Chapter 15

It took a bit longer than I had planned before we were ready to depart. Sereine hopped us to our first intermediary stop just as the sun was rising above the horizon.

Three hops later, we arrived in the backyard of Mister Tam’s home. They had started to worry about whether we would get there for the wedding. Mister Tam said they had expected us to arrive three days ago so there would be plenty of time to make any final arrangements that may be necessary, and the wedding was scheduled for five days after we actually arrived.

During the next four days, the Tam family, Carla, and Andy were busy finalizing everything that had to be done before the wedding. Carla had brought the wedding gown that she had worn on Earth with her. The Tam family, especially the women, and my folks thought it was gorgeous. While they were busy, the rest of us took in the local sights, which included my wives visiting the local stores.

Mister Tam told me that the joke he was playing on his relatives was still in progress. None of the off planet guests, who would arrive the day before the wedding, had realized that I was the Doug Smith who owned the Archer Conglomerate. He thought that was hilarious. However, he thought the size of my party and the number of body guards we had with us would make them suspicious. He also believed they would realize who I was when he introduced Sandy Archer to them. They would link Sandy and my names and realize who we were. He wasn’t sure which would be better: their reaction when they realized who we were, or them not making the connection. But all it would take would be one person to realize who we were and the word would spread amongst the rest of the family. I reminded Mister Tam that Sandy married Fitz on Earth, so her name was now Sandy Bower.

My mom, wives, and the other women of my party volunteered to assist Missus Tam with the final wedding arrangements. During prior weddings, my mom had been the organizer. I could tell she wanted to step in and take over, but didn’t since it was Missus Tam’s job. I think Missus Tam recognized my mom’s feelings and took pity on her for she made my mom her assistant. It may have been one good organizer recognizing another and deciding to use the other organizer’s experience.

Before the wedding, Andy’s mom insisted that they follow tradition and sleep apart for the two nights preceding the wedding. The Earth tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other before the wedding was practiced on some of the Multiverse’s planets, but not Halpern.

The day before the wedding, those of us participating in the wedding would meet with the Tam family’s minister at the church. Most of the Multiverse planets practiced the tradition of the father giving away the bride. However on the planets with a matriarchal society, the bride was at the altar and the mother gave her son away to the bride. I would be giving Carla away, so I was at the church for the pre-wedding practice.

At nine the next morning, we all went to the church to prepare for the ceremony, which was due to start at ten. The Tam family practiced a different religion than the one my family practiced. The wedding ceremony was a bit longer than the one in which my wives and I married.

By twelve the ceremony and congratulation of the bride and groom was complete. We all returned to the Tam family’s home for the wedding feast. The selection of food available at the buffet table was mind boggling. I only recognized about half the dishes that were available. My wives and I sampled many of the new dishes, and Betty said she had to get the recipes of several dishes. The food had been catered so Missus Tam didn’t have the recipes, but most of the recipes were available on the MultiNet. Betty later told us she was able to buy the recipes not available on the MultiNet from the caterers; they agreed to sell them to her for a rather large price when they learned she lived on Earth after she signed an agreement stating she would not make them available to others in the Multiverse or on Earth.

The day after the wedding, we all rested. Some of us had over imbibed on the alcoholic beverages and weren’t fit to travel. Feel-Good pills were used by those who over-imbibed. It is a good thing we had allotted the day to getting ready to leave for even though Sereine and I hadn’t consumed as much alcohol as many of our party, we both agreed we weren’t in any condition to hop anyone anywhere.

While recovering from the wedding feast, we assisted Carla and Andy with packing their wedding gifts for travel and storing them in the freight shelter we used for our baggage, energy rifles, and other travel equipment. For this trip, my wives insisted that I use the largest freight shelter available to us for they knew we would be returning with a large number of wedding gifts.

We left after lunch the next day, and eight hops later, we arrived at Fitz’s home on Fangler in the middle of the morning. The trip had been rather arduous for I had hopped us to two planets that had severe weather conditions: heavy rain and snow with high winds. Before I released my hop energy on the planets, I had tried to locate a decent arrival point with good weather. The sites I sampled had weather conditions as bad, or worse, than the arrival point I used on our prior trip. I couldn’t hold my hop energy for much longer, so I focused on our normal arrival point and released my hop energy; we sheltered in the freight shelter and endured the weather.

