The Third Wife (13 page)

Cody

We're
at the hospital, finally. I thought my heart was going to stop when she said
her water broke. Just another thing to
lay
at Sharon's
feet. A day that was supposed to be a joyous one turned into chaos because of
her need to always be in the spotlight. I'll deal with her and that later.
Right now I have a wife to take care of.

I
admit I had become a madman after her announcement that her water broke. I’d
picked her up and ran walked down the hallway screaming for my moms and hers;
pretty much anyone at that point. Believe it or not it was my dad and hers that
got everything situated. I needed to put her down in order to go get her
overnight bag, but I couldn't, so I delegated.

I
sent Sabrina after it in the end, left Katie and Crystal with Arlene and was
off to the hospital. For some reason Wildflower kept laughing her head off. I
thought she had become hysterical until she explained that I had turned into
what she calls my army mode. Shouting out orders and running rough shod over
everyone and everything. Why the hell she found that funny at a time like this
was beyond me. But as long as she was smiling I was good.

I barely let them take her
from me to set her up in her private room. She had a team of doctors waiting
for her since the babies were high risk. Thank goodness they were only a few
weeks early. She'd done what she set out to do.

"Okay Alana, we're at
that time, are you ready?" The doc was beaming so I guess that meant
everything looked good.

They
had her hooked up to a contraction machine and heart monitor and I forget what
else. My anxiety eased just a tad at his demeanor. They asked me if I wanted to
see what they were doing. But as excited as I am at the prospect of a son, she
was my main concern. It was always going to be her. And after seeing what she tried
to do for Sharon, that only reinforced what I felt for her. For one so young to
be that...wise seems too tame a word. But it wasn't just that, her capacity for
forgiveness, that heart was worth more than gold.

So
no, I stayed with her, holding her hand, whispering words of love and
encouragement to her, wiping her brow. Even stealing a quick kiss here and
there. I think it must be the first time in history there was so much laughter
in a delivery room. Between the pain and the contractions, we laughed. It was
the only way I could get through it without losing my mind. I felt every
twinge, every discomfort. In fact I was the one promising never again to put
her through this.

Not even when the nurse
said it's a boy the first, second, or third time. I didn't leave her side; I
stayed there looking into her eyes. Though her face had become cloudy through
the tears that were running from my eyes. I did pick my head up at the uh oh
though, right before I hit the floor.

Alana

I
looked over the side of the bed at Cody after he landed. If what's going on
down south wasn't alarming I would've laughed. Uh oh is not something you
wanted to hear while giving birth to multiple babies in a high-risk situation.
But that's not what had made my husband faint. No his daughter did that.

"Are
one of you gonna pick him up?" I really shouldn't be laughing but come on.
I guess they were too busy with me to pay him much mind. He finally came around
in time to see the babies all cleaned up. Now he’s sitting with four little
bundles all over his lap. They were that small, but thank heavens they were all
past the four pound mark with little
Cayleah
coming
in at five pounds to beat out her brothers. I guess she'd pulled a fast one on
doc, hiding behind the boys. She’s going to be like her mother, a take-charge
kinda bitch.-

The
family was allowed in the room after I'd been cleaned up and the kiddies
weighed and measured. I think our fathers were going to give Cody a run for his
money when it came to the boys. They were already talking fishing trips and
football. Cody had a stupid grin on his face. He kept counting the babies'
fingers and toes, and when my mom and his had first tried taking the babies
from him I thought there was going to be all out war.

Thank
heavens we'd been throwing around names in the last few weeks so we had enough.
Of course he got his Cody junior, then there was Cameron and Channing. You
notice a trend here? All Cs, and the fact that they all looked like him didn't
escape me. Funnily enough they were identical, although we were told that
wasn't the norm. Even
Cayleah
had her father’s hair.
I wasn't in there at all. Shit, that's the thanks I get for carrying them
around.

