A Well-Lived Life 2 - Book 2 - Stephie
Chapter 6: Called on the Carpet

Copyright © 2015-2023 Penguintopia Productions

Coming of Age Sex Story: Chapter 6: Called on the Carpet - This is the continuation of the story told in "A Well-Lived Life 2", Book 1. If you haven't read the entire 10 book "A Well-Lived Life" and the first book of "A Well-Lived Life 2" you'll have some difficulty following the story. This is a dialog driven story. Awards: 'Stephie' took 2nd place for Epic Erotic Story of the year, and 3rd place for Best Romantic Story of the Year in 2016.

Caution: This Coming of Age Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa   Ma/ft   Fa/Fa   Mult   Tear Jerker   Workplace   Polygamy/Polyamory   First   Pregnancy   Slow  

July 17, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"How did it go today?" Jessica asked as we worked on dinner together.

"Kaitlin is gone. She was upset, but that was to be expected. Julia offered Kimmy the full-time receptionist job, and she accepted. She called the professor she works for, Robert something-or-other, and let him know she had a full-time job and would be quitting. She'll start in two weeks, and Barbara and Elyse will help cover phones in the morning. We interviewed a programmer to whom Dave is going to make an offer on Monday."

"It sounds as if everything went as well as could be expected. What about Alderman Bloom?"

"He wasn't happy, but he didn't put up much of an argument. But forget all that, did you have a nice rest today?"

"Yes! I relaxed, ran some errands, worked on some charts, and studied. I'm ready for a fun night! How about you take us to see Roxanne?"

"That's the Steve Martin flick that is the Cyrano story?"

"Yes," she said.

"Sure! Anything else?"

"Ice cream, and then a sauna when we get home. Oh, and you can make love with me, if you want," Jessica smirked.

"If I want? If I want? I've wanted to since the first time I laid eyes on you and it hasn't changed!"

"Me, too!" Kara said, coming into the kitchen. "Did he say yes?"

"Of course. He's well trained!" Jessica teased.

"Is my sister around?" I asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "She's pretty much been hanging out with a couple of friends from school because Jorge is still in Puerto Rico, though I think that Naval officer, Howard, took a real liking to her at the wedding. He's called a few times."

"My sister will NEVER be a Navy wife," I chuckled. "But she might keep his morale up for a while! Would you two finish preparing dinner so I can talk to her?"

"Sure!" Kara said.

"Thanks," I said, and went to find my sister.

She was in the backyard playing with Jesse, waiting for Jennifer and Josie to arrive home.

"Hey, Squirt!" I said.

"Hey!"

"Hi, Dada!" Jesse said, coming over to me.

"Hi, Jesse!" I said, picking him up.

"I have something for you to do," I said to my sister.

"Oh?"

"Julia is going to run an ad for a marketing intern. We're likely to get a ton of responses, and I'd like you to go through them and find the good ones."

"Cool. Did you fire Kaitlin today?" she asked.

"Julia and Cindi did, yes."

"You know, if you fire ALL the girls who want to sleep with you, you won't have any staff left!"

"Desire is one thing," I said. "Acting on it is an entirely different thing. Kaitlin simply wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. And they do not ALL want to sleep with me!"

"Oh, sure they do. But Julia and Cindi are married, so they won't ask, or even tell you. And Penny, well, we KNOW what Penny wants, even though she's getting some from Ned. The others? They're just afraid to ask."

"Good," I said. "Let's hope it stays that way! I heard that Howard Pointe called you a few times."

"Kara talks too much!" she laughed. "I'm going out for lunch with him on Sunday. He seems like a nice guy."

"And Jorge?" I asked.

"When he decides to tell his mom to drop dead, and comes back to Chicago, then I'll know where we stand."

"How are you doing otherwise? We don't really talk a lot."

