Chapter 2: Round Two

July 16, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

“I think I may have underestimated,” I said. “My mom and a date, if she chooses to bring one; my grandparents; my uncle and aunt; Violet; Dustin, Archie, Costas, Trevor; Jack and Kristy; Tom and Maria; Stuart and guest; Lily and Jim; Bev and Glen. That’s twenty-one, and doesn’t include our housemates and others I’d want to invite, including Anala and a guest; Beth and a guest; the members of Jeri’s group and guests; Mr. Matheson and a guest; Mr. Spurgeon and a guest.”

“Do you think Mr. Spurgeon will attend?” Keiko asked.

“I have no idea if he or Mr. Matheson would attend, but I feel I need to extend the invitations. The same is true with my grandparents, though my mom agrees that it’s unlikely they’ll show up for a Shinto wedding. But we have to assume they will for planning purposes. Your list is just about as long, right?”

“My parents and grandparents; my aunt, uncle, and cousin; my two great uncles and their wives who all live in California; Emmy and a guest; three girls from High School you haven’t met and their boyfriends. That’s nineteen, right there, and that’s the minimum list. I almost think we need to go to eighty, though there is some overlap because obviously I’m friends with the girls who live here and want them there.”

“Then I’ll ask Chicago Botanic Garden about having eighty guests. If we can work that out, we’ll need to get invitations out fairly quickly.”

“You’re going to need time to make phone calls on Monday.”

“I have an AT&T calling card, so I can use it from the hospital.”

“Are you planning to sit with me all day, every day?”

“Yes.”

“You know that’s not necessary,” Keiko replied.

I smiled, “I know you’ve said that, but I can’t go to work.”

“You shouldn’t just sit in my room all day for five days. At least have lunch with one of your friends a few days, and it would make sense to make all the phone calls from home.”

“It feels almost like you’re trying to push me away,” I said.

“Never! But I’m concerned that if I don’t say something, you won’t properly look after your own needs.”

“I need you, Keiko!” I said.

“I know you do, and I need you, but we’ll also both need time to do our own thing, even if we do most things together. You’ll have guy friends you want to hang out with, and I’ll have girls I want to hang out with. May I make an observation?”

“If my fiancée can’t, I’m not sure who could.”

“Bianca, Jack, Bev, Beth, Anala...” Keiko said with a smile.

“Never mind,” I chuckled. “What’s your observation?”

“I think your relationship with Bev growing up, and your lack of guy friends colored how you think a couple should behave. Other than work and school, did you do anything with anyone other than Bev?”

“Rarely,” I admitted. “As in, a few times in my life.”

“Have any of your other relationships been like that?”

“No, not really.”

“Because it wasn’t typical. And you didn’t spend time with other couples, did you?”

“No, we mostly just hung out together. We didn’t even go to the movies very often, only a few times.”

“But a lot of sex, right?” Keiko asked with a silly smile.

“Yes and no. It was never the focus of our relationship. There were comparatively long stretches where we didn’t fool around, and that part of our relationship only lasted around eleven months. I’d estimate we were together that way around twice a month, if you averaged it out, and Bev was the one who decided.”

Keiko laughed softly, “Of course she was! Girls always decide! Boys are almost always willing and ready!”

“Possibly,” I replied with a grin.

“There’s no ‘possibly’ about it!” Keiko declared. “Not that I’m complaining in any way! But going back to my point, we both need to do things for ourselves and with our friends. You’ve made some good friends, and you don’t want to lose them. Think about how you feel about losing touch with Anala.”

“You make a valid point,” I replied. “But you’re having chemo.”

“Yes, and I know you’ll take me there and bring me home and take care of me, but you have to take care of yourself, too.”

“You won’t allow me to win this argument, will you?”

“No!” Keiko declared mirthfully. “Shall we complete the list?”

