Chapter 5

"Okay, Mr. Grumpy Pants, it's time to eat."

"No," I said, turning away.

I hadn't eaten all day and the girls had caught on to the fact that I was starting a hunger strike.

"Come on, Jane," Pamela said, "it's time to take some action."

"Hey!" I shouted as Jane took away my laptop.

"Enough work for today. It's already 10pm. Time for food and sex."

"Good luck," I said, in a huff, turning away.

"Listen, we've all apologized for like, a thousand times," Pamela said. "Time to forgive and get with the program."

The two girls tackled me and wrestled me to the ground.

"Hold his head still," Pamela said, trying to get the tip of a squeeze bottle between my clenched lips as I turned my head away.

But try as they might, nothing went down. I let the milk dribble out of my mouth. The piece of hot dog never made it past my clenched teeth. Left over wedding cake from the day before simply got mashed up.

Soon my face was covered with food.

"Let me try," said Heather, wiping my face clean with a warm wet wash cloth. "Let him go."

Reluctantly, Pamela and Jane got up. Heather sat in my lap, facing me, her legs straddling my hips.

"Mr. Michaels," she said, "we all realize what a terrible thing we did to you with Eve."

"I'm so sorry!" Eve said, plaintively.

" ... but you have to eat. Please, it's killing us to see you like this. For me?"

I looked into Heather's eyes.

"I still respect you," Heather said, correctly reading my expression. "So much. You are the most amazing man I have ever known. We're the ones at fault here. We kidnapped you. Remember that."

Heather picked up a piece of banana from a bowl nearby.

"Now please," she said, holding it in front of me. "For me," she added, simply.

I looked at her.

"For me," she whispered.

I turned away.

"Mr. Michaels," she said softly, kissing my cheek. "It kills me to see you like this."

"Good."

I felt something wet drip onto my shoulder. Heather was crying.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried, deeply hurt, "we all are. But you have to eat! Please ... for me, because I love you."

"What?" I turned to Heather.

She looked at me. "I love you," she said, simply.

"We all do," said Janice, trying to be helpful.

I looked around the room, and then back at Heather who was trying to wipe away the tears while still holding a piece of banana.

"Okay." I opened my mouth and let Heather place the fruit in my mouth, to general sighs of relief from all around.

"Thank you," Heather said, hugging me. "I love you," she whispered into my ear.

Suddenly, I felt my arms being pulled behind me.

"Hey!"

"For being such a grumpy pants about eating," Janice said, holding my wrists together, "you'll just have to sit here quietly while you get fed by the girls."

"What?"

"Another piece of banana?" Zoe asked, placing it my open mouth.

"Mmff," I mumbled as Zoe pushed her fingers in a bit deeper than necessary.

"Sweet," she responded. "Love that mouth of yours."

The girls all took turns feeding me, a variety of small items, mostly leftovers from the previous few days.

"Enough!" I said as Kristen painted my lips with chocolate sauce. "I get the point. Please, I'm stuffed. I'll probably be the first person ever to gain weight on a hunger strike."

"How long have you been together?" I asked as Pamela, Jane, and I were snuggled together under the tent, naked and gently stroking each other.

"Three years," said Pamela.

"Two months," added Jane.

"And ... uh ... eight days," finished Pamela. "We knew each other at school, of course, but then it turned out that my mom worked with her dad and somehow they got it into their head that we should be friends, and so our two families went to this cabin at Lake Superior together."

"They put us in the same bedroom," Jane giggled.

"Big mistake," Pamela added, grinning. "It only took about 8 hours before I was completely in love with her."

"Really?" Jane asked. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever told me!"

"It's true," Pamela said, giving her a deep kiss.

"My problem," Jane continued, "is that I just always wanted to be a Mom with children of my own. My own Mom is just awesome, in fact she's the only one of our parents who knows about us. And so, when I fell in love with Pamela, well I was just torn in two. The thought of growing up without children of my own just made me ache with sadness ... it was pretty rough for a couple of years."

"All along I promised to make it work," Pamela said.

"I know," Jane said.

Pamela placed a pillow on the bed and helped arrange Jane with her hips on top of the pillow.

"It's time," Pamela whispered in my ear. "Time to make good on my promise. Time for you to make her pregnant."