Chapter 29: A New Home, Part I

March 26, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

Marcia had left around 9:00pm, and I was sure I hadn't been very good company. Once she'd left, I'd spent an hour doing something I hadn't done very often — playing video games on my Atari console. That hadn't helped improve my mood, so I'd decided to go to bed, knowing I had to be up early and had a long week ahead.

I woke up early on Saturday morning as planned, dressed, and then discovered that Shelly hadn't come home, which didn't surprise me. I left the house, drove to Dunkin' Donuts, and bought three dozen doughnuts and two 'coffee boxes', which held twelve cups each. Sugar and caffeine in hand, I headed to the new house, arriving before anyone else.

I unlocked the house, put the coffee and doughnuts on the kitchen counter, then went to the garage to retrieve the supplies. It took four trips, and I'd just finished when Bianca arrived, followed by Lily and Violet. Over the next ten minutes, the rest of the gang arrived — Shelly, Keiko, Deanna, Dustin, Jack, Kristy, Miranda, and finally Stuart, who was acting as our foreman, as he had extensive experience painting and remodeling.

Everyone had doughnuts and coffee, then while Jack and Kristy removed outlet and switch covers, the rest of us taped baseboards, door frames, and window frames and put down drop cloths in the master bedroom and attic bedroom, where we would start painting. By the time the pizza was delivered, we'd finished the upstairs, and after we ate, we painted the downstairs. Stuart checked everything, and we called it a day at 5:00pm, with a plan to reassemble on Sunday morning for a second coat.

I'd gone home, cleaned up, then dressed for my date with Beth. We met at our usual haunt, Eli's The Place for Steak.

"How is business?" I asked Beth once we were seated.

"Good. Your lawyer friend referred two other attorneys from his office, and they each told two friends, and that's how we get our best business. I handed out two of your cards to lawyers from a different firm. How are things with you?"

"I closed on my new house yesterday, and today we painted. We'll apply the second coat tomorrow, then on Monday, we'll begin refinishing the wood floors."

"When do you actually move in?"

"Friday. There's a housewarming party on Saturday, and if you want to come in the evening after your family time, you're welcome to join us."

The waiter came to take our orders, and we ordered both our drinks and dinner.

"I think I will join you," she said once the waiter had left. "I can leave any time after about 3:30pm without anyone being upset. What time do you start tomorrow?"

"7:00am," I replied. "And I have to stop at Dunkin' Donuts beforehand."

"Ugh. Would you be upset if I go home around midnight rather than spend the night?"

"No, I won't be upset," I replied. "I should have mentioned it when we spoke the other night."

"Don't sweat it! We have a good four hours to fool around after dinner."

Dinner and dessert were excellent, and when we finished, we headed to the house on Estes Avenue, each in our own car. At the house, Beth and I greeted Bianca and Shelly, then went straight up to my room. Just under four hours later, we got out of the shower, dried ourselves, dressed, and then I walked Beth to her car.

"I really enjoy our dinners and the after-dinner entertainment!" she said. "See you next Saturday?"

"Yes. I very much enjoy them as well!"

We hugged and exchanged a quick kiss, and once she'd driven away, I went back into the house and went straight to bed.

March 27, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday, though Stuart wasn't available because he was on shift, but both Costas and Trevor showed up to help. We made quick work of the second coat, then cleaned up by removing the tape and taking the tarps to the garage. The last step was reattaching the outlet and switch covers.

Everything was set for Monday morning when we'd begin working on the floors, and Bianca, Shelly, and I headed home at about 5:30pm, ordering pizza for dinner.

"You seem to be in a somewhat better mood," Bianca observed as we ate.

"I didn't want to drag everyone else down," I replied. "But I also came to a conclusion."

"Care to share?"

"It's actually a simple one in concept but difficult in practice, and that is to stop lying to myself."

"About Bev?"

"Primarily, as that's the core problem."

