Page 16 of Hot Life
“Get out,” I said through gritted teeth. “All of you, I’m serious. I don’t want any of you here anymore. Go stay somewhere else. I’m done.”
Turning on my heel, I retreated, leaving behind an exasperated chorus of Dot, Queen, Dollys behind me.
They were losing their minds and treating me like a new transfer at the aquarium that needed twenty-four-hour surveillance. Like I was a fish with no agency. Maybe I’d leaned on them too heavily, asked for too much. I’d grown too comfortable with letting the team around me cater to my every whim. Desmond disappeared at three in the morning a few nights ago because I woke up demanding deviled eggs. Where he found deviled eggs at that hour, I have no idea, but I ate each one. Every time I changed clothes, someone just happened to be in the doorway to offer to help bolt me into whatever yards of fabric my maternity-wear provided. It just hit me they were arranging themselves as around-the-clock care. It was patronizing and embarrassing that no one thought I was capable enough of existing on my own. Pregnant people did this every day without hordes of busybodies attending to their every need. I could too. I slammed the door of my room, but didn’t lock it, and crawled back into bed. My fury was still a pulsing thing in my ribs.
* * *
Rolling over was hard. You may think, Dolly, sleeping between two hot men every night, what’s there to complain about? Plenty when you’re large, swollen, and overheated. They always managed to get into bed without waking me, though. Another coordinated affair I wasn’t privy too. Jesus, what if Cedric wasn’t joking and him and Des really did trade my sex-panties like trading cards? I made a mental note to snoop through their closets tomorrow.
But my husbands were hot. Literally, I was overheating. My heart felt like it was on fire, which happened lately whenever I lay down. Lying flat between them, I squirmed out from Desmond’s arm over my chest, palming a boob in his sleep, animal, and shimmied from under Cedric’s hand on my inflated belly. Thankfully, they didn’t wake as I tiptoed down the stairs into the large family room. I loved this room with its oversized, overstuffed sectional couch that took up nearly the entire space. It could fit all of us. We’d had a lot of fun family movie nights in here, my sister and Caroline cackling in the floor, my husbands joking on either side of me. My heart dropped at the thought that in a few weeks that may change. Where would a baby fit in here? What if getting pregnant ruined our dynamic? Would they all be up planning their babysitting schedules for the actual baby without me? Maybe they wouldn’t even want me anymore after Krill was born. If my fears were true and I wasn’t the motherly sort, what need for me would there be? I couldn’t let my thoughts linger as I hoisted myself onto the sofa and positioned myself upright with a pillow under my neck. Sleeping sitting up…If sharks could sleep while swimming, I could sleep propped upright.
The image of a great white peacefully gliding through crystal blue water lulled me to sleep as my burning chest mildly subsided.
When I opened my eyes again, the warm golden morning light filtered through sheer curtains, drowning the room in sun. My breath caught as I realized who was next to me. Des lay back, his arms behind his head and foot near my hip. Cedric sat upright next to me, arms crossed and sleeping with his glasses on. They must have come out to find me in the middle of the night and stayed. It was hard to stay mad at such a small gesture of affection.
When I looked to the other side of the sectional, Caroline lay bundled in a blanket, and when I made to stand, I noticed the person lying at my feet. Odette looked like a little girl when she slept, her red hair tied back and her peaceful, childlike face. She blinked her eyes at me and sat up with a stretch.
I furrowed my brows. “What are you doing down here?”
“We didn’t want to leave you alone. Caroline and I…we check on you every night. Don’t look at me like that; it’s nothing weird. We just want to make sure you’re okay and don’t need us for, you know, girl stuff. I know you’ve got your two dorks, but we’re here for you too,” she whispered as Dobby pattered up to her and curled himself in her lap.
I gave his brown velvety ear a soft rub. “I’m sorry I flipped out. I know you guys are just trying to look out for me. It’s just…a lot.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been moody your whole pregnancy. I just…” She shrugged. “You’re always the unique one, the cool one. You eloped with a rich doctor, then when I married Caroline, that wasn’t even as scandalous as you taking on another partner. Now my catering and party planning company is taking off and all Mom can talk about is the baby. It seems like whatever I do, you’re always better, prettier, more interesting.” My sister fidgeted with the dog’s collar. “I got jealous. I’m sorry.”
My ribs tightened at her confession. “Odie, that’s not true. You’re amazing and everyone knows that. I could never run my own company. I’d lose my mind. And you and Caroline are perfect and totally a scandal. I mean, Dad caught you guys having sex on the roof. I’ve never done that.”
Odette snickered and I put a hand over my mouth to stifle my own giggle. She stood and reached out a hand, helping me up. “I love you, Dolly. And actually, a two-for-one dog and human clinic does sound like a great idea.”
“Oh great, that can be yours and Caroline’s next business venture.” She laughed softly as I grinned. “I love you too, brat. Now let’s go make breakfast. Krill and I are starving.”
thirty-five weeks pregnant
BABY IS THE SIZE OF A FULL PAGE OF MY BLOOD TEST RESULTS
Sobs shook through me and tears blurred my vision as I bounded through the front doors. My husbands called after me but I stomped up to our room and locked myself in. After collapsing on the bed and crying into a pillow, a gentle knock sounded at the door. “Dot, I know this isn’t what you wanted to happen. I’m sorry.”
“Go away!” I yelled.
My belly was so huge I couldn’t even see or reach my feet to take off my shoes.
As if reading my mind, another, gruffer voice sounded next to Cedric’s. “Let me at least help you take off your shoes, Queen.”
They were knee-high boots I’d insisted on having Odette and Caroline lace me into. I don’t know what I was thinking, only that I wanted to look cute for my appointment. Drying my face with a pillow, I hoisted myself off the bed and padded over, unlatching the lock. Des stood, arm resting on the frame exposing his biceps. Cedric leaned, arms crossed, looking like James Bond himself. And here I was, a splotchy-faced, messy-haired, crying mess…with high blood pressure.
Cedric took my hand and helped me sit gently on the bed, while Desmond knelt at my feet.
Cedric spoke at last, even though I was dodging both of their stares. “Gestational hyper-tension is very common, Dot. It’s not your fault.”
I sniffled as Desmond unlaced my boots. “I don’t want a c-section. Sonny said my body’s innate wisdom would bloom my flower.”
Des snorted before Cedric whacked him on the back of the head. “Ouch! Sorry.” He rubbed his neck, and I suppressed a grin. “I know a scheduled cesarean isn’t what you planned, Queen. But your blood pressure is high, and we can’t risk anything happening to you or the baby. We just do what we have to, solider.” He squeezed my arm.
It was then I realized how stupid I must have sounded to him—my former marine, my amputee badass husband, who’d endured much more intensive surgery than my scheduled c-section. And Cedric, who’d preformed hundreds of surgeries himself. All on people in much more dire situations than I was in.
“Dot, your hypertension is pregnancy induced. It’s of no fault of your own. In fact, research says it’s genetic. Your mother had the same condition in her pregnancies with you and your sister.”
I swallowed and nodded.