Feeling refreshed and invigorated, I awoke in the half-light of dawn to one of the sights and feelings I enjoyed most in the world. A pair of dazzling blue eyes regarded me with almost infinite love, and my morning woody was contentedly housed in hot, tight wet pussy. To complete the perfection of the moment, a warm back was snuggled into mine. As I opened my eyes, that beautiful face smiled and kissed me sweetly. "Merry Christmas, MiracleMan."
I returned the tender kiss. "Merry Christmas, Princess mine. Miracle Man? That's the third time you called me that."
"Yup! You're my Miracle Man — you healed Carol Anne, exposed that evil man, found Uncle Paul, brought Muffin to us, and got me thinking straight again. In my books those are miracles, regardless of what you say."
I just said, "Uh... if that's the way you see it, but don't expect too many more. OK?"
She kissed me again, murmuring, "I love you so much, David, my Miracle Man."
"And I love you just as much, Princess of mine."
When she released me from her sweet kiss, I looked to my side. Carol and Diane were still sleeping peacefully, locked in a tight embrace, cuddled snugly together, Carol's warm back pressed against mine. I was still amazed and awed at how much in love they were.
Riekie moved her hips suggestively against me. "Mmmm-mmmm! I just love waking up like this! It's been way too long! Sweet Pussy is hungry again. Do you think Rascal, her Sweet Prince might be able to rustle up some breakfast for her?" This was the second time she referred to 'Rascal'. I wondered where she'd picked it up from, but then, these girls seemed to have a communication system all their own.
I moved my own hips equally suggestively, gently stroking into her. "Oh I think between us, we could manage a little something for the poor starving creature."
Just then Carol awoke and turned to us with a smile. She untangled herself from Diane and leaned over to give us a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Dah-links! You two at it again? Don't you ever quit?"
Another face appeared beside Carol's. Diane bent and gave us a warm kiss then locked lips with Carol. When they broke, she laughed. "Merry Christmas, My Loves! Why would they want to quit? It's way too much fun. 'Sides, I heard a little about you too..." Then she giggled and tickled Carol. Carol stuck out her tongue and dove back for seconds on the warm kiss.
Riekie and I tried to devour each other's face as the churning of her hips against me became more insistent. I was about to roll her onto her back to feed that poor starving pussy creature when too small blonde bombshells in their underwear exploded into the room, bounced up onto the bed and threw themselves on top of us. "Mommy! Mommy! Daddy! Daddy! Mommy Carol! Mommy Diane! It's Christmas! Santa Claus was here! C'mon! We gotta get up!"
They landed on top of Riekie and me getting an "Oof!" out of both of us. They showered us with wet kid kisses and hugged us happily. We hugged and kissed them back. "Merry Christmas, Kiddos."
After greeting us, the twins clambered over us to plant more sloppy kisses and hugs on their other mommies.
Diane looked at Riekie and grinned. "Told ya so! Glad you didn't wait?"
Riekie laughed, "Yeah, for more reason's than that, but Muffin, you were absolutely right!"
I groaned, caught by the kids with a raging hard-on firmly ensconced in Mommy. What to do? Riekie solved the problem by gently disengaging. I felt that warm embrace being reluctantly withdrawn from my hardness. I groaned at the loss, but Riekie groaned even louder. Diane, that wonderful person, came to our rescue, and winked as she said. "Carol Anne and I'll take a quick shower while you two keep the kids busy. Then we'll take them to have a bath and get them dressed while you two take a nice sensual shower together. OK?"
By this time, Carol was keeping the kids busy, playing and tickling them. Diane leaned in close so just Riekie and I heard. "Carol Anne and I talked about you two. You have a lot of catching up to do, so we're giving you as much space as we can. David, save a little for us, though, OK? We're in love, learning each other, but we still want and need you, and we both need time with you too, Princess, especially Carol Anne — she's missed you so-o much." There was a warmth in her use of that name that simply said Riekie was now 'Princess' permanently. I liked it. If Carol started using it, particularly with the warmth Diane did, I felt their relationship would be closer to being fully re-affirmed. Diane gave us both a wonderful kiss before turning back to Carol and the twins.
