Chapter 19

Stephanie's POV

It took Marco and me four months to get Plum Dragon Fitness launched. We got Ranger, Bobby, Tank, Lester, Hector, Emilio and Hal as investors. The guys talked us out of renting the rooms inside the gym on the other side of Trenton. Instead, we found a building across the road from Rangeman to purchase. The upper floor got used for dance, yoga and Zumba, while the main floor is where Marco, Hal, Manny and Binkie teach the various martial arts disciplines. I was surprised when Hal, Manny and Binkie quit Rangeman to work for me.

"Why did you leave Rangeman?" I had asked them after filing their tax forms.

"We wanted to be with our friend and support her business," Binkie had replied.

"I'm getting too old for chasing after the skips, wifey," Manny answered.

"I missed my friend," Hal said, blushing bright red. "And I wanted to help women and children defend themselves." My friend was a hit with the ladies and kids. They were more relaxed with Hal or Binkie teaching them. Marco and a new hire, Chad Chambers, instructed the other martial arts disciplines.

Robin dated Marco briefly before she hooked up with Joe Morelli. I was disappointed in her because she cheated on my brother. Thankfully, Marco and Robin never slept together. He met Sara Keller when she applied for the receptionist position. I didn't hire Sara for the reception desk. Her resume indicated she was a fitness fanatic. Marco and I hired her to teach Yoga and Zumba. She was an excellent instructor. I enjoyed watching Marco and Sara fall in love.

My sister Valerie works as our receptionist while the girls are in school. Mom babysits Lisa for Valerie who was pregnant again. She enrolled in yoga classes at a heavily reduced rate we offer to employees. We wanted to offer them for free, but our investors convinced us otherwise.

"Are you okay, Steph?" Valerie asked when I approached the reception desk.

"I'll be fine, Val. I have an appointment. I'll be back in a few hours if anyone is looking for me," I replied. I could feel Valerie watching my back as I left the building. My phone rang as I got into the car. "Hey, Marco."

"Val said you looked pale. Are you okay? You're not contagious, are you?"

I sighed before replying, "Yes, Marco, I'm fine. The last I heard, pregnancy isn't something you can catch."

"Really?" he carefully asked. Someone must be close enough to hear his end of the conversation. Marco knew I wouldn't want anyone to know before telling my husband. To be honest, I was surprised I didn't get pregnant months ago. I took antibiotics while on the pill. Tank and I didn't use condoms.

"Yes. I peed on the stick, and it showed two pink lines. Tank is going to be excited. We had only started trying," I said. "My husband has good swimmers. However, the doctor needs to confirm the results."

"TMI, Steph and it makes perfect sense. Let me know what they say, okay?" Marco asked.

"Will do. I have to go. Tank just got here," I replied as Tank climbed into the driver's seat. I ended the call with Marco. "Do you know why I have a doctor's appointment?"

"No, Little Girl. But I'm hoping you say we're having a baby," he replied. I nodded and grinned at my husband. "I'm going to be a daddy?"

"Most likely," I answered. Pierre reached for my hand and held it until he parked in the lot for my doctor in Princeton. Neither of us wanted the hassle of dealing with the Burg regarding our mixed-race child. It took a few months for mom to accept my marriage to Pierre. She eventually came around, admitting that being married made her happy.

"Is your mom going to be okay with our child?" Pierre asked.

"It doesn't really matter. Dad wants another grandson," I replied. "Valerie just found out they're having a boy."

"I bet Albert is happy," Tank said. He exited the car and opened my door. I was used to opening it myself, but Pierre had insisted it was his responsibility. Who am I to tell him no?

My wonderful husband stayed with me for my appointment. He had the option to remain in the waiting room, but he wanted to be at my side. Tank didn't balk when the doctor inserted the sonogram wand into my vagina. He stared at the monitor in awe as the doctor said, "Here is baby A. Hiding behind baby B is your baby C."

"Triplets?" I squeaked. "I'm having three?"

"Yes, Mrs. Sherman. You are pregnant with triplets. I'm not sure, but it appears to be identical twins and a fraternal baby," she announced.

