Have you had all you want to eat?” He asked them, to remind them of the food. His mother suddenly realised she had not eaten, and hurried her husband over to the tables to get a plateful. John grinned as he watched, then went back to his wives.

As he turned, he bumped into Kathleen. Concerned that he might have overbalanced her, he grabbed her arms quickly. “Sorry, Kathleen. How are you coping, with all this too-ing and fro-ing. Thanks for your help with the wedding. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

She pulled herself closer, and her breasts rubbed against John, startling him. He had not been thinking of Kathleen in a sexual way, and this was a surprise.

She was happy to accept his offer. “Can I have a sherry, please, if we have that? As for food, almost anything will do me. I spent years being almost ignored, as a cripple, and had to take what I could get.”

John felt humbled, and hurried to get Kathleen what she wanted. He rushed back to her first with a chair and napkin, so that she could sit with the napkin on her lap, then collected the heaped plate which he laid on the napkin for her, then fetched the drink.

He told her, “Sit, and get that down you, my dear, and let me know if you want your drink refreshed, or anything else you need. Just call me. I have to circulate with the guests. Should I get Bob to be on hand for you as well?”

“No, just you, please, John. You are the only man I want for this. If I need anyone else, Elizabeth or Catherine would be fine.”

Catherine had been watching this interchange, and caught Elizabeth’s eye and nodded in their direction. Elizabeth smiled back, and gave a tiny nod of acknowledgement. Things were going as they planned.

The rest of the reception went swimmingly, with plenty of smiles evident. The girls were telling more of the guests that they were pregnant, and getting expressions of delight. There was a buzz around this wedding that indicated the general feeling in the colony, that the population approved of the way things were working on this planet. Earth’s events often exhibited ambivalent impressions through social divisions. Here it was all positive, everyone being viewed as on the same social level.

Even the visitors from Earth noticed, and when they returned home, they gushed about how wonderful the weddings were on the planet Home. The parents of the happy trio all returned on the one Landership, and continued their socialising on the way back to Earth. By the time they arrived at Ascension Island, they felt they were all friends, and the plane flight back to the UK cemented that; so much so that the Dawes invited the other parents to their London home for a meal. They promised to get the others on to a York-bound train from London whenever they wanted. The trains were every half-hour, most of the day.

On Home colony, the marriage partners returned to their accommodation, taking Kathleen with them, while Bob and family headed to their own accommodation. He had work the next morning. Kathleen tried to beg off being part of the wedding party, as she had the operation due next day, but Elizabeth insisted that she stay a bit longer, so that she would be too tired to do more than sleep; there was no sense in spending time worrying about the morrow.

Kathleen stayed for another drink, while John took every opportunity to kiss and cuddle his new wives. They enjoyed the fuss, then Catherine told her husband, “John, we mustn’t have Kathleen left out. Give her a kiss and cuddle as well. She did a grand job for us girls today, and needs to be properly thanked.

John went over and wrapped his arms round Kathleen, kissing her soundly, and found he enjoyed the experience. Kathleen responded positively, kissing him back with fervour, and hugging him close.

Unsure of himself, once he was released, he sidled over to Elizabeth and whispered, “Was I too forward with Kathleen, darling? I don’t want to upset you, but she was quite enthusiastic about the kissing.”

While Catherine went to chat with Kathleen, Elizabeth whispered back, “You have to remember, dear, that she has been deprived of true affection through her disability. Everyone assumed she was a fragile soul and avoided getting too close. She misses affection, so we are trying to give her some. Feel free to take some liberties with her; Catherine and I won’t mind. We already have you snared for life.”

He was dubious, but willing to do what was best. “Very well, dear.” He went back to Catherine and Kathleen, grabbing Catherine round the waist from behind and nuzzling her neck. She exclaimed, “That’s nice, darling. Do the same to Kathleen.”

He moved round, as Kathleen’s eyes widened, and he repeated the manoeuvre, holding her carefully as he did so. The kisses on her neck made her shiver with excitement, and she turned to kiss him, face to face. Her turn left his hands on her behind, but remembering what Elizabeth had said, he cuddled her fleshy cheeks as they shared another kiss.

Catherine looked on fondly. Kathleen became aware of the closeness of the whole affair, and blushed when she drew away from John.

He noticed her blush, and said, “Have I gone too far, Kathleen?”

It was Catherine and Elizabeth who responded.

“No, darling. It was all right; wasn’t it, Kathleen?”

She nodded, lost for words. John relaxed. “I don’t want to do anything that is not wanted, girls. I love you both very much, and Kathleen is in my affections as well.”

Elizabeth told him, “Kathleen is somewhat wound up tonight, with the impending operation tomorrow, so it is fine that she can be persuaded to drop her inhibitions, and enjoy a bit of nookey for a while. Right, Catherine?”

“I agree, Elizabeth. Kathleen needs relaxing, and some kissing and cuddling is a great way to relax, I find.” She seemed to pause for thought, then added, “Come to think of it, she needs something to look forward to, when she gets over the operation. John, promise her a good kiss and cuddle when the operation is over.”

John promised, “I guarantee that I will be giving you a good kissing and a cuddle once you are through the operation, Kathleen. Would you like that?”

“Oh, yes,” she declared. “That would be lovely.”

“As for now, I want you to place yourself in Elizabeth and Catherine’s hands, to prepare you for bed and a good night’s sleep. Girls, take Kathleen through to her room and make sure she is comfortable and cosy.”

Kathleen acquiesced, but finished by saying, “When they get back, you must make love to your two brides, to show them how much you love them.”