"C'mon, Mrs. Lloyd (She said that like a pet name too.), let's have a shower then we'll get these two cleaned up and dressed while Mommy and Daddy have their shower."
"OK, Muffy-Muff. " Mrs. Lloyd and Muffy-Muff? These two were getting really close! "Be right there." Carol untangled herself from two giggling kids who were giving as good as they got in the tickle match. Carol and Diane were totally unconcerned that the kids saw them in the nude, and the kids were equally unconcerned. "Alright, Munchkins, you go tickle Mommy and Daddy while Mommy Carol and Mommy Diane have a shower. Then it's bath time and dressed for you. No tree until we're all clean and smelling nice, OK?"
Carol and Diane crawled out of bed and waltzed into the bathroom holding hands giggling and exaggeratedly swinging their hips, enhancing the bounce and jiggle of their luscious bottoms. They put on quite a show. Soon we heard the water running and a lot of giggling and squealing as they showered together
"OK, Mommy Carol! Do we hafta wait that long, Daddy?" Two blonde urchins clambered over Riekie and me smothering us with wet kisses and hugs then proceeded to try to tickle us. I got one under each arm, keeping them away from landing on my woody in their childish exuberance. I wasn't quite ready to explain that to them just yet.
"Yup! We gotta wait. Mommy Carol's the boss today. Mommy and I will be finished our shower about the same time you guys are finished your bath. You missed yesterday, and I think you smell! Right, Mommy? Eeeew!" I made an exaggerated show of smelling them and held my nose. I tickled them and laughed so they were sure I was kidding.
Riekie giggled and wrinkled her pretty nose. "Oh, yeah! You guys need a bath for sure!"
Two small noses sniffed at us and K.P. giggled. "Mommy and Daddy need a bath, too! You smell like fish!" From out the mouths of babes...
Riekie changed the subject, but not before she wiggled her hips under the covers and winked at me. "Mommy's messy too! What were you two doing that you know Santa Claus was here? Were you downstairs snooping around?"
D.J. piped up. "We just went down to look and saw all the presents. We didn't touch anything, Mommy. Unca Bob caught us and sent us back up. He said to tell you he put the coffee on."
We played tickle with the twins and joked about what Santa Claus might or might not have brought them. About the time my bladder said it was ready to burst, the two pregnant ladies finished in the bathroom and came out to get dressed. They looked so sexy, my cock twitched even harder, despite the insistent plea from my bladder. They looked like they could almost be twins except for Diane's smaller size. I hadn't had much opportunity to observe Carol pregnant. She was absolutely radiant; her entire body seemed to glow, her tummy showing a noticeable bulge. Diane also had that healthy radiant glow, but of course wasn't showing yet. Riekie noticed it too and said, "Now I know what Mom was talking about when she said there was nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman."
Those two must have planned their wardrobe as part of their weekly private phone chats, despite the fact we had no idea for sure when we'd get together until Carol called us about Ben or else they had some uncanny way of knowing what to wear. They wrapped matching kilts around their gorgeous hips, less panties (Of course!), and slipped into matching black sweaters that hugged their bare luscious boobies delightfully. Their kilts were quite short, almost mini, and showed their magnificent legs to full advantage. The twinning effect was even more noticeable when they dressed alike. Riekie again noticed and commented. "Carol Anne always had the most beautiful legs, but Muffin's are awfully close. Don't you think? They look so much alike they make a very sexy couple."
"Ver-ry sexy. Almost like two peas in a pod, I think."
Carol and Diane called the twins to them. "C'mon Munchkins, bath time for you guys and Mommy and Daddy!"
The kids gave us each a hug and another wet kiss then jumped off the bed and ran to them. Each woman took a child by the hand and headed for the door. Carol turned just as they were about to leave. "Princess, David and you have a little time, but don't be too long. Meet us downstairs so we can have the tree for the little ones. We'll have breakfast right after that, and then we have to start working on Christmas dinner." Carol's usage of Diane's and my pet name for Riekie held all the warmth I hoped for and more, and went farther to welcome Riekie back to us than anything else so far.