"Please, call me Stephanie or Steph. How do you know?" I asked.

"See these two embryos?" She waited for me to nod. "They share the same amniotic sack, which makes them identical twins. Do you have twins in your family, Mr. Sherman?"

"Please, call me Tank. Yes, my cousins on my father's side are identical twins," Pierre replied.

"I have a fraternal twin brother," I added. "Guess what, honey? We only have to go through one pregnancy for the three children you wanted."

Tank grinned at me. "When you get farther into the pregnancy, I'll get a vasectomy," he offered.

"Tank, Stephanie will likely have a c-section. I could always tie her tubes while I'm inside her abdomen," Dr. Carie Anderson suggested.

"We could do both," I said. "Knowing my luck, I'd get pregnant despite Pierre getting a vasectomy." Carie laughed, but she didn't realize I was serious. Dr. Anderson gave me a copy of the sonogram image. Our babies were barely visible, but you could still see the sacks where the babies grow.

"Given your age, I recommend resting as much as possible. Avoid high-stress situations. You could risk losing one or more fetuses before you reach twelve weeks. You are seven weeks along. I'll see you every two weeks," Carie announced after passing me a prescription for the prenatal vitamins I need to take for multiples.

"What about exercise? I own a martial arts studio," I wondered. "Can I still teach Yoga?"

"Yoga is acceptable. But not any activity that could risk hitting your abdomen." I nodded, letting her know I understood. "You'll need to modify your Yoga positions to accommodate your pregnancy. Maybe you could start a class for pregnant women." I thanked her for the recommendations and promised to call with class times to give her patients.

Tank was quiet when we got back into the car after setting up my next appointment. "Is something wrong, Pierre?" I asked.

"I'm shocked, Little Girl. I forgot you could carry multiples. Steph, I'm sorry," he said.

"Um. Why? We agreed to have a child. Did we not say we wanted at least one but not more than three?" I asked. I waited for him to nod before continuing. "I'll be smart, Pierre. I have to tell Marco that I can't teach Zumba or the regular Yoga classes."

"Will he be upset?" Tank asked.

"Not likely. Marco already knows I'm pregnant. I'm sorry for not telling you first," I confessed.

"Little Girl, baby, I suspected you were pregnant. Your breasts have been tender for weeks," he surprised me by saying. "With your appointment today, I prayed my dreams got answered."

"What dreams would those be, Big Guy?"

"Being married to the most amazing woman I have ever met and watching as she grew round with my child." Pierre made me melt a little. "You're my soulmate."

"As you are mine," I reciprocated. I used my phone to take a close-up picture of the sonogram image. Valerie had Lisa's on the same type of paper. It disappeared when she had added it to a photo album. My sister was upset about losing the image, but she had photographed it to send to me. I got it printed on photo paper and gave her the copy.

Marco sent a text, "Congrats, Steph. Pass along the message to Pierre."

"Marco said congratulations," I relayed to Tank who nodded his head.

Tank's POV

Triplets. I can't believe we are having three babies. How are we going to handle them? Stephanie was already scared to become a mother when we considered one child. But three? I'm excited, yet afraid to have three children in under a year. I grinned as I thought of the possibility of getting either two boys or two girls. In my dreams, my daughter has curly hair and blue eyes like her beautiful mother, with a skin tone closer to mine. She's a gorgeous child. What wouldn't I give to have that daughter?

"I hope one of our babies resembles you, Pierre," Stephanie said. "It wouldn't hurt to have one with your dark skin but with my eye colour. All three of our children will have Afro hair, so there's no use wishing for it. They are destined to have crazy curls."

"That's what I want," I confessed. "A daughter who resembles you." She grinned as I parked behind Plum Dragon Fitness. Stephanie kissed me as she gave me the sonogram image. "I took a photograph to share. Please, call the core team together to make an announcement."

"Okay, Little Girl. I'll tell the guys," I promised. Stephanie had to call her own staff meeting to make the announcement. Her restrictions would be more intense than mine. I slipped the sonogram image into my pocket before opening Stephanie's door. She went on her toes to kiss me. "Don't go crazy."