"I'm fine. I hang out with a couple of girls from UofC that live in the city, play with Jesse, and do whatever you or Julia ask me to do for NIKA. Oh, I talked to Ed's parents today. It sounds like they might have some evidence that can help him."

"I heard about that!" I said, then after a moment, I asked, "Are you happy here?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I guess we just don't talk enough. Since Jess got here, I have breakfast with her at 4:30am on the days she goes in, and we got out of our schedule. We need to find time for each other."

"I agree, Big Brother. I miss spending time with you. It's just your life is so busy now with work and kids."

"I know," I said. "Why don't you walk with Jesse and me at lunch? I usually take Charlie or Natasha, but honestly, I'd rather take you. Sometimes Elyse will come along with Matthew, but mostly it's been just me and Jesse with one of the girls."

"Why one of the girls?"

"To keep Carol from getting any crazy ideas. I mean, she had them, but she was basically looking for someone to latch on to emotionally when things were going down the tubes with her husband."

"That could go right to Hell pretty quickly," Stephanie agreed.

"Mama!" Jesse screeched as Josie walked into the backyard.

"I guess we're dismissed," I chuckled. "Let his mom have him and we'll go inside for dinner. It should be just about ready."

Josie scooped Jesse up in her arms and carried him into the coach house, and my sister and I went back into the main house.

"Tasha? What are you doing here?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen and spotted her sitting at the table.

"I thought you said that I could come by anytime. When I finished up at work, I decided to come over. Is it not OK?"

"It's fine," I said. "I was just surprised. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes, Kara invited me. And your wives invited me to go to the movies with you, if it's OK with you."

"Sure. I suppose we'll make it an outing. Squirt, we're going to see Roxanne. Want to come along?"

"Sure! What about Elyse, Charlie, and Sofia?" she asked.

"Elyse already mentioned going to bed early. Matthew has her tired out. Sofia's out with Stavros," Kara said. "And Charlie has a date with one of her guys."

I chuckled, "Which one? It's hard to keep track!"

Kara laughed, "You mean, like with you?"

We all laughed at that and got dinner on the table. After eating, we all pitched in to clean up, then walked to the L to head to Water Tower Place to see the movie. We bought popcorn, candy, and drinks, and found spots in our preferred location — the middle of a row about halfway back in the theatre. The movie was nothing short of fantastic. Humor, romance, great dialogue, and fantastic characterizations. It was certainly a movie I'd want to see again when it was out on videotape.

The Frusen Glädjé store had closed, but there was a Häagen-Dazs store not far from where it had been, so we went there. The quality was about the same, but neither was up to Graeter's or Oberweis in terms of flavor or texture. When we finished our ice cream, we walked to the L to head back to Hyde Park.

"Time for a sauna," Jessica said as we walked into the house.

"Uh, we'll need 'weekend' rules," I said, looking at Tasha.

"No," Tasha said softly. "It's OK."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," I said.

"Steve Adams!" Kara said sharply. "Aren't you the one that insists that people decide for themselves what they are OK with?"

"Yes, of course," I protested. "But I'm always careful!"

"Too careful," Kara declared. "Let Tasha make her own decision."

I sighed and acquiesced.

"Maybe I shouldn't," Tasha said.

"Steve, go turn on the sauna. We'll be down in a minute," Kara said.

I sighed again, but did what she'd asked. I stripped down, but put a towel around me and went in and sat down to wait for the girls. Five minutes later, they came in, each carrying a towel but not wearing one. And that included Tasha.

"You're the only one covered up, Tiger," Jessica said.

"Yes, and it's going to stay that way," I said. "I decided for myself what's OK and what isn't."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew that I'd made a big mistake. Tasha bolted from the sauna, and I heard her sobbing as she did so. Kara looked daggers at me and then went after her.

"Fuck," I sighed.

"Not smart, Big Brother," my sister said. "She worked up the courage to do something that you promote as good and normal, and then you act like it's the end of the world. I guess you're not too old to be a 'dumb boy'."

