Chapter 46: Birgit Elizabeth Adams

May 24, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Jessica was right," my sister said as we ate breakfast together.

"About?"

"Chrissy. Melody said that she's back in class as if nothing happened. And she's denying that she has a problem."

I shook my head, "There isn't much we can do about that. If she won't get help, nobody can force her to. But that means she's not allowed here. I can't have someone who I know is using drugs in the house."

"I know. I really am sorry about all the trouble that she caused."

"It's OK. Are you free for the Board meeting today?"

"It's late in the afternoon, so yes. Are Joyce and Dad calling in?"

"Yes. Dad would have come up if Kara's baby had come. He'll come up sometime in June or July, depending on when she delivers. Karl will call in as well. I think only Doctor Lambert and Beth will actually be in the office."

"Cool. Melody asked about you," my sister smirked.

"And what exactly did she ask?"

"About karate, actually. She heard at the party that you were a black belt and she was interested in lessons, but I don't think she can afford what Sensei Jim charges."

"It's not that bad, but for a college student, I can imagine it's a lot of money. The fixed fee from white to black can be financed, too."

"I'm curious, how do you pay now?" she asked.

"Once I was awarded my black belt, Sensei Jim and I sat down and worked out an agreement. Part of the deal was him getting Tuesday nights off. That's why I'm teaching that evening. The rest is confidential, between me and my master. It's done that way because everyone has different means and a master can take that into account. At some point, I might start teaching on my own, but he'd still be my master. He's actually going to Japan for six months next year because that's the only way he can advance past 5th Dan. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks me and Jolene to run the school for him while he's gone."

"So that's why he has you working with her?"

"That was her idea, actually. But Sensei Jim approves. Jolene had more or less gotten stuck where she was and needed a different approach."

"Being fucked half-to-death?" my sister teased.

"Half?" I said, trying to sound offended. "Are you suggesting that I've lost my touch?"

"I wouldn't know," she giggled. "Unless you want to show me!"

"You know better!" I shot back with a grin. "Anyway, back to Melody. The problem is that I can't really take a student without Sensei Jim's permission at this point, and I'm not sure he would OK that because I'm not 3rd Dan. I'm also not sure I want to try to train someone who is just starting out."

"Why not? You do that with white belts already at the dojo. And if what you said is true, you'll have to do it next year."

"It's a timing thing, too. I'm at the dojo seven days a week now. When would I have time?"

"Will you at least talk to her?"

"Sure," I said. "Why not?"

I finished breakfast and headed to the office. Thankfully, I didn't need to prepare anything for the Board meeting, so I could concentrate on programming. The meeting was relatively short, even with Elyse's proposal about short-term investing in T-Bills. We were finished in less than an hour, after which Joyce, my dad, and I had our final 'small' stockholders meeting.

"From now on," Joyce began, "we'll have our annual shareholder meetings in February, and the terms for directors will end on the last day of June. I'll work with Jamie to have new bylaws drawn up because we'll need to actually have a formal, as opposed to informal, meeting. Are we going to have open meetings?"

"Yes," I said. "I don't have a problem with any of the staff coming if they want to be bored out of their skulls! If I understand you correctly, the shareholders vote on directors, and not much else."

"That's about it," she said. "We do have to make a financial report, but otherwise, you're right. The Board of Directors meetings are where all the real discussions are conducted and decisions are made, and those are closed."

"OK. How's little Joseph doing?" I asked.

"Finally sleeping four or five hours at a time! How's Kara?"

"About ready to burst!" I chuckled. "But she's WAY happier being this pregnant than any of the rest of you were."

"If you don't mind, I'll bring Joseph up to visit a couple of weeks after your baby is born," Joyce said.

"You're welcome anytime! And, Dad, the same is true for you. Nancy will be here for about two weeks after the baby is born, so if you don't mind, it's probably better to come after she goes home."

"Just keep us posted!" he said.

We finished our call, and I went back to work. Elyse came into my office a few minutes later.

"I have an idea for you," she said.

"What's that?"

"You're still thinking of replacing your Daytona this Summer, right?"

"I'm going to need something more appropriate for a family. Why?"

"I talked to Bruce Grady. The company could lease you a car, which makes it a tax write-off for us, and you only have to pay the taxes on the imputed income. That would allow you to have a new car every few years, and do it in a way with a significant financial advantage."

"That's legal?" I asked.

"Perfectly. And, because you're the President, it can be limited to just you, if you wanted. Or we could offer it to all the C-level managers, with the caveat that it's part of their compensation."

"So, in lieu of a raise next year or something?"

"Yes, something like that. Let me write up the details and we can present it to Joyce once we work them out. I had hoped to have it in time for today's meeting, but Bruce only mentioned it to me yesterday when we were finalizing the financial report."

