Page 55 of Just Curious

Casey grabbed for a glass and straw on a nearby table and held it to her lips.

The poor doctor looked from one man to the other confusedly until Jackson attempted to set him straight. “We’re a triad. We all love each other, and we’re as good as married to each other.” He squeezed Willa’s hand gently for reassurance.

Dr. Nugent blinked a couple of times and then continued on as professionally as possible, “Yes, well, as I said, we noticed the blood and right away performed an ultrasound. It’s true, she had an IUD, but it was improperly situated in her cervix rather than fully up in her uterus, thus decreasing the effectiveness of the birth control by at least thirty percent. We immediately removed the device so it wouldn’t cause harm to the mother or fetus. Should she choose to terminate…”

Willa managed to look at the doctor with a horrified expression.

“No!” snapped Jackson at the same time Casey gasped, “No way!”

“Well, I guess that settles that question.” He finally smiled at all of them. “She’s going to have to take it easy. The pregnancy is in its early stages, but losing a lot of blood under the circumstances isn’t as scary as it sounds. She’ll need to stay off her ankle, and crutches won’t be an option due to her shoulder injury, so I guess you gentlemen will just have to wait on her hand and foot until she can get around.”

“No problem,” Casey assured him.

“It will be our pleasure,” Jackson stated firmly and then asked, “But do you think we ought to hire a nurse for her?”

The doctor looked at their worried faces and answered, “I doubt that will be necessary.”

Chapter 36

Jackson arranged for Willa to spend the night in one of the VIP suites in the hospital for the night, and they all made their way upstairs to stay with her. There was no way either Casey or Jackson would let her out of their sight.

Once she was settled, Miles told them all, “I think I’m going to try to find a flight back up north tonight. I’ll just be in your way, and you all need your privacy now.”

“I have a better idea,” Jackson told him. “You look exhausted, and it’s hard to get late flights out of San Diego. Go to my house, get some rest, and I’ll have someone fly you home first thing in the morning.” Jackson made a quick call and set up the charter flight and gave his brother the code to get into his house. “Make yourself comfortable.”

They all returned to Jackson’s house the next day. The specially made, giant bed he’d ordered was now in place, and they were all ready to try it out—at least for sleeping. Willa certainly wasn’t ready for anything else.

The story of Willa’s accident was all over the news, so a few hours after they arrived home, a large, beautiful bouquet showed up for Willa from the book club ladies. They’d been horrified to hear why she hadn’t shown up to their meeting. The flowers were accompanied by several hand-written cards wishing her a speedy recovery and exclaiming over how much they’d enjoyed her book. Willa vowed to make it up to them soon.

For the next several days they all tried to regroup and calm down. Once one goes through a hair-raising experience, however, it’s tough to figure out normal again right away. But they also discussed their new situation and all three decided that having a baby on the horizon was the most exciting, wonderful news they could imagine for themselves. They also decided that figuring out the biological father wasn’t a priority for them. Kids tend to look like their parents, and it would probably become apparent over time. But if it didn’t—it didn’t matter. Casey and Jackson promised they would love the child unconditionally, no matter whose swimmer did the deed. Genetic testing could always be done later if it became necessary for medical reasons.

About fifty times a day, Willa had to answer the question, “Do you feel alright?” Each time she assured her men that she did. Her aches and pains were receding, and she felt no nausea from her pregnancy. Her only symptom so far was evident when she complained, “My boobs hurt. Do they look bigger to you guys?”

Plenty of detailed inspections ensued, and the men declared her tits “Just perfect.”

When the typical first-trimester sleepiness kicked in, she spent several hours a day sound asleep.

“This is probably the best way for her to heal anyway,” announced Casey. He’d been researching everything he could about pregnancy and felt like an authority on the subject. He also spent an inordinate amount of time Googling babies and how to be a good parent. Often over dinner he would throw out amazing factoids such as, “Did you know that babies are born with three hundred bones, but as they grow up, ninety-four of them will fuse? And they don’t have kneecaps. Amazing, yeah?”

Another day he demanded, “You plan to breastfeed, don’t you, Willa? It’s absolutely the best thing for babies, you know.” Then he recounted all of the nutritional and developmental benefits he’d read about. After he lectured a while, he got a stricken look on his face and added, “But if you want to bottle feed instead, that’s also fine. Baby formula is an excellent food for babies as well, and I don’t mean to tell you how you have to do it.”

Willa regarded Casey fondly and reassured him, “If it works out for me, I plan to breastfeed. Don’t worry.”

Jackson located the most highly regarded OB/GYN in the area and made an appointment for Willa. When they all three showed up for the appointment, the staff was polite and accommodating, but they did get some odd looks. One of the nurses put her foot in her mouth when she assumed that Jackson and Casey were a gay couple who’d hired Willa to have a baby for them. She was mortified to discover what a gross error she’d made and apologized profusely.

Also, remaining true to his vows about safety, Jackson hired a couple more chauffeurs and bought two new town cars to go along with the limo so that no one had to drive themselves around any longer. Then he purchased a helicopter and a small jet with an aircrew for their transportation needs.

Casey and Willa grinned and rolled their eyes at him—and loved him all the more for his concern.

Sex was off the table for Willa for a while, so she cheerfully ordered Jackson and Casey to have lots of sex together—in front of her, of course. She loved watching them bring each other to ecstasy. A couple of times she told them, “I’m getting some new ideas from this,” or, “Oh! You like that?” And then she would make a happy “mmm” sound.

Finally, Willa announced that she was recovered and could get around on her own with a boot. Her ribs and shoulder weren’t bothering her much at all. So, she grabbed her laptop and got back in touch with her co-screenwriter Janie. It felt good to be working again. She alternated her work on the screenplay with writing her newest novel.

And gently, the men began to include her in their bed games, but only very carefully at first. After a few sessions of this, however, Willa cried out in frustration, “Oh for crying out loud, you guys! Fuck me like you mean it; I’m not made of glass!” Jackson started to protest, but she stopped him cold. “I’mfine!”The guys laughed finally at her ferocious expression and got down to business. She sighed contentedly, “Much better.”

The next day, Jackson disappeared for a while. When he got home, he looked a little nervous to Willa and Casey, who stole questioning glances at each other. They both would raise their eyebrows and shrug when Jackson obviously missed something one of them said because he was somewhere in his own head. Jackson seemed jumpy all the way through dinner, but when they were finished eating, he stood up from the table and went to kneel between the other two. Finally, his demeanor seemed calm.

“Willa,” he said as he looked lovingly into her eyes. “Casey,” he said as he turned his attention to his lifelong best friend. “You both fill my heart with more joy than I ever imagined. Will you do me the greatest honor of wearing these bands and being my partners forever? I know we can’t all three marry legally, but you’re it for me. I will love you to my dying day.” He held up beautiful matching wedding bands to them.

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