"May I make an observation?" Bianca asked.

"Always."

"There's a way to resolve the situation with Bev without violating your commitment to be there for her. You can support her, protect her, encourage her, or however you want to define it as her friend. Nothing about your commitment requires you to marry her."

I finished eating my slice of pizza before answering.

"I hear you," I said. "But something I haven't shared was that we did discuss marriage, and Bev said that she'd accept an offer of marriage at any point after last December 26th."

"OK, fine, but did you actually formally propose?" Bianca asked.

"No. I did ask her to come live with me, though. Several times."

"You have her answer, Jonathan, loud and clear."

"Yes, but I struggle with the idea that her irrational behavior might be the result of the 'baby blues'."

"Does it matter? I realize it's different in many ways, but Huifen cut off contact with you, and after a few attempts, you simply let go. And she was one girl who you considered going steady with."

"That's a reasonable point," I admitted.

"Is it OK to ask what exactly you feel you've lied to yourself about?" Shelly inquired.

"Yes, because if it wasn't, I wouldn't have said it! I think it starts with acknowledging that Bev was my girlfriend without qualifying it, acknowledging I broke up with her by moving without discussing it with her or making plans for our future. I also acknowledge my vision of the future was always based on being married to Bev, even if I never articulated it or even admitted it to myself."

"That's huge!" Shelly exclaimed.

"That's what all the girls say when they see Jonathan naked!" Bianca exclaimed, causing both Shelly and me to laugh, then she asked, "So, what does that mean?"

"I'm not sure yet," I replied. "But your comment about Huifen earlier is relevant, even if there are some fairly stark differences. I think where the true difference arises is I expect Bev to get in touch at some point, while I don't expect Huifen to do that."

"I'm not sure that survives a basic logic test and assumes facts for which you have no evidence," Bianca said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Nothing prevents Huifen from calling you any more than anything prevents Haley or Teri from wanting to see you again. Would you start a relationship with them? I think that depends on things you don't know and can't predict, so you can't say one way or the other. And all three of them made the point that if you were willing to be exclusive, they were interested.

"On the other hand, Bev knows you wanted to marry her, and you offered her a place to stay, both with and without strings attached. You were willing to be exclusive with her, support her, and help care for Heather, and she still walked away, whether it was 'baby blues' or embarrassment or whatever. She told you she was leaving home and made sure you knew where she was, and you helped her. Then she simply disappeared without a word to you or anyone. I don't feel you can reasonably draw the conclusion that she'll ever get in touch."

"I know," I sighed. "And that is the thing that bothers me the most. I would have thought our relationship was such that it warranted at least 'goodbye' and a promise that, at some point, she'd get in touch, even if it was a postcard without a return address saying she and Heather were OK. The fact that didn't happen pretty much confirms your analysis that I actually can't count on her getting in touch."

"Have you concluded what that means?"

"Oh, I know what it means," I replied. "I just need to digest it and come to terms with it. Give me a few days to think it through."

"Of course!"

The doorbell rang, and I got up to answer it.

"Ah, the virgin sacrifices!" Shelly teased.

"Not anymore!" Bianca tittered. "Jonathan took care of that!"

"You two are so bad!" I chuckled, leaving the dining room to answer the door.

I opened the door to see Katy and Esme, as expected.

"Hi!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hi!" I replied.

I invited them into the house, and Shelly and Bianca came to greet them as well. The girls chatted for a few minutes, then Esme, Katy, and I went upstairs to my room.

"How is Princeton?" I asked Katy as we began undressing.

"Awesome! I'm earning all A's and having a great time!"

"I heard from Esme that you had your threesome."

"I did! Both ways! A girl and me with a guy, and me with two guys!"

"And when I get there," Esme smirked, "we're going to get together with two guys and have a foursome!"

"I repeat what I said before — I'm not sure Princeton will survive!"

"College is supposed to be fun!" Esme declared.

