My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager

When he was almost at the cafeteria, "dring," Dennis’s phone rang. He checked the screen—it was his mom calling, which meant the city of Emerald was drifting close to the city of Ruby again. Dennis picked up.

"Hello, Mom," Dennis greeted her.

"Um... Dennis, about the email you sent... Mom just wants to say, even though you aren’t my biological son, your father and I consider you our own, so please..."

"I’m sorry, Mom, but I don’t even think about that. To me, you and Dad are my biological parents, so we don’t need to discuss it anymore, okay?" Dennis said, cutting his mother off.

There was a long pause. Dennis could hear his mother’s breathing and a faint sob on the other end of the line. Then, he heard the sound of the phone being adjusted.

"Sorry... are you at school?" his mom asked, sounding like she had just finished crying.

"Yeah. Are you at the office, Mom?" Dennis asked.

"No... I’m not feeling well today... I’m off, but your dad went to the office," she replied.

"Oh, by the way, Mom, you have a grandchild now," Dennis said, looking for a way to change the subject.

Another long pause followed. Dennis could hear his mother standing up, and it sounded like she bumped into something in her haste.

"Huh... did you say grandchild? Is Daisy pregnant?" his mom asked, sounding confused.

"Hold on, Mom."

Dennis immediately sent a selfie of Destiny sleeping last night with him and Daisy to his mom without hanging up the phone. A few moments later, "thud," something fell hard on the other end of the line—so loud that Dennis jerked the phone away from his ear in surprise. A scream followed, but it was cut short, likely because his mom had shouted and then immediately covered her mouth. After that, he heard the sound of the phone being picked up once more.

"Wait... Daisy already gave birth? Oh my goodness, a girl, she’s so cute... what’s her name?" his mom asked, her voice full of frantic excitement.

"Destiny... her full name is Destiny Larson. She’s our first daughter, our baby girl," Dennis answered.

"Oh my god... oh my god... I want to see you guys so badly. I want to hold Destiny! Oh... when Ruby finally connects with Emerald, your father and I can come over, right? I’ll bring Daisy’s mom along too, is that okay?" his mom asked enthusiastically.

"Of course you can, Mom. Once you get here, I’ll pick you up in the car. I’ve actually moved to a new house," Dennis answered.

"Oh my god... oh my god... I seriously can’t wait! I have to go now, I need to tell your father... I’ll call you back later, okay? Just a second... hanging up now!" his mom replied, completely caught up in her own excitement.

The call ended, and Dennis just smiled. He leaned against the wall next to the cafeteria entrance, feeling happy that his mom sounded so enthusiastic and genuinely joyful. But suddenly,

"Yes, Mom... really... yes, Destiny."

Dennis turned to see Daisy stepping out of the cafeteria, apparently on a call. Dennis gave Daisy a light tap, and when she looked over, her face immediately brightened as she stood beside him. Then, Dennis could hear the faint sound of the voice on the other end; it was clear his mother-in-law was just as excited and happy.

"Well... the technical details of how they got a grandchild don’t really need to be explained, right... whatever... forget it... no need to overthink things... just let it be," Dennis said in his heart.

Suddenly, Daisy held her smartphone out to Dennis; her expression clearly said, "Mom wants to talk to you." Dennis took the phone.

"Hello, Mom," Dennis greeted her.

"Dennis... congratulations! I just got the photo from your mother. She’s blasting it to our office group chat and screaming in the chat that she’s a grandma now," his mother-in-law said enthusiastically.

"Haha... that’s typical my Mom. Thank you, Mom," Dennis replied.

"I’ll come visit your place later. Your mom called me earlier, but I didn’t pick up; she’s definitely going to try and drag me to your house as soon as she can," she said.

"Sounds about right, Mom," Dennis replied briefly.

"Oh," the sound of the phone being moved away followed, and a man’s voice could be heard cheering loudly. Hearing that voice, Dennis knew exactly who it was. Since Daisy’s mother worked at the office owned by Dennis’s parents, the person shouting in the background was clearly his father, who had apparently received the photo of Destiny as well. Suddenly, the call ended. Dennis handed the phone back to Daisy.

