Chapter 99

Immediately following the Holiday weekend, my friend Bob and I made the trip to Kemptville and picked up the Canadiens. It was a one-day trip, but still a long one. We already had the other horses moved up from Bob's the week before. It was a good year for green growth, and there was lots of pasture. We corralled the Canadiens for a couple days until they got used to the other three horses, then let them loose. They settled in and soon acted as if they'd been born on the place. We would spend this year training them to harness, and start our breeding programme the following year.

The rest of May was taken up with closing the deal on the old cottage and coming to grips with our emotions regarding Carol and Riekie's father. Although we accepted his apology and forgave him, we still had twenty years of anguish and heartache to deal with. I remember telling Carol in September that although she was basically healed at that time, she still had twenty years of carrying the burden, and she wouldn't recover from that over night. Riekie and I were no different, with our own twenty-year loads of emotional baggage.

We realized our acceptance of Bob Sr.'s apology and our forgiveness of him was our opportunity for closure on that very painful time of our lives. But... for us to fully have that, we had to permit ourselves the luxury of closure. Diane's experience and loving support helped us a great deal. Of even greater significance and benefit was the total unconditional love we shared among all four of us, our complete openness, and our friendship.

This experience just showed us the benefit and importance of those long, emotionally draining talks on the way home from Calgary. It took awhile, and several sessions of mutual tears, but we finally came fully to grips with our past, and were granted final closure. Bob Sr. would never be our friend, but he was no longer the enemy. For Carol and Riekie, it allowed them to be able to once again look at some of the fond memories they had of their father and their family when they were very young without them being coloured by the trauma of their teenage years. We did feel lighter, and our already bright outlook on the future brightened even more.

Although just three weeks from her due date by the end of May, and as big as you'd imagine from carrying twins, Carol was still very horny. Her lovemaking was loud, wet, and wanton. Riekie and Diane were also very 'amorous', with hardly a night going by I wasn't making love to at least one, and often all of them.

We had all taken to the Kegel exercises like ducks to water, and the results in our lovemaking were mind-bending to me to say the least. Riekie's muscle control, always phenomenal, became even more so. What she could do to Rascal Sweet Prince while he rutted inside Sweet Mrs. Pussy was indescribably delicious! She could make me cum with hardly a stroke from me, and my orgasms, always intense with these three nymphs, went completely off the scale for volume and especially force of ejaculate. After claiming they felt me squirt harder than ever into them, and despite their mutual contention that hand jobs wasted His Precious Stuff, the girls performed one occasionally just to see how far I could shoot! My already excellent love life had never been better!

May rolled into June. The Spring Prom was the first weekend in June. We made a point of driving down to watch all the young men and ladies in their formal finery as they made their grand entrances to the hall. They were handsome and lovely, and so full of hopes and dreams, but they looked so young! Was that what we looked like that wonderful night twenty years before? We returned home from watching the Prom arrivals somewhat subdued, but still happy in the promise of our own future.

The weather that June was idyllic. Rain, when it came, fell at night, watering the gardens and lawns without interrupting work during the day. The pasture was lush, and the hay crop looked like a bumper year.

Carol was a peach. Big as she was, she kept her spirits up. I'd heard a lot of horror stories about women going through crazy hormonal changes during pregnancy, but she was wonderful — no wild cravings (except for sex, maybe... ), no mood swings, or anything negative. She was the picture of contented beautiful woman through her entire pregnancy. Her skin glowed and her hair became even more beautiful — thick, rich, and luxuriant. She was as 'big as a house', but never complained she looked ugly as so many do. Her breasts grew a full bra size larger, but not disproportionate to her body, and her nipples were very sensitive. She wouldn't let us baby her, and maintained as normal life as possible.

Diane and Riekie were both in their sixth month, and both showed quite large as well, especially Riekie, also carrying twins. Like Carol, they didn't experience any strange hormonal excesses except to be extra horny. All three wanted to be pregnant, and accepted the negatives with it. All my wives looked extremely sexy, to me anyway. I wouldn't be slightly biased would I?

During the first part of June we finished the nursery. It was already decorated, and simply lacked furnishings to handle five new babies. Diane and I already had a crib and changing table. We got four more cribs and two changing tables to match. We put two cribs and one changing table in our room for newborns and the rest in the nursery. It was a little cramped, but would only be needed until we moved into the new house.

And... like all expectant mothers, Carol had been busily 'nesting', building up a layette for the twins. It seemed every time she and her co-wives went to town or one of the nearby small cities on their not-too frequent shopping trips (I'm a guy — frequent shopping means more than once every six months!), she came home with another load of things for the babies or the nursery. I will say, though, that she concentrated on practical things. Having three 'grandmothers' helped, too — Mom, Pie and Jo were always buying some 'little' thing they just knew the babies would need. And of course, this was reciprocated on Jo, such that Dad and Paul complained to me about lack of storage space for all Jo's layette.

