Page 2 of Hot Life

No one warns you that when you adopt an alternative lifestyle and cohabitate with a small army, that you’re never quite whole when you’re not all together. And lately, everyone being together at the same time and same place was rare.

Desmond had accepted an offer to work on Georgia’s Tourism Board as their official photographer. He was delighted to spend his days hiking, camping, and shooting every mountain and trail in the state. But of course, our huge, room-sized bed was too empty without him. And when he was home, he was behind his computer, editing.

And as much as I liked to let Cedric irritate me with his hovering, I saw the steady stream of text messages and calls from hospitals and colleagues asking when he’d be back to work. Honestly, I wondered if everyone had made some sort of agreement behind my back that someone needed to stay with me at all times. That felt…annoying, and slightly patronizing. But I knew they all cared. And everyone was overjoyed to know there would soon be a baby amongst us.

As for me…I’d switched to online courses for the duration of my pregnancy. The first trimester knocked me down enough that I knew I wouldn’t make it to in-person classes. Marine biology was a lot of textbook work anyway. But thankfully, there was an internship available at the Georgia Aquarium. It was my saving grace. My ticket out of the house, away from my many well-meaning but meddlesome handlers, and into the familiar blue-tinted escaped I loved so much.

But no fish or sharks would save me today. What I was facing this particular afternoon was scarier than falling into a tank of hammerheads. And I’d know from experience on that one. It was what brought both of my husbands home. It was our first official appearance as a threesome. I fiddled with the ring on my right ring finger. A pear cut, pale blue sapphire. My wedding ring from Desmond. My other gold, flower diamond ring from Ced occupied the left ring finger. Our warm and strange but perfect love would soon be shoved into a too-small, sterile office with no checkboxes on their paperwork for the type of relationship we had. I had to get into a groove, find a way to explain, to move about with some level of comfort in it. I’d learn how today; I had to. We had to face it together.

The first doctor’s appointment of my pregnancy.

* * *

“Dorthea Queen…” The nurse squinted at her clipboard. “…Winslow-Gregory?”

The three of us stood. Me and my men. I took a deep breath as I gathered my purse. “That’s me,” I smiled.

“That’s quite a long name,” she murmured, holding the heavy door ajar with her hip.

I felt like I should apologize, but then, why would I apologize for having a long name? Instead I inched forward, feeling Cedric’s hand on my back.

“Only the partner is allowed back Miss… Queen Winslow-Greg—”

“We’re both her husbands,” Desmond chimed in with his deep honeyed voice. “Hence the long last name,” he added with a slight edge that made me hide a grin.

The nurse stood wide-eyed, looking between the three of us, until finally she cleared her throat. “Right this way. My name is Marsha.”

A breath of air left my lungs and Cedric rubbed my back. “See? Not so bad.”

For some reason, I’d expected my traditional, older husband to have a harder time with our arrangement in public than I did. But to my shock, Cedric seemed at ease. In fact, he’d seemed more at ease than ever since Desmond entered our lives. Our crew just worked. Like magic. The thought warmed my chest as I realized I’d drowned out the nurse’s instructions to stand on the scale. I passed my purse back to Des and stepped onto the scale with a clank. The petite, curly-haired nurse raised an eyebrow as she loudly moved the dials of the scale. “What’s your height?”

“Like five feet, four inches,” I replied, stepping down as she scribbled on her clipboard.

“What was your pre-pregnancy weight?”

I shrugged. “I don’t really weight myself regularly.”

“Well, your weight today is two-hundred and twenty-two pounds.”

“Okay, good to know.” I took my bag from Des.

“Are you aware that’s a very high starting weight? Did you know your BMI is at a dangerous level for sustaining a pregnancy? I wouldn’t be so casual about this if I were you.”

Desmond huffed, crossing his arms. “I spent a few years in the marines, and this is starting to sound like an interrogation. Shouldn’t she be taking us to a room or something, Cedric?”

“Indeed,” my husband grumbled. “She should be. And she should be taking our wife’s blood pressure as well.”

The nurse blanched and grabbed a cuff off the wall and motioned for me to sit down. “How long have you been a nurse?” Cedric asked, rubbing his jaw. I bit my lip to hide my smile at my husbands descending on this poor, fatphobic woman. I was prepared for it. I may have accepted and loved my body for exactly what it was, but I was aware that some very narrow-minded people weren’t as progressive in their thinking. Even medical professionals, unfortunately.

She huffed in irritation and wrapped the cuff tightly around my bicep. “I’ve been a nurse for eight years, Mr. Queen—”

“It’s Doctor. Doctor Winslow. I know your charge nurse here and each and every overseeing physician in this clinic. And I would think that in eight years of practice you’d recognize that you’re using the wrong sized cuff on your patient right now. Or do you only try to weight shame and not actually practice to the extent of the oath you took to help all people?”

My eyes widened as I looked between my husbands. Des put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. And while Cedric was stone-cold calm, I knew he was angry. Marsha swallowed as her face turned blood red. With jittery hands, she changed out the cuffs and this time the fit was more comfortable. “I-I didn’t realize you were Dr. Winslow. I’m sorry, sir.”

“Health cannot be assessed by a person’s weight alone, Marsha. Just like intelligence can’t be assumed because of one’s job title, which is apparent in this instance. I would hope you’d treat every patient as if they were of high standing, doctor’s wife or not.”

My cool and calm surgeon rarely got angry but when he did…

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