With the kids off for their bath, I almost bolted from bed, my penis waving around in the breeze, looking for a place to piss. I paused long enough to hold out my hand and help Riekie from the bed, taking a long lascivious look as I did. Just as she said, she was a wonderful mess, her pussy still leaking white goo with a mixture of both our juices running down her thighs, her lovely golden pubes matted. She looked and smelled like one very well fucked woman. We held hands and entered the bathroom together.
Stepping up to the toilet, I felt a pair of warm hands reach around from behind and grasp my woody. Riekie steered while I peed. The extra stimulation of watching the 'twins' dress and our aborted copulation when the kids bounded in made my morning piss hard-on harder and even less co-operative than usual, causing the flow to be slow and almost painful starting. I was now completely comfortable with the female touch on my organ, but the slowness of the flow and the difficulty of aiming it when that unruly appendage just wanted to contemplate the ceiling, occasioned much giggling and teasing from my pretty blonde helper. Once it did start to flow, I drained my overfull bladder completely and once again the erection followed the urine down the drain much to the lady's disappointment.
As the last of my water dribbled out, she gently shook it dry, then slid her arms around my waist and just cuddled into my back, kissing my shoulders. Riekie murmured. "Mmmmm! Oh, how I've missed doing things like this with you! We were always so natural together. I've tried to raise the twins to be natural about their bodies too." Well that answered one question I had.
She had to go too, so after a few minutes of cuddling, she moved to the stool and sat down. While she relieved herself, I got the shower running and set the temperature where we'd always liked it. When she was finished, I held out my hands and guided her into that huge shower.
We didn't have all morning, according to Carol, but we made the most of the time we had. We played, tickling, laughing and giggling then washed each other all over. Along with the playing and tickling, we talked and had a very enjoyable time becoming reacquainted with each other's bodies. As we washed and played with each other, exploring what we once knew so well, we had a very enjoyable and relaxing shower.
I was amazed at how well Riekie, like Carol, had kept her youthful looks over the years, reaffirming my belief the women of her family were indeed special. I marveled at the firmness of her breasts; her small pink aureoles with the delightfully pink nipples in the centre were almost as I remembered them, the nipples a little larger from suckling the twins. Her sweet cheeks were as round, firm and high as when she was young. Her hips were a little fuller from giving birth, but added to rather than detracted from the overall package. The curls of her beautiful blonde pussy were as luxuriant and downy soft as ever and her pussy itself was as tight and pretty as I remembered, her inner lips still that delightful pink, opening like the petals of an exotic flower to reveal her tiny opening. Her tummy was almost as flat as when she was seventeen despite her pregnancy. As I kissed her delicious little belly button and nuzzled that sexy tummy, I commented, and she explained she still did her isometric exercises, keeping her muscles toned.
She commented on what good shape I was in and how broad my shoulders were now. I told her until September I had sported a bit of a paunch, but when it began to look more and more like we would be getting our marriage back together, I decided to get rid of it and look after myself. She liked the effect very much and said she now loved the beard, especially the way it felt on her skin. She was very taken with my penis, and spent a very long and delightful time exploring and getting reacquainted with it, using her soft hands and warm mouth.
She giggled as she explored, "Mmmm. Rascal, my Sweet Prince appears to have grown bigger than I remember. I used to be able to get my fingers over half way around him, Now I can't even come close, and I know he's longer, too, 'cause I felt him deeper than ever last night. He's gorgeous -- all grown up now, into a fine upstanding citizen! And you're taller too, I think!" <GIGGLE> I told her that I grew and filled out a little more in the year after they left, and maybe Rascal had too, but I'd never paid much attention.