The wedding was scheduled to start in ten days. During lunch, my mom volunteered herself and the other ladies in our party to assist Sandy, Fitz’s mom, and her female relatives in completing the final preparations for the wedding. This wedding was going to be very large, so Missus Fitz welcomed the assistance. As on Halpern, Mom limited herself to being just a helper by coordinating our ladies efforts.

The arrangements were essentially complete five days before the wedding. That was when Chairman Harry Smart and his party arrived. I wasn’t there when he arrived, but I talked with him a short while later to make sure I got the first travel shelter off of the production line and it was configured with a freight shelter and a passenger shelter. Once the testing was complete, I would definitely use the test shelter. I was tired of the rain, the snow, the heat, and the insects!

It wasn’t until we met at a local restaurant for before dinner drinks that I received an unexpected surprise. I was off by myself when I realized how serious my situation was. Harry saw the expression on my face and joined me.

He asked, “Is there something wrong, Doug?”

“No, not exactly wrong, I was just surprised and had to re-evaluate my situation. Do you remember when I visited you during my prior trip?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Betty noticed that there was some form of attraction between me and Kaitlin. Since then, my wives have been seriously considering adding Kaitlin to our marriage, if she and I decide we want to engage in a long-term relationship. Then this trip, my wives insisted that they come with me when I dropped off the freight shelter. While we talked, they talked with Janice. Now you, Gloria, and Janice arrive with Kaitlin well before I expected you to arrive.”

“That explains a couple of things, Doug.

“After you left my office, Janice talked with me about her workload increasing and she wanted to bring on someone to assist her before she was overwhelmed with work. I hadn’t noticed it, but she was close to being overloaded in supporting me; so I agreed. I was surprised when she selected Miss Vaccaro to be her assistant, since she had no prior experience as an executive’s assistant.

“Janice told me that she would rather find someone intelligent and capable like Miss Vaccaro, and train her to assist her. She said it would be better that way for she wouldn’t have to overcome any bad habits that the person had picked up during their prior experience. It sounded good to me and it’s only been a couple of weeks, but Miss Vaccaro is fitting into the job real good.

“The other thing I didn’t understand is my wife insisted that we get here five days before the wedding. That made no sense to me and all she would say is, she would explain it to me later.”

“Harry, it seems to me that Gloria, Janis, and my wives are colluding to put Kaitlin and me together in a situation where she and I have the opportunity to get to know each other better.”

“Do you want me to put an end to their plot?”

“No, let it play out. I do find myself very strongly attracted to Kaitlin. If she is attracted to me also, then I will let things develop until she and I break off the relationship or we let it lead us to marriage.”

“It sounds to me like you think she may be a future wife. Gloria and I think of you as family, Doug, so I think I’ll start calling her Kaitlin instead of Miss Vaccaro.

I wasn’t surprised when I was seated next to Kaitlin. At first, we were a little on the formal side, but by the time we finished dessert, she and I were on a first name basis and comfortable with each other. I could see that she was interested in me, and I think she knew I was interested in her.

The next morning we had breakfast together. Janice and my wives arranged it so Kaitlin and I sat together. After breakfast, Janice, Kaitlin, Gloria, and my four wives went shopping together. They didn’t get back until mid-afternoon. Curiosity won and I asked Rita how the shopping trip went.

She knew what I really wanted to know, but she said, “It went great. We found some things we liked and bought them and we had lunch together. Anything special you want to know?”

I struggled with how to respond and finally just asked, “What did you think of Kaitlin?”

“I think she will be a very good wife for us, Doug. Carol, Betty, and Cindy agree. We think you need to be a bit more forward with Kaitlin. Ask her to have drinks with you after dinner tonight, and get to know her better.”

“Okay, I’ll ask and do my best to make her comfortable.”

That night at dinner, I talked with Kaitlin. We had a very good conversation and I found that she was an excellent dinner companion. By the time dinner was over, I had decided that I wanted to pursue a relationship with her.

As we were leaving the table, I said, “Kaitlin, I would like to continue talking with you. Would you be interested in having a couple of drinks with me in the lounge?”

“Doug, I like you. Please don’t take this wrong but I decided it was not a good idea to start a relationship with a married man. It only ends with everyone getting hurt. However, I would enjoy having a drink or two with you as a friend and continuing our conversation.”

