Jennifer Cole - A Delicious Taboo Two.

by Jennifer Cole

  Her pleasantries and gentle authority didn’t deter them, and after visiting the desk for the umpteenth time, the anxious quartet were escorted to a private waiting area.

  As they approached the ten-minute mark of their arrival, the door opened and a woman in colorful flowery scrubs entered. “Good evening, gentlemen.” A stout, elderly nurse approached where they sat in the waiting room. “My name is Agnes Peters and I’m the head nurse of the ER team assigned to Miss Drake’s care. Now, while one of my colleagues is taking Miss Drake’s vitals, I’d like to ask you some questions. Let’s start with her date of birth.”

  Calen rattled it off.

  “Is she currently taking any prescription medication?”

  The answer was no.

  “She doesn’t take anything for any reason on a regular basis?”

  “No, ma’am,” Jake replied. “Mel doesn’t like pills.”

  “So, nothing…” Nurse Peters repeated, jotting the information of her clipboard.

  “Well, she takes a multivitamin every morning,” Calen stated. With a shrug, he added, “But that’s it.”

  “She won’t even take an aspirin for a headache,” Philip finished.

  “How about her diet?” she asked.

  “She eats well and regularly,” Van answered. “Her appetite is good.”

  “Our girl’s a chef,” Jake said with a grin and a pat to his belly. “We eat very well, ma’am.”

  “Exercise?”

  “We have a pool and Mel swims every day, rain or shine,” Calen spoke up. “And we go out hiking most weekends.”

  “And she’s generally a healthy woman?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Calen replied with a firm nod.

  Her brow furrowed when she finally looked up at them. “All right, boys, tell me what happened tonight?”

  Van tucked his hands in the front pouch of his hoodie. “Mel works at the Taboo Delights nightclub and we go there every Wednesday after football.”

  “Oh, that’s the gay/bi club on Market, right?” She again looked up from the clipboard in her hand.

  “Um, yes, ma’am,” Jake replied.

  “My daughter and her life partner frequent there. Say it’s a fun place.” She smiled at the four men. “Friendly staff, nice clientele.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he repeated returning her smile.

  “Okay, continue please,” she stated firmly.

  Philip cleared his throat. “Melanie came out of the kitchen with our wings…her color didn’t look good, she was pale, almost white, and her eyes didn’t look right, like she was having trouble focusing.”

  “She set the platters on the table, swayed” -- Calen met the nurse’s gaze -- “and then she just dropped. Jake jumped from his chair and grabbed her to cushion her fall.”

  The nurse looked back down at her clipboard and continued making notes. “Is the first instance any of you noticed something was wrong?”

  “No, ma’am,” Philip replied.

  “Well, when was the first time any of you noticed something wasn’t quite right with Miss Drake?”

  “Last Friday,” Philip stated.

  With a sigh, Calen responded, “Sunday.”

  “This morning,” Jake answered.

  “This afternoon,” Van said, looking at the others.

  As the four men blurted out their answers simultaneously, Nurse Peters raised a brow.

  The four friends cast accusing stares at one another. “Why the hell didn’t you say something?” They snapped together.

  “Now, gentlemen,” Agnes Peters’ voice interrupted their verbal altercation. Turning to Philip, she prompted. “Start with last Friday, son.”

  Philip met the nurse’s gaze and proceeded to tell her and the others how Melanie had fled their bed after making love.

  “Sunday?” She asked Calen, when she finished writing Philip’s information down.

  Calen ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. “Mel was gardening, cutting off suckers from the roses, picking weeds, while I was cutting the grass. I glanced over when she stood up. She turned white and her knees looked as if they buckled. I ran and caught her before she hit the ground.” Taking a minute, Calen met the concerned look of his lover and friends. “When I asked her what was wrong, she said she’d just stood up too fast and became lightheaded.”

  “Hmm,” the nurse hummed. “And this has never happened to her before?” she asked, her gaze shifting from one man to the next.

  The four shook their heads.