Riekie suddenly got emotional, tears leaking from her eyes as she held my face and gazed into my eyes. "David, you may not have noticed, but I certainly do! It was very much a man, but in boy's clothing, that I fell in love with, and what a man! Now that man, fully grown and mature, you, stands before me today, and I'm deeper in love with you than ever, if that was ever possible. I built such a fantasy around you over the years that I was afraid I'd be disappointed when I met you again, but my fantasy doesn't even approach the miracle that I actually found! And not just physically! You always were wise beyond your years, and you still are. You are the most wonderful man I've ever known, and I love you so much I could just burst with the joy of being with you again, feeling you hold me, kiss me, just being near you! You really are my Miracle Man!"
Moved almost to tears myself by the vehemence of her emotion, I pulled her close under the cascading shower and kissed her tenderly. "Riekie Lloyd, my darling Princess. There hasn't been a day go by I haven't thought of you, hoping against hope we'd reconnect. You're still that beautiful blonde nymph I fell in love with, even more beautiful than ever, if that's possible. You're the true miracle, My Miracle Princess, for keeping your love so pure for all this time. There are two beautiful children, miracles conceived in pure love out of pain, despair, and loss, who know me and love me sight unseen because of the purity of your love, that prove that to me beyond the shadow of a doubt. I love you beyond imagining, always have, and will continue to love you beyond time itself. You are my True Love, my Soul-Mate. Riekie Lloyd — Mrs. Riekie Lloyd, I tell you three times -- I love you! I love you! I love you!"
Riekie melted into me, cooing, "Oooooo! Mrs. Lloyd! Oh! How I love the sound of that! William David Lloyd, my husband, my One True Love, my Soul-Mate, I say to you three times — I love you! I love you! I love you!"
Immersed in our rekindled and re-affirmed love, we cuddled and kissed again, holding each other close in the warm rain of the shower then gently and lovingly continued cleaning each other's bodies.
I found her beautiful pink-tipped breasts, and gently sucked each nipple until it was erect. Her beautiful blonde pussy was indeed a mess, and of course, I just had to pay special attention to getting Sweet Pussy clean. I soaped up the washcloth and cleaned her gently, eliciting several small gasps and a small orgasm. Then I soaped her up again thoroughly using my hands to gently ensure she was perfectly clean. I turned on one of the side jets to rinse her completely then planted a long, sucking kiss on her luscious blonde sex. I licked Sweet Pussy absolutely spotless before declaring her clean. Riekie had several orgasms bucking her hips, holding my face in tight and yelling her pleasure as she came each time, her fluids running freely. I licked her clean again, tasting the sweetness of her spend and she tasted just as good as the first time all those years ago.
Riekie returned the favour to Sweet Prince, first she washed him gently and thoroughly then used her mouth to finish the job; her talented tongue and lips caused that noble appendage to stand to attention and salute her. Delighted with his lively response, Riekie insisted that Rascal her Sweet Prince rod out Sweet Pussy nice and clean on the inside and serve her delayed breakfast. As usual, Sweet Pussy was a sloppy diner, Sweet Prince was overly generous with his offering and thus Sweet Pussy drooled part of her breakfast down the inside of Riekie's thighs. Riekie's scream of fulfillment as Rascal filled Sweet Pussy to overflowing echoed and re-echoed off the hard walls of the shower. I cleaned off the worst of the resultant mess, using washcloth and mouth and tasted myself as I kissed that beautiful blonde muff lingeringly. A thin trickle of white cream still oozed from Riekie's small opening, threatening more mess later, but she was totally unconcerned, saying it was good for her skin. Where had I heard that before?
We finished our shower, toweled each other sensuously to that warm and fuzzy feeling I loved so much after bathing with my beauties. When we went to brush our teeth at the sinks, we had a bit of a fun shoving match to determine who used what sink. I ran a comb through my hair, then helped Riekie comb out her gorgeous blonde locks. I had always loved helping her with her hair, and this was a dream come true for me to be doing it again.
We returned to the bedroom and made up the bed, replacing the towels from the cupboard by the hot tub. The bed linen was still serviceable for at least one more night, but Riekie's towel was completely soaked. The other two towels had damp spots, the girls having lapped up most of what they produced. The bed made up, we got dressed. I put on a pair of casual slacks and a flannel shirt. Riekie dressed very similar to the other two in a short wrap-around kilt sans panties with a black low cut pullover that hugged her braless breasts deliciously and revealed tantalizing cleavage. Like Carol and Diane, her kilt showed off her legs wonderfully.
