“Even if I did get pregnant, would it be such a bad thing? Olly got pregnant when she was in college.”
I could see Laura’s face flush a bit. Despite Olivia now being happily married with two children, Laura was still very protective of our oldest daughter, as was I. Olly had been her mother’s right hand for years, as well as being instrumental in Laura agreeing to marry me. What’s more, her getting pregnant had inadvertently set Walter on the path that led to him marrying Dotty. Ergo, Olivia was The Girl Who Could Do No Wrong.
If it were anyone else criticizing Olly, Laura would have chewed them up and spit them out, but this was Pearl, our first shared baby. Laura took a deep calming breath and said, “Olivia was lucky. It was her senior year, so she was able to graduate, and Brad was responsible enough to marry her. She could have ended up a single mother.”
I could have added, ‘And it took your Uncle Walter and I scaring the piss out of Brad and his family for him to become responsible’, but I read the room and decided some things are best left unsaid.
Pearl protested, “David’s responsible! Besides, Daddy got you pregnant with me before you were married.” Inwardly, I had to laugh. There was no escaping the fact that Terhune women were all smart and fertile. Our girl had a point, leaving Laura speechless for a moment.
Finally, waving one hand in the air she blurted out, “Fine. This discussion is over. Do what you want with him, but please be careful!” Turning on her heel, she marched upstairs.
I walked over and kissed Pearl’s forehead. “Goodnight, baby,” I said softly, then went upstairs into our bedroom. Laura was in bed with the covers pulled up, and for once, Ruthie wasn’t there. Locking the bedroom door on the outside chance I might get some loving, I quickly went into the bathroom, did my nightly routine, then slipped under the covers.
I was hesitant to touch Laura, unsure what her reaction might be.
“I’m a failure as a mother. Pearl barely knows that boy, and she’s going to end up pregnant.”
I moved up behind Laura and spooned with her, my arm draped over her. “You’re not a failure as a mother, to Pearl or any of the other kids,” I assured her, “they’re happy and healthy, except for Eli, and that’s Chris Palermo’s fault, not yours.”
She rolled over to face me, tears in her eyes. “Do you really think so?”
I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her softly. “Of course I do. When we first met, you were a single mother busting your ass to raise seven children without help, quite successfully I might add. I was in awe from the minute we met, and wished you were a mother to my baby.”
I took the opportunity to kiss her again, giving her left breast a gentle squeeze to demonstrate that underneath my kind and caring exterior, when it came to her body, I remained a horny pig.
She returned my kiss, her tongue teasing my lips as she ran her hand over the crotch of my undershorts, showing she was in receipt of my carnal message. “You certainly got your wish, didn’t you?”
Pulling Laura close to me, I chuckled, “I did indeed. Our first year of marriage was incredible. There were times I used to wake up at night and just stare at you, incredulous that I was really your husband, and your baby bump was because of me! I’d never been so damned happy!” I began unbuttoning the front of her flannel nightgown, because the happy memories of our first year were really getting me going.
“My pregnancy with Pearl was my favorite,” she said as I kissed her neck, “I was a newlywed, crazy in love. I had very little morning sickness, plus an adoring husband who waited on me hand and foot while helping take care of the other children.”
I paused the neck kissing just long enough to pull my boxers off, then went back to my task. “I remember being so excited that you were giving me everything I didn’t get from my first marriage. I had a pregnant wife that I couldn’t get enough of, plus a bunch of kids that seemed to really like me. I have to tell you, that first year I absolutely hated travelling for business. Being away from you and the kids was awful!”
Pulling her robe open, I moved my mouth down to her collarbone, and kissed my way onto the tops of her breasts. I moved my free arm down and squeezed her left butt cheek. In the years we’d been married Laura’s ass may have grown bigger after birthing three children, but that just gave me more to squeeze. I loved that ass.
She gave a tiny moan of approval, and I moved my mouth down to her nipples. “I remember when you’d come home after travelling, you were especially affectionate. None of my other husbands had ever made me feel so loved, especially when I looked like a hot air balloon. I was so happy I’d married you.”
Rolling her onto her back, I positioned my torso between her legs, and moved up enough for our lips to meet. I kissed her deeply, then told her, “You were perfect to me then, and you’re perfect to me now.” Moving up another few inches, I reached down and positioned the tip of my cock at her vaginal entrance.
Before slipping in, I told her, “You’re a perfect wife and a great mother; you don’t need to worry about Pearl, she’s a smart, strong women who can take care of herself, just like Olivia, Ava, and Amelia.”
Unable to wait any longer, I thrust my way in, and was pleased to hear Laura gasp in pleasure. As I began to slide into her, I told her “And if Pearl gets pregnant, so what? We’ll take care of her child until she graduates, like we did with Olivia. She’s going to be fine.”
There was no more talking after that, just slow and gentle lovemaking.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Pearl was up before us, making breakfast for TJ, Ruthie, and the tall blonde quiet boy who, based on the way Pearl was hovering over him, was most likely a future son-in-law.
I sat down at the table with my morning coffee, remembering a similar breakfast scene when our daughter Ava had matter-of-factly informed us that she’d been accepted by the University of Illinois in Chicago to pursue a degree in architecture, and, oh by the way, she and her girlfriend Ashley were getting married. That was Ava for you, as subtle as an MMA fighter.
I prayed this morning’s conversation would not be as nearly as dramatic. My prayers, however, went unanswered.
While Laura and Pearl were having a heated-but-whispered discussion in the kitchen, (never a good sign), I tried to make small talk with David.
He was staring down at his cereal bowl as if he was reading his fortune in the few soggy cornflakes at the bottom when I asked, “So, David, did you sleep well?”
He looked up at me as if I’d just hit him with a Taser, then blurted out, “Mr. McFarland I don’t want to go to Harvard and I’m 18 now so you can’t make me and I’ve applied at Sooner State University because I love Pearl and she loves me and she wants me to propose so we can get married and live here close to her brothers and sisters and you and Mrs. McFarland.”
I shook my head at David’s sudden blast of verbosity, wondering why these surprises always presented themselves at breakfast! Laura and Pearl walked in, and it was obvious both had been crying.