"Nice double standard, Tiger," Jessica added.

"She works for me and that makes it complicated," I said.

"And you aren't going to be naked in front of anyone who works for you? Ever? Does that include Elyse?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Penny's been in here with us since you two stopped being together," Jessica said. "And so have Julia, Cindi, Charlie, and Dave."

"Uh, Dave's a guy," I said.

"True, but you didn't have a problem with him being in here with your sister, or even Penny, when she turned eighteen! And you've been in the sauna naked with just about everyone you know. It's almost a rite of passage for your friends."

"OK! OK!" I said, exasperated. "You've made your point. I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Why?" Jessica asked. "Because she wants to have sex with you? If you sent away every girl who wanted that, you'd be alone in here with your sister, if the guys weren't around! If having your sister in here doesn't prove nudity and sex aren't the same thing, I don't know what would!"

In a fit of pique, I almost said that I WOULD be alone, but I stopped myself just in time. I'd almost done exactly what Bethany had warned would happen, and that would have been supremely dumb. She was right, of course.

"Fine," I sighed.

"You've basically run guys out of here who thought that it was OK to ogle us girls in the sauna," Stephanie said.

"I said 'fine'. You win. Point conceded. OK?"

"No, it's not OK, dumb boy," Stephanie said firmly. "You're only agreeing to shut us up. I know you well enough to know that."

"Remind me why I invited my sister to live with me?" I asked nobody in particular.

"Because you didn't marry Katt and someone has to call you a «jävla idiot» when you are one!"

I chuckled, "You still remember that phrase?"

"It's a good one!"

"What's that one mean?" Jessica asked.

"Fucking idiot," I grinned. "Katt used that when I'd finally frustrated her beyond the point she could tolerate."

"Let me guess," Jessica said. "She wanted to have sex, and you were playing your usual waiting game."

"You know me too well," I said. "Right the first time."

"And when Natalya comes back in, you're going to apologize and make her comfortable."

"Yes, Dear," I deadpanned.

Both Stephanie and Jessica leaned over and slugged me. I just laughed, because I'd deserved it. A minute later, Kara came into the sauna.

"Well done, Snuggle Bear," she said sarcastically, with a double clap of her hands. "All that work I did over the past year to get her comfortable being naked in the sauna and you had to go and wreck it in thirty seconds."

"I'm sorry. Did she go home?"

"No, she's in the guest room where I just spent ten minutes calming her down. You need to talk to her. And reassure her that there is nothing wrong with her."

"I never said that there was!" I protested.

"Sure you did," Kara countered. "You just don't realize it. You're in here naked with countless other girls, including your own sister, for Pete's sake! But you won't be naked with her. That positively SCREAMS that there is something wrong with her! You know how she feels about you, and you just told her not only do you not want her, but you can't stand to see her naked or let her see you naked. She's crushed."

"Fuck!" I said, totally pissed at myself.

"Only you can fix this now," Kara said. "You have to convince her that what I said isn't true."

"Oh no, you don't!" I said vehemently. "I am not going to let you use this as some kind of wedge to force me into having sex with her!"

"Seriously?! The man who says that nudity and sex are totally separate things? What is WRONG with you?!" Kara asked, totally exasperated.

"What's wrong is my dumb Big Brother wants to sleep with her but is afraid to," Stephanie said matter-of-factly.

"No way!" Jessica laughed. "Not Tiger!"

"Oh yes, 'Tiger'," my sister mocked. "He's afraid because she works for him, but more importantly, because Tasha is a virgin."

"That's exactly right," Kara said. "But I was hoping that your brother would admit that for himself."

"Well, at least go talk to her," Jessica said. "We can discuss the rest later."

I sighed and got up, making sure that my towel was properly tucked around me, and went out. The air-conditioned air gave me goosebumps, and I felt chilled. The door to the left-hand guest room was closed, so I knocked and heard a soft, "Come in," from Tasha.