Once dressed, I slipped my arm around her amazingly supple waist, she slipped hers around mine, and we headed out of the room and downstairs. For all the time we took, we were downstairs before the other wives and the kids. Just as the twins had said, Bob was already up, working on a coffee. He'd been busy at other things than making coffee, too — a fresh log snapped and crackled merrily in the fireplace and the tree lights were turned on. He led us into the kitchen and showed us where everything was. Riekie and I fixed ourselves coffees and carried them back in the living room just as Diane and Carol came down, noisily preceded by two happy youngsters. Despite showers and baths, we were all assembled in the living room of Carol's house by about eight o'clock.
These lively little urchins thumped into Riekie and me enthusiastically, almost spilling our coffees. To avoid any hot spills, we hurriedly set our coffees on an end table as each of them took one of us by the hand and pulled us toward the tree. "Mommy! Daddy! Look at all the presents! Santa Claus was here!"
As we stood admiring the tree warm arms wrapped around us from behind. Carol cuddled Riekie and that delightful pixie cuddled me. Carol very obviously took a good sniff of Riekie, giggled and in a stage whisper said. "Mmmmmm. Princess! You look and smell like a well-fucked woman. Isn't it wonderful? Did you leave us some?"<giggle>
Riekie's only response was to lean her head back into Carol's and whisper. "Mmmm-hmmm. I think I left you a little bit." And then in that little girl voice she did so well. "But Swe-et Pus-sy's aw-ful full! So I-I don't know for su-re! Ras-cal loo-ked pret-ty tir-ed!" Riekie's irreverent remark brought quiet laughter to all.
Two eager, excited voices broke the reverie. "C'mon, everybody! Let's open our presents." After a small discussion, I was 'volun-told' because I had the only beard, I was Santa Claus. The wives parked themselves on the couch facing the tree, Riekie in the middle, almost in a place of honour, with the other two snuggled up on either side, Carol on her left and Diane on her right. They looked so beautiful, the three of them sitting together holding hands I wished I had a camera to capture the scene for all time. Just as I was regretting the lack of a camera, a flash went off. For once, someone did have a camera — Bob! — and he got just the picture I wanted. He snapped it from two or three different angles, catching them in all their beauty.
I made the kids get up on their mothers' laps while I surveyed the tree to see what gifts would be handed out first. Bob took advantage of that and snapped some more pics of the family together. He said he'd taken a few before everyone came down to catch the 'before and after'. The tree looked gorgeous with all the gifts scattered 'round it, but we all knew what a chaotic scene it would be once the kids got unwrapping presents. Bob took several rolls of film that morning, catching everyone as they opened gifts and the smiles of delight. I took the camera and got several of him as he opened his.
I found the gifts for the kids and made sure they each had half a dozen, all from 'Mommy and Daddy' before I looked for any others. The first I found was one from the aunts and Paul to Bob, then one each for all three wives from them. They were all small boxes and obviously jewelry of some sort. Bob's was a nice electronic watch. The girls all got the same thing — a silver charm bracelet with their birthstone charm. The aunts told us before we left that what they had for the twins was too big to send on the plane with us, so they would get them whenever they came home. They got something for Ben, too, which I set aside, along with other gifts for him from the rest of us, for Jamie and Robbie to look after.
They kids had the floor strewn with wrapping paper and were ecstatic over all their gifts. Bob snapped many pictures of the kids and the wives opening their presents. I found more gifts for the kids, some marked from 'Santa'. I still don't know how Riekie got all of them in those suit cases. Some of the 'Santa' gifts were too large to have been in those cases, and bore a different hand writing. I learned later that Bob was responsible. He'd had them stashed in his car and brought them in early this morning, explaining why he was up earlier than the rest of us. They were his only nieces (at that point his only nieces... ), and he went all out for them. The rest of the kids' gifts were from Carol and Ben.