"So long as you maintain your GPA, I think you should have as much fun as possible without ending up in the emergency room or being arrested!"

Both girls laughed as we all three finished undressing and stood naked.

"Did you have a plan for tonight?" I asked.

"Esme and I will get it on while you watch, then we'll fuck and suck you, kissing each other after blowjobs and licking each other after fucking. Go until you can't get it up anymore."

"No sane man would object!"

"Yes, but what about you?" Esme asked with a silly smile.

"Sane or not, I won't object! Are you spending the night?"

"Yes!" Esme exclaimed. "With Bianca here, my parents were cool with me staying over, though they don't know what we're about to do!"

"That's probably a good thing!" I chuckled. "Fair warning, I need to be up at 5:00am so I can be at my new house at 6:00am to meet Shelly's dad, brother, and her dad's friend to get started on the floors."

"Working backwards," Esme observed, "four hours of sleep would give us six hours to play!"

"That will work," I agreed.

"Katy?" Esme said sexily, "Want to be my first girl?"

"Yes!" Katy exclaimed happily.

The two girls fell into bed giggling, but the giggling stopped quickly as they locked lips and engaged in a deep French kiss. I watched in rapt attention as the girls took turns kissing, licking, and sucking each other's nipples before engaging in sixty-nine. Esme wasn't tentative at all, and the girls had no trouble bringing each other off multiple times.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" I asked Esme.

"Yes! And now we're going to give you a joint blowjob!"

They did, and their two mouths and four hands made the experience extremely pleasurable, with Katy finishing me before sharing with Esme by way of a French kiss and then each girl French kissing me.

"From now until 1:00am," Esme said, "one of us on your face, and the other on your dick, facing each other so we can kiss and play with each other's boobs and stuff. When you cum, the girl on your dick will lift off and lie back so the other one can lick her then suck you while you keep licking her. When you get hard again, we switch places and keep going. OK?"

"I'm participating in your fantasy," I replied. "So it's up to you what we do."

"Cool!" Esme exclaimed.

March 28, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

"Do we have time to give you a 'thank you' blowjob?" Katy asked when we got into the shower early on Monday morning.

"I'll make time," I chuckled.

The previous night had been fun, and I wasn't overly tired because mostly I had simply been on my back with the girls doing all the work except for my tongue. My jaw ached a bit, but that was a small price to pay for an amazing night of sex with two fun, willing girls who were now giving me another fantastic joint blowjob.

This time, I finished in Esme's mouth, and she and Katy shared a sloppy French kiss before each of them gave me a deep French kiss. We finished in the shower, dried off, dressed, and stripped the sheets from the bed, then took them downstairs. Both Esme and Katy offered to help with the work at the new house, and I accepted, though we had more than enough help to complete the floors.

We left the house at 5:40am, stopped at Dunkin' Donuts for donuts and coffee for the gang, then headed to the new house, arriving just before Mr. Kind, his friend Bob Rockford, and Shelly's brother, Neil. We helped them move the equipment and supplies into the house, and once Kristy, Keiko, Miranda, Bianca, Shelly, Lily, Violet, Deanna, Allyson, Dustin, and Archie arrived, Mr. Kind explained what we'd need to do.

"First, we have to clean the floors. I have several spray bottles of ten-to-one white vinegar solution. Every floor has to be sprayed, then wiped with one of the mops. Everyone grab a bottle or mop, and let's get started!"

With everyone working together, that took just under thirty minutes, at which point Mr. Kind handed out 180-grit sandpaper and instructed us to hand-sand the perimeter of every room, along with any place the buffer wouldn't be able to reach.

"What about sanding blocks?" Jack asked.

Mr. Kind shook his head, "It's too easy to miss spots which are uneven, and I see several just in the dining room here. You want to sand with the grain to about six inches from the baseboard. Sand until the finish is dull and a powder forms."

