Chapter 52

"I don't know how to raise a child! I'm pregnant and I don't know ANYTHING about how to do this. How am I going to cope with it all???" Regina was in full whiny mode, bemoaning her unexpected condition, and looking for all the sympathy she could get.

So I gave it to her.

"Baby, There is nothing to worry about. Rebecca is a doctor and knows all the ins and outs. Now that she has a mission, which is taking care of you until our child is born, she won't leave your side. Between you and Beth Ann, there is no better therapy for our Rebecca, than two pregnant family members, who actually NEED her.

"I love you so much. You're beautiful, playful, loving, gentle, and so kind you could give diabetes to a corpse. But, most of all, you are a good and wonderful person, and I am positive you will be a terrific mother when our baby is born.

"Oh, and I forgot, Millie thinks of you as her second daughter, so that makes this little one," I said, patting her tummy, "her first grandchild. She and Jim are going to spoil our little one so much. You have NO idea.

"Don't be afraid, Regina. We are husband and wife. Nothing happens to you that I'm not here to do with you, and we're rich, so we'll have doctors, nurses, and bodyguards, and a family so anxious to hold our child that you might find yourself feeling lonely for your own baby. You are going to be an amazing mom.

"You're already gorgeous, and pregnancy makes most women even more beautiful. You're kind, and smart, and you love Benjamin like a mother loves her oldest child, so you already know how to be a mother. It's just time to do it for real. That's all."

We were in bed, and Regina tended to get all wrapped around the axel late at night, worrying about her pregnancy. Doctor Rebecca was all over this, and Regina was doing great, but that didn't mean she was feeling confident, which was where I came in.

Instead of beating a dead horse, I gently took off her nightgown and gave her my full attention, only stopping when she begged me for a rest. It's good to be the king!

After lovemaking, Regina slept in my arms, cuddled tight against me like a newborn kitten.

Beth Ann LOVED being pregnant, and anyone could tell, because she absolutely glowed. As is the case with some pregnancies, Beth Ann was full of energy, happy as a lark, anxious to attack any project, go anywhere, and do anything. Being an expectant mother aroused, rather than depressed her.

Colleen was feeling rather blue until Rebecca suggested in vitro fertilization. She grabbed at the chance to help nature along, and Rebecca picked out the best specialist in the world. We were told to expect to wait six months for an appointment, until a certain federal judge made a phone call, and we were sitting in his office two days later, and Colleen scheduled for the procedure immediately.

It took several tries and several hundred thousand dollars, but Colleen and I were expecting a son by way of the magic of modern medicine.

Millie went nuts when Colleen broke the news. It was an almost exact repeat of the last time, when Colleen informed her parents and me at the same time, that she was expecting James. Millie instantly began to make plans, arrange shopping expeditions, find excuses to move up their move-in date, and her happiness infected our home, making all of us a little giddy with excitement.

Our days were full of ups and downs, as Beth Ann and Regina coped with unexpectedly expecting, and Colleen prepared for planned motherhood. Our builders caught on to our changing vision, and work progressed nicely, making us all feel confident that our new nursery wing would be ready before the girls brought the babies home from the hospital.

Rebecca took over prenatal care and ran Colleen, Regina and Beth Ann's lives like a drill sergeant. She cleaned up their diets, exercise regimes, and general modes of living. Jim and Millie moved into their new wing a month before Regina and Beth Ann were due, which was two and a half months before Colleen's due date. They seemed to be very content, if not downright thrilled, to be living within steps of their two soon-to-be-born grandchild.

Millie, as I predicted, took Regina to her bosom, and mothered her like an old pro. They were nearly inseparable, shopping, remodeling the nursery, having private chats, and generally plotting against me. Regina embraced the love that Millie showered upon all four of my ladies, like Millie was an oasis in the middle of a wide desert.

Jim spent a good deal of time sharing his concept of fatherhood, and trying to help me get ready for the coming of three children, by three mothers.

That would have been enough, except Rebecca decided to rejoin our marriage, and found herself pregnant at about the time Regina and Beth Ann were due. It looked like I was going to have to learn to deal with pregnant wives non-stop for over a year straight.

At Rebecca's suggestion, we hired four nurses, four nursery aides, and re-planned the nursery wing to accommodate everyone. Millie decided that she needed to be nearer Colleen when it got close to her due date, and she brow beat Jim into moving into the closest bedroom next to ours.

When the end came, it came all at once.

We had a trained staff, and they preplanned for every conceivable type of assault against us. Their shooting skills were magnificent, but their dedication to our family was even greater. Our home was as secure as any home on earth, but it all comes down to luck, and sometimes luck eludes you.