Dina was loving her life. So were the Parkers.
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At Easter, Dina’s kids came to visit for the weekend. Her daughter, Abril, now a junior at UGA studying finance, slept in the apartment with Dina, and her son, Gabe, short for Gabriel, who was a sophomore at Georgia Tech, slept in the guest room. It thrilled her to have them with her. With a little help from the adults, she prepared a big feast for Easter lunch, and Ramon and his wife, Emilia, joined them along with their newborn son. Dina was over the moon at having everyone there.
Gabe was concentrating in accounting, and Scott asked if he would like to intern during the summer at the business. He would. Dina’s eyes were very watery after that was decided. Scott got a long, long hug from her after her kids drove back to their colleges.
At work the next week, Ramon commented to Scott and Kathleen that it was the happiest he could remember seeing Dina in a long, long time.
In June, during that summer’s first block party, Scott was being playfully harassed for having added another beautiful, and desirable, woman to his house, Dina. Everyone in the neighborhood, by then, knew that he was the father of Kathleen’s baby. Anyone that dared ask the method they used to get her pregnant, even if it was in jest, was gently told that Kathleen and they didn’t want to get into those kinds of medical details, which threw some off the scent.
Most people at the party had suspected what really happened but seeing how far along Kathleen’s emotional stability had come since first arriving there, they were all happy that the Parker household was well and thriving.
It was clear that they were all doing well because they all appeared so joyful. Janie and Kathleen were glowing with their pregnancies, and Dina was happy with her situation and was doing her best to help take care of her family. She loved looking after the toddlers and preparing healthy and tasty meals for everyone.
Annabelle commented to Scott, “You know, Scott, other than a newlywed, I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen happier women than Janie and Kathleen. Most men cannot even please one woman, and you are able to please two. What is up with that?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Annabelle. Everything is just clicking right now. Kathleen likes living with us, and Janie is thrilled with having her here. So am I. Dina is determined to run our household, and mostly I’m just staying out of the way. Maybe that’s the trick.”
She scoffed, “No need to be modest, Scott. This is me you’re talking to. Everyone’s happy for all of you, even if I think some of the men are a little, wait, no, make that, insanely jealous.”
He chuckled at the ‘jealous’ comment. “Honestly, I think it’s because when faced with Kathleen’s… uh…challenges, we saw an opportunity to help, and we did. Well, at the time it felt more like a responsibility, but we did what we thought we needed to do. That kind of focused us on what was truly important, and all the normal crap that causes friction in relationships became unimportant. It makes life much easier.”
“Well, keep it up. Even if Janie weren’t pregnant, I think she would still be glowing. I’ve never seen her happier.”
“Me too. Thanks, Annabelle.”
She gave Scott a hug and went back to Janie and Kathleen.
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By the next block party in August, the two women were six and seven months pregnant, respectively. Watching those two women get in and out of the pool while pregnant, in their bikinis, was an erection popping sight. It pleased Dina because it distracted attention away from her chest.
Later, as several women, including Kathleen and Dina, were dancing together, they pulled Scott in to dance with them. He was again the focus of much envy. He tried to play it down, but secretly, he was loving life at the moment. Janie was correct in that her libido was higher than normal, and Kathleen’s was just as high. Some nights Scott was almost looking forward to those four to six weeks after the births when he wouldn’t have to perform for a while. But on most nights? He was stupid-happy.
At that second party, Pastor Leo was there with his wife, Noreen, for dinner. Several people in his church had commented to him about Scott and Janie’s situation. Many had known Amanda and known about her ‘visions’ and thought that Scott and Janie were doing the best they could to help Kathleen. Most were happy for them despite their unusual circumstances. Some were not.
Leo and his wife spoke about it some privately. Having known the Winters for a long time, they believed the Parkers were doing what they felt was necessary. What he tried to convey to anyone who mentioned the situation to him was the idiom, “Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.” The Parkers were in a difficult situation and were handling it the best they knew how.
At the party, Leo eventually guided Scott away from the crowd for a moment.
“Scott, are you doing okay?”
“I believe so. Life is really good right now.”
“It looks like it. I spent a lot of time with Franklin before he passed. I considered him a good friend. I believe he would be really pleased with you for how you’ve handled the situation with Kathleen. I know he and Amanda would both be thrilled at how happy their girls are.”
“Thanks, Pastor. It…uh…it isn’t what we planned when you married us, obviously, and I was quite worried for a while. Some days I still worry, but I say my prayers every day, and try to do the best I can.”
Leo nodded. “Having known you and Janie for a long time, I imagine that there were times when some of those decisions didn’t seem to have any good choices or outcomes involved. So far it looks like things have worked out.”