Chapter 13: A Southern Belle, a Surprise Proposal, two Cheerleaders, an Old Flame, and a Girl Back Home, Part I

October 1981, Chicago, Illinois

Friday was a cool, cloudy day. It was getting late in the year and we had passed the point where the nights began to be longer than the days. I knew that it wouldn’t be too long before I’d have to find something to replace jogging, at least for the couple of months where it would be brutally cold and snowy. I had found an ice rink, but it wasn’t convenient to either home or school. I decided to ask Sensei Jim for an exercise routine that I could do indoors, in addition to practicing my kata. My solution for those would be to move the furniture in the living room around to make just enough space to complete them comfortably. It would be tight, but it would work.

While we ate breakfast, I let Elyse know I was going out with a friend after class and wasn’t sure what time I’d be home. She said she’d had an invitation to a party and thought she’d go. She left me the address in case I was home early enough, but otherwise, she’d see me when we both arrived home.

“Bye, Honey!” she said when I left. “Have a good day. I hope your chemistry midterm goes well!”

“See you later!” I responded, kissed her quickly, and headed out the door with my mostly empty bag slung over my shoulder. I was leaving the heavy chemistry textbook at home because I wouldn’t be able to use it for the exam. As an afterthought, I’d added something that I hadn’t carried in ages — condoms. I’d gotten out of the habit of carrying them after I’d moved to Chicago, but still kept a box handy in my desk drawer. The one time I’d actually carried some was those times I’d met Tatyana in her hotel room. I didn’t think I’d need them for my date with Stephie, but I grabbed a few anyway, just to be safe.

I walked into the lecture hall and found Stephie waiting for me. She was wearing a pink sweater and a gray, calf-length wool skirt. That was the first time I’d seen her in a skirt and realized that she’d worn it because of our date. I was glad that I’d put on my all-black outfit that Stephanie had always said looked so hot. I sat down next to Stephie and pulled out my mechanical pencil, eraser, and calculator. She smiled, and we exchanged hellos. A minute later, the instructor walked in and began giving instructions for the exam.

The exam was handed out, and I followed the technique that I’d adopted in High School of reading through the entire test before answering any questions. I made small tick marks next to 3 of the 45 questions that I knew I might have trouble with. I’d skip those, do the ones I was more comfortable with first, and then come back to those three. From my perspective, it was better to run out of time on one of those harder problems than get bogged down in them and not answer easier ones. The only downside was that those three questions were each worth more than several simpler questions combined. Partial credit might be my savior.

I breezed through the first dozen questions that were as simple as listing lab safety rules or identifying molecules from their formulae. The next several questions were about chemical reactions, including their products, whether they were endothermic or exothermic, and so on. Thanks to the study I’d done the previous day, both in lab and with Stephie, I answered all of those confidently. I moved on through questions about chemical bonds and forces, which were also part of the material I’d studied. I reached the end of the test and then went back to deal with the three problems I’d skipped.

Each of them was analyzing the results of an experiment and writing out longhand the key observations, as well as drawing appropriate graphs and then critiquing the proposed conclusion. These were always the toughest for me, because even though I tended to be a skeptic, when the conclusions appeared logical, I had difficulty seeing past them for alternate solutions. That was something I had to work on and I wondered if I should take some philosophy or logic courses, or both.

When I finished, I was fairly certain that I had done well enough on each of those three questions to score at least partial credit. I reviewed all my answers, made one change to something that I had misread and revised one answer that I realized was for a trick question, and then handed in my exam paper. Rather than being one of the first few done, I was almost last, finishing with only ten minutes left in the exam period.

Stephie was waiting for me just outside the lecture hall. She was leaning against the wall and smiled when she saw me come out.

“I wondered if you were going to finish. Did you get stuck?”

“Not really. I followed my usual system of reading through the exam questions, marking the ones I thought were difficult and then leaving those until the end. That way I can be sure I get credit for as many right answers as possible, and don’t get bogged down in tough questions. I’ve done that since the start of High School and it’s worked pretty well.”

“Wow, that’s a good strategy! I assume it was the three analysis questions?”