  “Now you, young man,” the nurse stopped writing on her clipboard and met Jake’s gaze.

  “This morning, she said the smell of my peanut butter made her sick,” he informed the listening group. “She tore off to the bathroom and tossed her cookies.”

  Van pulled his hands from the pouch and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This has been going on for nearly a week, and not one of the three of you thought it important enough to say anything?” Van didn’t make any attempt to hide his anger.

  “Come on, Van,” Philip responded in his usual calm voice. “That’s not fair. It happened to the three of us, on three separate occasions. In each instance, Mel assured each one of us she was fine.” Placing his hand on Van’s shoulder, he added, “And she’s been off with you, too, buddy.”

  With annoyance, Van huffed and turned his attention to the nurse.

  “Okay, son, you said something about this afternoon. What happened?”

  “I came home early from work and Mel was asleep on the couch,” he said. The surprised look on the other three men’s faces brought on another question from the nurse.

  “So, she laid down for a nap. I don’t understand what’s wrong with that?”

  “Melanie doesn’t nap, ma’am. When she first moved in with the four of us, she suffered horrible night terrors. She doesn’t like to sleep alone,” Philip informed her. “And in the two years she’s been with us, she hasn’t.”

  After studying the four men for several minutes, the woman nodded and continued with her notes. So far, her expression had remained blank. They knew she was doing her job, but as the questions continued, the four men grew more concerned.

  “There’s more,” Van continued. “After she woke up and got ready for work, I found her standing in the middle of the kitchen in tears. She’d tossed the living room and the kitchen looking for her keys. As fast as the waterworks started, they stopped when she spotted her key ring hanging on the hook beside the door where it always is.”

  “Shit…yeah,” Jake jumped in and looked at the nurse. Offering her a weak apologetic smile, he added the words, “Sorry, ma’am, slipped out.”

  “Right,” Calen added. “The mood swings lately are… She’s all over the map.”

  The nurse grinned hugely, as if a light bulb had gone off in her mind.

  “Well, thank you, boys.” The smile on her face only grew broader. “I need to speak with the doctor now. We’ll let you know when you can go in with Miss Drake.”

  The four of them shared a stunned look and took seats along the far wall of the waiting room.

  “What the hell was that about?” Jake asked, watching the nurse disappear around the corner. “What’s with the big smile?”

  Philip, Calen, and Van shrugged.

  “No idea,” Van offered.

  Twenty minutes had passed when a different nurse approached, informing them they could go in to Mel’s cubicle. The four men couldn’t move fast enough.

  * * * * *

  Mel heard their approach before the curtain around her parted and in her men stormed. She braced herself for the onslaught of an interrogation and impending lecture.

  Calen came around the left side of the bed where she laid and placed a light kiss on her forehead. Jake followed Calen’s lead on the right side of the bed. Philip leaned over, and as his lips pressed against hers, she felt them tremble, wondering if it were his or hers. Van sat on the side of the bed, his hands stroking her legs
atop the blanket covering her.

  The frowns of concern on their four handsome faces near made her burst into tears. What the hell is wrong with me, she thought. Over the past couple of weeks, she felt as though she was on an emotional roller coaster. One minute she was laughing and carrying on, the next hiding in the bathroom, sobbing. Or worse, she’d stopped trying to hide the crying jags and just let the tears flow, no matter who was around. Poor Justin, her coworker, was at a loss of what to do the first time he’d walked in on her bawling in the back office.

  “Honey, why didn’t you tell us you haven’t been feeling well?” Van asked, his hand still touching her.

  In fact, they were all touching her. As usual, they knew exactly what she needed before she did.

  Calen’s fingers were threading through her hair, helping to ease the headache she had when she came to earlier in the ambulance. The warmth of Jake’s hand, their fingers entwined, his thumb caressing gentle circles beside where an IV needle had been inserted. Philip sat opposite Van, his hand resting on the top of her left thigh.

  Mel sighed heavily and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of their hands caressing her.

