Free Husbandry by Allie Ritch Page B

breath for courage. I
picked up the phone to call home and paced as I waited for one of my parents to
pick up.
    “Hello?” my mother answered in a cheery tone. She had to know
it was me from the ID, although maybe she thought Chuck could be calling.
    “Hi, Mom.”
    “Fila, how are you? You must have gotten my message.”
    “I just listened to it this afternoon.” No need to tell her
why I’d taken so long to get to it. She knew how bad I was about checking
things like that.
    “I was so excited to finally see those pictures. You know
Chuck always sounds so nice on the phone, but I didn’t have a face to go with
the voice. Isn’t he handsome? The two of you look perfect together. You in your
lovely wedding dress and him in his suit.”
    “Chuck is gorgeous,” I agreed. I swallowed the lump that
formed in my throat and hoped she didn’t hear it. “I’m sorry I didn’t send the
pictures to you properly the first time. I just zapped them over to you again,
this time with Chad and Charles in frame.”
    “Chad and Charles?” My mother’s voice held a tiny note of
strain. “Really, Fila. I wish your husband would make up his mind what he’d
like to go by.”
    “Mom.”
    “Chuck, Chad, Charles—how will I know what to call him?”
    “Mom, you don’t—”
    “I suppose I should be glad he doesn’t want to be called
Chip. Or Chaz. I never cared for that nickname.”
    She was driving me crazy. If I didn’t get this out soon, I’d
lose my nerve.
    “Mom, each of my husbands only goes by one name. There are
three of them: Chuck, Charles, and Chad. You’ve spoken to them on the phone.”
    Dead silence greeted me from the other end of the line.
    “You still there? Mom? Listen, I know this is a shock, but
you’ll love the three of them. They’re all wonderful and have their own
personalities, though they’ve all got the same DNA.”
    I picked up speed, telling her all about Genetic Harmony
when she remained unresponsive. When she still didn’t answer, I was worried
we’d been disconnected.
    The sound of her voice made me jump, though she wasn’t loud.
“Your father and I will be there this weekend.”
    “What? Wait. This isn’t the best time for—”
    “Make up the guest room for us. We’ll arrive Friday
evening.” She barreled over me like I hadn’t even spoken.
    I sighed. “Don’t you want to talk about this?”
    “Friday.” Her word was final. She punctuated it by hanging
up.
    I wasn’t sure whether that had gone better or worse than I’d
anticipated. It certainly couldn’t be good. Setting the phone back in its
charger, I closed my eyes for a moment to compose myself.
    I jumped when the phone immediately rang again and hurried
to pick it up.
    “You called back,” I said in relief. “I’m glad. If we just
talk about this—”
    “Fila?” The masculine voice was one I hadn’t expected to
hear speaking to me again so soon.
    “Chad.” My tongue was suddenly tied, reducing me to single
syllables. “Hi.”
    His voice was clipped and—I realized belatedly—worried.
“I’ve been trying to reach you, but the phone has been busy. Why don’t you
check your damn messages?”
    “I did! I checked the home messages from work. There was
nothing new.”
    “Your work messages,” he retorted. “I tried to catch you at
the office. I’m at the hospital. Chuck had an accident. They called me when
they couldn’t reach you or Charles.”
    My stomach felt like it plummeted to my feet. “What kind of
accident? Is he all right?”
    “He was repairing the flashing on the roof. On the way down
the ladder, his foot slipped on the rung and he fell. One of the neighbors saw
it happen and called an ambulance. No broken bones, but he’s bruised pretty
badly, and he has a concussion.”
    Images of my husband lying broken in the yard had my breath
clogging in my throat. He could have been killed. One slip and I could have
lost him. I would still have had Chad and Charles, but my life would never