"Hey Tris, grab the ham out of the garage fridge!" Stella shouted as she pulled the turkey into the fancy new double oven we'd bought. "And grab the pan too!"

"Okay!" Tristan shouted from the garage. "Do we need the cranberry stuff?"

"Yeah!" She stuck a probe into the bird. With a huff, she shoved the turkey back into the lower oven a moment later while muttering, "Almost..."

"Not yet?" I asked.

"Nope." Looking over her shoulder, she asked me, "You almost done over there?"

"Almost." I'd been prepping the casseroles while Stella worked on the meat and Tristan did everything else. I only needed to add the crispy onions to the green beans now.

"Well, hurry up!" She shook her head at me. "You're too damn slow!"

"I'm working on it!"

"The turkey'll be cold by the time the casserole's done!"

"I know!"

She wasn't wrong. I was a decent cook, but she was incredible. She'd learned all kinds of skills back when she worked in a kitchen during her high school years. The skills she'd learned, plus her passion for cooking, put the rest of us to shame.

"Is this the right pan?" Tristan came back into the kitchen with a large pan, in which was the giant ham we'd bought on sale months before for Thanksgiving. Kissing my cheek as she brushed by me, she set the ham down on the counter beside Stella.

"Yeah. You did good."

"Thanks!" Tristan watched as Stella worked her magic.

Stella pulled the Turkey back out, set it on a heat pad, and probed the meat. For a moment, she watched the probe intently. Seemingly satisfied with the reading, she covered it in foil, then put the ham in the lower oven. "Where are my casseroles?"

"Coming." I lifted all three and walked them to the oven.

"In here." She opened the upper oven and pointed to the racks. "Green beans on top."

One by one, I slid them in as she'd instructed.

"Nice." Shutting the over door, Stella wiped her forehead. "I think we did good this year!"

"We did, didn't we?" Tristan wrapped Stella in a big hug and kissed her cheek.

With a big, lopsided smile, my sister let the woman she'd started calling sister-in-law love on her, looking like an overstimulated but well-loved cat the whole time. Once she'd had enough of that, she pushed Tristan away and asked, "Anyone check on V?"

"I'm here, I'm here," V waddled into the kitchen. With a grunt, she hopped onto the nearest barstool, rested her hands on her belly, and groaned. "Fucking hell, it's hard to move around anymore." Once she was settled, she glared at me. "I can't believe you did this to me, asshole."

Tristan snorted. "Don't act like all resentful now. You never complained once."

"I remember you being quite eager, actually." I winked at my very pregnant lover.

"Well, yeah. Making this thing was fun as hell. It's the whole growing it and carrying it around that isn't."

"Gross." Stella pretended to gag. "I'm gonna go check on Arden." With zero hesitation, she brushed past V and disappeared into the living room to check on the dog we'd locked in her bedroom until we were done cooking.

Chuckling to herself, Tristan walked up to V and kissed her cheek. "You need anything, love?"

"Besides getting this baby out of me? I need some good food, a heat pad, and a dozen shots of something good and dark. If I can see through it, I don't want it."

"Soon, babe." Tristan squeezed her hands. "As soon as you're able, we'll take you out for the time of your life."

In response to Tristan's words, a smile spread across V's face. Her smile turned into a grin, and she whispered something I couldn't quite understand back to Tristan. Both girls looked at me and giggled.

"What?"

"Oh, you'll see." Tristan laughed.

"Yeah, right after I get that amazing night."

"I can't wait."

"Well, you're gonna have to." Tristan gestured toward the living room. "In the meantime, go get our hot, pregnant wife a heating pad."

"On it."

As I brushed past them, I heard V whisper, "Do you think he still thinks I'm... You know?"

"Oh, definitely. You should see how his eyes linger on you when you..."

I couldn't help but smile. She had no idea how beautiful I thought she was. Neither of them did, really.

As I searched for our heating pad amidst the piles of blankets and pillows decorating our couch, I couldn't help but think back to how we got here. After that first night a few years ago, the three of us woke up in a sweaty, sticky, sore pile of well-sexed bodies. Horrifically hungover, the three of us managed to bypass the awkwardness of the morning after through a solid mixture of nausea and compatibility. Being the least hungover of the bunch, I made breakfast, told them I had a great time, and left their apartment, assuming I'd never see them again.

I was wrong.

It only took three days before they called for another private lesson.

That one ended the same way.

The next one did too, and the one after that.

Before long, we were in some kind of weird, throuplish situationship.

Our situationship turned into a relationship by month three. By month six, the L-word started flying around. Tristan said it first, followed by me. V refused for another six months, but her actions told me everything I needed to know.

By the end of the first year, we came clean to Stella, who said she already knew what was going on and halfway approved of it. Privately, she said that, after everything I did for her, I deserved to be happy... she just didn't know what curse I'd picked up to end up with two nutjobs like the ones I'd ended up with.

