Am I My Ex-Wife's Keeper?

*****

ANOTHER HOSPITAL CALL

"This is Conners Memorial Hospital, is this Tim Hardaway?"

Tim was getting some déjà vu vibrations. "Yes."

"Is your wife Abagail Hardaway?"

"Yes."

"I hate to inform you, but she has been involved in a serious automobile accident and is in surgery right now. Currently, her situation is critical, but we will know more after the surgery about her prognosis. She won't be able to be seen anytime by anyone for a while, but we figured you might want to come to the hospital anyway."

"Of course. We'll be right there." After explaining the call to Jessie, Tim called Jasmine. They picked her up and all left for the hospital.

They maintained the waiting room vigil for several days. After a few days, they established a routine for taking turns sleeping at home and waiting at the hospital. Abby was in ICU which limited her to on visitor for ten minutes every two hours. The schools sent Jessie's assignments and she and Jasmine worked on them together. An occasional crying fit would strike one of the waiters and one of the others would console the crier. It was almost a week before the doctor would tell more than 'We have to wait and see how her body responds.'

The doctor now said, "She's out of danger but she has a lot of recovery to do. Soon, you will need to make the decision to place her in rehabilitation facility, or you can take her home and do a lot of her therapy with her under the direction of therapists. We can't predict how much of her functioning she will recover. A lot will depend on her attitude and tolerance for pain. She is being put in a regular room now so two of you can go see her at a time."

The three rotated through her room. Her only response was her eyes and sobbing. She looked at them in recognition but could only blink or cry. Everyone was crying after the visit. They met with the physical therapist first. "Look, 'rehabilitation facilities' are actually nursing homes that put rehabilitation patients in with their other patients. You'll get a lot more done in a better atmosphere if you take her home. The money people would rather you put her in the nursing home so they can bill the government and insurance companies more." Tim asked a few people and found out he was telling the truth.

Tim called Jasmine and Jessie into a meeting at the kitchen table. After discussing the options, there were no objections to bringing Abby home even if it meant everyone had to pick up some extra chores. Jessie asked, "How come we're not asking Mommy what she wants to do?"

"Your mother would tell us to put her in the nursing home in order to make it easier on us. I don't want our imagined discomfort to have anything to do with our decision on how to help her get better."

*****

AT HOME

Abby was led to her new room. She had been able to speak for a few weeks now. "I can't believe what you've done to fix up the guest bedroom for me. It looks just like a hospital room. Does it come with a button I can press and wait for an hour until a nurse comes?" Everyone giggled.

Abby got comfortable in her bed and got a half dozen 'Can I get you anything?' questions. Finally, she and Tim were alone.

"Tim, I appreciate what you all have done to get me back in the house. I hope this doesn't mean that Jasmine moved back in while I was gone. You and she said she was ready to move out."

"Abby, I did ask Jasmine to come back. We needed her help with the house with you out of commission. You need her help now too."

"Tim, you never wanted her to leave in the first place, did you? Who knows how many times you two have had sex while I was in the hospital? Now you have stuck me in a bed downstairs while you and Jasmine have the master bedroom all to yourselves. It's a perfect excuse for you two especially since I can't have sex with you now."

"Abby, I hope that you're just saying this to make us reconsider taking you to a nursing home so that you won't be a burden on us. Think, Abby, wouldn't I have recommended you go to the nursing home if I wanted to have a secret affair with Jasmine?"

"It would be a more difficult for you two if this room was still Jasmine's room and I was in my own bedroom. By sticking me down here, she has to sleep upstairs. I assume you just moved her into the master bedroom?"

"No, she's bunking in with Jessie for your information. I got her an air mattress. With those two, it's like a slumber party every night."

"Like Jasmine's not smart enough to join you after Jessie is asleep."

"I give up Abby. You've caught us. I've been working as her pimp, and she is running tricks in the garage. If you won't tell on us to the police, we'll give you a 10% cut."

"Fuck you and your sarcasm."

"You're welcome."

*****

REHABILITATION

For months the three took care of Abby, getting to do her exercises, providing her food and drink, and cleaning up her liquid and solid wastes (which Jessie refused to do) besides taking care of all her household chores. Tim and Jasmine received Abby's rants in return for their help the first few weeks. Jessie received praise and requests for any gossip about a romance between Jasmine and Tim. Abby accused Jessie of receiving a bribe not to tell.

