Chapter 6

Paul and the girls were both surprised and laughed at Marie’s sense of interior decorating. Of the six bedrooms, Marie ordered a new king-sized bed for the master bedroom. His old bedroom set was set up as a guest room. Of the other three, one bedroom was decorated in pink with a white canopy crib and all white baby furniture. One was done in baby blue with walnut baby furniture. The other bedroom was done in pastel yellow with twin cribs. Paul called his mom and asked, “Mom, just how many grandchildren are you expecting?”

She giggled and replied, “Well, with two young and fertile wives, the sky’s the limit. Look at it this way. I planned for all the options. If Bibi has a boy, a girl, or twins, you’ve already got a room ready for the little buggers.”

Paul chuckled and said, “Thanks, Mom. You’re right. Now all we need to do is fill the rooms with little buggers, right?

In a proper English accent, she replied, “Right! By Jove, I think you’ve gawt it!”

Paul oversaw the electronics installation, and he taught the girls how to make the beds. Seeing all the cribs put Bibi in a frisky mood. She wanted to make a baby despite being protected for the next ten weeks from getting pregnant.

But they were still overjoyed at the luxury of their new life. They officially moved in two days later. Doing everything the first two or three weeks was “fun” to say the least. Paul needed to teach his wives everything. How to use the range to cook meals, to put perishables in the refrigerator. He had to make sure they knew the difference between the freezer and the fridge. Taking baths and showers was fun. “Watersports” anyone?

After they learned to watch which way the handheld shower head was pointed, bathing required a lot less cleanup. Both women loved the jacuzzi. Nadia had the idea, and her mommy concurred, that a whirlpool orgy would be fun ... it was!

Next came the central vacuum system. Don’t ask ... All things considered, after a month, things settled into a nice family groove.

Paul went in to see his old friends at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He reapplied for a position and was rehired. His fame while in South Sudan translated into dollars. They rehired him at $228K per year.

Nadia wasn’t so lucky. In order to become a Certified Nurse Midwife [CNM] required a BS in nursing, passing the NCLC-RN [nurse licensing exam], gain one year’s experience, but Marie said that Nadia’s ten months experience with MSF could be counted and put on her resume. She next had to obtain a Master of Nursing [MSN], and pass the national Certified Nurse Midwife exam [CNM Exam].

Nadia didn’t even have a high school diploma.

Needless to say, she took the news hard. She and Paul sat down at a computer and, with the help of a guidance counselor from the University of Texas, they laid out a plan of action for her. First, she would enroll in the university’s online high school program. If she could earn a Midwife field certification from Doctors Without Borders, she could complete high school in two years or less. She could then get her nursing degree either online or at a New York university. The same would apply to her getting her master’s degree. With her being sixteen, she could conceivably become a nurse in 5½-6 years. She would be on par with other nursing students chronologically.

Nadia said she wanted to do it. She wanted to become a real, licensed obstetrics nurse and Midwife. They enrolled her the next day.

And so it was. Nadia studied hard for eight hours a day. Bibi ran the house and Paul hired a maid service to come in and do a blitz cleaning of the kitchen, range hood and bathrooms once a week.

Nadia was so single-mindedly focused on her education, she was not as social, especially with Marie as Bibi was. As far as Bibi was concerned, Marie was like the mother that does no wrong. Then it happened. Four months after arriving in America, Bibi tested positive. She was three weeks pregnant. She teased her sister wife, her daughter and said, “Hey Sweetie, you’re gonna have a little brother or sister!”

“Shut up, Momma, you heard Paul. He or she won’t be my sibling, I will be their mother also.”

Bibi flipped her nose up and quipped, “If you say so.”

Eight months later, she gave birth to a seven-pound, two-ounce baby girl. Bibi insisted that she be allowed to name her Marie, after her Nana. Little Marie had a head full of soft, downy loose curly hair. She had a milk chocolate complexion. Bibi had wished she was darker but was very happy with her little mixed-race daughter. Nadia performed the delivery at home with Paul and Marie’s oversight.

Eighteen months after she started school, Nadia earned her high school diploma and started college the following week online with the University of Texas’ #1 online nursing program in the United States.

At four months old, little Marie decided she wanted to become a nudist. It started with her taking her diaper off when she was put down for a nap or bedtime. Then Bibi would collect her after her nap, and she had removed all her clothing AND her diaper. Doo-doo or no, the diaper came off. Marie started walking at nine months. Everyone felt it wasn’t that big of a deal to fuss over. So what? If a nine-month-old baby didn’t want to wear clothes, so what.

Potty training was a real challenge. She would wait until the adult who was watching her had turned their head, and she was off the potty like a rocket, running through the house au natural.

She would go behind the chair and pee or poop.

During the course of her studies, Nadia found a few possible causes. First, Marie was going through several growth issues at once. She was teething, and she was just learning how to walk. These “potty pauses” [where a child goes to the bathroom elsewhere other than the potty] are just part of the growing process as she tries to deal with all these physical issues at once. Nadia was right and she suddenly started to go like a good girl after two months of avoiding the potty like the plague. Marie went from diapers to panties overnight. She had an accident the first night, but never again.

Little Maire also loved her Nana and Nana loved her namesake. Marie would take her shopping and come back with something to spoil the little princess with. Bibi breastfed Marie, and towards the end when she was fourteen months, needed to supplement her milk with regular milk. Marie much preferred Mama to the cow. When Marie was sixteen months, Bibi told Paul, “My wonderful husband, you give me life again.”