A year later, right when Tristan was about to start medical school, the four of us decided to get a place together. It was clear to the three of us that we were all serious, and Stella was nonnegotiable since, in her words, she had no intention of going anywhere since she was there first. Since the dojo was doing quite well, and we had four cosigners, I was able to pull a mortgage, and we got a good-sized house one town over from the university. V became the dojo's social media manager, Tristan started medical school, I ran the dojo, and Stella worked part-time with me but started attending classes again after taking a few semesters off.

In no time, we became a family.

A year later, after a particularly intense session ending in a lock leg, I managed to put a baby in V. She's never let me live it down since.

With her pregnant and all of us happy, I decided it was time. Legally, the three of us couldn't get married to one another, but that didn't matter. I dropped a year's worth of money, bought two rings, took them on an adventure to the mountains, and popped the question.

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They said yes.

"Boy toy..." V groaned. "Heating pad, please?"

Rather than fishing through the massive pile of pillows to find it, I threw every one of them off the couch. Of course, the thing was under the first pillow I'd turned over. Tristan called that having man eyes. Unplugging it, I rushed back to the girls, plugged the pad in, and put it on her belly.

"Back..." Her eyes were shut tight, and she was reaching for her kidneys. "Back please..." She jolted. Her eyes opened wide. "He kicks like his fucking dad!"

I moved it from her stomach to her back.

"Ugh... better..."

"There there..." Tristan rubbed V's shoulders.

"Mmm..." V cooed. "Could you get my neck?"

"Of course."

The clicking of nails on the tile signaled Arden's arrival. When the sounds got close, I whipped around, dropped to my knees, and scooped the large dog up into my arms.

"Who's the handsomest boy in the whole wide world?" I scratched him all over. He was a big old coonhound we'd found on the side of the road a few months back. All he wanted was a home, good food, and some love, and we gave it to him in spades.

In seconds, he licked every inch of my face.

"That stupid dog loves you more than the rest of us combined," Stella grumbled. "Even when I give him treats, he acts like I barely exist!"

"He's a lovable guy!" Tristan smiled at me.

"Yeah. Too lovable. That's how I ended up like this." V pointed at her belly.

I laughed. "If you want him to like you more, you should start by calling him the handsomest boy ever!" I scratched behind the dog's ears, which got me a contented tail wag. "And it hurts his feelings when you call him stupid."

"Yeah, well, you're both stupid." Stella walked back into the kitchen. "Alright, fam..." Stella looked at the timers, nodded, and began pulling everything out. "Dinner's ready!"

***

I was stuffed.

We were stuffed.

I don't know how we did it, but between the four of us and the dog, we ate every single bite.

Hobbling to our living room, we put The Lord of the Rings on, as was our Thanksgiving tradition, and got comfortable. The girls and I piled onto the couch while Stella took the armchair. Rather than stay with us, Arden strutted off somewhere. Probably to his giant dog bed in our room.

Once V's head hit my shoulder, she started snoring. Tristan made it maybe five minutes into the prologue before she was gone, too. At the halfway mark, right after the Fellowship left Rivendell, Stella stood, stretched, and said she was off to bed. That left me with my two snoring women and my rapidly filling bladder.

It was fine. I would be fine.

***

"I know what I must do, it's just that... I'm afraid to do it."

Oh, I knew exactly what Frodo was saying to Galadriel in that moment. The struggle. The pain. The hardship.

I thought I could do it. I really did. But I couldn't. I was only a man. Nothing more, nothing less.

I had to pee so bad.

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

I had to change my future right then and there. Otherwise, I'd be washing couch cushions.

Slipping out from between the girls as carefully as I could, I watched as V cracked an eye, grumbled, and slumped the other way, her head coming to rest on the couch's arm.

Tristan never stopped snoring as she fell over. Her head perfectly came to rest on V's baby bump.

"Thank the Goddess," I whispered.

The Goddess?

Where did that come from?

I didn't have time to figure out the answer. Turning, I practically ran to the bathroom, shut the door, and unleashed Noah's flood into our half-bath's toilet. After a good three minutes of unleashing my stream of justice, I felt more relief than I'd ever felt in my entire life. With a sigh, I washed my hands, opened the door, and took a step into the hallway.

Just then, the hairs on my neck stood on end. I was being watched.

Whipping around, I saw Arden standing in the hallway looking at me.

"Hey, boy." I took a step toward him, but he didn't move. Not even his tail. That was weird for him. He was always such a happy dog. "You alright, big boy?"

He just stared at me with those big brown eyes.

"Arden." I patted my thigh. "You want to come finish the movie with us?"

Nothing.

"Do you want a treat?"

Not a single movement.

"Huh." I couldn't help but shrug. He was a weird guy sometimes. "Alright, well. Get some sleep, buddy." I went to walk away, but when I did, I felt something tug the sleeve of my sweater. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that he'd bitten my sleeve.