I opened the door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her towel wrapped tightly around her.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's OK. I should never have gone in there naked."

"There was nothing wrong with that," I said.

"Then why did you object? Is there something wrong with me?" she said, starting to cry softly.

"No. There is nothing wrong with you. It's me that there's something wrong with."

"You? What's wrong with you?" she asked, getting control of her tears.

"Having a double standard and acting like a hypocrite. I shouldn't have behaved the way I did."

"So why did you?" she sniffed.

"It's complicated," I said. "Do you want to go back to the sauna?"

"Yes, but why is it complicated? It's just a sauna. You've said so yourself."

I could tell her that it was because she worked for me, but the other girls who worked for me had been in the sauna and Tasha knew it. But I couldn't tell her what my sister and Kara had said, which was the same thing that Elyse had said. I didn't have a good answer for her.

"It is just a sauna," I said.

"Are you uncomfortable being naked around me?"

"That's part of it," I said.

"You're afraid to be naked around me?"

I sighed, "I'm not sure that's the right word, but I suppose it will do."

"Why? Because I work for you?" she asked.

This was going to end up right where I didn't want it to, because she was going to keep asking questions.

"That's another part of it, yes. But can we just leave it at that for now?"

"If we go back to the sauna, will you treat me like the other girls?"

"Yes," I said. "I should have done that earlier."

"You know that was the first time I've ever been naked around a guy?" she asked.

"Yes," I chuckled. "But you ran out before I really got a good look at you!"

She laughed, then stood up. She looked me directly in the eyes, moved her hand to where the towel was tucked in, pulled it out, and let the towel fall to the floor. She was absolutely gorgeous, and given my desire, my body reacted in a way inappropriate for the situation. I tried to will it away to no avail, and it was obvious, despite the heavy towel. Well, obvious if Tasha dropped her eyes, which she didn't, because she was intently studying my face.

"Your turn," she said softly.

"Tasha, uhm..." I protested weakly.

She just looked intently at me, challenging me to be true to my own values. I didn't really have a choice, so I tugged at the towel and let it fall to the floor. Tasha lowered her eyes and looked at me.

"Is it always like that?" she asked.

I decided on a bit of levity.

"You would think, given all the pretty girls around here, but no, it's not always like that."

She smiled, catching the implication, and I relaxed and willed the erection to subside, which it started to.

"This isn't going to cause us any problems at work, is it?" she asked softly.

"No, it's fine."

"Good. Shall we go to the sauna?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, reaching down to pick up my towel.

Tasha picked up her towel as well, and we went back to the sauna. I sat in my usual place between Kara and Jessica, and Tasha sat next to Stephanie on the lower bench.

"He's an idiot, Tasha, but he's our idiot and we love him," Kara said.

July 18, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Did you learn any lessons last night?" Jessica asked, as Kara and I walked her to work.

"That I'm not always consistent and I can still be an idiot at times. But in my defense, I was looking out for Tasha's best interests."

"Were you? Wouldn't you usually argue that her best interests are an open mind and being comfortable with her own body?"

"I suppose so," I said.

"You suppose? No, that's true and you know it!" Jessica said. "You were worried about yourself and what you felt, not about what was best for her."

"Yes," I sighed.

"Is this how you're going to handle your children?"

"No, of course not!" I said.

"Well, you certainly were treating Tasha like a little kid."

"You've made your point, Babe. I made a mistake."

She laughed, "I was easy on you. Your kids will be far worse if they detect even the slightest amount of hypocrisy or a double standard. Kids have very finely tuned bullshit detectors."

"Yes, they do!" I laughed. "Thanks. Here we are, though, I guess we'll see you in twenty-four hours."

We kissed and hugged, and after Jessica had gone into the ER, Kara and I joined hands for our walk home.

"Do you think that we were too harsh on you?" Kara asked.