On a few of the kids' gifts Riekie had marked the 'From' as she put them out. I was surprised and pleased they were marked 'From Mommy Diane'. She explained that she had always marked a few gifts 'From Your Other Mommy' because she didn't know Diane's name, but it was always in preparation for us getting together again. This girl thought of everything to make the twins aware they were part of a larger family! We didn't tell her that there were several gifts from us waiting for the twins at home, too.
The kids finally had all their presents and were busily, happily making more chaotic mess with the wrapping paper. Bob slipped out to the kitchen and returned with a couple large blue recycle bags, and started clearing away the paper, checking to make sure there were no small parts of toys mixed in with the torn remnants. He even got them to help.
There were still some gifts left, all for the adults. Some were for Jamie and Robbie, which we set aside until they arrived later. All were from Carol and Ben. The pile of gifts for Ben that would in all likelihood remain unopened looked forlorn off by itself. There were gifts from me to each of my wives, including Diane (I couldn't leave that one at home!), and one each for Bob and Ben. I had no great brainwaves this year on what to get My Girls, but finally had my jeweler friend make up moonstone earrings to match their lockets. They loved them and I got a wonderful kiss and a mind numbing promise to 'fuck my brains out' from each of them. I thought of asking Bob to return to the hospital to rent a wheelchair for me.
Carol had also gotten each of us something. For Riekie, she had drawn a colour sketch of the old barn looking out from the old road in autumn. The colours were almost alive. For Bob, she drew a small portrait of Ben as he looked before his face had become so gaunt. I really noticed his resemblance to me in that drawing. Bob had a tear in his eye when he saw it. He and Ben had become very close. For 'Muffin' she had drawn another nude pencil sketch of herself, only this time as she looked pregnant. Both girls loved their sketches, and I was enormously pleased to see Carol applying her artistic talents again. For me, she had drawn another colour sketch, only this was of our old homestead, drawn from memory as it appeared in winter, with the Christmas lights up and smoke curling invitingly from the chimney. Kids played on the hill in front of the house. Carol rarely labeled her drawings, but at the bottom of this one, in block letters, it said 'HOME'. I was moved beyond words at the sentiment expressed in that beautiful drawing.
Poignantly, there were gifts to each of us from Ben, too. He knew I liked the poems of Robert W. Service, and somewhere had found a complete volume of his works for me. I was deeply touched at the thoughtfulness of such a gift. All three girls got a diamond bracelet and matching necklace. Ben's card laughed when he remarked they would probably never wear the necklaces because that would mean removing their lockets, as he had never seen Carol without hers. Carol's other gifts from Ben were of a more personal nature — some sexy lingerie he thought 'David would appreciate', and a collection of miniature Inuit soap stone carvings she had admired. She also received some more 'traditional' gifts of clothing, including several sexy A-line skirts that enhanced her legs with matching camisole tops. Ben had obviously been thinking of after the babies were born. He may have been a eunuch, but as he told me, he still knew and appreciated lovely legs when he saw them. Diane and Riekie also received a couple similar skirts and tops. I guess he got the sizes from Carol, because they fit perfectly.
All three of my wives ran off to change and model at least one of their acquisitions. They had all looked stunning in their kilts and sweaters, but in those skirts and tops, they were simply to die for. Even Carol, with her three month bulge managed to squeeze into hers long enough to model it. I just loved the way her tummy pushed out the front of that sexy camisole. I realized with Riekie's arrival and the other two sacrificing their time to just us two that I hadn't yet laid my head on that tummy, something I had dreamed of. Once they had modeled their new clothes, the girls quickly changed back into their kilts and sweaters. The skirts and camisoles weren't quite up to a Calgary winter despite the warmth in the room from the fireplace, and the wrap around design of the kilt was more suited to Carol's condition. She wasn't showing quite enough to switch to full maternity clothing, but her expanding waist did need to be allowed for.