The shopping excursions weren't just for Carol to make baby acquisitions either — there were two other gravid ladies nesting too! For me, we couldn't move into the new house with all its extra storage soon enough, as all the baby paraphernalia they acquired threatened to overload the current house by sheer volume.

The night after the Prom, Mom called the girls and asked them to come over and wouldn't take 'No' for an answer. When they got there, Carol (and the other two!) was surprised with a baby shower. Of course I knew of the preparations, helping Mom with the guest list for this surprise party, but Diane and Riekie didn't. It was a party specifically for Carol — their turns would come. Because of their empathy, Mom had kept the arrangements secret from those two, as she didn't want them to give anything away in a moment of unguarded thought or excitement.

Carol didn't have that many friends in the area, having lived away for so long (there were some old school chums she'd re-established relations with since that day in January we met so many folks while shopping) but the guest list was still quite large. Val managed to sneak up from Montreal without Carol's knowledge, and Patty was there as well. Karen couldn't make it, but sent Mom the money and specific instructions on what gift she was to buy for her. As Carol's best friend, Joanne was Mom's co-hostess. Judy was there, as was Julie Brown. The wives of our legal team members were in attendance as well, and all of my cousins and aunts. I don't know where Mom found room for all those ladies in her home. There were over fifty of them!

My youngest sister, Joan was the surprise guest. She made one of her very infrequent visits home, just to attend this special party and meet My Wives for the first time. She knew Diane well, but had never met Carol or Riekie. She talked regularly on the phone with Mom and Heather, and had been kept up-to-date, but never experienced us 'in the flesh' as it were. Joan and My Wives hit it off with an instant chemistry, and just maybe it would give Joan a little incentive to visit home more often...

From all reports, Carol was totally delighted, once she recovered from the surprise. As if we weren't already becoming lost in a pile of baby things, Carol made out like a bandit with gifts from the guests. Notable amongst them was Karen's, a sturdy double stroller designed just for twins. The aunts got a large play pen, and Mom got her a beautiful rocking chair to match the one she got for Diane when Jenny was born. The other ladies literally 'showered' her with a myriad of baby clothes and infant toys. Storage space was becoming a premium, and of course, we still had showers for Diane and Riekie to look forward to.

Progress on the house was well ahead of schedule, thank the Goddess. With what the girls were acquiring, the spare room was filled almost to capacity, with little room for guests if we had to put them up! We needed the planned storage of the new house, and we needed it yesterday. The crew bought into our Zero Defect policy wholeheartedly, and went 'the extra mile' to ensure things were done correctly, frequently staying a little longer so a particular job was completed before going home. They fell in love with My Girls, and as they began to show more and more, were very solicitous of their well-being. With the structure basically closed in, work on the interior, the slowest part of the job, continued. The sub- trades moved in to do their jobs — electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. There were constant meetings with the crew and site foreman on appliances, colour schemes, and fine points of decorating.

Mid-month, the weather turned exceptionally warm, in the first heat wave of the year. The girls, carrying all that extra weight, became quite uncomfortable, but kept their spirits up. The were just so happy to be expecting babies, there was little that could discourage them, although Carol was so close that when the heat came, she wished she would come to term. She only had another week to go, so 'grinned and bore it'.

On the twenty-first, even though it was a Saturday, Diane, Riekie, and I were at the job site right after lunch attending yet another site meeting. Jo, showing quite large at six months herself, was keeping company with Carol because she was so close. A few days earlier, Carol's breasts had begun leaking a clear, yellowish viscous fluid Riekie called 'colostrum' so we knew she was getting very near. We all felt 'antsy' all day, and Carol said she felt 'heavy' with a pressure as if she constantly had to have a bowel movement, and a back ache, symptoms I remembered Diane having with Rhiannon and Jenny.

We didn't really want to be away from the house because it was Carol's official due date, especially since her symptoms said she was due within hours. If the contractor hadn't insisted he had only this day for this particular meeting and would keep it short, we probably would have taken Carol into the hospital sooner. Suddenly both My Girls flinched, grimaced in pain and grabbed my arm to steady themselves. Their mind-meld speech let me know what was happening:

Diane: "Ow! Jeez! David! Carol Anne..."

Riekie: "Needs us! It's started!"

Together: "We have to get to her NOW!"

I had been anticipating something soon, so I knew exactly what the girls were talking about. We took another ten minutes to wrap up the meeting and then quickly excused ourselves. We started back to the house just as Jo came to the door and called for us. We hurried home as quickly as the two pregnant ladies allowed. As we neared the house, they both stopped and grimaced again. Damn! Carol's first delivery, and the contractions were that close together already?

We had wanted a home birth, but the potential difficulty of delivering twins forced us to opt for the hospital. Because things can happen more quickly than anticipated, we took advantage of a new policy of the hospital. We pre-registered Carol and the other two so that when we arrived, hopefully with a warning phone call to allow the delivery team to assemble, we would not have to waste time filling out endless forms and answering questionnaires. Pre-registration also allowed us to name in advance who we wanted present as coaches, and set in place an automatic response at the hospital when we called.