"No. It's the kind of thing that Bethany used to do to drive a point home. Of course, three against one is hardly a fair fight!"

"We don't fight fair!" Kara giggled. "And aren't you the one who says that you always fight to win?"

"True."

"Just keep an open mind about her, OK?" Kara asked.

"And by 'open mind' you mean that I should consider having sex with her."

"You want it. She wants it. There's no good reason to fight it."

"Work," I said. "The entire 'Kaitlin situation' makes that clear."

"Two VERY different girls in very different situations. Natalya Zhukov was a friend before you hired her, and she didn't come right out and ask you to fuck, did she?"

"Yes, she was, and no, she didn't. But it's a bit more complicated than that. If Penny were to find out, she'd be royally pissed. And if Kaitlin were to find out, there would be hell to pay. We're still not out of the woods on that one. And I have my rule."

"One that you should consider making an exception for in this one instance. Special circumstances."

"And what are those?" I asked.

"That you both wanted it before you started NIKA and before you got married! I saw you two the very first time you met at the Pascha party. If she hadn't been so afraid of her own feelings, she'd have asked you back then. And you would have had no qualms. Now, you're hiding behind NIKA to avoid addressing the issue."

"And Penny?" I asked.

"Has Ned. The fact that she finally went to bed with another guy means she's on the right path. If she'd stopped short again, then I'd say that she was fixated on you. But now? No, I don't think you have to worry about her asking for one of these rings when she graduates."

Kara held up her hand to show me the ring with the three gemstones.

"I agree," I said. "I was a bit worried when she broke up with Jonathan, but I guess he really did push her further than she wanted to go."

"She talked to me about that. I'm glad she didn't tell you at the time, because you might have tracked down the kid and beat him senseless."

"What did he do?"

"Told her that because she'd already had sex with someone, it was no big deal, and that she should just put out. Because she wasn't a virgin, she shouldn't say 'no' to anyone who asked."

"He's lucky SHE didn't beat the shit out of him!" I said.

"She was tempted! But she gave him his walking papers. Please don't say anything to her about that."

"I won't."

"So, what are you going to do about Tasha?"

"Right now? Nothing. In the future? I don't know. Don't forget, we leave for Russia in a week."

"That's going to be fun!" she said.

July 20, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Greg accepted our offer," Julia said when I returned from lunch. "He'll start two weeks from today."

I nodded, "Dave set himself up for a challenge, but I think it was the right decision. How are things with the DP Engineering contract?"

"His attorney and Jamie are talking. They want to modify some terms and add some performance milestones for payment. Jamie obviously wants the same thing, though more in our favor than Dante's."

"That makes sense. It's a pretty significant amount of money on his part, and a significant investment in time on our part. I'm sure that they'll work it out. Did Dante sign off on the statement of work?"

"He did. Jamie thinks we'll have everything wrapped up on Friday. I'll get your sister to counter-sign the contract."

"Cool. Did you get an ad in the paper for the marketing intern?"

"I did. Also, Alderman Bloom called with two names. He's having them send their resumes to my attention."

"Students?"

"Yes. One from UIC Circle, the other from Malcolm X Junior College."

"Great. Remember, only if they are qualified, and we'd hire them otherwise."

"I suppose we need to wait until you get back from Russia?"

"Actually, no. This is a part-time marketing intern, so just go ahead. Have my sister interview them as well. She knows me well enough to know if I'd have any concerns."

"OK. That'll help. One more thing. Have a talk with Alonzo, if you would."

"Why?" I asked.

"Some idiot stopped him on the sidewalk outside and told him that they didn't want 'his kind' working here."

"Shit. Time for a talk with Mr. King. I had a union jackass say the same thing to me right after we hired Alonzo. It's a Bridgeport thing. This goes beyond the catcalls some of the girls got at the beginning. Mr. King put a stop to that immediately when it first happened. Hopefully, he'll do the same with this."