“Yep. But I’m pretty sure I got nearly every other question correct and if I even get partial credit on the analysis, I’ll have a B. And thanks to your help in the lab and answering my questions about homework, I’ll still have an A for the course. Obviously, the better I do, the more likely I’ll swing an A, but the final is going to be a bear.”

“We’ll just have to study more. If you can do calculus and physics, you can do chemistry!”

“Enough about school! What are we doing today?”

“Anything you like. You have a car, so we aren’t limited to the El or staying on campus.”

“Well, is there some Chicago thing you want to do? Have you been to Pizzaria Uno for Chicago-style pizza yet?”

“No. What’s it like?”

“It’s made in a kind of iron skillet, so it’s really thick, not like the usual pizza you would get at a pizza place back home. I love it, and I think you will, too. We could have dinner there, if you wanted.”

“Sure. What about lunch and the afternoon?”

“How about the Billy Goat Tavern? Have you seen the John Belushi skit on Saturday Night Live?”

“Yeah! That’s a real place?”

“Yep. Let’s go there for lunch. If you want to go to the Art Museum, we could do that, or the Natural History Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, or the Adler Planetarium.”

“Oooh! The Planetarium sounds cool. Let’s have lunch, then we can go there.”

We walked to my car and Stephie laughed when she saw it.

“Oh, not the Turbo model?” she asked playfully. “I guess you aren’t Burt Reynolds!”

“The turbo was like $2000 more and the car magazines said it sucked. This has a regular V8 and it can move pretty damn fast. Should I call you ‘Frog’?”

“And next you’re going to ask if I want to jump you, Bandit?” she giggled.

I laughed and held the door while she got in, then went to the driver’s side and got in myself.

“Of course,” I said with a silly grin, “I could have had an orange ‘69 Dodge charger, and called you Daisy. But that would make you my cousin!”

“First cousins can marry in Georgia!”

“So now we’re getting married? That was quick! I haven’t even kissed you properly.”

“So? What are you waiting for?”

I leaned over and gave her a nice, soft kiss. When I broke the kiss, we both smiled. I started the car, and we headed for Lower Michigan Avenue. I found a parking spot on Illinois and we walked to the Billy Goat. We had our cheeseburgers, chips, and soft drinks. When we finished, we walked back to the car and I headed for the Adler Planetarium, which was on Northerly Island. We parked in the lot and after I paid our admission, we went in. We checked the timing of the next show, bought tickets for it, then wandered the museum until a few minutes before the show.

When we sat down in the very comfortable chairs in the theater, Stephie leaned against me. I took the hint and put my arm around her shoulders. We enjoyed the show which was a history of the solar system from its formation until the present day, then with speculation about the distant future when the Sun would go through a sequence of changes, ultimately leading to it becoming, according to current theory, a white dwarf. When it was over, we walked hand-in-hand around the exhibits that we hadn’t seen before the show, then headed outside.

It was still early, so I suggested we go to the Shedd Aquarium, which was located just a short walk along the causeway toward the west. I paid our admission, and we walked around the exhibits, stopping for the longest time at the penguin exhibit.

“What’s with you and penguins?” Stephie asked.

“Favorite animal and favorite hockey team. I actually went to see them play the ‘Hawks the other night.”

“Aren’t they from Pittsburgh? You’re from Cincinnati, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. But Cincinnati doesn’t have a professional team at the moment, so I picked the Penguins. Our team folded when the leagues merged a couple of years ago.”

“Hockey and Stock Car Racing? That’s an odd combination! Half redneck and half Canadian?”

“Add baseball in there. I’m actually a bigger baseball fan than a hockey fan. But I have to have something to do during the Winter!”

“Good point. I’m into football and racing. But racing is the best!”

We continued on in the Aquarium until we’d seen all the creatures and then headed back to the car. We still had a few hours before I’d be ready to eat.

“Well, we have a couple of hours to kill, what do you want to do?”

She giggled, “Well...”

“Stephie, can I ask you a personal question?”

“I suppose. I can’t promise I’ll answer, though.”

“I guess it’s two questions. What’s the situation with your guy back home and what are you looking for?”

“I think I have the same answer you do. It’s complicated. If he was here, I’d probably be steady with him, like you and your girl from Ohio. But he’s not here. So we’re allowed to date, and when we graduate, we’ll see where we are.”