Diane knew about the charm bracelets from the aunts. She gave Carol and Riekie the same two beautiful charms for theirs -- twin babies and a house. The significance was not lost on the two of them and they each smothered Diane with loving kisses. Her gift to me was left at home, but she said it was something I really wanted. I thought it was probably some power tool I was too cheap to buy for myself... She said it was too large to bring on the plane and then simply haul it home again, more or less confirming my suspicion. After eight years together, the small sentimental gifts sometimes gave way to the practical ones.
Riekie got up and retrieved the gifts she'd hidden behind the tree. As the gifts were opened, it was obvious she'd been busy with the art work too. She said she'd taken some classes to sharpen her own not inconsiderable (to me) talents. It seemed almost prescient, given Carol's gift to her that for Carol she had a colour sketch of the old road also in autumn colours, but from a view farther back. I recognized it as the spot where Carol and I had felt that sudden rush of love come over us that Sunday after Dolly's funeral. However, unlike Carol's crisp, bold colours, Riekie's were muted into a dreamlike quality. For Diane she had drawn a portrait of her as Riekie had seen her in her dreams, and again like her gift to Carol, the colours and lines were muted and softened into a dreamlike state.
Riekie's gift to me was the last one. It was quite a large box, and must have taken up almost half of one of those large suitcases. Riekie handed it to me almost reverently, hers eyes brimming with love. I knew this was a special gift from the heart. When I opened it, I saw just how much love had gone into that gift. There was a large scrap book-cum-photograph album. As I leafed through it, my heart swelled to bursting. Here was the complete story of the twins from conception to the present.
At the beginning were copies of K.P. and D.J.'s birth registrations and birth certificates, clearly showing my name as their father, with a note in beautiful calligraphy addressed directly to me briefly stating that this was 'The Birth Record and Story of Our Children, David'. The story started with some photographs taken at the fertility clinic, showing in detail the process of insemination. She explained one of the staff at the clinic had been a classmate of hers and after a little coaxing took the pictures. Once again, there was a note addressed to me in that same calligraphic style explaining the process from start to finish.
The story continued, with a copy of her obstetrician's report of successful pregnancy, with copies of every monthly checkup and nude photographs of her as she progressed through her pregnancy taken by her obstetrician. At each trimester there was another of those beautifully inscribed notes briefly outlining her development to that stage.
The pictures in the birthing room were taken by Dolly, and showed the birth of each baby. K.P. was born first, then D.J. some seven minutes later. I noticed in the photographs that she was wearing a red gown. When I pointed this out, commenting I thought hospital gowns were either shit-brindle green, powder blue, or white, Riekie laughed and said most women wear their own nightwear unless they are 'short taken' and this was her own 'gown'.
She handed me another package she'd been holding back. I laid the album down while I opened it and there was my old football jersey I had given her all those years ago! She told me she had kept the shirt because she could still 'smell' me on it, and aside from the babies that was all she had of me physically in the birthing room. The lower third of the red sweater, including the bottom of the gold '69' was stained, and there were some brownish stains near the hem. Riekie explained her water broke and soaked it. The brownish stains were from when the twin's cords were cut. She said she had a hell of a time convincing her obstetrician to lay the babies on the old shirt rather than her bare tummy while she cut the cords. Here, on my old jersey, was the actual amniotic fluid and birth blood of my kids!
I took her in my arms with tears in my eyes, kissed her tenderly and said, "Riekie Lloyd, I love you so much! I'll cherish these things forever."
When I regained my composure and released her, I went back to the album, cradling the shirt to my breast. Every page had photographs of the kids at formative stages in their development — first tooth, first words, first steps — and each page with its ornate note headed 'David:' and closing with 'We love you, Daddy.' There were even pictures of their first childhood illnesses. In short, if it was a milestone of any kind in their development that could be photographed, it was there. Every birthday, every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, and every family function they'd ever attended was recorded, even their first successful 'potty' day. Interspersed in the milestones were chronologically ordered random snapshots of fun times and even some sad times.
There were pictures of them with every Scott family member except him. There were many, many pictures of her with the kids, playing, reading to them, and showing them that picture of me. Every page or picture story had its explanatory note. Riekie had photographed or had friends and family members shoot anything she thought would be interesting.