That took nearly two hours with all of us working hard, and when we finished, Mr. Kind and Mr. Rockford carried the sander upstairs, then used a rope to get it into the attic room. They sanded the floor, then moved to the master bedroom.

We waited fifteen minutes for the powder in the attic to settle, then used the ShopVac they'd brought with them to suck up the powder using a special attachment with felt around the edges. Once the bulk of the powder was removed, we used a special dry mop to pick up the remaining particles.

"Put booties on your shoes," Mr. Kind said, "and then put on the special masks because you're going to be in concentrated fumes, especially in the attic. I'll show you how to cut-in the edges, then roll out the finish on the rest of the floor. I have enough equipment that we can do three rooms at a time. Bob and Neil will continue sanding, and I'll supervise."

We worked hard for the rest of the morning, breaking at noon for pizza and then returning to work, finishing the entire house just before 6:00pm.

"Everything looks good," Mr. Kind said. "We'll meet tomorrow morning at 6:00am to put on the second coat, then it needs to sit forty-eight hours before you put down the butcher paper. When do you plan to move in, Jonathan?"

"Friday," I replied. "The appliances and some new furniture will be here on Thursday."

"OK. Keep the butcher paper down and try to only walk on it until Friday. That'll ensure the finish has time to set."

I handed Mr. Kind a check to cover the cost of the supplies and a bit extra, and everyone left. As we'd planned, Keiko returned to the old house with me to have dinner and spend the night.

After dinner, she agreed to watch a tape I'd made of a TV movie — Special Bulletin about terrorists who had built an atomic bomb and were threatening to detonate it. Following what appeared to be a successful raid by the FBI and police, the bomb had gone off when the NEST team trying to disarm it hit a booby trap.

"Do you think that could happen?" Keiko asked.

"If you could get the fissionable material, yes," I replied.

"Scary."

"I agree."

March 29, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

We met at the new house early on Tuesday, as we'd planned, and once everyone had doughnuts and coffee, we got to work putting on the second coat of finish. We completed everything by 2:00pm, and most everyone left, though I stayed at the new house, waiting for the locksmith, who arrived at 3:00pm, as we'd agreed. He quickly changed the keyways on the doors to the house and garage and provided me with ten sets of keys, as I'd requested.

When he finished, I headed home for a shower and a nap before Jeri's monthly dinner. When I got up, I dressed and went downstairs, where Shelly and Bianca were listening to music.

"Got time for a logistical question?" Bianca asked.

"Sure."

"Is there going to be a rotation for who sleeps in your bed?"

"I hadn't really given it much thought," I replied. "I suppose the best thing for me to say is that you, Keiko, and Deanna should work it out but leave Friday and Saturday open."

"I think we can come up with something," Bianca said. "They're both totally chilled about the situation and both playing the long game."

"As you are," I said with a sly smile.

"It's the smart play for all of us. That was Haley's and Teri's mistake. Any more thoughts on what you said the other day?"

"Give me a few more days," I said. "I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do; I just need to give it a bit more thought."

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Packing in the morning and then seeing Miranda."

"Nothing at the new house, right?"

"Correct."

"Is Allyson spending the night?"

"That's up to her," I replied. "I won't know until after dinner."

I checked my watch, saw it was time to leave, so I walked out the back of the house, got into the car, and headed for Jeri's house in Kenwood. Karl greeted me at the door as usual, but didn't walk me in nor announce me, something for which I was grateful.

"Hi!" Jeri exclaimed when I walked into the great room.

"Hi!"

She jumped up and gave me a tight hug and a peck on the cheek.

"I'm loving the gains in both the trust and the Cincinnatus fund! I'd love to thank you properly!"

"We're sticking to my definition of business, not yours!" I said with a smile.

"You can't fault a girl for trying! You know I'll do literally anything you want, no holds barred, no options off the table."

"And you know I believe our best option is a business partnership, as I define it."

"Hey ho!" Allyson exclaimed, coming into the room.