We worked together and ended up with a list of seventy-seven names, which included Noel Spurgeon and Murray Matheson and their guests. I’d be pleasantly surprised if they attended, and wouldn’t think ill of them if they didn’t. My grandparents, on the other hand, were a different story. If they couldn’t see far enough past their narrow worldview to attend the wedding of their only grandson, that would cause me to think ill of them, and would likely portend lifelong estrangement, as it had for my mom for a similar reason.

I had little time for people with such narrow, parochial worldviews such that they looked down on, and even avoided, people who did not follow their specific god and his specific rules, despite claiming to follow the same god as others. The alleged messengers of Abraham’s god couldn’t agree amongst themselves, with three main branches of Judaism, two main divisions in Islam, and thousands of so-called Christian churches, which couldn’t even agree on ANY common doctrine as far as I could tell.

All that did was convince me that no supreme being could possibly exist, as if he or she were all-powerful, then there wouldn’t be any question of what he or she wanted. In my mind, science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard’s made up Scientology religion was just as believable as some of what I felt were silly claims by the major faiths.

Only Buddhism had tenets that were largely believable and acceptable as a whole, but many people considered it a philosophy more than a religion. As for Shinto, while neither Keiko nor I took many of the tenets literally, I was happy to honor her grandfather by following their cultural tradition, ‘lucky days’ and all.

With the guest list complete, I went to find Bianca so we could make our weekly trip to the grocery store and dry cleaner.

“How goes the wedding planning?” Bianca asked as I backed out of the garage.

“All we’ve done so far is come up with a proposed guest list of just under eighty. I need to call Chicago Botanic Garden on Monday and make the arrangements and negotiate a price. Once that’s done, we’ll send out invitations. According to Keiko, Chicago Botanic Garden will handle the catering for the reception, so that simplifies things. Dustin will take our photos, which also simplifies things. We already ordered our kimono, and Keiko reserved the date with the Shinto priest. Other than a cake, I think that covers everything important.”

“Honeymoon?” Bianca asked.

“No matter when we tried to do it over the next six months, Keiko would either be having chemo, recovering for it, or preparing for it. I think next Summer is our best bet. If there’s a time when she’s feeling OK, we’ll take advantage of the trip to Saint Martin that Mr. Spurgeon promised.”

“You missed out on a wild time!”

“Yes, but all things being equal, I’d rather have Keiko.”

“No criticism, but it’s quite the serious change for you.”

I chuckled, “No, this is what I was like in growing up with Bev — totally dedicated to one person. The guy you met was not really me. It was ... like I was the proverbial kid in the candy store with infinite money in his pocket. I think I might have eaten a bit too much candy. That’s not a regret, mind you, only a comment that the Jonathan you met wasn’t me.”

“I like the Jonathan I met!” Bianca declared. “I’d hate to see that change.”

“Other than the ‘American Gigolo’ behavior — minus being paid for it — nothing is going to change. I’ll still have my quirky sense of humor, still do the other things I do, have a baby with you, and so on. Other than not having sex again after you get pregnant, nothing else should change between you and me. Well, unless you want it to.”

“No way! The only thing I would change is the expiration date of great sex with you! And I’m not really complaining because I totally understand what you want and why, and that’s what will make you happy. And that is all I want — you to be happy.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes! A great job with a great future; you’re going to be the father of my kid; I’m with Juliette, who I really like; we have a nice house to live in; and I have great friends! What more could I ask?”

“I’d say the fact that we’re both happy means we found the right way forward. If you had asked me in May 1981 what my life would be like in July 1983, my answer would have looked nothing like it actually is!”

“What? You didn’t think you’d sleep with forty-odd women, including having sex with at least two virgins in front of a group of their closest friends?”

“That too,” I chuckled. “But I meant already having my securities licenses, having my own clients, managing around $50 million, owning a house, and everything else. I figured I’d still be working in the mailroom after two years, just ready to move up to runner on the exchange floor.”

“You seized the initiative and made this happen. That’s ALL you, Jonathan.”

“I had help.”

“As you said, your uncle got you your foot in the door. You did the rest.”

“With help from Murray Matheson, not to mention you, Jack, Anala, Jeri ... you get the picture.”