That sounded a lot like the arrangements I’d had with Bethany and the one I more or less had with Karin, though obviously if Kara and I got engaged, everything would change.

She continued, “As for what I’m looking for? I have no idea. I guess I have to say that I can’t make any commitments to anyone here, as long as Daryl and I are maybe going to be together when we graduate. But I don’t want to spend all year just sitting in my dorm room or hanging out with my girlfriends. So, I’d say I’m free to date, go out, have a good time, but you have to know I’m probably going back to Daryl when college is over.”

I considered what she said. This sounded more and more like a situation I could deal with.

“I guess I should answer the same question,” I said. “There’s a strong, no, there’s a very strong, likelihood that Kara will come to IIT next Fall. If she does, there’s a very good chance we’ll live together. Right now, I have a bit of freedom to date, though, like you, I obviously can’t make any commitments. I had a friend I thought I could hang out with a lot, but as I said, that seems to be changing because she’s found a guy. So, like you, I’m free to date, go out, and have a good time, with the understanding that I’ll probably be with Kara next year.”

“Well, for me, that sounds almost perfect! We both have someone back home, but we both are allowed to date. Do you want to go out again? After today? I’d like to, if you want.”

“I’d like that!” I said happily. “I’m busy tomorrow and Sunday and then next weekend I’m going back to Ohio. But I’m free on Monday or Wednesday evenings. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a karate class, but could go out after that. And of course, I’m on campus for lunch every day.”

“Let’s plan on having lunch together. We can figure out the rest later. Right now, let’s just check out Michigan Avenue. I want to see all the stores and Water Tower Place.”

“Your wish is my command!” I grinned and started the car and headed towards the Loop. “Could I ask you another question?”

She laughed, “You’re just full of questions! Sure. But like before, I don’t promise to answer.”

“This one’s easier. You’re from the South. Are you a Baptist or Evangelical?”

“Oh, hell no! We’re Roman Catholics. Not too many of us in Georgia, but believe it or not, the Allison racing family is Catholic. They’s from Alabama, not Georgia, but it’s the same as home. Not too many Catholics in the South. Daryl, on the other hand, is a Baptist. He’s even a preacher’s kid.”

I started laughing so hard I thought I’d wet my pants. I certainly needed to find a bathroom as soon as we got out of the car!

“What’s so funny, Yankee?”

“Well, Scarlet, I happen to be a Roman Catholic and my girlfriend is an Evangelical. She’s not a preacher’s kid, but she might as well be. I’ve had a few run-ins with the actual preacher’s kid because she doesn’t like me dating the girl she thought her brother should have.”

“Oh, then you have the same problem I do. He’s very, well, gentlemanly. In fact, too gentlemanly. He won’t even dance with me!”

I laughed again. This was an interesting revelation. She was implying that she wasn’t sleeping with him. I wondered how long they’d been dating. Could she be a virgin? If so, that pretty much meant sex was out of the question. It was funny, but I was actually a bit relieved by that. I wasn’t sure why, but maybe it was all about behaving. Kara had sure changed me.

“I had the same problem. Kara’s parents wouldn’t let her go to Prom with me, so I ended up taking my best friend instead.”

“You went to Prom with a guy? Isn’t that a little odd, even for a Yankee? I know y’all have strange ways, but that’s pretty weird!”

“No, no, no!” I laughed. “My best friend is a girl. Her name is Bethany, and she’s at UW Madison. I’ve pretty much always had a girl for a best friend. Did you go to your Prom?”

“Yeah. With my cousin. He’s dating a Baptist girl who wasn’t allowed to go to the dance. We went together, but we danced with other people the whole night. When the dance was over, we picked up our dates and went to the class party. It was so dumb. They were at a beer bash, but they couldn’t go dancing. Do you know why Baptists don’t have sex standing up?”

“No.”

“Because it might lead to dancing!”

I guffawed. “Now that’s funny. So, did they drink at the beer bash?”

“No, of course not! They don’t even use wine for Communion when they even have it, which they don’t very often.”

“Then what do they use?”

“Grape juice. They seem to think Jesus served non-alcoholic wine.”

“What?! Now that’s nuts. You know, I never asked Kara about that. I went to a couple of youth group meetings with her, but we never really talked about what they do at church other than the 45-minute long sermons.”