Chapter 55: Turning Nineteen

April 1982, Chicago, Illinois

On Wednesday, Stephie and I came straight home from class so she could help Elyse prepare dinner. They had baked a cake on Tuesday night, and I saw a couple of wrapped presents on the counter. The night before, Elyse had told me that she’d made the purchases I’d asked her to make and that she’d put the bag on the shelf in my closet. I hadn’t looked because Stephie had been there the entire time, but given the girls were busy, I went to my room and shut the door.

I opened the black canvas bag and laughed. The vibrator was there, along with the soft ropes and blindfold. There were also two tubes of lube and a dildo. I double-checked to make sure she hadn’t thrown a strap-on in the bag and put the bag back on the shelf. I went to my computer desk in the living room and found a note that simply listed a dollar amount. I went back to my room, counted out the cash into an envelope and placed it on Elyse’s desk in her room.

A few minutes past 6:00pm, the buzzer rang and Elyse let Warren in. About five minutes later, the buzzer rang again and she let Kurt and Kathy in. When the buzzer rang again, I was surprised, but laughed when I saw Jackie come in. Stephie smiled at me and winked. The final surprise came about 6:30pm when Bethany and Gene arrived! A few more gifts were added to the small pile by each couple as they arrived.

“You two went all out!” I said to Elyse and Stephie, pulling them into a three-way hug.

I hung out with my friends while Stephie and Elyse put the finishing touches on dinner. Just before 7:00pm they had dinner on the tables — roast beef, roasted potatoes, corn, a tossed salad, and a loaf of French bread, sliced into pieces. Looking at the tables, I decided I was going to get some kind of board that I could set on top of the two tables to make it look like one bigger one. That would look better and give us more room to work with.

Kurt opened two bottles of red wine and poured some in every glass.

“Just half for me,” Gene said. “I have a long drive back to Madison.”

“You guys could crash here if you don’t have class in the morning,” I said.

“I have class at 9:00am,” Bethany said. “And I need to be there, even if I’m super tired.”

Warren did a credible job of cutting the roast and Elyse served everyone, then they sat down with the rest of us. We had a good meal and polished off three bottles of wine, though Gene switched to coffee after his half-glass. I figured that Kurt and Kathy would stay over if they had too much to drink because they could easily get to class in the morning if they left by 7:30am.

When dinner was finished, Elyse brought out a devil’s food cake with fudge frosting and, to my amazement, a container of hand-packed United Dairy Farmers ice cream! After my friends sang Happy Birthday and I blew out the candles, Stephie cut and served the cake while Elyse served scoops of ice cream.

“Elyse, how did you manage that?” I asked.

“Dry ice and the post office!” she declared. “Dad figured out how to do it and sent it express!”

“That must have cost a fortune!”

“Says the man who has more money than the rest of us combined!” Stephie giggled.

“That’s because he’s super conservative about how he spends it,” Kathy said. “Sure, he spends money, but only when it has a very specific purpose, like his computers, that can make money for him. Or on his friends, as we all know.”

“You have to have it coming in first! Economics 101,” Elyse giggled. “That’s the REAL secret he has.”

We enjoyed the cake and ice cream and the four girls made quick work of the dishes. We sat in the living room so I could open my presents.

“Hey, Steve, did you make a wish when you blew out the candles?” Bethany asked.

“Nope. I got something I would have wished for when you and Gene and Kurt and Kathy and Jackie all showed up! No slight to you Warren,” I said with a smile, “but I expected you to be here!”

“None taken, Steve!” he replied. “I wouldn’t miss a party with you for anything short of my own funeral!”

“Look out, Elyse!” Stephie warned. “Your boyfriend is being corrupted by the Damnyankee!”

“All of us are or have been!” Bethany smirked.

“Well, from the ‘Truth or Dare’ game, I’d say Kurt might be a little more corrupted than we all thought!” I suggested.

“Shush!” Kathy smirked. “I still haven’t wheedled the details out of him yet!”

Kurt sat back, crossed his arms with a smug grin and said, “Let’s just say that I enjoyed band camp my Junior year of High School!”

That got everyone laughing. I wondered if Kathy would tell him about her and Bethany, but I seriously doubted it.

My gifts included two boxes of floppy disks from Jackie, a very nice polo shirt from Elyse and Warren, a set of whisky glasses from Kathy and Kurt, a radar detector from Bethany and Gene, and a new wallet from Stephie. Stephie had given me a private gift the night before — a framed picture of the two of us with a very nice inscription on the back thanking me for our relationship and expressing her deep, abiding love for me.