“Then as a friend, would you like to have a couple of drinks with me?

“Yes, I would.”

We had a pleasant time talking with each other, and I walked her to her door afterwards. We said goodnight and agreed to talk at breakfast the next morning.

When I got back to the room, Cindy asked, “How did things go, Doug?”

“Fine. We had a couple of drinks and talked. I would say that we are friends, but Kaitlin made me aware that she has a rule about not dating married men.”

“Well, we can talk with her and let her know that we have no objection to you and her having more than just a casual relationship.”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea, Cindy. I think Kaitlin and I need to ease into a relationship. If she feels pressured, she will baulk at any further involvement with a married man.”

Rita said, “He’s right, Cindy. I’ve known women like her, and they can be very stubborn. If she objects to a relationship with a married man as strongly as Doug thinks she does, then it would be best if we let their relationship grow gradually.”

My wives agreed that it would not be a wise idea to pressure Kaitlin into becoming involved with me. As the wedding preparations continued, Kaitlin and I spent more time together as friends getting to know each other.

During the two-day period before the wedding, Sandy’ parents, Sergei, Maribel, and President Jensen arrived along with the other dignitaries - who just had to attend Sandy’s wedding. I spent a good bit of time talking with Sergei, Maribel, and President Jensen. On a few of those occasions, I included Kaitlin. At first, she was uneasy around a Multiverse Councilwoman and the President of Slave World, but she got over her uneasy quickly.

The day before the wedding, Maribel got me off to the side and said, “Doug, I like Kaitlin and it is evident to me that she has fallen in love with you. Don’t hurt her or I will be very upset with you.”

“Maribel, I like her a lot also and I may even be in love with her. My wives are pressuring me into asking her to join our marriage, but Kaitlin has a problem with dating married men.”

“I see. So you are wooing her in a subtle way. Is that right?”

“Sort of. I wouldn’t call it wooing her, but I am taking the time for us to get to know each other. So far, I think she and I will eventually reach a point where we will need to come to an understanding about forming a more intimate relationship. I will need to have my wives involved at that point, but with the limited time I spend in the Multiverse, it may take a year or two for our friendship to evolve to that point.”

Maribel laughed for I had told her about Cindy pressuring Abby and Sereine to join our marriage. Maribel said, “So, Cindy can now work on three women. Has she made any progress with Abby and Sereine?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t talk about it and they haven’t said anything to me.”

“Well, I think you will be in over your head if you end up with seven wives.”

“I know. That is what I keep telling my wives, and all they say is, don’t worry we are just taking care of you.”

“Well good luck. I think my husband and I would both enjoy it if I suggested he find someone to join us in our marriage. But, that suggestion could also cause him to have a heart attack; either when I made it or after we married the woman.”

Sandy’s parents were here and Sandy thought she should have her dad give her away to Fitz. So my wives and I weren’t part of this wedding’s wedding party. Instead, I could just relax with my wives and friends. Since Janice was with us, so was Kaitlin. When I had time and the opportunity, I privately asked Janice, “Does Kaitlin know that you and Gloria are helping my wives in pushing her and me together?”

“Doug, Gloria and I are most certainly not pushing the two of you together. All we are doing is seeing that the two of you have the opportunity to get to know each other and letting nature take its course. Now your wives are a different matter. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they gave Kaitlin an ultimatum demanding that she make an honest man of you. At the moment, it would be about fifty-fifty as to what she would do. If it were to happen after you saw her several times in the next couple of months, I would bet on her marrying you.”

The day of the wedding arrived and I happily sat with my wives in the pews on the groom’s side of the aisle. Harry, Gloria, Janice, and Kaitlin were sitting on the bride’s side of the aisle. The Stile family’s practiced a religion different from what my family and the Tam family practiced. However, the wedding ceremonies of all three religions were very similar. My wives and I congratulated Fitz and Sandy after the ceremony, and then left for the wedding reception. We decided that sitting in a cool air conditioned room was preferable to standing outside in the warm humid weather. Harry, Sergei, and Maribel held similar opinions and joined us. We pushed several tables together so all of us could sit together. Several of the staff gave us disapproving looks, but no one objected.