I called Alonzo into the conference room to confirm what had happened, expressed my apologies, and told him that I was going to talk to the union boss. He thanked me and went back to his desk while I walked next door to the union offices. I asked to see Mr. King, but he was in a meeting. I asked his secretary to have him call me as soon as possible, then went back to the office.

Mr. King came by about 3:00pm and we went into the small conference room to talk.

"We do have some problems with some of the guys from Bridgeport, like you say. I'll talk to them. Have they threatened you or your employee?"

"No, there haven't been any threats, though it is a bit of a concern. I like the deal we have for inexpensive space in return for doing all your computer work, but I can't have my team harassed. I hate to say this, but if it doesn't stop, we'll need to move."

"I'd really prefer that you didn't do that. Let me talk to some of the guys and see if I can get them to rein in their friends."

"Thanks, Mr. King. The relationship is working out well with you, and the other unions, and I'd hate for this to mess it up."

"Me, too," he said.

We shook hands, and he left to go back to his office.

At the end of the day, Charlie walked home with me. That wasn't usual, because she liked to come in around 9:00am and work until 6:00pm. That let her stay out later at night and sleep in.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"Why?"

"You didn't ask me to go for a walk at lunch today like we usually do with Jesse."

"I took my sister instead. I haven't been spending enough time with her, and we agreed that lunchtime was probably the best."

"Oh, OK. After you guys fired Kaitlin and didn't say why, and then you didn't ask me to walk at lunch, I thought maybe there was a problem."

"No, no problem at all. Dave says that you're doing a great job, and your review was very good. If there was a problem, we'd tell you."

"But what happened to Kaitlin?" she asked.

"That I can't talk about, but suffice it to say, nobody else has any concerns at this point. Nobody."

"Good," she said. "I like working here, and I really like living at your place. I guess when Kara has her baby, you'll need to make new arrangements."

"Maybe not," I said. "The room that I use for my study can be a bedroom, and my sister will move there when we need a nursery. But that's a year from now, roughly speaking."

"Cool. I was hoping to find a way to stay here. I know Sofia is planning to stay through medical school."

"Unless she gets married," I said. "Stavros graduated in May, and they've been going out for a while."

"I'd say that's a good possibility. I guess I'd need a new roommate then."

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," I said. "But for now, everything is good. How was your date on Friday?"

"Good. Nothing serious. You would probably like the guy. He plays for the Milwaukee Admirals."

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Tim Hrynewich."

I chuckled, "I know who he is. He plays Left Wing. He played maybe 50 games or so for the Penguins in the '82 and '83 seasons. How did you meet him?"

"He and a couple of guys from the team were in Chicago. I ran into them at a bar. And you know me!"

I chuckled, "I do. Bring him around."

"He went back to Canada on Sunday. He was talking about playing in Finland next season."

"That sucks," I said.

"It's cool," Charlie said. "It's not like he's the only guy who I'm seeing!"

"If that makes you happy, go for it!" I said.

"You're one of the few guys who seems to think it's OK for a girl to have as many guys as she wants."

"I do try to avoid being a hypocrite. I'm just not always successful."

"You've never, ever judged me on what I do or who I'm with, so I haven't seen it. Going back to work, Dave said he hired Greg."

"He did. What did you think?"

"A strange guy, but he seems to really know his stuff. We asked him a bunch of programming questions and he just reeled off the answers without having to think about it. My only issue is that he thinks he's smarter than everyone else."

"I know, but we'll deal with that. Well, Dave will."

"Thanks for trusting me to work on this new project," she said. "I know how important it is."

"I've always respected your skills, Charlie. It was just the cheating incident that created a concern. But that's all in the past now."

"I owe you a lot. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

July 21, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Hi, Doctor Barton," I said, sitting down at our usual table at Medici.

"Hi, Steve!" he said.

We ordered our lunch and talked while we waited for it to arrive.

"How is Jessica doing?" he asked.