“And yet, you made it happen.”

“I still find it amazing how quickly everything came together.”

“You’re just that good!” Bianca declared. “Not to put a damper on this and changing the subject, but when will you know the results of this week’s chemo?”

“They’ll draw blood a week from Friday, and we’ll have the results on the following Monday. As I understand it from her oncologist, she’ll need at least two more rounds after this one.’

“She can come home, right?”

“Yes, so long as she’s feeling up to it. The first one was a double cocktail, plus the lumbar catheter. This one is just one drug, and she had no blasts — cancerous cells — in her spinal fluid in either of her tests. That’s a seriously positive sign, even if her other results were only so-so. I do need some advice.”

“You’ve come to the right place! The Doctor is in!”

I chuckled, “I’ll give you a nickel when we get to Jewel! Keiko is telling me I don’t need to sit with her all day, every day, at the hospital.”

“She’s not one to play games,” Bianca said. “Some girls would say you didn’t need to, but then throw it back in your face if you didn’t. That’s not Keiko. You should at least go to the gym on your usual days. You’re allowed in the Hancock Center, right?”

“Yes, just not on any of the Spurgeon floors, and I can’t talk to anyone who is in a position to actually act on anything I might say.”

“So meet me in the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And the other days, go out for lunch. You guys will be home for dinner, right?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t count on Keiko eating anything. They’ll give her dextrose via IV, and they prescribed an electrolyte solution with glucose she can drink. It’s meant for babies with diarrhea, but will work for her, too. The big problem comes if she can’t even keep that down because then she’ll need an IV, which would mean staying in the hospital.”

“What’s her main risk?”

“An opportunistic infection, which is why we have the UV/electrostatic air cleaners.”

“I’ve noticed a lot less dust in the house since that unit was installed.”

“A nice added bonus,” I replied. “I certainly don’t mind when I’m dusting or mopping!”

“Same!” Bianca agreed.

We arrived at Jewel, completed our shopping, stopped at the dry cleaner, then headed home.

We had just put the groceries away when Keiko’s parents and grandparents arrived so they could wish her a happy birthday. I served tea and cookies, and Keiko opened the presents her parents and grandparents had brought. They stayed for about an hour, and Keiko and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. At 6:00pm, Jack and Kristy brought in the meal they had prepared.

“Japanese?” I asked.

“I called Keiko’s grandmother on Wednesday and asked for ideas,” Kristy said. “The dinner service — plates, cups, napkin holders, and flatware — is our gift.”

The plates, cups, and napkin holders were beautiful porcelain with Japanese designs, and the flatware had what I was sure were faux ivory handles.

“I hope the patterns are authentic,” Kristy said. “I had to go with what I could find at Pier 1.”

“They’re beautiful,” Keiko said. “Thank you.”

“We’ll leave you two to eat. Bianca will bring your dessert when you’re ready.”

“Thanks,” I said.

They left, and at Keiko’s prompting I said “«Itadakimasu»”, the Japanese blessing.

“We have wonderful friends,” I said as Keiko and I began eating the fish, rice, and vegetables Kristy and Jack had prepared.

“We do!” Keiko agreed.

The food was awesome, and as promised, Bianca brought in a cake when we’d finished, and she, Juliette, Jack, Kristy, and CeCi sang Happy Birthday to Keiko. The seven of us shared cake and ice cream, and everyone gave Keiko a small present, with CeCi bringing Deanna’s gift as Deanna was working. Keiko opened her gifts, and our housemates cleared away all the dishes. Once they were out of the room, I handed Keiko a small package, which she opened.

“It’s beautiful!” Keiko exclaimed.

I’d bought her a small jade pendant, which she had me put on her.

“I’m lucky to have you,” I said, taking her into my arms.

“Make love to me one last time before Monday, please,” she requested.

I scooped her into my arms, carried her upstairs, and we made love, then cuddled in bed for the rest of the evening.

July 17, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

“Is it still OK to hug you?” Violet asked after I showed her my ring.