After over nine months her upper body range of motion and strength were greatly improved, Abby still had a problem with her lower body not responding to the exercises. The nerves in her lower back were too badly damaged. Abby's lament was not so much the loss of the ability to feel vaginal penetration and having orgasms herself as it was for Tim to be able to feel her enough to cause him to ejaculate. He told her that he could get by on masturbation and blowjobs. She would have to enjoy kissing and getting her breasts mauled. Abby was not satisfied with that answer but did not turn down any opportunity to have the abbreviated sex with her husband. She even got to where she swallowed him without complaint.

Jasmine and Abby spent a lot of time together. They talked about Tim and Jessie a lot, but also about each other. Slowly, the jealousy of Abby turned into shame as she realized how difficult it was for Jasmine too. The stupidity of her jealous actions were evident every day. And every day Jasmine helped take care of the woman whose continued existence she believed was keeping Jasmine from any chance to get her husband back.

Abby finally decided that she wanted to stay married to Tim and help raise their child no matter what. What she needed was a way to let him have sex without getting a divorce. Tim could not be expected to abstain from sex much longer if he had been abstaining. With such an attractive alternative living in the same house it was only a matter of time.

Tim and Jasmine were summoned into the room where Abby stayed.

Jasmine spoke first. "I hope we're not here to have you accuse us of having sex behind your back again. I'm getting tired of it."

Abby replied, "No, in fact, it's the opposite. I want the two of you to have sex with my blessing."

There was a long pause and shocked faces before Tim said, "Good one, Abby. I'm glad to see your sense of humor has come back.".

"I'm afraid I'm not kidding. Tim, I'm probably never going to get back the feeling in my lower body. You don't deserve to be cut off from having vaginal sex because I had an accident. You have a beautiful woman who I bet is willing to give you sex, and you already know is a great sex partner. It would do me good to know you don't have to give up vaginal sex just because I can't. I just hope you don't fall in love with her again. I will still continue my blowjobs as long as you want.

"I want to stay your wife and co-parent to Jessie as long as she lives here. There's no reason you should suffer physically because I can't perform physically."

"Abby, I appreciate the thought. It is magnanimous for you to offer that. But, I can't. I just can't. I can't have sex with another woman as long as I'm married to you."

"Tim, you may change your mind when I tell you this. On the day of the accident, I was on my way to see my old boyfriend, Roland, to be intimate with him. It was to be revenge sex based on my belief that you and Jasmine were already having sex. I was willing to cheat on you. Only the accident stopped me. If you make love to Jasmine under the circumstances I mentioned, I would not consider it cheating for you and Jasmine to have sex. You can consider Jasmine to be my sexual surrogate."

Jasmine sniffled, "Abby, that's the best expression of love I have ever heard from a woman."

"Does that mean you will do it?"

Tim and Jasmine each said "No." Abby's face sunk.

"Abby, I was going to tell you that your surgeon has heard of some recent success in nerve cell regeneration by using your own stem cells. I would like you to consider trying it."

"Are you making that up?"

"No. You can look it up on the internet."

The next day, Abby read everything she could on nerve cell regeneration. It was promising but had a high failure rate. It was also very expensive.

"We can't afford for me to try the stem cell therapy."

"Too late. We've already put down a 50%, no refund deposit. You're having it next month."

"Don't give me that bullshit! A no refund deposit on surgery? Nonsense. It's my body and I say no! I'm not going to have the family impoverished so I can have sex."

Jasmine intervened. "Abby, I've got a boyfriend now. He is one of the men I was an escort for years ago. His wife died recently, and he's been trying to find me ever since. In the process of our getting back together, I told him of my obligation here with you and your situation. He has generously offered to pay for the treatment. No loan -- a gift."

"Damn, you must be fantastic in bed. Now you two, tell me the truth. Is this on the up and up?"

Jasmine responded, "I swear my Girl Scout oath on it."

"I might consider trying it on one condition: If it the surgery doesn't work, you and Tim will agree to become lovers."

Tim looked at Jasmine and they nodded agreement.

After they left the room, Tim asked Jasmine, "A former John will pay for it? Where did you come up with that one?"

"I was trying to think of something she would accept. I never was a Girl Scout. I was surprised as you were that she fell for it. Tim, will you really honor her wishes for us to have sex if it doesn't work?"

"I don't know. Either way, one vow I've made to her will have to be broken."

*****

AFTER THE TREATMENT

It was the time during Covid where no one was allowed in the room with the patient and the doctor. Tim and Jasmine had to wait outside with masks on for Abby to tell them the results. Finally, she came down the ramp with tears in her eyes.