Stephanie smiled when I said Ranger's words. "Don't get shot," she joked. "I love you, Pierre. I'm happy to be carrying our children."

"I love you too, Stephanie. There is no one else I would want as the mother of my children," I replied. I kissed her again before tapping her ass. She smiled and finger-waved over her shoulder. I'm head over heels in love with my wife.

Ranger noticed the grin on my face when I entered his office on the fifth floor. "Good news?" he asked, smirking.

"Yes, Ranger," I replied. Before I could say anything else, Lester, Bobby, Hector and Cal arrived. They expectantly waited as I pulled the paper from my pocket. Silently, I handed the picture to Ranger. He grinned before passing it to Lester.

"What am I looking at?" Lester asked. Cal carefully removed the paper from Lester. He grinned before passing it to Bobby.

"Twins or triplets?" Bobby asked.

"Triplets, but it's twins with a fraternal," I replied. "Stephanie and I are having three babies. How are we going to get through the first few years?"

"You have a building full of uncles," Lester replied. He grabbed the sonogram from Bobby and smiled at the image. "I want to be your daughter's godfather."

"Me too," Hector announced. I laughed when Bobby, Ranger and Cal claimed godfather duty for the boys.

"It's too early to know what we're having. We could be getting twin girls and a fraternal boy. Or two boys and a girl. Maybe three boys." I shuddered when I said, "Or three girls." God help me if we have all girls. Frank wants another grandson, but I want one daughter. "I can't promise to make any of you godparents. Stephanie gets a say in the assignment."

"HUA," they replied.

Marco's POV

My twin is having three babies. Wow. What could I say? "How did your appointment go?" I heard Valerie ask Stephanie.

"Um. Good. Listen, Val, are the guys free?" Stephanie asked.

I called upstairs to see if Binkie, Manny and Hal had finished their classes. "We just wrapped up. The rooms are clearing out," Hal said.

"When is the next class?" I asked. Hal stated they all had a break for an hour before the next group would arrive. It was a relief because we had time to get through the announcement. I asked them to meet us in the back office. We had enough seating to accommodate our group. Valerie wisely locked the doors to prevent anyone from interrupting us.

Instead of sitting in her chair, Stephanie sat on my lap. Sara winked at me. She knew I was close to Stephanie. It didn't bother her. Sara loved that I took care of my twin. I was glad Stephanie and Sara got along. I've never met anyone like Sara. Like Stephanie, Sara didn't care about how much money I had. She loved me for the man I am and loved my twin sister.

"I wanted everyone to know that I'm seven weeks pregnant with triplets. I'll have to reduce my hours for teaching. My doctor cleared me to teach yoga for pregnant women," Stephanie announced.

"Would you mind if I take over teaching your classes?" Sara asked. I smiled at my girlfriend. She was willing to work twice the hours to help my sister.

"Only for my Yoga classes," Stephanie replied. "I would like to hire Tara to teach my Zumba. She has enough energy to keep up with the demanding lessons. I'm not saying you couldn't handle them, Sara. You're already working more hours than me."

Sara giggled. "Tara's nice," she said as she stared at Hal. He blushed bright red. I pinched Stephanie's leg.

Stephanie grinned at Hal before saying, "Hal, are you alright with me hiring Tara?"

"Yes, Steph. I would like her to work here," he replied. Proving her accurate intuition, Stephanie asked if he was already dating Tara.

"That's not all," Sara said. "They have known each other since kindergarten." I laughed when Hal mumbled and blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Hal, it's fine. Is she the woman you've been telling me about?" Stephanie asked. Hal nodded. "It's about time you pulled your head from your ass."

We asked Valerie to prepare the paperwork to hire Tara. She would be a great addition to our company. Stephanie got off my lap to let us return to our rooms for the next group of students. She laid on the couch in her office to rest. I kissed her forehead and promised to check on her after my hour-long lesson.

As Hal, Manny, Binkie and I walked toward our rooms, I said, "Stephanie's pregnancy is high risk because of her age and the triplets. I don't want her to work as many hours as she'd been since we've opened. They readily agreed to help with more of the duties Stephanie handled.