What?

My father-in-law picked me up at the airport. The absence of my wife immediately worried me.

"Is Pat all right?" I asked.

"Physically she is ok, I think. The doctor prescribed bed rest and this herbal tea that is supposed to calm her nerves," he said, and that was all I got out of him until we got home. It was obvious something was wrong. Pat's dad is usually a pretty happy guy, but he was grim all the way to his house.

When I entered my in-laws' living room, I was confronted with my wife lying on the sofa and her mother hovering over her. Both women were looking daggers at me.

"What's wrong?" I demanded.

Pat looked away, but her mother unloaded on me," We know all about, what you have been doing in California."

"Sorry, but it is too good an opportunity to pass up," I said.

Patty began to wail, and her mother screamed at me, "You're not even ashamed!"

"Why should I be? I did good work, and they offered me a good job. I have a family to think about."

"What are you talking about?" Patty-Ann said.

"The job in California. What are you talking about?"

"This!" Patty said hurling a document at me.

It was a private investigator's report. My jealous wife had had me followed. The report identified Karen and had pictures of the two of us traveling to and from her home.

"Well!" Pat demanded.

I pulled out the iPhone that had been a present from my wife and brought up my pictures.

"Let me show you another picture of Karen. Here she is with her wife, Nancy and her daughter, Sadie. They were kind enough to put me up in their guest house," I said.

Behind me, my father-in-law began to laugh. The man had a big belly laugh that filled the room. Pat's mother looked shocked and a bit confused, but my wife was unconvinced.

As usual, she was a hard sell when it came to belief in my fidelity. My father-in-law told her to get her head out of her ass and accept that her husband was a smart man who, as he said, knows a good thing when he's got it.

About then, my mother-in-law tripped to the meaning of what I had said about a job in California, but her husband dragged her from the room. �

"Leave the kids alone now to work things out dear," he said.

"You mad at me?" Pat said.

"Is there some reason I shouldn't be?"

"Yes, because I love you."

She looked so pathetic, lying like an inflated weather balloon on the sofa. Her dress was a bulbous sack that barely got over the expanse of her stomach to cover her crotch. Her swollen legs were a parody of their once athletic selves.

I found myself kneeling beside her. I clutched her arm and looked into her beautiful green eyes. They were the only unchanged thing about her.

"I guess that will do," I said as we hugged. It was an awkward embrace, as there was so much of her holding us apart.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why I get so jealous, but it comes over me, and I can't control it."

"I think it's partly my fault. I have been holding back. You must have felt it even though you couldn't see it. You see, I was afraid to completely love you," I said.

"But why, because I'm becoming so ugly?"

"No, because you're beautiful and can have any guy you want. You always could. I never understood why you wanted me."

Now it seemed to be Patty-Ann's turn to laugh, "Oh baby, every girl I knew wanted you. You're so handsome, and you treated me so well. I would have crawled over hot coals for you, and I'm sure it would have been a race with every other girl I knew. But you never saw any of them, just me. It made me so proud. I know I'm good looking, or at least, I was.

"But I was a terrible slut and very spoiled. No boy ever stayed with me until you. I didn't dare have sex with you until I had a wedding ring. I was so afraid you would fuck me and then walk away. But when you made love to me that first time I knew there would never be anyone else for me." She finished and broke down in tears.

I cried as well. Then I held my Goodyear blimp of a wife and knew that no matter what I would never let her go.

We spent the next four weeks at her parents' house. Patty was in physical distress. The doctor scheduled a date to take the babies surgically if they did not come on their own. The thing was that the medical people wanted as close to a full term as they could get.

"She's strong," the doctor said. "It's hard, but she wants what's best for her babies. Don't you?"

"Yes, but not at the expense of my wife," I said.

"She will be fine."

The doctor proved right, but my daughters did not wait for her.

Patty woke me to a wet bed, "My water's broken," she said.

"Ok, I'll call the ambulance," I said.

"Ohhhh!!" was the response I got.

The ambulance did arrive, but by then it was too late. Beth was already pushing her head out, and then came Ellen right after though we waited a full hour for Sidney to follow her sisters. This was a pattern that was to repeat itself. Sid is still always last and late.

When it was over, and the nurses had the girls wrapped and settled, they cleaned up the new mom. We put clean sheets on the bed, and I held Patty to me while she faded in and out of sleep. I have never been religious. But I kept thanking God over and over for bringing my Patty-Ann through safe.

"I love you, and always will," I whispered to her, but she was too tired to hear.

Epilogue

"Do we have to go?" Patty asked.

"Yes, you know we do. It's where my job is. You are my wife. You go where I go, as do my daughters," I said.

"I'm going to miss my family," she said.

"This is your family now, and besides your father is using our move as an excuse to buy a personal jet. I expect we will see a lot of your family."

"Ok, I expect I have to go if only to keep you from that Karen person."

"She has her own wife. I don't share."

"Neither do I, but I will try not to be jealous," Pat said.

I laughed.

"It's not funny. I'm trying very hard."

"I know," I said and planted a kiss on her cheek.

I had what seemed a thousand pieces of luggage for the plane. The traveling party was Pat, Beth, Ellen, Sidney and our friends Kelly and Jerry, who were helping us move.

We were all in first class courtesy of my new employer and my father in law. The women were in front with Beth and Ellen. Sid was with Jerry and me. You could see the envy on his face as he looked at her.

"I have a favor to ask," he whispered.

"Ok," I said and tried not to let any hesitation show. I knew what he was about to ask. Patty had warned me and said she wanted me to try.

"I want them to be as happy as we are," Patty said.

"I'd like...I need to borrow... some sperm," he finally got out.

"Well you know I would do it, but you know Patty-Ann," I said teasing a bit.

"She already said yes. Said 'It will prove how much she loves you.' "

"I see, but we are talking artificial insemination," I said.

"Yes," Jerry said.

"Ok, then let me know what I need to do," I said.

"And if that doesn't work we will still be good friends after you do it the other way," he said as he cuddled and played with my daughter.

"I do love my wife," I said.

"Yes, but I can see how much more you love the little ones," he said.

"Well, they seem to be able to wrap their little fingers around your heart and squeeze until it hurts."

"So life is good?" he said.

"Yes, life is good," I agreed.

It is. The most beautiful woman in the world loves me and always will. I have only to figure how to split my heart four ways. You see these three lovely ladies came along, and then each grabbed a piece of it. So now I have four women to worry about. So yes, life is good. And then?