Just after school started, I got another call from Mrs. Messenger, Dr. Tenney’s secretary, asking me to meet with him again the following week. I told her I would get back to her later that week.
Gwen, Mike and I sat to discuss the developments. It was obvious, at least to me, that this was all due to my refusal to go to work at JPL. After discussing our options, Gwen asked if I had any interest in working at JPL. I told her the prospect of working there was intriguing, but I had no desire to work under Duren’s heavy-handed, oppressive, and secretive management again. Gwen agreed that I shouldn’t knuckle under to the pressure. Though my professional career was likely to suffer as a result, and Gwen’s was probably over, I called Mrs. Messenger and declined Dr. Tenney’s invitation.
Gwen and I took the twins and drove east for a visit. Mike wrapped up the last few open activities on her immediate schedule and left a week after we did, taking a train to Boston. We spent a little over a month in Massachusetts. We spent most of the visit at the country house though we did stay a week at the Beacon Hill house. Mike spent the visit at her parent’s home but traveled back with us when we drove back in late October.
With Gwen no longer in school, at least for the foreseeable future, I saw no reason to delay Mike’s motherhood. I broached the subject with Gwen before talking to Mike about it. She agreed and the three of us sat down to talk. The ground rules were simple. Mike and I had carte blanche to have sex whenever the impulse struck her. Gwen teased that she hoped she wouldn’t be left out while Mike and I tried to conceive. Though she said it light-heartedly, I knew I should treat it as a potentially serious problem.
Gwen had gotten pregnant easily. In fact, too easily. Accidentally. Mike would be another matter. We were getting concerned when Mike still wasn’t pregnant when the calendar turned to May 1950. But in mid-June, Mike came back from a doctor appointment. I didn’t hear Mike return because I was watching the twins play in the backyard. My first clue of good news was a loud shriek, followed by two women squealing like adolescent girls that had been asked to their first dance by the boys they liked. I smiled to myself, knowing that I’d soon be told I was about to become a father again.
Mike, Gwen, and I sat and talked extensively over the next few days. We needed to inform our respective parents as soon as possible. I didn’t look forward to any of those conversations.
When my father returned from his absence, he seemed distracted. Something was bothering him, but he denied anything was going on when I asked what was wrong. Whatever was distracting him went away when I told him he had another grandchild on the way. He grinned widely and asked the due date. I told him the baby was due in mid-February. Jane was excited, too. I took a deep breath and told them the rest. It was Michelle that was pregnant, not Gwen. Yes, I was the father. Gwen was not only aware of it, she approved. Mike wanted me to be the father and Gwen had agreed to it without hesitation. Gwen was happy, supportive, and as excited as Michelle was.