  “Baby?” Philip’s voice softly called to her.

  “How long has this been going on?” Van continued. “The puking, the dizzy spells?”

  She shrugged and turned away from him. His voice remained soft; however, his eyes betrayed his restrained anger. “I don’t know, a couple of weeks, maybe. It comes and goes. Guys, really, it’s not that big a deal.”

  “Honey, you collapsed tonight. Passed out, and that scared the shit out of us,” Calen countered. “It is a very big deal.”

  “No, no, it’s not,” she tried to reassure them. “It comes on, and then it goes away just as fast. Really, guys, please, let’s not turn this into something it’s not.” Absently, she toyed with the IV line and looked up at the half-empty bag of solution. “I don’t know why the hell they hooked this up. And the doctor said he wants me to have another bag before I can go home.”

  “The nurse said you’re dehydrated,” Jake informed her. “What have you eaten today, besides lunch with Calen?”

  Chancing a glance at the four of them, she knew it would do no good to lie. Taking a deep breath, she held it for several heartbeats before responding. “I had a few crackers and some ginger ale during my dinner break. That was all I could stomach.”

  Melanie was saved a lecture from her lovers when the curtain parted and the doctor who had examined her earlier came into her area.

  “Well, Miss Drake, you’re going to have to start taking better care of yourself,” he offered a warm friendly smile to the occupants in the room. “Evening, gentlemen, I’m Dr. Sawyer.” After shaking each of their hands, he turned his attention back to her.

  “All right, Miss Drake, the blood workup has come back and my suspicions were correct. Rest assured, everything is fine. Now, we’re going to increase the flow of the IV and get a second bag started. I want you to start taking fluids orally slowly; we don’t want to upset your belly, and when you have the strong urge to urinate, let your nurse know, so we can get you over to radiology.”

  “But why?” Mel asked, nervousness elevating her voice. “You just said everything was fine.”

  “Your bladder needs to be full for the pelvic ultrasound,” he stated, making a note on her chart. “I want to be sure everything is all right before I sign your release order.”

  “Dr. Sawyer?” Philip questioned. “Why is an ultrasound necessary? You just told us Mel was fine.”

  The doctor glanced up from his writing, and chuckled. “Sorry, folks, guess I got a little carried away there and failed to tell you what we found.” He met the gaze of each of the men, before settling on Melanie. “Congratulations, Miss Drake, you’re pregnant.”

  The silence in the small cubical was deafening. The buzzing in her ears prevented her from hearing anything further the doctor had to say. In her peripheral vision, she watched him clip her chart to the end of her bed and leave the room.

  “Pregnant?” Calen’s voice echoed in the distance.

  Jake’s lean frame dropped into the chair beside the bed. “We’re pregnant.”

  The curtain parted again as a nurse entered to start a second IV drip.

  “I don’t understand,” Melanie muttered, gripping the hem of the nurse’s colorful smock. “I can’t get pregnant. Doctors have told me for years…”

  The nurse continued with her task, smiling warmly. “I don’t know what to tell you. Are you on the pill?”

  Mel shook her head. “Never have been.”

  “Are you using any kind of birth control?” She asked with a raised brow.

  Again, Melanie shook her head. “They said I couldn’t have babies…didn’t see the need.”

  She took in the delighted expression on each man’s face as they watched her and her belly fluttered. Over the past year-and-a-half, the “baby” discussion had been brought up a handful of times. Knowing she couldn’t conceive, Melanie allowed the men their conversations, participating very little herself.

  “But, how come now?” Mel asked, trying to control the shiver racing through her. “Why did it happen now?”

  The nurse shrugged and reached over tucking a stray curl behind Mel’s ear. “Well, stress can play a big part in preventing pregnancy,” she told her. “Have you been stressed?”

  Is she serious? Well, at one time, yeah, but not in a little over two years, anyway…

  When she didn’t verbalize her answer, the nurse continued. “There are many factors that can interfere with pregnancy. There’s really no explanation I can give you, except one of those eager tiny buggers made it through.” Melanie didn’t break eye contact from the nurse studying her. “Is this an unwanted pregnancy?” She finally asked, frowning.