"Isn't that supposed to be my question for you?"

"How do you think she's doing at work?"

"If I know Jess, she's the best PGY1 Resident at the hospital."

"That would be accurate. So, you didn't need to ask. I'm just concerned about how she's holding up outside of work."

"Fine, I think," I replied. "She's worried about making a mistake, almost to the point of obsessing over it. She's also extremely cranky after her shifts, but that's to be expected, I guess."

"It is," Doctor Barton said. "How are you doing?"

"If you mean with regard to Jess, fine. I walk her to work and walk her home, and the three of us try to have at least one meal together during the thirty-six-hour shifts. I can see why this is so hard on relationships. I have to make a supreme effort to find quality time with her."

"That's the only way your relationship can work. You have to do the heavy lifting. If you don't, your marriage is going to go down the tubes, as sure as the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west."

"That's what happened to you? Twice?" I asked.

"Yes. I had to focus on my job and my first and second wives weren't up to the challenge. You are. And I suspect Kara is as well."

"She's the glue," I said. "She's the one who keeps me on track, and she can talk to Jessica girl-to-girl."

"It's a strange arrangement, but it seems like it's working quite well."

"It is. Are you getting things whipped into shape at the hospital?"

"It takes a long time to effect real change," he said. "I'm making progress."

"Good. One thing you can do is make sure that Jessica gets her surgical rotation next year."

"If she keeps doing as well as she's doing, she'll get it."

"That's good," I said.

"Business is good?"

"It is," I said.

Our food arrived, and we continued to talk while we ate. When we finished, Doctor Barton paid the check.

"Have a safe trip and have fun in Moscow!" he said, as we shook hands.

"Thanks. See you in a few weeks," I said.

July 24, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

Just after 3:00pm, Julia came into my office.

"We have a signed contract with Dante! Dave, Charlie, and I are heading out Monday to meet with him and kick off the project."

"Fantastic! Did you decide what to do about the network and electronic mail solutions?"

"No. Novell is really the correct answer for them, but that leaves out the Macs. We can network them together, which we'll do with AppleTalk. Getting them to all talk to each other is the challenge. One solution is connecting to a small Unix server with a terminal emulation program for e-mail. That seems the most likely solution right now."

"OK. Run with it. Who did Dave assign to the project?"

"Charlie and Terry. It makes sense to put Greg on new features for the medical software. We think he'll knock it out nearly as fast as you would."

"You never know, he might be faster," I said.

"Now THAT would be something!" Julia exclaimed.

July 26, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Hey, Peaches, how are you doing today?"

"It's a good day, Yankee. I feel good and Bill won the race! I just wish we could have been there."

"Me too," I said. "Red must have been happy last week with Kulwicki finishing second!"

"He was."

"I won't be able to talk to you next weekend," I said.

"That's right! Your big trip to Russia to see Tanya! Say 'hello' for me."

"I will. I'm glad that you feel good."

"I got Red to take me to the swimming hole this morning," she said, then giggled. "And to Ol' Man Jenkins' barn afterwards!"

I laughed, "You guys have your own place!"

"Are you telling me you don't like doin' it in different places? And I thought you was fun!"

"Not you, too!" I sighed.

"Uh-oh. What's going on?"

"The responsibility of having two wives, two kids, and a business has made me too serious according to a few people."

"It comes with the territory, Yankee. Just don't let it turn you into a cranky, boring old man! Find time to do some fun stuff! Promise me. 'Cause if you don't, I'm goin' to haunt you for the rest of your life!"

"I promise to try, Peaches. For you."

"Good. But do it for you, Yankee. Do it for you."

The source of this story is Storiesonline

To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account (Why register?)

Get No-Registration Temporary Access*

* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.

Close
 

WARNING! ADULT CONTENT...

Storiesonline is for adult entertainment only. By accessing this site you declare that you are of legal age and that you agree with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.