With a tug, he pulled me a step down the hallway, toward our bedroom.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." After giving his forehead a couple of pats, I started walking in the direction he'd pulled me. "I don't know what you want, but we'll figure it out. Right, boy?"

He simply marched ahead of me, leading me down the long hallway that led to all of our bedrooms, heedless of my words.

When we reached the bend, Arden kept going, but I hesitated.

Why did the air feel so cold?

Walking around the bend, I found Arden standing at the end of the hallway and looking at me. Beside him, Stella's door was shut. Ours was open. The office between us was open, too. And the door at the end of the hallway was open.

My blood froze.

We didn't have a door at the end of the hallway.

Arden looked at me, still as a statue, his brown eyes locked onto mine. The air around the door shimmered behind him. Out of it, waves of cool, stale air wafted outward and washed over me. Washed over the hallway. Washed over everything.

I took a step backward.

The moment I did, something tugged at the edge of my mind. Not a thought. Not a memory. Something... deeper.

It's time.

The voice was barely a whisper. Small. Fragile.

"No." Why did I say that?

You need to go. We're getting weaker. The longer you stay...

"No," I said again. This time, my voice was firm.

Fragments flashed through my head. A storm. A temple. Pain in my knee. Faces... faces of people I didn't know.

My chest tightened.

The door at the end of the hallway pulsed. For just a second... one horrible second... Images flashed through my mind. Something important was beyond that door, but I'd have to give everything up. I'd have to sacrifice everything. But why?

"No." I shook my head. "No, no, no."

Arden took a single step toward me.

I stepped backward. "Arden... Stay, boy. Watch Stella's room for me."

He looked toward the door, sniffed it, then took another step toward me.

"You don't want anything to happen to her, do you?"

Shadows snaked down the hallway toward me. They looked like grasping, clawed hands.

"Oh shit..."

Just then, I heard something then that I hadn't heard before.

Arden growled. The sound was deep. Rumbling.

Feeling behind me, I felt for the bend in the hallway. Step by step, I walked backward until I felt my fingers meet empty space.

"You're a good boy, aren't you?"

The hallway grew darker.

"Arden?"

The dog bared its teeth, snarled, and lunged.

I whipped around the bend and ran.

My socks slipped on the hardwood as I bolted back down the hallway, past the bathroom, and into the living room. The light from the TV flickered across the living room, casting long shadows on everything. V and Tristan were still there. Still asleep. Still real.

They had to be real.

I launched myself onto the couch between them, harder than I meant to.

Both girls jolted awake.

"Jesus!" V sat up, one hand on her belly, blinking hard. "What the hell?"

"Babe?" Tristan rubbed her eyes, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The word came out too fast. Too desperate. I wrapped my arms around both of them, pulling them close, and kissed their foreheads. "Nothing's wrong. I just... I had to pee, and I—"

"Okay, weirdo." V squirmed in my grip but didn't pull away. "You're being clingy as hell."

"How could I not when I'm sitting here with my beautiful wives?"

She blushed. "Flatterer."

"I think it's sweet." Tristan kissed my jaw.

I took a deep breath. Then another. Did my best to slow my breathing. To still my pounding heart. When I was a bit calmer, I said, "I'm just... really happy. Tonight was amazing. You guys are amazing. I love our life together."

Tristan's expression softened. She reached up and cupped my cheek. "I do too, but... Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." I forced a smile. "Just... grateful, you know? For all of this. For you two. For Stella. For Arden." My voice cracked when I said the dog's name. "For everything."

V shifted so she could look at me properly. "I feel the same way." She smiled. "I love our life. More than you'll ever know."

"It's kind of the best," Tristan added.

My heart fluttered. "So, uh... want to start The Two Towers?"

Tristan laughed. "You know we're just gonna fall asleep again, right?" She settled her head back against my shoulder.

"That's fine. I don't care."

"Me neither." V yawned. "I like cuddling on the couch."

I reached for the remote and started the next movie. When it started, I put the remote back down.

As soon as I did, I felt V's hand slip into mine. She squeezed, and I squeezed back.

The opening credits started. The familiar music filled the room. V's breathing was already starting to even out again. Tristan yawned against my shoulder.

Everything was perfect.

Everything was fine.

I kept my eyes on the screen, but my peripheral vision kept drifting to the hallway. The darkness there seemed deeper than it should be.

And then I saw him.

Arden stood at the edge of the living room, right where it and the hallway met. He was stone still. He was just watching me with those big brown eyes.

My grip on V's hand tightened.

She mumbled something in her sleep and shifted closer.

Tristan wrapped her arm around my stomach and nuzzled my neck.

As the girls fell asleep, the movie played on in the background. But I couldn't watch it. I didn't look away from Arden. And he didn't look away from me.

For a long time, we stayed like that. Then, he turned so that he was looking up the hallway, and flopped to the ground with a sigh.

It was like he was telling me where I needed to go.

No.

I wasn't going anywhere.

This was my family.

This was my life.

I wasn't about to give it up.

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