Sunday 20 August 2017

Kate was kneeling on the floor of her bathroom, clutching the porcelain sides of her toilet, as she vomited for what seemed to her like the hundredth time that morning. Pete held Kate's hair back from her face with one hand, and rubbed her back with the other, trying to comfort her.

"Why don't you get pregnant Kate? It'd be wonderful to have a baby." Kate muttered in between bouts of nausea. "Why did I ever let you talk me into this?"

Pete chose to view that as a rhetorical question and wisely decided not to answer.

"Of course," continued Kate "It wasn't just you. How was I expected to resist the both of you, sitting in front of me with those big puppy dog eyes, asking for a baby? I must admit though, I was surprised to see that you could make puppy dog eyes. I don't recall you ever doing that on Hammersley. Dutchy on the other hand…" Her voice trailed off as she vomited again.

Again, Pete chose not to answer. Kate was like this every morning at present, and he knew the routine. She would vomit for a while, in between whining about being pregnant, and reliving how things had happened for them all to end up where they were. Even though it had only recently started, he fervently hoped that the morning sickness would soon subside. This was nobody's idea of a fun way to start the day.

"Where's my ginger tea?" Kate demanded.

Just at that moment Dylan appeared with the tea. In deference to the tiled bathroom, the tea had been put into a small metal drink bottle instead of a cup. He offered Kate a sip from a water bottle first, to rinse her mouth, before handing her the bottle of tea. She sipped at the hot liquid, savouring the spicey taste as she swallowed the tea. Feeling better after a little while, Kate got up from her position on the floor and hugged both the men.

"Thanks guys. I hope that this morning sickness goes soon. I hate doing this every day."

"I'm just glad that you're not going through this on your own." replied Dylan. "Given that we've got you into this situation, being here with you is the least we could do for you."

Pete echoed Dylan's sentiments.

All three had been surprised at how quickly Kate had fallen pregnant after she'd had her IUD removed. It had only taken about three months before she was pregnant. The recent onset of morning sickness had been one of the noticeable signs. The doctor she'd seen during the week thought that Kate had conceived in mid-June and had tentatively set a due date for her of 12 March 2018.

Even before her pregnancy was officially confirmed, the three of them had started work on transforming the study/spare bedroom near Kate's room into a baby's nursery. They had spent last weekend painting the walls a pale blue-green – or rather, the men had painted while Kate supervised. Dylan and Pete had been adamant that she wasn't to lift a finger to paint. In fact, since she had announced that she thought that she might be pregnant, they'd barely allowed her to make a cup of coffee – decaf now – let alone do anything more strenuous. Lately they had been discussing the decorations for the room. Dylan was inclined to a sea theme, with fish, starfish and other aquatic decorations. Pete was leaning towards a forest theme, with Bambi, Thumper and friends. Kate wanted a Winnie the Pooh theme, with Piglet and Eeyore.

Later

After she'd showered and breakfasted and done a few chores, Kate prepared to go out. She had made arrangements to pick up Nikki and for them both to have lunch together in Rockingham today. This would also be the perfect time to tell Nikki about the pregnancy. Even though Kate had had strong suspicions that she was pregnant, and the home test had given a positive result – well, truth be told, all three tests she did had come back positive – Kate had wanted to have her pregnancy confirmed officially by the doctor before she started telling their friends the news.

The two women had a seafood lunch at a restaurant on the Rockingham foreshore. The area was a pleasant place, but Kate was looking forward to the revitalisation that was planned for the foreshore in the next year or so. After lunch they walked around the shops for a while, not buying much, mostly just having a fun time picking up and putting down things that caught their eye. Nikki offered to make coffee for Kate back at her house, so the two women returned there.

Once back at Nikki's house, Kate told Nikki that she would rather have juice than a coffee. Nikki raised her eyebrows at that request – Kate almost never knocked back an invitation to have a coffee. After Nikki had prepared a coffee for herself, and given Kate an apple juice, they went outside to sit on the terrace. Kate drank some of her juice before putting the glass on the table and clearing her throat.

"Ah Nikki. I've got something to tell you." she began.

"Mmmm?"

"Well, um, NikkiI'mpregnant." Kate blurted the words out in her rush to tell Nikki her news.

"Sorry Kate. What did you say? I couldn't understand a word you said."

"I – am – pregnant." Kate made sure to speak slowly and clearly this time. "About eight weeks. It was only confirmed by the doctor this week, that's why I've waited before telling you. I wanted to be sure. The doctor thinks I'll have the baby in mid-March."

"Oh wow. Congratulations." Nikki hugged Kate before settling back into her chair. She sipped her coffee for a minute before asking, "Who's the father, Dylan or Pete?"

"I don't know. We don't know. It could be either of them. We agreed not to find out until after the baby's here, so we'll figure that bit out later on. DNA testing or something. We'll sort something out."

"So, you've been sleeping with both of them, and you're having a baby not knowing which one of them is the father?"

"Yep" replied Kate with a smile.

"And that doesn't concern you?" Nikki frowned as she tried to take in what Kate was telling her.

"Oddly enough – not at all. I've changed; no longer does everything in my life have to be planned to the last degree and according to the rule book. I've become a lot more flexible - in my thinking, of course." Kate smirked briefly while Nikki groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well, given our relationship I have to be adaptable. The guys asked me about trying for a baby back in February. I must admit that I wasn't sure I'd even be able to get pregnant but, here we are."

Nikki shook her head before speaking again. "Congratulations on your pregnancy but Kate, I really do need some time to think about this. It's all a bit overwhelming and so different from what you used to be like when we were together on Hammersley. My God, you were so straightlaced and uptight in those days. Actually, you were a bit of a bitch back then. At least at the start anyway. You got better later on." Nikki smiled to take away the sting of her words.

Kate nodded her understanding. "I know that the guys and my relationship isn't a normal sort of one, but I'm happy – really happy – for the first time in ages. And, I've got to say it, I'm so much happier than I ever was when I was with Mike. Back with him it was almost always on his terms; what he wanted. With the guys, our relationship is what we want together, what we talk about and agree to. I admit that some aspects of this pregnancy are what I want, like not finding out who the dad is until after the baby's born, but the guys agreed to it. It's not like before when Mike would just unilaterally make a decision and expect me to be happy about it and go along with what he wanted. So please, just be glad for us. I've changed over the years. Things aren't so black and white as they used to be. Frankly, it's actually bloody wonderful not to be living my entire life by the rulebook any more. Princess Perfect is well and truly buried."

Having said all she wanted to say on that subject for the moment, Kate finished her drink and Nikki topped her up with another juice. They sat around the table and talked about nothing in particular for a while longer. When Conrad arrived after finishing a shift, Kate hugged Nikki before she left the house and drove back to Mandurah.

Once home, she told the men about Nikki's reaction. They agreed not to push her. They all knew that Nikki would need time to think about the situation. She would probably talk things over with Conrad and then she would eventually make contact with them when she had come to terms with their news.

FYI – the bathroom scene was actually the first thing I wrote for this story. For a little while it was going to be the opening chapter of this story. Then I wrote the first chapter and then the last chapter. And that's why I don't post stories until they're complete