"It didn't work. Jasmine, please apologize to your friend for me. I'm sorry."

"We're the ones sorry for you. We were very hopeful for success."

"I've still got a lot to look forward to. I was offered a part-time volunteer job at the hospital today that can be done with me in a wheelchair. I start next week. At least, I can feel useful again. Jasmine, I won't need you during the day anymore. I can take care of my colostomy bag on my own now."

"I'm so happy for you Abby. Let's go celebrate."

"I refuse to celebrate until you and Jasmine have had sex."

"Abby!"

"I was dead serious when I made you two promise to have sex. Tim, I swear by all that is sacred that I will divorce you if you don't do as I ask. You do not deserve a life sentence of no sex just because I have." There was no mistaking the seriousness in her face. Tim simply nodded in agreement. He could not say the words out loud.

That night Jessie spent the night with her mother. They tried not to listen for the sounds of love coming from the master bedroom. There was enough noise that they were satisfied the act was being performed. Jessie comforted her crying mother. Jessie let Jasmine know that they were being too loud. The bedroom sounds quieted down from then on.

The next few months, Tim and Jasmine shared the master bedroom. Jasmine got a better job at Tim's company as a receptionist in another department. With the few expenses she had sharing a home and car rides with Tim, Jasmine was able to use most all of her salary to pay towards the real loan it took to get Abby the experimental treatment.

Abby continued to surprise everyone by her acceptance of the new arrangement in a house with a husband, his lover, and their daughter all living under the same roof. On her next birthday, Abby told everyone that this year she was giving a present to all, and no one was to give her anything.

The day came. "You all sacrificed so much to get me well. I tried to repay Tim and Jasmine by giving them a chance to regain happiness in the bed. I hope you have enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed giving it to you. Well, today I'm introducing a new choice in our arrangement.

Abby stood up from her wheelchair and took a few wabbly steps. "I lied. The stem cell treatment worked. I kept it secret so I could reward Tim and Jasmine. I have been doing a volunteer job and going to physical rehabilitation off the books. It has made up for almost all the atrophy that had occurred. I am now 80% normal functioning in my lower body."

Jasmine asked, "Does that mean that you can perform as normal down there . . . you know?"

"I can pee and poop on my own and, more importantly, I've masturbated myself to orgasm again. I'm ready for the real thing."

Tim inquired in a state of shock, "That means that you and I can make love again?"

"Yes. But the more important question is 'Do you want to stay married to me or do you want to divorce so you and Jasmine can be together again as husband and wife and not just lovers?'"

"You think that having sex with Jasmine would make me want to marry her again? I have enjoyed having sex with her, but I always planned for us to stay married whether you could have sex again or not. Abby, you're my wife and Jessie is our daughter. I am happy beyond belief that we can fully resume our old life before Jasmine and your accident."

Jasmine interrupted, "Abby, I make no claims on Tim's time now that you've recovered. I admire your compassion to give Tim a substitute for your ability to have sex with him. I can honestly say I never detected a hint that he was interested in remarrying me. I will be leaving for my boyfriend's house as soon as possible. You and Tim have a lot to catch up on. I am happy for you both. There is one favor I would like."

"I bet it has to do with Jessie."

"Yes, she and I have a special connection."

"Of course." Abby and Jasmine hugged.

EPILOGUE

Tim helped Jasmine move her things back to her apartment. Once done, they grabbed a drink and sat on the couch together.

"When Abby said she was ready to have sex again, why didn't you tell her that we never had sex? Wouldn't that have made her feel better?"

"No. She staked her self-image on relieving me of my marriage vows, it would hav made her feel bad that I had not had vaginal sex with you."

"It was difficult to be with you and not have sex. I hope that proves how much I care about you, Abby and Jessie."

Tim turned to her with tears in his eyes, "I'll miss you."

"Don't do that to me. I promised myself not to cry. I had you once and threw you away. Then I had you again and now I'm losing you again. I think it's going to be harder this time."

"Jasmine, I was glad we had the time together. I was reminded of how much I once loved you. Going back to Abby is something I want to do and have to do. That doesn't mean that I don't still love you. I just can't BE with you."

"You could if you weren't so fucking loyal." She smiled.

"At least I got to answer a question that came up when the hospital first called."

"What's that?"

"I am my ex-wife's keeper and will always be there for you."

"Get out of here before I rape you."

Tim stood up and looked at her through his teary eyes. "Good-bye." He walked out of her apartment and went back to being a husband and father.