“Bethany, radar detectors are expensive!” I said.

“Shut up, Steve Adams,” Bethany said. “I don’t want to hear it. How much did you spend on me over the years? I know it’s not a competition, but I know you’ll be in a hurry to get back to school on Sunday, so maybe you can drive a bit faster. Lord knows that car feels like it’s crawling at 55! It’s meant to do at least 75!”

At 9:00pm Bethany and Gene said their goodbyes. They’d be home just before midnight, which would let Bethany get a decent amount of sleep before her class. Kurt and Kathy left around 10:30pm, taking Jackie with them to drop her at IIT. Warren left a few minutes later.

“Girls, thanks for a wonderful birthday party!” I said, pulling them into another three-way hug. “Getting Bethany and Gene here was a real treat, and it was really kind of you to invite Jackie as well.”

“Bedtime, Steve,” Stephie said, and we broke the hug.

The three of us got ready for bed and Stephie and I went to my room and shut the door and got into bed. I pulled her to me and just as we started kissing, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in, Elyse,” I said.

Elyse walked into the room stark naked!

“Happy birthday, Steve,” Stephie said.

“Seriously?” I asked, happily surprised.

“Don’t let your fantasy get out of control, Steve,” Elyse said. “We’ll each fuck you, then we’ll sleep together, but you don’t get some wet dream of Stephie and me going at it!”

“Any more than you and Kurt would,” Stephie smirked.

Stephie rode me with Elyse lying next to me, and then Elyse did the same with Stephie lying next to me. We fell asleep with one girl on either side of me. In the morning, I got one more gift. The two girls led me to the bathroom and got into the shower with me and washed me thoroughly. When they finished, Elyse stepped in front of me and Stephie behind, and they hugged me. They released me, turned me to face the other way, then repeated the hug.

“Now that’s a sandwich I really like!” I declared happily.

“Happy birthday, Steve,” Elyse said.

“Happy birthday, Yankee,” Stephie said.

We got out of the shower and the girls dried me off. Stephie and I went to my room to dress, then joined Elyse for breakfast.

“That was an amazing birthday, from start to finish. You two knew exactly how to make it perfect!”

“You’re welcome,” Elyse said with a smile. “I’m glad we could do all of this for you. Just don’t expect that every night!”

“OK then, how about on alternate nights?!” I teased.

“Finish your breakfast and go back to Ohio, Steve Adams,” Elyse said mirthfully. You’re hallucinating!”

“I assume it’s OK if I come back after class and sleep in your bed while you’re gone?” Stephie inquired.

“At this point, Peaches, it’s our bed. You’re there every night,” I said.

“Until the end of the semester, anyway,” Stephie responded with a note of sadness.

“When are you flying home?” I asked.

“Saturday morning after finals. Will you take me to the airport?”

“Of course. I can go home anytime on Saturday.”

We finished breakfast, and I packed my weekend bag, Stephie grabbed her books and I gave Elyse a hug and kiss and we headed out. I still had to do my time as an assistant in the computer lab, so Stephie and I would have an early lunch. If I left IIT by 11:30am, I’d be at Kara’s around 6:00. The plan was to go to dinner at Cork ‘N Cleaver, at Kara’s request, and then we’d go to the Spencers’ for our private celebration.

April, 1982, Milford, Ohio

Amazingly, everything went according to plan, and I pulled into Kara’s driveway at 6:11pm. Kara answered the door, grabbed a colorful paper bag that I assumed had my gifts in it, and we got into the car. After a wonderful dinner, we went to the Spencers’ arriving just before 9:00pm.

“Happy birthday, Steve!” chorused through the air as we walked in to find Stephanie, Ed, Pete, Melanie, Joyce, Terry, Larry, Donna W, and Frank and Trudy Spencer in the living room.

I laughed, then leaned over and whispered, “Private celebration?” in Kara’s ear.

“You know you love this. We’ll have plenty of time tomorrow!” she declared impishly.

Melanie and Trudy brought out a devil’s food cake with fudge frosting and ice cream, and after a rousing round of Happy Birthday I blew out the candles. They cut the cake and served it with scoops of UDF ice cream.

“Frank, Trudy, thanks for everything!” I said.

“Thank your girlfriend and my daughter. They did everything except pay the mortgage, and Frank does that!” she declared.