"OK. I like the idea. And Penny will love it. She wants to buy the Daytona from me."

"I'll get everything written up and then we can talk about it."

"Thanks."

May 27, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"It's still crap compared to the Mac," Greg said, referring to Windows 2.1.

"So we continue with our DOS-based work for now, at least?" I asked.

"I think so," Dave said. "It won't be long until we have to seriously consider a migration to Windows, but nobody is asking us for it at this point, not even Ford, Jackson, and Finch. According to Cindi, we haven't even had any inquiries about it. And the only customer that's even looking at it is Dante, and well, you know him!"

I chuckled, "He just loves the 'bleeding edge', doesn't he?"

"I see you like my term for that nut job's insatiable thirst for whatever new thing is released," Greg said.

"Hey, the man buys a new Ferrari every two years, so he must be doing something right!"

"What does he do with the old ones?" Dave asked.

"According to Zeke, Dante's wife gets the hand-me-down car, and then they sell her car. I think it's foolish, but as Dante says, it's his money."

"Do you want me to write anything up on my review of this version of Windows?"

"I don't think so," Dave said. "Not much has changed since Windows 2.0. The '386-specific version has some interesting features, but most of our clients are still on '286 machines. And memory management is an issue, because it doesn't work with QEMM. We'll wait for the next version before we do a formal evaluation and review our plans. At some point, we're probably going to have to do it, but for now, we're on the right track."

May 28, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Sensei, do you have a moment?" I asked after class ended on Saturday morning.

He nodded, and I followed him to his office.

"What can I do for you?"

"I have a friend who's asking about lessons, but who doesn't really have money to pay because she's a full-time college student. She's borrowing most of her tuition and works to earn the rest, and to have a bit of spending money. How do you handle things like that?"

"That's always the dilemma. As my master instructed me, there has to be something given in exchange for the lessons, even if it's a token amount. I'm sure that you recall our discussion about this when you became a black belt. If you think about what I charge for new students, it's not enough to make a good living. I teach karate for the love of it. I edit books and magazine articles to pay the bills. That allows me to be flexible with my schedule, so I can do the lunchtime and afterschool classes during the week without impacting my job.

"All of that is to say that I can make allowances for a student who truly can't pay much. I say much, because it's important that something be paid, even if it's a token amount, as I said. Before we discuss this further, how are things going with Jolene?"

"Good, I think. I'm helping her with breathing and concentration techniques, and trying to get her to be more fluid with her kata. And teaching her about watching the center of balance."

"That's always the hardest. Everyone looks at hands, feet, head, and eyes. But we can fool people that way. It's much harder to fool them with your hips and shoulders."

"Harder?" I asked. "Not impossible?"

He smiled, "I haven't shown you everything. It's possible to strike hard and fast while appearing to be completely off balance and yet end in a balanced stance. I've done it to you."

"I just thought I wasn't quick enough," I said.

"Oh no, your reflexes are very, very good. But your eyes and brain can deceive you. Over the next few months, I'll teach you some techniques for appearing to be completely off balance and yet able to land a telling blow."

I paused and nodded, then he continued.

"About your friend," he said. "Do you want to take her on as a student?"

"I'm not ready for that yet. I'm learning a lot from trying to teach Jolene. I still need your supervision."

He smiled, "Which tells me that you ARE ready. You know your limitations. And you know where to come for help. But I agree, for now, you should continue working with Jolene. Have your friend come to class. We'll work something out, even if it's just a token amount for now."

"Thanks, Sensei!"

"You're welcome!"

May 29, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"You bastard!" Jolene spat as I threw her to the mat for the third time in as many minutes.

"Just think of it this way," I chuckled. "When you finally win, it's going to be that much sweeter."

"You could at least have the decency to pin me!" she huffed.

"No chance! When it's time for the reward, then not only will I pin you, but I'll do my damnedest to drive you right through that mat!"

I reached out to help her up, wary that she might try a throw or some other move to take me down, but she didn't. We took off our sparring gear and then shut off the lights.

"You still become too emotional when we're sparring," I said. "It makes it easy for me. Losing a point, or even being thrown, shouldn't upset you that much. And if it does, I'm going to kick your ass every single time!"

"You can kiss my ass!" she laughed.

"If you're into THAT, I think we can arrange it!" I smirked.

She gave me a funny look, and then a quick hug, and we headed our separate ways. At home I showered, and fixed lunch for Kara and me, and after we ate, we went to sit in the sunroom so that Kara could stretch out on a lounge chair. I put on some music, and we sat quietly, relaxing. The race would start soon, and we'd move into the great room when it did.

"Uhm, Snuggle Bear," she said about twenty minutes later. "Are you ready to be a dad again?"