My
stomach felt so empty, and strange. I’m gonna have to work on this loose flesh
that was left behind. Yes I 'm vain, but I'm also nineteen freaking years old
so sue me.

Alone
at last finally, the others had finally left, or Cody had finally kicked them
out. The babies were asleep. They didn't need help breathing they pretty much
were okay. Just needed to stay at least a week to be sure all was well. But so
far everything had checked out, which seemed to amaze all involved.

"Geez Alana, four
babies. How the heck did we do that?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure you were there babes."

"You tired baby, wanna go look at them one last time before
we go to sleep?"

"Sure." The man was obsessed. He kept sneaking down to
the nursery to see the kiddies. I hadn't gone with him before but I was up for
it this time. Of course he wouldn't let me walk, and he wouldn't let me use the
chair. We must've looked a sight with him carrying me around the hospital in
his arms.

Cody

Four
babies, can you believe it? Oh man, I'm blown away. She just, amazes me time
and again. There's no way I will let anyone or anything harm her or them. I
don't care what anyone else said or thought. I will protect them at all cost my
sons, and my daughters all of them. Not just the new ones, but my little Katie
and Crystal as well. They were all looking to me to protect and care for them.

Looking through that glass
at my kids who were healthy thank heaven. I made a promise to them that I will
always do what's best for them. My kids, my family, will be loved and cherished
and they will know it always; I'll see to it.

"Ready to go back?"

"Just one more minute
babe, I can't wait to get them home. Look at them Cody, look at what we
did."

I was looking at her, my
miracle, so damn beautiful.

"What are you looking at?" She showed me her fist while
grinning at me.

"Always so feisty." I couldn't help stealing a kiss.

"Huh. Can you tell me
why not one of them could look like me? I mean not even my hair Cody, now how
is that fair?"

"Next time, I
promise."

"Next time, I thought you said you couldn't put me through
this again?"

"I changed my mind. I loved doing this with you, all of it.
And I would love a daughter who looked just like you."

"Of course we'll have
to let your what did you call it? Oh yes your
hoohah
heal first." She blushed at that. I guess she had forgotten that on the
way here when I asked how she was feeling after a particularly vicious
contraction that she had said it felt like someone was drilling spikes in her
hoohah
. Almost made me run off the road with that one.

She laughed, we laughed, as
I turned and carried her back to her room. There was a lot to do in the next
few days before she and the babies came home. Not the least was getting every
thing for my baby girl. My little
Cayleah
; my
surprise miracle; I'm sure her mother will one day regale her with tales of how
she put me on my ass when she first came into the world. If she was anything
like my Wildflower she was sure to do it a whole lot more in this life.

Cody

Today
is the day I'm taking my family home. I've spent the last few days making sure
everything was right. Like getting a fourth crib among other things. Kids
needed a lot of stuff, multiply that by four and well, it was a mad house. Of
course my little princess was leading in the clothing department. Her
grandmothers not to mention her surrogate aunts, being her mothers friends had
apparently bought out every store in a twenty-mile radius. The kid was going to
need her won walk in closet before she was five.

I
really appreciated the way they had included little Crystal and Katie. My girls
were flourishing under all the new attention. Little Crystal didn't have time
to miss her mother. Which was something I’d struggled with after my decision. I
was happy to see that whatever poison ran through her veins hadn’t been passed
on to my child. Both girls were excited to have their siblings home and had
shown nothing but love and an intense curiosity when they’d visited them in the
hospital. Of course that could be because they saw their brothers as those icky
boys but we’ll see with time.

 
I wasn’t going to let anything mar the
happiness I’ve felt for the last week or so. But now I was faced with yet
another issue. I'd learned from others that Sharon hadn't taken the news of my
three sons too well. She’d apparently gone into a rage. After what she’d told
me about her own childhood I guess I could understand her angst. But that
didn't stop me from adding some stipulations to her new status. She was no
longer allowed in my home with my wives and kids unless I was there.

