57: Tuesday July 28, 2043 2000 hours CST: Colby's Pregnancy Party
Zach sat at the kitchen table at Colby's place, the wives and Colette sitting around him. Berte's hand was on his back. "What the hell, Zach? What did you do?" cried Aanya angrily.
"It wasn't like that," Zach said. "As far as I can understand, it's more like what I didn't do. And it breaks my heart. To think that in three short weeks she went from pinning me to the rug in her front hall and weeping with joy that I accepted her love, to this. It's killing me."
Colleen was in full disaster debrief mode. "What exactly did she say?"
Zach recounted. "She said she was breaking up with me. She said she was going to go sleep at a hotel tonight. She said she didn't want to cause any trouble with the other wives. She said she would call you tomorrow, Colleen."
"She'll talk to me tonight," Colleen said sternly. "Go on."
Anming interjected, "The crazy ch-zi will answer to me tonight, too."
"Calm down," said Berte. "No name-calling."
"Will you just let me talk to her, Anming?" Colleen asked. "I know I'm only third wife, but I've known her for a long time. This is very uncharacteristic behavior. Don't worry, I'll be stern with her, okay?"
"Very well," Anming agreed fretfully. She stood up, walked over, hugged Zach, and sat back down.
"Talk, Zach," said Colleen.
"Okay," said Zach. "She said we were still welcome to stay here until launch."
"Who cares?" Colleen interjected, "Why did she break up with you?"
"You asked me what she exactly said!" Zach said with frustration.
Colleen sighed and said, "Okay, you're right. She did say something to justify her action?"
"Yes," said Zach. "I'm getting to it."
"Then continue," said Colleen.
"She said I was a child, and that I would never grow up. She said that all I was interested in was her body. She said I never thought of her. She said I ignored her except when she offered her body to me. She said I wasn't thoughtful. I argued that she has been avoiding me. She said it was because she has boundaries, implying I have bad boundaries. That's all she said, that I can recall, to justify breaking up with me."
"Those are stupid reasons," said Anming. "She is a child for abandoning her commitment to Zach and all of us in a matter of days. That's the very height of childish behavior. And the ch-zi better hope he likes her-" Here Anming launched into a long string of Mandarin that fascinated Berte.
Colleen interrupted. "Getting positional with her isn't going to help. We're all angry that Zach's been hurt like this, that we've been hurt like this. But fighting about it is just going to drive us apart. And I reiterate, this makes no sense. Her behavior makes no sense, and I've known her for a long time."
"What are you going to do about it?" demanded Anming.
"Here's what we're going to do about it," said Colleen. "We're going to de-escalate. Colby's actions, accepting the date, what she said, was designed to provoke us. I think it was that way unconsciously. If she really just wanted out, she would have started by discussing her concerns. This is not that. It's a cry for help. And we're going to provide that help."
Aanya looked at Berte and said, "Berte and I agree we should try not to be angry. We should trust Colleen."
"I agree," said Anming. "If there's any way, for Zachary's sake. I just feel so angry! So betrayed."
"I'm going to go call her now," said Colleen, "privately." She walked out of the kitchen and out into the back yard.
"Zachary, my poor husband," Anming said, cuddling his face in her hands. "These things she says are not true."
"Sure, there's truth in them," Zach said. "All men are children, frankly. I wouldn't argue against that opinion. The whole 'you only want me for my body' conversation has been there for her since the beginning. It may really be about some past relationship of hers. I shouldn't psychoanalyze her, though. I wasn't worried about it. I expected that over time, actions would speak louder than words, but there has been no time. The rest is a muddle to me. Clearly she has opinions about my attention span, I guess? Recently, she took off her clothes to get my attention. I believe that she already had my attention. But I'm not going to deny that when she takes off her clothes, it grabs my attention! As for boundaries, I do not know what kind of boundaries she wants me to have."
"Zachary," Anming said, grabbing him tightly around the head, "Ignore the things this lying ch-zi said." She guided him into the living room, the other wives and Colette following. Anming turned to Berte, "Feed him," she ordered.
"Are you hungry, Zach?" asked Berte.
"No," said Anming, who said a long sentence of mandarin to Berte.
Berte sat down on the couch. She opened her silk blouse and opened the front clasp of her bra. Her gorgeous befreckled pink-nippled knockers spilled out. Zach got the idea. He lay down on the couch with his head in her lap. She propped his head up with pillows and nursed him. She sang lullabies in German. The other women sat around, more relaxed now that he was being comforted. "Soon, I'll be giving milk, thanks to Zach," she smiled.
Berte gently shook Zach awake. Colleen was there sitting next to them on the couch. "She seemed very emotional. I got her to agree to see Ayana in the morning for a checkup. Maybe she's just upset, but I think it will tell us something. Anyway, stay away from her, all of you, please." Everybody agreed. "I'll keep you posted on developments. If you do run into her, try to say something supportive, and then get out of there."