After several drinks, Gloria, Cindy, and Sereine started talking about how wonderful the wedding ceremony had been. The rest of my wives and women at the table agreed and the talk progressed from there. With the exception of a couple of people at the table, including Kaitlin, the rest of our friends knew that Sereine would join our marriage at some point.

But it was a surprise to all of us when Cindy said, “Sereine, have you given marrying into our family any further consideration.”

Sereine is difficult to catch unaware, but Cindy had managed to do that. With a slight blush, Sereine said, “Yes, I’ve given marrying you, Doug, and the rest of your wives more thought. I decided it is a good idea and I want to do it, but I’m not ready to actually marry all of you just yet.”

Once Cindy had asked the question, I realized what she was doing. I tried to surreptitiously watch Kaitlin out of the corner of my eye to see how she reacted. Surprise was her first and main emotion.

Cindy responded to her comment, “I’m glad to hear you will marry us. Now all I have to do is convince you to do it before you are too old to enjoy Doug.”

Sereine just smiled and said, “After the time Cindy, Abby, Doug, and I had sex in the library, I don’t think I will ever be too old to enjoy being with Doug.”

Kaitlin’s surprise turned to shock at Sereine’s response. I could see her turn and look at me. The surprise and shock was still there, and maybe it was my imagination, but I thought there was a bit of desire mixed in her expression.

Our conversation moved on to other topics, and I went back to paying attention to my wives. Sandy and Fitz’s wedding had to be at least ten times larger than Andy and Carla’s wedding. We were seated in a convention hall and it was starting to fill up with wedding guests. There were far more people in the convention hall than there had been in the church, and I later asked Felix about that. He said there hadn’t been enough room in the church for everyone so they had to limit the number of guests attending the service, but everyone was invited to the reception.

The wedding reception went on until around three in the morning of the next day. The hovertaxis were busy transporting people to their homes and transporting the guests who were too tired or too intoxicated to walk to their nearby hotels. I assume their hotel’s staff helped some of them to their rooms.

The reception ended on a positive note for us – a hover taxi delivered us to our hotel and we didn’t need help getting to our suite. Before going to bed, I took a Feel-Good pill, so I wouldn’t wake up with a hangover. My wives didn’t need one for they were in the second trimester of their pregnancies, and with the exception of a sip of wine during the toast to the bride and groom; they had only consumed non-alcoholic beverages. They were beyond the morning sickness stage of pregnancy, but all of the rich foods they had eaten caused them to have upset stomachs the next morning. Misty gave them something to relieve their indigestion.

We all had a light breakfast the next morning. After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Harry, Sergei, and the members of their parties; they would be leaving as soon as they checked out of the hotel. Sergei was taking my parents back to Vora, and before he left, asked me to stop by and talk with him before we returned to Earth. Kendrick and his wife had to get home, so they left with Harry. The rest of my party would remain on Fangler for a couple of days while Felix and Sandy took care of various matters. Their biggest task was packing their wedding presents and moving them into our freight shelter. Sandy and Felix’s mom wrote out the thank you cards, and my wives did the packing. Felix and I did the carrying and packing of everything into the shelter.

Cindy was rather proud of letting Kaitlin know that she and my other wives weren’t opposed to having someone join our marriage. I have to admit she did it in a way that didn’t put pressure on Kaitlin.

When we started talking about Cindy’s comment, I said, “I’m not sure how Kaitlin responded to what you said Cindy.”

Betty said, “Relax, Doug. After Cindy made her announcement, I saw her talking with Janice. I later asked Janice what Kaitlin thought of us wanting more women to join our marriage.

“According to Janice, it wasn’t something that Kaitlin was expecting to hear, but she didn’t have a problem with someone joining an existing marriage.

“Janet asked her why she was interested and asked if she was thinking of herself.

“She said that Kaitlin admitted to liking you as more than a friend, but wasn’t ready to even think about getting married.”

I said, “Well I guess that means she is thinking about it, but it will be a long time before it may actually happen.”

Carol said, “You got it half right, sweetheart. If she is thinking about marrying you, she is halfway to the altar and it may not take as long as you think. Just continue treating her as a very close casual friend. After a few times going out as friends, a short innocent goodbye kiss at her door would be appropriate. I suspect that after a few occasions ending in a single casual kiss at the door, she will want more than one kiss and the kisses will become more than casual. Once that happens, she will be ready to consider joining us in our marriage.”