“Yes, of course! Keiko isn’t the jealous type; she knows we’re close friends, and she made a point of saying that I need time with my friends, and she specifically mentioned you.”

“You know I was worried because so many girls are possessive.”

I nodded, “And one thing I promised myself was that my relationship with you was non-negotiable, and I would never have a committed relationship with anyone who couldn’t accept that.”

“Thank you,” Violet said.

“You’ll receive an invitation to our wedding, of course, as well as one to a joint bridal shower for Keiko and Kristy.”

“Do you know the dates?”

“Our wedding will most likely be on October 8th at Chicago Botanic Garden. The wedding shower will be August 21st, which is the day after my bachelor party. You received your invitation to Jack and Kristy’s wedding, right?”

“Yes,” Violet confirmed.

“You can ride with Keiko and me to Jack and Kristy’s wedding, and I’ll make sure you have a ride to the Chicago Botanic Garden as well.”

“Thanks! If your mom needs a place to stay, she’s welcome to stay here.”

“I appreciate that, and I’ll let you know. On another topic, we have our first baseball game of the Summer on the 30th. It’s a night game, so I’ll plan to be here around 5:30pm. I assume we’re eating hot dogs at Comiskey for dinner?”

“Of course! And nachos!”

“I should be able to find out about Hawks tickets when I go back to work. I’ll have a bit more access this year. Are there any teams you specifically want to see?”

“The Oilers, so we can see Gretzky. We play them here twice, once in November and once in January.”

“OK. I’ll try for one of those. Any other teams?”

“The Blues or the Red Wings, but those games are probably taken because they’re the big rivalries. I bet you can get Whalers or Penguins tickets with no trouble.”

I laughed, “I bet! Or the LA Kings. I’ll see how many games I can get. I’ll try for a Bears game as well, but that will be whatever is available. Are you at all interested in basketball?”

“Not really, so if you can forego those in favor of hockey or football, you should!”

“I’ll see what I can do. Do you need help in the kitchen?”

“Always! I enjoy doing things like that with you.”

“I enjoy them, too!”

We went to the kitchen, and Violet put me to work as her sous chef, meaning I did the chopping, slicing, peeling, and other assistant tasks.

“Are you taking a class in the Fall?” she asked.

“Yes. The stats class. It’s something I really do need to understand better, even though I have Bianca to do most of the heavy lifting with regard to spreadsheets and data analysis. Are you taking two classes?”

“Yes,” Violet replied. “I hope it works out so we can meet after class the way we’ve been doing.”

“I hope so, too.”

We had a wonderful meal and an enjoyable dessert. After helping clean up, I headed home to be with Keiko.

July 18, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

Early on Monday morning, Keiko and I headed to Rush-Presbyterian Hospital so she could begin her second round of chemotherapy. We checked in, and rather than a private room, Keiko was brought to a ward which had a dozen recliners, each with its own IV stand and monitors.

A clerk checked her in, then directed her to one of the recliners, which had a reasonably comfortable chair next to it for me. Keiko and I sat down, and a nurse came over a few minutes later to check her vitals and draw blood. About ten minutes later, a technician arrived to start an IV with the chemotherapy drug, as well as a D5 Ringer’s.

We both read for about an hour before Doctor Morrison arrived to check on Keiko, accompanied by a medical student he was training.

“How are you feeling this morning, Keiko?” he asked.

“So far, so good,” she replied. “I felt pretty good for the past two weeks as well. And Jonathan took time off from work to be with me here.”

“That’s good to hear! How are you doing, Jonathan?”

“I believe ‘on top of the world’ is the correct phrase — I asked Keiko to marry me, and she said, ‘yes’.”

“Congratulations! When is the wedding?”

“October 8th,” I replied. “I’ll call later to make the arrangements.”

“Use the phone in my office,” he said. “I’ll let the nurses know, and they’ll let you use the phone.”

“I appreciate that, thanks.”

“Keiko, I’ll come check on you again after lunch, but if you need me for anything, just let the nurse know.”

“I will,” she said. “Thanks, Doctor.”