"What did Mom say?" Daisy asked.

"Just congratulations, mostly... but it sounds like things are going wild at the office. I heard my dad shouting at the top of his lungs and... maybe crying," Dennis answered with a smile.

"Oh... I see. That’s good then," Daisy replied, smiling back.

"Of course it’s good. Destiny is our child, after all. A 99.99% paternity match, right?" Dennis teased, glancing at Daisy.

"Oops... hehehe... sorry, honey. Are you... mad?" Daisy asked, wrapping her arm around Dennis’s.

"I don’t know, my feelings are a bit mixed... but I’m more happy than I am angry," Dennis answered honestly.

"Thank goodness for that," Daisy replied, looking a bit relieved.

After that, the two of them just stood there in silence, leaning against the wall with their hands intertwined. But before long, "ding...ding...ding," "driiing," both of their smartphones started blowing up. A flood of message notifications poured in, and an unfamiliar number—which looked like an office extension—called Dennis. Naturally, Dennis picked up.

"Hello?" Dennis greeted.

"Son... ahem... congratulations, son. I’m so happy to hear the news. I think your mother is currently making the rounds to all the neighbors to tell them she’s a grandmother now. What time are you getting home? Would it be okay if we video called later?" William, his father, asked with a trembling voice, trying his best to hide his excitement.

"Thanks Dad. Sure, I’ll be the one to call you and Mom later. What time are you getting off? Mom is already at home, right?" Dennis replied.

"I’m actually heading out now; your mother told me to come home... oh, she also asked me to bring Daisy’s mother along. Maybe she wants to throw a party or something... I’m not entirely sure," William said. Even though his voice was flat as he tried to mask it, his happiness was crystal clear.

"Oh, in that case, I’ll give you a call when I get out of school," Dennis said.

"Wait a second, son. You and Daisy are at school, right? So who’s looking after Destiny?" William asked, sounding genuinely worried, as if he had already known Destiny for a long time.

"Oh," Dennis’s mind raced. He glanced at Daisy, who had been pressing her ear against Dennis’s smartphone the whole time. Both of their brains scrambled for an answer because there was no way they could say there were six other Daisys back at the house.

"There’s a baby sitter, Dad. Don’t worry, she’s safe," Dennis said, answering as best as he could.

"Are you sure? Is this person reliable enough to look after Destiny? They won’t be late making her formula or changing her diapers?" William asked again, clearly more worried than before.

"Relax, Dad, she’s trustworthy. Besides, don’t worry too much; trust me and Daisy. We can both get home quickly if anything happens," Dennis answered. "Why is he more worried than Mom? And why is he only thinking about Destiny? Usually, he’s stoic and indifferent—this is weird. Besides, there are six babysitters at home who played a part in turning Destiny into a monster. So, it’s fine... totally chill," Dennis muttered in his heart.

"Oh, right. Well then, I’m heading home now. Your mother keeps miss-calling me. Talk to you later; see ya," William said.

The call was cut off again, and then Dennis and Daisy opened messages filled with nothing but question after question—asking what brand of formula she used, if they had enough baby clothes yet, and so on—from the two moms who were clearly in a frenzy, their messages delayed by the signal. Dennis and Daisy glanced at each other as something clicked in both their heads at once.

"Honey, are you thinking what I’m thinking?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah, we have to tell the others that we’re going to video call later... usually they’re inside me so I don’t have to worry... I just realized they’re all out now," Daisy answered.

"And what if Dad, Mom, and my mother-in-law come to the house?" Dennis asked.

Both fell silent again, but you could tell their brains were working as they stared at each other’s faces. Then, they both smiled.

"We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," Dennis said.

"Yep, exactly. No need to worry about it now," Daisy added.

"Let’s head into the cafeteria. I have something to discuss with Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly," Dennis said.

"Okay, let’s go," Daisy replied.

Casually, the two of them walked into the cafeteria to discuss the task Steve had assigned to them.