I Slept With Three Men Tonight

Around 9:00 Excitment pulled down the twin mattresses in the front room of his mother Nonnie’s house, lined them up side by side and piled them high with blankets and pillows. Curled up in the recliner, Bubba and I read a story and then I laid my little man down on the mattress on the floor and tossed the fluffy comforter over his little body. We sang his prayers, exchanged hugs and kisses and told him good night. An hour later he was still tossing and turning.

 "It's too dark to sleep." He told me as I poked my head through the door.

I lay down beside him. Even in the near complete darkness I could see the grin that spread across his face. He lay on his back and I rested my hand on his chest, making small circles with my thumb, stroking his chest like I used to when he was a baby. His little heart raced beneath my fingers and he wrapped his arms around my wrist hugging my arm.

Moments later Excitement joined us. With a groan he lowered himself onto the mattress behind me. He drew the hair away from my shoulders and touched his lips to the nape of my neck whispering "You know you are so precious to me? You will never know how much I love you."

"I love you, Mommy." Bubba echoed in the darkness.

Excitement’s arm encircled my hips and he pulled me back against him possessively, fitting himself to my body. His knees curled behind mine and my butt nestled into his lap. His left hand entwined in my hair and he caressed a lock between his fingers. His right arm moved up across my stomach until it rested at the top of the swell our child made, just beneath my breasts, and he stroked my stretched skin gently through my shirt. From within me the baby made butterfly kicks to make his presence known, pressing back against his father's hand. I smiled.