Bob had apparently spent quite a bit of time with them, and had taken very many of the pictures, especially after his breakup with Margaret. He said later he flew to Winnipeg at least one weekend per month, and more often if he could get away to be with those kids (No wonder they loved him so much.) and to be a friend to Riekie, who had no one except the kids and the very distant Rick. He said he kicked himself now he didn't clue in they really were my kids, just from the way Riekie raised them. Instead, he had sometimes thought she was caught up in a fantasy world, and worried about her stability.
I noted that in every photograph with her in it, Riekie would be laughing and smiling happily with the youngsters, but seemed to avoid looking directly into the camera. In the few where she had been caught, mostly candid shots and a few posed ones where she couldn't avoid the camera's all-seeing eye, her eyes looked haunted, giving me a visual record of the pain that Riekie had suffered along with Carol and me.
There were scenes from all four seasons, some of each kid doing something of note or Riekie with one or the other. I saw them off on their first day to daycare, kindergarten, and Grade one. They skipped J.K. because of the day care and this year went into grade one, which she'd pulled them out of to move as the Christmas break started. As well as photographs, every little doodle the kids had ever put on paper was included. A complete record of the twins' short lives was there for the seeing.
As I put the album down, Riekie said quietly, "Look in the box, Darling, there's more."
Already overwhelmed, almost blinded by tears at the total love the album had displayed, I handed the album to Diane and Carol to peruse as I looked in the box. I found seven one-year diaries. It would take too long to read them all at this time, so I just browsed through them, picking dates at random. The first one covered the year of her pregnancy, and opened with her hearing from Bob about Rhiannon's birth and in block letters 'DAVID'S POWER HAS STIRRED!". The rest of the diary was a day to day record of the process at the fertility clinic and then her pregnancy up to the day before the twins were born. It wasn't just a factual record, but included her thoughts on a given day as well. Every entry ended with 'David, I love you so much' or a similar entry.
The second through seventh diaries were day to day records and thoughts beginning each year with their birthday, January second — the same as Rhiannon's! The second one started with her record of their actual birth, detailing her labour, and ended the day before their first birthday. Each succeeding diary started and ended the same way, and each page ended with 'David I love you'.
The last diary entry was two days ago, when she had to either keep that one out or include it in the box to be wrapped and packed. The last entry was 'I must close off this diary for now. We're leaving Winnipeg for good, there's nothing left for us here. I've burned all my bridges. We'll probably go to Carol Anne's for Christmas, then fly back East to an uncertain reception. But David's heart is calling me too strongly to resist, and I must go. I love you, David.'
I gave the last diary to Riekie, tears running unabashedly down my face, saying, "Bring this one up-to-date, please Sweetheart, and finish out the year. We don't want to lose a single day of what you've started."
I was overwhelmed at the love and devotion that moved her to go to such extraordinary lengths to record and preserve the development of our children so I would feel more connected to them. I pulled her close and hugged her as tightly as I could. Diane, Carol and Bob were mesmerized by the album and stunned at the effort that went into compiling it. That Riekie had managed to keep the flame of her love burning so brightly for all these years was staggering to say the least.
As I held her close, rocking her in my joy and love, I kissed her again and whispered over and over, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Riekie's reply as she returned my heartfelt kiss was simple, "Merry Christmas, My One True Love."
"Merry Christmas, My Darling Princess." She had given me the best Christmas present of all — our children.
Carol broke the spell of the moment. She cleared her throat and announced it was time to get breakfast. Only then did I notice just how hungry I was. I glanced at my watch. It was only a few minutes past nine! The whole Christmas thing had only taken about an hour, and yet it seemed like all day. There were still several gifts stacked off to the side, Carol and Riekie's gifts for the folks back home. We left the kids playing with their new toys while the rest of us trouped into the kitchen. Bob stayed behind to keep an eye on them. The girls soon had breakfast started, the three of them working like a well-oiled machine, laughing and giggling as they worked. Before long, the kitchen was filled with my all-time favourite food aroma — toast, bacon, and coffee.