  “No, ma’am.” Van chuckled. “Just unplanned.”

  The young woman smiled at the group crowding the room. “It shouldn’t take too long.” After fiddling with the IV machine, the nurse patted Melanie’s hand and turned to leave. “You let me know when you have to pee. They’re waiting for you in radiology.”

  For half an hour, the conversation the four men were having drifted to her ears. Her mind raced, attempting to process the information she’d been given. They must be wrong, she told herself. It just isn’t possible.

  “I’m ready,” she mumbled. “Would one of you get the nurse now, please?”

  Van rose and with a gentle squeeze to the top of her thigh, left the room.

  Once seated in a wheelchair, Jake wheeled Mel to radiology, with the other three in tow.

  Inside the small, darkened room, Melanie was instructed to lie down, pull up her shirt, and lower her pants.

  “Sorry, dear, this might be a little cool,” the technician said before squeezing clear gel over her lower abdomen. Using the end of a wand, the tech smeared the gel around and turned the monitor toward Mel and the four men surrounding her bed. “All right, let’s get a look at the little tyke then, shall we?” She grinned and began the ultrasound.

  Absently, Mel watched the screen and made a feeble attempt to listen to what the tech was telling them about the blob in the middle of the monitor.

  “Is this your first baby?” The tech asked, making conversation.

  Melanie nodded.

  “That’s nice. You must be thrilled.” She looked at each of the men and deduced, “And one of you must be the proud papa.”

  Four yeses were her reply.

  Melanie’s eyes shifted to the tech and studied her as she processed that information. Unsure of what would come out of the woman’s mouth next, Melanie wasn’t at all prepared for what actually did.

  The tech smiled. “Well, congratulations to you all.”

  Without warning, her mind raced again and she tuned out everything around her. The technician, the beeps and hum of the equipment throughout the room, and the voices of her four lovers, became background noise.

  One of them is the father
, she groaned to herself, but which one? Feeling her palms begin to sweat, Melanie rubbed them on the sheet beneath her. This isn’t good, she thought. A baby had never been a part of her plans, of their plans. Sure they’d all commented about wanting to be fathers and were all of the same mindset that if it happened, great, if it didn’t, still great.

  Melanie had never pictured herself a mom. Hell, up until two years ago, she’d never expected to ever be in a loving committed relationship. And now she was. The five of them were committed to each other and their family unit.

  They’d worked very hard to get to the place they now were. Yes, there had been bugs in the beginning that needed to be worked out. Their situation was unique by “proper” standards, but they had yet to run into any significant roadblocks.

  This might be a roadblock, her mind told her. Three of them will be very disappointed when paternity was determined. The thought of any of them being hurt tore at her heart. She just couldn’t do that to any of them.

  “All right, Miss Drake, we’re all finished here,” the tech informed her and covered Mel’s belly with a towel to clean herself off. “Everything looks great. Judging by the measurements I’ve taken, you seem to be about six weeks along. Now, as soon as you make an appointment with an OB-GYN, they’ll request these films and the report.”

  After receiving her discharge papers and instructions to contact an obstetrician, Melanie found herself seated in the backseat of Philip’s pickup, with Van and Jake on either side. The quiet ride home seemed to take forever.

  Once inside the house, Mel excused herself, leaving her four lovers standing in the kitchen. Inside the bathroom in the hallway, she locked the door and shed her clothing. Mel stood under the spray of the shower until the water ran cold.

  Jake, Calen, Van, and Philip stood in silence watching Melanie round the corner and exit the kitchen. They listened to her soft footfalls as she made her way up the hallway. They heard the door to the bathroom in the hall being closed and locked before they exchanged a glance.

  “I’m having some trouble reading her tonight, but she seems upset,” Calen stated, once the noise of the shower carried out to them.