We ran into the house. Carol was on the couch in the living room, her face flushed and obviously strained from the contractions. We had a well practiced drill — Riekie timed the contractions (Not hard to do when she and Diane were experiencing sympathetic ones) and called the hospital. She told them we were coming in, who we were bringing and why, the timing of the contractions, and how long we'd be. She asked the hospital to call Doc.

While Riekie and Diane got Carol to her feet and ready to move, I retrieved the pre-packed travel bag from the hall closet, threw it in the van and opened the big side door to receive her. Jo called my parents and apprised them Carol was in labour and we were taking her to the hospital. Then she called Joanne and let her know, too. We used the van because of the wide side door for easier access. To make it easier for Carol to step up I had made a small wooden step.

When I returned to help Carol out to the vehicle, she was able to walk unassisted and climbed into the van with less difficulty than expected. We had pre-arranged that all three of us and Mom were coaches, and would be present. Riekie had her camera, and would document the whole birth. This had caused some consternation with Doc Hackett when we said we were going to do it (He thought the camera was unsanitary, and four coaches would crowd the room.), but we had prevailed. I think Riekie's arguments carried more weight, especially when she threatened to withdraw her services from his office. Doc had gotten too used to having his extra time off...

I drove, the girls in back with Carol, comforting her and timing her contractions. We arrived at the hospital with her contractions down to four minutes. Diane and Riekie managed to 'disconnect' from the mind meld with Carol so they could function without the distraction of sympathetic contractions.

Thanks to the pre-registration, the hospital staff was ready and waiting. They got her on a gurney and wheeled Carol straight to the birthing room, a large, airy room decorated in friendly colours. Gone are the days when delivery rooms looked more like operating theatres, thank the Goddess. Doc arrived within a few minutes.

Carol was prepped and Diane and Riekie helped her change into a gown; I don't know where she had it stashed, but the girls knew, apparently, because they dressed her in the old football jersey I gave her twenty years before. She looked absolutely radiant and gorgeous in that faded red jersey with the big gold '69' on front and back. We laughed as we remembered the giggles they'd had over the 'unfortunate' number I'd worn. Carol was going to give birth the same way Riekie had, with one major difference — we'd all be there with her. The hospital staff were reluctant to let her wear the old sweater, but a stern word from Riekie and Doc soon had them quiet. They just got Carol settled onto the birthing table when her water broke, soaking the hem of her shirt, which pleased her immensely.

Carol laughed as another contraction distorted her pretty face, "Another souvenir for you, Honey. You'll hafta get a laundry marker and put our names in these so you can tell them apart. Too bad we don't have one for Muffin."

About the same time, my parents and Paul's family arrived with the four children, Paul carrying Jen. Jim, Judy and Joanne showed up a few minutes later. There was a little commotion with the staff when Mom tried to enter the birthing room, as she was supposed to be with us. Carol insisted loudly and vehemently that her Mother be with her, and we actually had to refer them to the pre-registration forms that indicated Mom was a coach. Even Doc had trouble getting the rest of the team to understand. We probably would have had less hassle if we'd taken the time to bring Mom with us, but Carol's contractions were close enough we felt we didn't have time to stop and pick her up. Dad and the others were forced to sit it out in the waiting room, though.

The kids were very upset they couldn't be with us, but after a quick word from Mommy Riekie and Mommy Diane, they settled down. Mom told them to tune their Sight as sensitive as they could, and they might be able to sense what was happening. Whether it would work or not, they joined hands and soon became lost in their concentration as they tried to See what was happening (even little Jen), achieving the result we wanted — four quiet kids.

In between Carol's contractions, I recalled for all of them, including Diane, the following story when Jenny was born and I was Diane's coach:

"When Jen was born, still wet, and they were tying off the cord, she opened her eyes and looked straight at me. I was the first person that kid ever made eye contact with! We had selected her name in advance (Guenevere if it was a girl, and Evan if it was a boy.), and I said 'Welcome to the world, Jenny' <I shit you NOT! That's a quote, and simple and inane as it sounds, I planned to use it with every new birth in our family. >. Remember that Doc? I swear she smiled (babies can't have that much gas can they?). I was instantly smitten, and lost my heart to a 6lb 8oz bundle of joy. She still has it, even though she has come dangerously close to breaking it upon occasion.

"When Rhiannon was born five years earlier, and we lived in another town, that particular hospital didn't allow fathers to be present at the birth, but... I knew the instant she came into the world as I felt the first stirring of the old Power after many years of absence. <Riekie almost swooned when she heard this and hugged me tight.> I didn't get to see Rhiannon until they brought mother and child to their room.

"I remember the nurse made a point of handing Rhiannon to me then. She was asleep, but I lost my heart to her anyway. As the oldest and therefore first, as you all know, she is still the apple of her Dad's eye, but I missed that opportunity for that deeper eye-to-eye bonding I later experienced with Jen. And before anybody starts asking, Dad's have more than one heart to give away — it's just the nature of the beast. That's how we can continue to function if one of them breaks it — we still have at least one left. Or so the story goes..."