All thoughts of watching the race instantly went out the window. Something much more important was in store for the day!

"Contractions?" I asked, expectantly.

"Maybe. I've had Braxton-Hicks contractions a few times in the last two months, but this one just felt different."

"Did your water break?" I asked.

"No, I would have told you if THAT had happened!" she giggled.

"Jessica should be up shortly. Do you want her to check you out?"

"Let's see how it goes. If they keep up, then we'll call Doctor Robertson. Could you get me a towel to sit on, just in case? I'd hate to stain this chair!"

"OK. I'll also set the tape for the race because I suspect we aren't going to watch it today!"

I got up and went to the linen closet next to the nanny room and got a large, fluffy bath towel and brought it for Kara to sit on. I helped her get re-situated, then went back to set up the VCR. When I had it ready, I went back to the sunroom and sat down again. She reached out for me and I took her hand and held it. About ten minutes passed without another contraction.

"Well, maybe I was wrong," Kara said.

"Just relax, Honey. That baby will come when he or she is ready and not one minute before! Well, unless you want a C-section."

"No thanks! None of that 'from his mother's womb untimely ripped' stuff for me!"

I laughed, "Only one of my wives would quote Macbeth at a time like this!"

"Oomph," she sighed. "There was another one, and it was stronger. It's been about fifteen minutes. I'd say it's starting, but because we're so close to the hospital, I'm not supposed to call Doctor Robertson until my water breaks or the contractions are less than eight minutes apart."

"My bag is packed and sitting next to yours. Jess should be up in the next half-hour or so. Do you want me to get one of the other girls?"

"I'm fine, Snuggle Bear. I just need you and Jess. And you're here right now!"

Jessica came into the sunroom about twenty-five minutes later, and Kara'd had two more contractions, making them about nine minutes apart.

"I think I'm in labor," Kara said with a huge smile.

"How far apart?"

"Roughly nine minutes by my watch," I said.

Jessica left the room and came back with her black medical bag that I'd given her as a gift and pulled out a thermometer, blood pressure cuff, and stethoscope. She did a quick exam.

"Everything sounds and looks good, at least as far as I can tell without a pelvic exam."

"I like when you do those!" Kara giggled. "But with your tongue!"

"I like doing them to you, too! But not right now!" Jessica laughed. "Nothing personal."

"I understand!" Kara said, still giggling.

"Kara, Now that Jessica is here I'm going to get our stuff and put it in the car. I'll be back in a flash. Do you need anything, Babe?"

"No. I'll just grab scrubs when we get to the hospital. My lab coat is in my locker in the Residents' lounge. And I have toothpaste, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and deodorant there."

I kissed them both and went to my room and grabbed the two bags that were sitting in the walk-in closet. As I was leaving my room, I saw Elyse and Sofia in the hallway.

"It's time?" Elyse asked with a big smile.

"Close. She's having contractions but they're still better than nine minutes apart and her water hasn't broken. If it doesn't, then we call Doctor Robertson when they're eight minutes apart and she'll most likely tell us to head to the hospital."

"Make sure you call us right away!" Sofia said.

"One of us will. If she has the baby late tonight, we probably won't be home until Tuesday."

"Go take care of your wife!" Elyse said, giving me a quick kiss.

Sofia gave me a soft kiss, and then wished me 'good luck' in Swedish.

I smiled and went down the stairs and out the back door. I was back with my wives two minutes later.

"All set. Jen saw me putting the bags in the car, so she knows, and I saw Sofia and Elyse, so they know."

"She had another one," Jessica said. "Still just over nine minutes apart."

I sat down in the lounge chair next to Kara's, with Jessica on her other side. We listened to music while we waited for the next contraction. About 2:30pm, she had two that were eight minutes apart, and she asked me to get the cordless phone so she could call Doctor Robertson. When I came back, my sister and Charlie were in the room talking with Kara. I dialed Doctor Robertson's number that Kara had attached to the fridge with a magnet, then handed her the phone while it was ringing. I listened as Kara asked the service to please page Doctor Robertson because she was in labor.

"She'll call right back, they said."

Not quite five minutes later, the phone rang. Kara answered Doctor Robertson's questions and then hung up.

"She'll meet us in the maternity ward in an hour. She said that there isn't a rush, though if my water breaks, we should head right over."

It didn't, and about forty minutes later, Kara called her mom and let her know that we were on the way to the hospital, and then Jessica and I helped Kara get up. I grabbed the towel to put on the seat of my car, and the three of us slowly walked through the backyard to my Daytona. Jessica got in the back seat, and then I spread the towel on the passenger seat for Kara to sit on. Once she was settled, I got into the driver's seat and started the car.