Dorsai - Taxi

"We figured there would be other things that we haven't thought of yet, too, so we're expecting a lot more back-and-forth on this, too", Gina added. When she recognized the double meaning of what she'd just said, she surprised me by blushing faintly while Elisse just grinned.

The two of them sat there patiently as I thought about what they'd asked, and the answers they'd given in response to my questions. After a few minutes, I told them "Of course, you know you're asking a lot – but you've told me what you want, and why, and covered the 'big' issues. It's a pretty damn serious thing you're asking, and I'm going to have to think about it for a while."

Both gave me small smiles before Gina said "Of course, Jim. We certainly didn't expect an answer right away, and wouldn't have been happy if you'd tried to give us one. Yes, it is a big deal, and we know that. And we know that if you have to tell us 'no', then it won't be because of our relationship."

I smiled back before answering "No, that's the last thing I'd trouble myself with. I don't doubt that either, or both, of you would raise great kids – the only question, really, is whether I want them to be MY kids, too."

With that, we all finished our drinks and got out of the booth we were sitting in. Saying that there were a few things that they still needed to take care of, Gina let me out, and gave me a little wave after I stayed to make sure she locked the door behind me.

It was summer time, and I was kept busy for the next couple of weeks ferrying assorted visitors, tourists, conventioneers, and so on around town. While I couldn't devote all my time to their request, it damn sure filled in the empty spots between everything else I was doing. I had lunch in their place a few times, and neither one of them ever said or did anything to see if I'd made a decision; they seemed to know that I'd let them know when I knew, and were content with that.

It was nearly 3 weeks from the time we'd all sat down that I was finally able to discreetly tell Elisse "I've settled on what to do about that question you had for me. We probably need to talk about it; will you be here after I get off shift about six tonight?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and she answered "No, we're usually home by then." She quickly wrote something on an order pad, then tore the sheet off and handed it to me; when I looked at it, I could see that it was an address. She told me "Come there. We can talk after we have a nice supper – both of us want to thank you for at least thinking about it."

I thanked her, and asked "Would it be easier if I showed up a little later?"

"Oh, no, six is fine!", she assured me. After telling her that I'd see them later, I headed back out to my rig.

The address Elisse gave me was for a modest little house in an older suburban area. The streets were quiet, and the neighborhood looked to be pretty decent: middle-class, but well-maintained, and somehow feeling 'neighborly'. I knocked on their door just a few minutes after the hour, and it took only a few seconds for Gina to open it for me. After inviting me in, she guided the way into their living room, where Elisse was sitting at one end of a couch. After I'd taken a seat in a chair facing it, Gina asked if I'd like something to drink. After she ran down the list of choices, I said that a beer would be fine, thank you. She disappeared toward where I figured the kitchen must be, and was back in a couple of minutes with beers for all of us.

After we'd been chatting for a few minutes, I could see that while both of them were doing their best to be gracious hostesses, they were all too aware of why I was there. With that, it took only a moment to throw our plans for the evening out the window in favor of telling them "You can relax. I'm going to help."

It took a couple of seconds for what I'd said to sink in; when it did, both of them quickly set their beer bottles aside so they could rush over and pull me out of the chair and hug me. All things considered, I wasn't reluctant about hugging them back, and quickly decided that both of them made for a nice armful of curves. When they'd gotten themselves calmed down again, we all sat down again before Elisse told me "Thank you, Jim. I guess you know how happy that makes both of us."

Gina laughed, and said "If he didn't, he sure does after that!", drawing chuckles from me and Elisse.

"Jim, after so much time, we were afraid that you were going to have to tell us 'no'; dinner tonight really was our way of trying to thank you for at least thinking about it. But now it's going to be a celebration dinner!", Elisse exclaimed.

Just then, I heard a kitchen timer go off; both of them stood up and Elisse said "That's supper. If you'll give us just a couple of minutes to bring it out, we can sit down to eat."

The promised couple of minutes went by before Elisse came in to let me know my presence was requested. When I got into the dining room, I was surprised at the spread that they'd laid out: it looked like they'd prepared a five course meal for just the three of us. After I sat down, Gina told me "As much as both of us want to hear what you have to say, we've gotten into the habit of suppertime being about just talking to each other, like friends and family."

I smiled before answering "That sounds like a wonderful habit to get into, and I certainly don't have any problem with it."

After Elisse learned that I didn't have any need or desire to say a prayer, we had a delightful time just chatting with each other as we ate. The food proved to be even better than what they served in their place, and early on I had to remind myself to leave room for the rest of the meal – and was glad that I did.

After our second cup of coffee after dessert, we all stood up. I offered to help clear the table, and was politely informed that if I attempted to do so, I would be severely dealt with. Too chicken to find out what they'd do, I gave in; when I went back into the living room, Elisse came along to keep me company. Several minutes later, she and Gina traded; a bit longer, and both of them were again seated on the couch, facing me.

Elisse got us started by saying "You said we probably need to talk, this afternoon, so I guess it's up to you to let us know what's on your mind."

"It's nothing dramatic, or anything like that", I told them. "Just some things that came to mind while I was thinking about all of this."

"Such as?", Gina asked.

"Such as you saying that you'd be fine with a contract saying that you wouldn't have any financial claims against me. Not that I'm worried about that, but for what it does: makes things absolutely clear between us. I'm not just talking about the financial side of it, but all of this – or as much of it as we can get put on paper, and signed off by a lawyer. We covered the obvious stuff when you asked me to help you start a family; but from what I've seen of life, it's usually the seemingly little things that turn out to be the biggest headaches. So what I'd like to suggest is that we spend some time, I don't know… brainstorming, I suppose, to try and address as much of that kind of thing as we can. I don't know about you, but I don't think that's something we can do in just one go-around… which leads me into something else."

With them looking at me expectantly, I continued "The whole point of all this is for me to get one or both of you pregnant. Now, I'd certainly be more comfortable about that if we kind of eased into it, instead of me just showing up like a bull servicing a couple of cows – which brings up the last thing: when does all this start to happen, and how? I mean, the obvious thing is that it'll work best when each of you is most likely to conceive, but that leaves a lot to be settled, like how and when and where."

With me reminding them that I'd actually be having sex with them, both of them blushed faintly before Gina said "Um, yeah, I think 'easing' into it would be better, too" – Elisse nodded her agreement – "and neither of us has really thought of much past the point of finding a way to get pregnant. I think we both just figured that we'd deal with that part of it when we got to it."