She'd
had a near melt down at that but I'd let it be known in no uncertain terms that
this was not up for debate. Either she adhered to my orders or she would be
removed from the premises completely. The irony of it was that it was because
of the person she hated most that she was even allowed to still be here. I
truly had been ready to wash my hands clean of her. I’m not an uncaring
bastard. I’d once had feelings for her of course. But her ways had turned my
heart to stone. If she wanted to blame Alana for capturing my heart where she
failed that was just another way that she was lost. No one else was to blame
for her plight but she herself.

I
have been looking into getting her professional help. But regardless of all the
excellent points my Wildflower had made I didn't trust her and like I'd told
her I was done. If she didn't get her act together she was out. There's no way
I would let her destructive behavior destroy the rest of my family.

 
Arlene was coming along after our little
pow
wow it looked like. And I
guess after what happened with Sharon she knew I had no problem bucking the
system. This lifestyle was tenuous enough without the added stress of
dissension. We were closer now than I think we’d ever been because Sharon’s
influence was no longer there to confuse her. And she was seeing for herself
that I had no intentions on casting her aside. I’m not sure how two women
raised in the life could fathom such a thing.

I
had done whatever I could to set my house to rights. For the next little while
my baby was going to need all her energies focused on our kids. Doc had warned
that there could always be something health wise cropping up with multiples,
and we were going to have to be watchful for at least their first year of life.
That meant no outside drama. Sharon was given more than her fair share of chances;
my kids will not be under threat from her or anyone else. Not as long as I was
still standing.

I'd
learned to live with my guilt for loving Alana more than the others. There was
nothing I could do about it, although I sought to be fair and treat each of them
fairly. I guess it will always show. That was on me, I'm sure I'm not the first
to have that problem. But it was my duty to keep the peace in my home. There
were going to have to be a lot of changes from now on. I'd had a long heart to
heart with Arlene. Of course I didn't tell her that I loved her sister wife
more than I did her. But she wasn't stupid, at least she knew I did love her as
well and would always take care of her.

Her
answer to me had been that she loved me and wanted her life with me. As long as
she didn't pull a Sharon I had no reason to set her aside. I had yet to talk to
my dad about the situation with Sharon. I guess I was hoping it would right
itself. As mad as I am I can't just throw my wife out in the cold without a
second thought. This was someone I and once thought I loved. Someone who shared
my bed bore me a child. If there was any way to make things right then I will
do it. But as things stood, I wasn't willing to expend any more energy on her
than I already had.

She'd
taken every opportunity I'd given her and thrown it away. I knew she was
ashamed of her new position. To be cast aside. But I also knew it wasn't up to
me to change her only she could do that. Arlene had been to the hospital to see
the new babies. Sharon hadn't, she hadn't asked and I hadn't volunteered. If
she thought that I was the type of man that would neglect my daughter just
because I now had sons, then she really didn't need to be with me anyway.

Arlene
had had some fears, but this time unlike in the past she had shared them with
me. I'd reassured her as best I could and she seemed to be satisfied. She
understood that although my focus would be on Alana and the new babies when
they first came home until they were out of the woods. That didn’t mean I would
neglect her. I’d even apologized for letting things get so out of hand and
making her feel unsafe and insecure in her own home.

That
too was on me. It was a strange thing, but my love for Alana opened my eyes to
a lot of things that I hadn’t seen before. This life is the only one I know,
it’s the one I want. I can love Alana and Arlene in my own way without hurting
one or the other. It was up to me to get it right.

Now
that I was content I paid more attention to things around me. I laughed more
with Arlene than I ever had before. She blossomed under the attention. A soft
word would bring her so much pleasure. It was for this reason that I was even
willing to give Sharon a chance. Because I accept that part of the blame was
mine. I’d been going through the motions for too long, it was unfair to them
and to my kids. But now I saw where the problem lay I have all intentions on
righting the wrongs.