Expanding the family
We eat in silence. Cerea munches on a few carrots after dinner is over. She chews them like she is eating rubber. That concerns me, knowing she is the only one who loves vegetables with a passion.
Mero is quiet because this is her first dinner here.
Miia is the only one who is cheerful. She is happy because I made up to her, but even she can read the mood that something is wrong, bridling her cheerful and girly disposition.
"Would anyone like some ice cream?" She tries to break the ice, trying to sound cheerful.
"I would." I raise my hand.
"I'd like to try that," Mero says with a smile, trying to look as unworthy of attention as possible.
"I'm going to sleep." Cerea gets up, her eyes closed.
I hold her arm, making her pause. "What's wrong, Cerea?"
"Thou knowst not?" she says in a quivering voice.
"Miia," I say.
"Yes, Darling?"
"I made love with Mero today."
"Eh…!" Both Mero and Miia go red.
"What do you mean!" Miia thumps the table with her fists.
"Exactly what you heard." I kiss Cerea's hand. "And now my noble knight is angry with me."
"I'm not angry." Cerea looks at me, her face flushed.
"You aren't?"
"I am!" Miia screeches. "Darling, you…"
"Oh!" Mero looks up, hands entwined on her chest, her cry resembling a deer's struck with an arrow. "You have broken the heart of your wife, disgruntled your most loyal knight, and now that you have fertilized my eggs, I am more than just a mistress. In all this time, if you end up leaving us, what will I tell our daughters? Oh, the pain!"
Me, Miia, and Cerea look at her as if watching a melodramatic sequence in a play. When she looks at us, the three of us chuckle.
"I'll give Smith a call."
"Darling, this mango ice cream is something else." Smith swallows the last spoonful and pushes the bowl to me. "Can I have some more?"
"Sure." I nod. "Miia." Miia gets up from my right and slithers to the fridge.
Mero sits on my left, in front of the sofa Smith is sitting on. Cerea sits between us, arms crossed, serious like a General in the war tent.
"Dozo." Miia places the full bowl in front of her.
"That's a bit more than I wanted." Smith picks the bowl up. "Thank you anyway, Miia-chan." She takes another spoonful. "So, what's this about?"
"Aruji-dono has… consummated with Mero," Cerea speaks without moving.
Smith, who has just eaten her second spoonful, coughs. She almost drops the bowl in front of her and covers her mouth with both hands, trying to control the coughing.
I get up and run my hand on her back. When her coughing subsides, I offer her a napkin.
"Thank you, Darling." She dabs her lips and then smacks the back of my head.
Her action and my reaction make the three girls laugh. Seeing them laugh, I chuckle too and Smith giggles.
"Why are we laughing?" Smith controls herself. "This is a serious matter."
"Serious how?" I wrap my arms around her. "Tell us, sweetheart. We are eager to know."
"Well…" She blushes in my embrace and lowers her head on my shoulder.
"Aw." I pat her back. "She just wants some love." I kiss her forehead.
Smith clears her throat as she straightens, loosening my grip around her. "Mero-sa… chan, is it true?"
"Hai." Mero looks down at her hands in her lap with a blush and a smile. "He has fertilized my eggs. I shall be a mother of his daughters soon."
"Mother!" Cerea and Miia get up from their seats.
"Daughters?" I look up as a question mark appears on the top of my head. "Why does she use plural instead of singular? Is she that sure of having twins?"
"Yes, for good reason." Smith picks up the bowl and places it on my thighs.
"What's that good reason?" I smile as she starts wolfing the ice cream down, making it seem like she is eating out of my lap.
"Mermaids have at least three children in time, which are all female, I should add."
"So, in that case," I calculate in my mind, feeling the cold bottom of the bowl chill my penis. "That means I am going to father at least five daughters, assuming Mero has three daughters, and Smith doesn't have any."
Smith launches into her second coughing fit. I have to rub her back again because the three girls are busy blushing at the prospect of becoming mothers. I smile as I watch them. I relate to them, because the thought of being a Father makes me giddy. I have so many adorable girls already. Having little versions of them, who'll love me more than even them is too much an overwhelming thought. And that I have always wanted to have at least three daughters.
Smith stops coughing and hugs me.
I grab her shoulders and push her back to look at her face. After removing her shades, I wipe her tears with my thumbs, which she is trying to do herself. Having free hands, she cups my face as she continues weeping.
"Why do you cry, my love?" I kiss her eyes.
"Can I be a mother too?" she sobs.
"You can, baby doll." I chuckle. "What makes you think otherwise?"
"It's just that…" She sniffles, regaining her composure. "I have never imagined being a wife. How can I be a mother?"
"We'll see that when you become a mother." I draw her in and kiss her lips, careful to not knock off the bowl on my crotch. "We've done a great deal of work at that, haven't we?"
Smith giggles, along with the girls.
"Well, you laughed, my love." I pinch Smith's cheeks, making her smile. "That means everything's all right, right?"
"I wish I could say that." She sighs and pats my head. "For now, all you need to know is that Mero loves tragedies."
"Of course," Mero speaks. "All mermaids love the tail of the Mermaid. How she gave up her swimming ability for her beloved, and he left her to die. I want to meet my Prince someday too and make a great tragedy with him."
She looks up again, stars glowing around her against a pink background.
"Yeah, we pretty much caught that," Miia says.
"Well, that's good." Smith picks the bowl up from my crotch, tickling my penis with her pinky, smiling at me with her eyes and her lips. "I know one thing. Whatever happens, this family will be fine."
"Touché." I kiss her forehead. "You staying for a fivesome tonight?"
"What!" The girls explode.
"Hey, it's just a suggestion." I shrug with a smile.
"It's not a suggestion, Darling," Miia speaks in the screaming manner characteristic of her anger. "I know you. I've been with you the longest."
"Indeed, you have." I reach out and hold her hand. "It shows in how well you know me. So, it's decided." I stand up. "This night will be a love fest."