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I knew there were at least a dozen others, all over the country. Eva and her roommate; Fiona, Carl’s sister in law, Martha, wife of the infertile husband from Boston, the two submissive’s in New York, Janet, Melanie, Brenda, Lois and Patricia in Wisconsin, plus the woman in Canada.
When Dawn had told us about how many puppies they were educating in Marquette, there’d been eight total, I think, from age one to eight. An average of one per year. We were talking about four times that many scattered around that I had some responsibility of bringing to the packs.
We were suddenly surrounded by well wishers, patting Sean on the back and hugging me, and looking at my ring. Of course, everyone had to know the date of the wedding, which we hadn’t really discussed at all.
Sean just said, “It will be after Jessica delivers her second child, then the next one she carries will be mine.”
I added, “I want a proper wedding dress, and not a potato sack, so maybe two months after I deliver, so I can get down to my pre-baby weight if I work my ass off, but Brigitte doesn’t let me slack off, so I think I’ll make it.”
I thought about that too, as I got hugged and kissed and people grabbed my hand and looked at my ring. Maybe eleven months before I was married if I waited for two after delivering, and then I’d be having my own child, and not one for the pack. Sean’s business ran out of Portland. Where would we live? His apartment was too small for a family, plus bodyguards. Even mine would be stretching it, and then he’d have to drive, or if we found a larger house somewhere, would we make in the Bath-Brunswick area, so I’d be close to Bath Iron Works if I could get rehired, or Portland? Do I just give up on engineering and be a breeder and mother?
“What are you thinking, Jessica? You seem a little distant,” Sasha asked. “Do you feel like you’ve made the right choice?”
“The best choice for me,” I said, then looked around to ensure Sean’s family wasn’t close enough to hear me. They were crowded around Sean. “Your son is a wonderful man. I’m lucky to have him. I was thinking about more prosaic things I haven’t even considered yet, like where we were going to live. His work is in Portland. Mine, if the economy picks up again, is in Bath. His place is too small, mine is almost too small for starting a family. One child, tops, is all I can have here considering I’ll be housing two bodyguards. We haven’t really discussed any of this, as there were other, more immediate, concerns standing in our way. I guess I hadn’t expected to fall in love and that Sean would want to marry me, considering the rest, so I hadn’t really contemplated any of the more mundane aspects of marriage before now.”
Sasha smiled, then kissed me. “You’ve made me so happy, and I feel so fortunate, Jessica. If you could work out the things you have, I’m sure you can work out the things you haven’t.”
“I believe the same thing, Sasha. We’ll work it out somehow.”
******
Sean and I were outside saying goodbye to his family and my sister breeders when I saw Stan, taking out the trash.
“Hi, Stan. Hey, folks, this is my neighbor, Stan. He just moved here from Montana. He works in lumber. He mentioned he’s looking for someone to date. Stan, this is Randa. She’s currently unattached, and Simone, also unattached, and my fiancé’s sister, Karina, also unattached. Plus Sean’s mother and father, Maggie and Gordon, his brother, Devin, and Devin’s friend, Betty The young women are all currently pregnant, being paid to provide children to infertile couples, but other than that, they’re free of obligations. This is my intended, Sean.”
He looked at the two men with Randa and the couple with Simone and the female with Karina.
“They don’t look particularly unattached.”
“Personal bodyguards, assigned to protect the unborn children,” I said, “but they are, in fact, unattached. If you give them your phone number and they’re interested, they can give you a call.”
“Fiancé, not boyfriend?”
“Became engaged the weekend after speaking with you. I did tell you it was serious and I was happy.”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Yes, you did. Sure, I’ll give them my number.”
He was a bit of stud muffin, so all three women copied down his phone number.
“Why were you having the party?” Stan asked.
“To announce my engagement and that I was pregnant.”
“Is that why you’re getting married?”
“No. I’m getting married because I’m in love. The pregnancy has nothing to do with it. I’m giving it up anyway. Good to see you again.”
******
Everyone else had left, even Sean, except for my parents. Dad was upstairs, fucking Brigitte or Alicia, or maybe both. Mom and I were naked again, and my collar was off, Sean removing it before he left. I was holding my half sister, Kathleen, feeding it a bottle. Angela was in the kitchen, doing some clean up.
“Big day, huh?” Mom asked. She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Not as big as actually getting asked, which was last Saturday after my first day of breeding. At that point, I figured Sean had endured the worst of what he’d have to endure, and if he was willing to ask, I could say yes.”
“Are you happy?”
“I wouldn’t have said yes if I weren’t.”
“You’ve seemed somewhat quiet today.”
“I was thinking about all of the things Sean and I haven’t discussed, like where we were going to live, and that in eleven months, I’ll be married and Sean will want a child of his own, and I’m going to be a mother, for real, not handing it off to the wolves to raise.”
“You’re not going to live here?”
“Sean works in Portland. It’s an hour away and as early as he needs to get down to the harbor, he’d be getting up at three or four in the morning for the drive. Plus with lupine bodyguards, even this place is good for one baby, not more. Sean’s apartment won’t work at all. We probably need a larger place, maybe something more equidistant between here and Portland.
“I’ve also been thinking about whether I should go back to work if Bath Iron Works starts rehiring, or remain a breeder and wife and mother. I’d like to go back to work, at least for a little while, but if I start having a second child for myself, should I give up the idea of work entirely, at least while the children are young. I hate to give up four years of education, but my life is so different from what it was two years ago. Just other stuff to think about now we’ve decided to tie the knot. But, at least with Brigitte, Alicia and Angela here, I’ve got help with any kids, so it might be a good time to work. Kind of like you having James and Sue to help with Kathleen.”
“Okay, I can see that.”
“The big question for me was, would Sean be good with my breeding three more puppies. I wasn’t sure he would ask, so we didn’t talk about all the other things couples might talk about, but we do have time now, before the ceremony, to figure these things out. I should make a list.”
“As long as you love him, I’m sure things will work out.”
They did work out, for a few years at least, before my heart was broken.