Chapter 4

Leaving Carla’s office, Dan drove to Anderson’s convenience store and parked. They walked to the intersection of Jackson Blvd. and Kent St., the site of his first wife’s fatal car accident. He touched her white cross, brushing off the accumulated dust, then did the same to the other cross.

“I wonder what Laura would think of my life now with you, Wendy, Tina, Susan, and Lisa in our bed most nights?”

“I’m sure she would be the first to welcome them into our bed and enjoy tasting their pussies,” Karen replied, hugging him close. “I miss her so much! I can hardly believe it has been five years.”

“I miss her too. Time flies, so they say.”

Wendy and Karen teased him about shopping for baby clothes and deciding if they should buy a twin baby carriage or two singles. It was decided to buy a double one. Tina mentioned they’d need a second one for her and Dan’s twins.

Dan drove east on Highway 2 to Whites Cemetery and walked hand in hand with Karen and Wendy, who held Tina’s hand, to Laura’s gravesite.

Laura Hayward 13 October 1958 to 22 November 2003. In memory of my wife, mother, lover, and friend. Was the inscription on her headstone.

Karen knelt and pulled off several dead leaves of the perennial mums that grew bordering her headstone. Though it had been a cool day, a warm breeze washed over them. Dan’s nostrils flared, detecting a once familiar scent in the air.

“Do you smell her?” Dan asked, tilting his head up and inhaling deeply. “Is it only me who smells Laura’s Charlie perfume?” He looked up and could feel his skin tingling at the thought that Laura’s spirit could be with them.

“I smell it too!” Karen agreed. “Is either one of you wearing Charlie perfume?” She asked, looking at Wendy and Tina. They both said, no.

“I’m getting goosebumps!” Karen remarked, squeezing Dan’s hand.

“I can still picture Laura when she saw me spill my coffee on you at the hockey rink, those many years ago,” Wendy recalled, smiling.

“I can smell the perfume too! I wish I had met her,” Tina added.

One by one, they placed a hand on her headstone. “Uhhh!” Wendy grunted as her hand touched the granite surface. She doubled over in sudden pain. “Uhhh! Dan, Dan, my water just broke when I touched Laura’s stone! Uhhh, I think I’m going into labour!”

“Are you sure?” He asked, going to her. Dan looked at her maternity pants, stained and wet.

“Yes!”

“Let’s get you to the hospital right now!” Dan said, helping her to walk towards the van. “Karen, can you call the maternity ward in the hospital and tell them we’re on the way in?” She made the call as Dan placed a towel on the seat for her.

“I’ll call home and tell everyone,” Tina said.

Wendy rubbed her belly, feeling another contraction. “I’ve got to call my parents! They’ll want to be here too!” After calling her mom, Wendy said they were already driving to Trenton to visit them.

Dan turned left onto Highway 2 and headed west towards Trenton Memorial Hospital. He tried to hurry without going too fast.

“I’ll call Janet and let her know too. She said she’d drive to see us.”

Dan soon arrived at the main entrance to the hospital, where he and Karen helped her sit on an empty wheelchair. “I’ll park the van and be right up,” Tina said.

“Tina, will you bring the envelope that’s in the glove box?” Dan asked.

Exiting the third-floor elevator, they were met at the reception desk by the duty nurse and Dr. Jean Clements. Introductions were made, and then Wendy was hurried to the preparation room.

“I’ve been talking with Janet and have delivered quite a number of the babies she and her staff have helped to create for childless families,” Jean said. “I understand that we might be making medical history with the birth of your babies.”

“Yes, Janet has told us several times,” Karen remarked.

“I will confess that I’m very excited for the birth of your babies. I understand that you’ve agreed to us documenting their birth.”

“Janet asked if we could. She said it might help to increase the funding for her fertility centre.”

“Mrs. Hayward is ready, Doctor Clements,” the nurse said.

“Okay, let’s see how soon your babies will meet you. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Dan and Karen walked hand in hand to the waiting room, where they were soon joined by Tina. She came to them and handed Dan the envelope and van keys. He put it in his back pocket until his babies were born.