Mia paused outside the familiar door labeled Penthouse B. It was so strange to be back here, where so much had happened five months ago. Aihan sure had a sense of humor, using the scene of those "baby shower" parties for Jim for her actual baby shower.
That she could even consider hosting it here showed how far they had all come from the panicked confusion of the aftermath of Jim's visit, when nearly all of them had gotten their periods and nearly every pregnancy test was negative. It had been such a shock. They had all felt so certain they were pregnant, then suddenly that was ripped out from under them. At first, Leizu had told them it was implantation failure, and that still about a quarter of them should end up pregnant. But it was soon clear it would be far fewer than that. It wasn't twenty-five percent. It wasn't even two percent. Only seventeen. Out of over a thousand.
Strangely, nearly all the ones who got pregnant were women who had decided to seek a sperm donor before they ever met Jim. Most were lesbians already in long-term relationships, like Xueqin, Meifen, and Chao-Xing. Aihan was one of the few non-lesbians to get pregnant. She was married, and she and her husband had long known he was infertile. It was as if this miracle, or whatever it was, didn't want to happen as cuckoldry. The one possible exception Mia knew of was Song, that little sweetheart college runner. She had somehow managed to get engaged two days after she slept with Jim, and she was one of the few who got pregnant. Or maybe she wasn't an exception at all; the baby in her belly could just as easily be her new husband's.
Amid all the anguish, confusion, and chaos of the month after Jim left, they had bonded even more, becoming like a support group for each other. Or like a few dozen partly overlapping support groups. Mia had ended up mostly with this group of about 30 women who lived nearby and had met Jim and each other on the first two days of his visit. Their bond was the one remaining certainty that came from the whole crazy experience, and it was beautiful. They were like family. The closeness they had felt immediately when they met five months ago had only grown stronger, now that they actually knew each other. They all took care of each other and helped each other process, accept, and move on from the inexplicable experience that had brought them together. The rich among them wouldn't let them give back those trust funds. They had been adamant about that. They would still apply to each woman's next-born children, whenever those came.
The more mystical-minded among them, like Citra, Jiao, and Tung-Mei, had held out the longest, insisting that it was just a test of faith and that they really all would bear Jim's children. But then they too had finally seemed to give in when they got their periods the second time.
And by that point, there was so much happy news to distract them all. Everyone was falling in love. Finding such amazing perfect matches. There were so many weddings it was impossible to attend them all. Weddings almost every day, and multiple weddings most weekend days, for months straight. Everyone was so happy.
Mia still hadn't told any of them she was pregnant. She was following the standard advice of waiting until three months to announce a pregnancy, which meant she should wait another two weeks. But tonight she knew it might be hard not to spill it, especially given the incredible news from her ultrasound.
Despite how often they all had seen each other the past few months, the continual presence of outsiders at the weddings meant they weren't talking much about what happened. So as she joined the joyful crowd at Aihan's baby shower, she realized it was her first time in months among a big group of them without any outsiders around.
Given this, and the setting, it wasn't long before it came up. There was a lull in the conversation. Dandan looked around at the penthouse and said, "This place. Last time we were here. What the fuck even was that?"
Mia shook her head and joined in the laughter. The same familiar conversation followed. They had gone over it so many times in that first month afterward. It was the same confusion, the same inexplicable puzzle, but now after a few months, the tone was completely different. Bemusement, wonder, not panic or anguish.
"We were so sure. All of us," Wing-Yee was saying. "That's what gets me. What was that for? Why would we all be so sure we were pregnant, and then we're all wrong?"
"Well, we weren't all wrong," Anna said. "Chao-Xing and Meifen both knew they'd have twins, and they were right. So the feeling was real for them anyway. Unless that's a coincidence."
"I still believe it was a miracle," Citra said. "Don't laugh. I'm serious. Maybe it's not exactly the miracle we all thought it was. But it's better. Isn't it? Is there anyone here whose life isn't ten times better now than it was before we met Jim?"
There were a lot of smiles and nods.
"Ok, you have a point," Mia said. "But is everything good that happened the last five months because of what happened with Jim?"
There was a long pause as they all thought about that. Then Lily spoke up. "For me, I think it kind of is. It opened my heart. Made me ready, or made me realize I was ready, to settle down. Thinking I was pregnant was a taste of a kind of happiness I'd never imagined. It changed how I looked at life, and how I looked at men."
A lot of other heads were nodding.
"Me too," Xuesong said. "My husband isn't the kind of guy I would have been interested in before. He's too... good. Too kind. He is a perfect partner. He will be a perfect dad. And that kind of thing just somehow never mattered much to me before Jim. Or it wasn't a priority somehow. But then after Jim, I realized it should have been, all along. And I felt like I could see it more clearly, read men better."
Mia nodded along with everyone. It was true. Her husband was like that too. All of theirs were. They were all so kind, so caring, such great partners, such perfect fathers-to-be. And it had suddenly become so easy to see that in men, to tell which ones were for real.
"Same here," Dongmei said. "I used to be into bad boys. It used to be all about attraction. But for me, what happened with Jim was like the ultimate attraction. It's only downhill from there, you know? I could never feel more lust for anyone, never have better sex than that. Right?" Lots of giggles and emphatic nods. "So after Jim, it's like, been there, done that. Time for something more important. Time for someone who really cares about me, really understands me, and really wants to share his whole life with me even when I get old and ugly."
"And you sure found that," Dandan said, hugging Dongmei from the side.
"Yeah, I did," Dongmei said, squeezing her back. "And you did too. Who would have thought two players like us would grow up and choose love? That's a fucking miracle right there."
More laughter and nodding from the crowd.
"Ok, but I'm still not going to call it a miracle," Mia said. "It helped us grow up, helped us see what would really make us happy. I like that. That makes sense to me. And everyone is happier in their professional lives too, it seems. Look at the success of Susu's and Chun-Hua's new restaurants. Same with Xiaohui and Nuying. And Chenguang's massage institute. And Mei's boutique. And Daiyu's salon. But those aren't miracles either. They earned their success with talent and hard work."
"And some generous investments and some publicity help from our new friends in the media," Xiaohui added, smiling.
"Yes," Mia said. "Exactly. Because we've helped each other. Cooperation, talent, and hard work. No magic or miracles."
