"By the way," said Martin Stovall, holding his wife close, "would you like another daughter or a son this time?"
"Hmm..." replied his wife Melissa, while snuggling closer to him. "I'm not sure. You?"
"Does it matter?" Martin asked in return. "As long as both the baby and its mother are healthy."
"I'll tell you what," said Melissa, looking directly at her mate, "if I'm not actually pregnant in a week, are you sure you want to make sure I am?"
"Why wait?" asked Martin, picking his wife up lovingly in his arms. "Pool or bed?"
"Surprise me," said Melissa, before kissing him again.
MEANWHILE...
"So, is she or isn't she?" asked Eric Anderson, as he was walking with his fiance Julie Stovall back to his house.
"Huh?" asked Julie, wondering what Eric was getting at.
"Is your mother pregnant or not?"
"Nobody knows for sure yet. From what I hear, the earliest a pregnancy test can be conducted on a were female with accurate results is a week. They also say that when a were-mermaid is with child, there's a special glow about her, but I've never figured out if they were talking about some kind of visible, physical effect or what."
"They say that about regular, expectant human females too, but it's in reference to the woman's look or attitude, as far as I can tell, not an actual glowing aura that might be visible to the naked eye," replied Eric. "It's kind of like how you always look at me, or how I feel whenever I think of you, even when you're not actually around."
"That is so sweet," said Julie, before kissing Eric on the cheek.
"Would you want another sister, or a brother?" he asked.
"Truthfully? I don't know," admitted Julie. "If mom is pregnant, we'd be on the verge of starting our Sophomore years in high school when the next generation arrives. The only space we have left on the second floor is what's being used as a guest room, between the master bedroom and mine. But after all the remodeling that was done to the house to accommodate were-mers before I was born; it doesn't even have a full bathroom, let alone a Jacuzzi tub. Bit of a drawback for a were-mer."
"Yeah," agreed Eric.
"Anyway, unless we come up with something else before starting college, I figured we'd move into the backyard cabana by the pool at my place. After all, it has all the amenities, including the J-tub. The only drawback would be having to borrow mom's washer and dryer for laundry, but I'm sure we could work something out," continued Julie, while grabbing Eric's free hand, considering he had his Halloween costume in the other, she was carrying a travel bag in her other hand, and both were wearing their school backpacks.
"That way, all of our parents would be happy that we're being frugal with whatever funds we have by then and close by. The new kid would be old enough to have my room. My folks would have a built in babysitter when needed. I'd still be able to be the big sister, and you would be my loving husband and doting uncle too. Besides, babysitting will be good practice for when we're parents," added Julie with a sly smile on her face. "We can't let Eric Junior and Melinda down, now can we?"
"Got it all figured out, huh?" said Eric.
"I try honey. I try. We weres may listen to our hearts more than regular humans, but we still have to be practical too," Julie reminded him.
"I guess. The only part of my future I've given any thought to since we've... you know, is how much I love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life."
"Don't worry darling. Once a were-mer finds their one true love, it's till death do us part, and I'll still be in love with you well beyond the end of time Mister Anderson," said Julie, leaning her body against his.
"And I you, my future wife," said Eric, putting his free arm around her.
A few moments later, Eric let his lady into the Anderson household, but both were surprised to discover "Nobody else is home yet."
"Did they have to stop at the store or something?" wondered Julie.
"I know they had to take their new friend Joyce home.* Either way, I seriously doubt we'll have the place to ourselves for long," realized Eric. "Even if it does take them a while to get home, Nate's on the other side of the hill at Alex's and could be back at any time. Let me grab us some drinks, and then we'll go to my room. That way, we can find some place for you to store your new overnight bag for here," he added, referring to the extra bag Julie carried with her, "and I can pack one for your place without too many questions before we tackle what's left of our homework."
"Okay, but considering how close we are, I think your folks would be cool with the idea," Julie pointed out to him.
"Probably. I think everyone is adjusting more to were society than they realize," said Eric, as Julie followed him into the kitchen for a couple of bottled waters from the fridge. "Mom's a bi-werecat. Nate's a werewolf in a committed relationship and Dad the werefox is more in love with Mom now than he ever might have been before. I know that my life has become a whole lot better since we met," he said, smiling at Julie. "And a part of me would love to show you how much I love you right this very second, but I also know it'd be best if we at least wait until we got to my room, if not finished our homework as well."
"Eric, my life and love," said Julie, taking a step closer until they were staring at each other eye to eye. "My feelings for you grow stronger with each passing day. There shall never be anyone else in my heart, and I certainly want you as much as you want me," she added, before putting her arms around Eric and giving him a passionate kiss.
When their lips finally parted, Julie smiled at him, then whispered in Eric's ear, "I did take my were-mermaid birth control pill for today, and I'm not wearing a bra."
Eric's hands slowly drifted up from her shapely hips to cup the underside of her breasts, confirming what Julie whispered.
He teased the hardened nipples through the material of her blouse, and then took her hand in his.
"Let's get our things and go upstairs, my jewel," he said with a smile.
____________________________________________________________________
*Joyce Carlson, a werevixen William and Martha Anderson met Halloween (last) night.—tmw.