I opened the presents that everyone brought, mostly small things, though Joyce brought me a case of expensive wine, a gift from her and her grandfather. Kara’s gift to me was a pair of stuffed penguins with our names stitched across their chests.

We had a fantastic time and about 9:45pm Mrs. Krajick arrived to pick up Ed and Stephanie because it was a school night. At about 10:45pm Trudy came over and offered to take Kara home in time for curfew so that I could stay with my friends. Kara pulled me aside.

“I was going to stay over, but Melanie talked me out of it,” she sighed.

“Good for Melanie! Don’t antagonize your dad at this point, honey. Just wait. We’re down to 78 days! And I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise! I’ll pick you up from school and we can come back here for a sauna.”

We kissed softly, and she left with Trudy. I would have loved to have her stay with me, but Melanie was exactly right.

Joyce and Terry left at 11:30pm and Larry left just after them, leaving just Donna, Melanie and Pete, plus Frank and Trudy. Pete and Melanie said goodnight, and then Frank and Trudy went upstairs.

“I wanted some time with you, Steve,” Donna said.

“I’m all yours!” I said, smiling.

“I wish, but we can’t do what I want to do. I can’t hurt Kara that way. Can we just go talk?”

“Sure,” I agreed. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were looking to be intimate.”

We walked down the stairs to the basement and sat on the couch.

She laughed, “Oh, I’d do it with you in a heartbeat, you know that. But your girlfriend is so nice that I can’t hurt her that way.”

“Kara got that idea when I wrote you that check!” I grinned.

“Oh my God, Steve! I can’t believe you gave me that much money! And you’re right, I was about to throw you on the floor and give you the greatest fucking of your life!”

“And I missed that? Damn! How have you been?”

“Great!” Donna replied. “I managed to buy a car, thanks to you, which is how I can still be here. Mom is watching Marcus. That car was important because it means I can go straight from school to work, which gives me an extra hour every day and that adds up. Thanks so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Be a good mom, Donna. Kids need a good mom. I never had one, which I’m sure you know.”

“Yeah. Trust me on the fact that I’ll never be like your mom!”

“Good! Any guys in the picture?”

“Teenage guys freak out at the fact that I have a baby. It’ll be easier once I turn eighteen and meet some older guys. Well, unless you become available. You won’t freak out over Marcus. But I can see you and Kara are the real thing!”

“I agree, of course.”

We talked for another fifteen minutes, with Donna leaning against me, but not quite cuddling. Just after midnight, I walked Donna upstairs, and she hugged me tight, kissed me softly on the lips, and headed home to her son. I went upstairs, set the alarm, and crawled into bed.

On Friday morning, I woke with the alarm and headed over to my parents’ house to swim and have breakfast with Stephanie.

“I beat you again, Big Brother!” she declared with a saucy smile. “You need to find a pool!”

“I’d prefer to find a sauna!” I said.

“I bet you would! Are we swimming tomorrow and Sunday?”

“Of course. I never miss swimming with you when I’m home, do I?”

“No, you don’t. I miss it when you aren’t here. I want to be with you, Steve. All the time. Forever!”

“Stephanie...” I said.

“I can’t say what I wish to be true? I know it can’t happen, but it’s what I’d wish for if I had a wish to make.”

“I know. I miss you too. But sadly, we can’t marry and have kids.”

She sighed, “True, but we can love each other forever.”

“I will love you forever, Stephanie. I promise.”

“Me too, Big Brother. I have to head out for the bus. See you in the morning?”

“Of course.”

She grabbed her book bag and walked to the end of the driveway to wait for bus #8. Dad sat down at the table with me and we had a good chat. He handed me a check as a birthday gift, because, he said, he had no idea what I needed.

“The only thing that’s missing from my life right now is Kara being with me in Chicago. But that’s only a few months away. Everything else is pretty much perfect.”

“How are you going to handle things with Karin and your Russian friend?” he asked.

“Tatyana is pretty simple — she’s playing the long game, so to speak. I have to graduate from college before I get married, and she’s confident that in three years from now Kara and I won’t be together. But she’s also not a silly little girl, and realizes that I might well be with Kara, not to mention the complications of US-Soviet relations.

“Karin is a more difficult problem. I’m pretty sure my attraction to her was because of Birgit. Karin is a sweet girl, and I could easily be with her long-term, but I love Kara more than anyone since Birgit, and maybe even more than Birgit, but it’s hard to compare the two.”