All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
"This is a big day." Mary looked around the table. They were all assembled in the mess hall for breakfast. She held her glass of milk up high. "Our old teachings said that nineteen was a number pregnant with meaning. That it represented His perfect order springing from His judgment."
"Gosh, Mom. I thought you forgot." Jacob's face flushed as everyone looked at him.
"How could I forget my son's birthday? I've been planning something special for you." Mary raised her glass higher. "Come on, Jake. Stand up so everyone can
see
you."
"Okay." Jacob slowly stood. He was wearing his own uniform again, and he knew it was tight enough that everyone could see his cock lazily wriggling under his uniform.
"Glasses up, everyone." Mary looked around the table and glared at Dr. Cole and Judy, who hadn't lifted their glasses. They were too busy staring at Jacob.
"What an immature prank," Judy whispered to Don. But her fiancΓ© didn't seem to be listening. She followed his gaze back to Jacob and felt suddenly woozy. She quickly looked away.
Dr. Cole slunk back in her chair, unconsciously moving away from the birthday boy. If that thing under his uniform was real, there was something very, very wrong aboard the Errand into the Wilderness. She needed her plan to work more than ever before. She silently prayed that he was just messing with them, standing there with some sort of mechanical device moving between his legs.
"I drink to my son, Jacob, may he continue to carry all the Lord's blessings. And may we all carry the Lord's blessings for him in our own way." Mary drained her glass of milk. She heard murmuring around the table.
Judy drank her milk down. Relaxation spread through her. There was no need to covertly look at Jacob. She openly stared at his crotch, wondering what sort of game he was playing. Was he just an immature teenager? Probably. Whatever it was, it was having an effect on her. Sweat broke out on her forehead. She grabbed Don's hand to anchor her, but she found Don had stood. She looked after him as he slowly walked away. Judy chased after him.
"To my ... um ... little brother." Pricilla giggled, holding her glass with one hand, and rubbing her bulging belly with the other. "I can't wait to share the years ahead with him in the promised land." Pricilla lifted her glass and then downed her milk. A flush of pleasure made her shiver. "Oh, and I wanted to tell everyone, I'm pregnant. I've been blessed with the Lord's child."
"Congratulations." Dr. Cole felt strange. That was an odd way to announce a pregnancy. But these zealots were odd people. "And happy birthday." She looked over at Jacob and squirmed in her seat. Her breasts had been so achy lately, and the pain seemed to intensify each second she sat at that table. She put her mostly untouched glass down and hurried out of the room, following Judy and Don. "Not long now," she whispered. "Not long now, not long now." She repeated to herself as she stumbled along long empty corridors.
"We knew this would be a special voyage. But we thought it would pass while we dreamed." It was Humility's turn to stand and hold up her glass. "But here we are, awake. He has opened our eyes to a new world. Three cheers for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. What a special day." She drank as half the room cheered, and the other half watched in silence.
The men around the table looked on with bemused or tranquil expressions.
Maureen thought how odd it was that none of them toasted Jacob or Pricilla. She stood and held out her glass, but before she could say something, Heather spoke.
"I am proud to share this time, to share this space ... I am proud to share everything with the Winthrops. Congratulations, you two." Heather didn't look down at her silent husband sitting stone-faced next to her. She didn't care if her words weren't cleverly disguised. "I'll happily give you second base anytime." She beamed at her boyfriend across the table.
Jacob laughed. "But I'm a home run hitter."
"I know, I know." Heather laughed and drank her milk.
Maureen looked back and forth between the dark-skinned woman and the teenager. Was that flirting? Had something happened there, too? "Um ... um." She looked around the table. Everyone was looking at her with expectation, like her benediction somehow carried great weight. "Well ... I guess ... I'm glad we had to delay our departure." She smiled nervously and glanced at her husband as he stood and walked out of the room. Part of her wanted to go after him, but she knew she needed to make her thoughts known. Was that Pricilla's husband's baby in her belly, or her brother's? Maureen was just now starting to see how far things had gone on the ship. But God seemed to be behind it all. And who was she to argue with Him? "I think it was Lil that mentioned 'opened eyes.' She might have meant it literally. I know you were all supposed to sleep for years ... but ... um ..." Why was she so nervous? Her pulse beat in her ears. "My ... eyes ... have been opened too by ... well ... um ... happy birthday and congratulations on the baby." She looked Jacob in the eye, held her glass high, and then drank her milk. "Oh, and Penny turns nineteen today, too. We're happy that we get to share this special day with you."
"That was very moving." Mary gave Maureen a rub on her shoulders. "Thank you, Maureen. As some of you know, I'm pregnant, too." She held up her hand. "No, no. No need to make a big fuss. I just wanted it out there." She looked around the table as her husband stood and wandered out the door.
Penny stood and spoke quickly, before anyone else left. "I just want to say that I always thought birthdays were special because it was a day all about me. But it turns out, it's even better to share the day with my boyfriend. Happy birthday, Jake." She smiled broadly and drank her milk.
"Happy birthday," the remaining people at the table said, talking over each other.
"Really happy for you two. I have to get back to the lab." Humility waved and headed out the door.
"It looks like our gathering is breaking up. And I must go find my other son. I don't know why he'd miss breakfast on his brother's birthday." Mary smiled, but there was a little strain at the mention of Mason. "Have a great day, everyone."
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