Chapter 13: Two Dinners, a Send Off, and a Business Plan, Part I

June 1981, Milford, Ohio

On Wednesday morning, after Stephanie and I swam and ate breakfast, I made a phone call to Sofia. She was happy to hear from me and we chatted a bit to catch up. I told her all about Josh and asked that she be friends with him. She laughed and said that of course she would. I let her know that Josh had her phone number and that I would have him call her as soon as he was able to. I hung up and called Torbjörn and after we caught up, I let him know about Josh as well.

That evening I picked up Bethany and then we picked up Elyse. I wasn’t surprised when the girls immediately hit it off. At Elyse’s suggestion, we went to the small Italian place that we liked and ordered our meals.

“Elyse, can I ask you to do something for me?” Bethany said.

“Sure. What?” Elyse asked.

“I need you to take care of Steve when he’s in Chicago. I’m his best friend, but I’m going to be at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and most of his other friends will be in other places. My female best friend Kathy will be at Northwestern in Evanston, and she and Steve have known each other since seventh grade, so she’ll see him from time to time. But he needs a good friend that he can depend on.”

“He and I are good friends already, so nothing really has to change!”

“Just be there for him. That’s all I’m asking. Well, that and keep him from acting like a complete fucking idiot, which he has a tendency to do at times!” Bethany giggled.

“I can do that,” Elyse said. “So, what’s with you two? I know that you dated, then you stopped. Are you just friends now?”

“That’s an interesting question,” Bethany replied. “We’re friends and lovers, but I’m not his girlfriend. He kind of has one, but kind of doesn’t.”

“See?” Elyse asked. “This is exactly the problem! My life is so simple and orderly and Steve’s is so damn complicated that even a scorecard doesn’t help!”

“Actually, his life was quite calm, simple and orderly from January until Jennifer called him and made a complete mess of everything. He’s done a good job of being faithful to one girl, though they aren’t a couple at this point.”

“I’m confused!” Elyse sighed.

“Join the club!” I said. “As Bethany said, everything was thrown into complete chaos by Jennifer. We’re all slowly sorting it out. One of the reasons I want to share a place with you is I think you’ll help me be calm and stable. Not to mention having someone to watch the Reds wallop the Cubs and go to Black Hawks games!” I said, grinning, then added, with a look of pained sadness to their giggles, “But sadly, they only play the Penguins once a year, alternating years in each city.”

The girls discussed their own college plans and what they hoped to do when they got out of school. Both of the girls were going to end up with Master’s degrees — Bethany in Psychology and Elyse in Economics. Bethany wanted to open a practice like Doctor Mercer and Elyse wanted to work for the Federal Government as an economist, though she did think that working for an international firm might be cool.

We enjoyed our meal, and the conversation ranged across pretty much every topic imaginable. It was interesting to see the interaction between those two compared to Joyce and Kara. Bethany and Elyse acted like old friends, and unlike Joyce and Kara, there was absolutely no teasing or innuendo at all. That didn’t really surprise me, because Elyse was the most practical, conservative, and reserved of all of my female friends, even including Bethany and Kara.

When we finished our meal, we decided to see Clash of the Titans which all of us enjoyed, though it wasn’t nearly as good as I had hoped. Unlike Monday, I didn’t put my arm around the girls, because Elyse and I had long ago agreed that we’d limit our physical relationship to kisses and hugs upon greeting and parting. I did hold hands with Bethany through most of the movie, which I could tell she greatly appreciated. When we dropped Elyse at home, she and Bethany exchanged phone numbers, and both Bethany and I hugged Elyse, and Elyse and I exchanged our usual soft kiss. After we dropped Elyse at home, Bethany and I headed back to Milford.

“Want to fool around?” Bethany asked playfully.

“With you?” I replied pensively, with a grin.

“I don’t see anyone else around, do you?” she retorted, slapping my arm.

“Then I don’t have a choice!” I said, as we both laughed.

We went to the apartment and made love, then cuddled.

“She’s a nice girl,” Bethany said. “I think she’ll make a great roommate for you.”

“She’ll certainly keep things calm,” I agreed. “I don’t see her as someone who will go crazy when she goes off to college like some kids do. She’s more conservative than you are, and that’s saying a lot!”

“I used to be like that,” Bethany said. “Being around you changed me and made me more comfortable with being around people and being more relaxed and adventurous. I couldn’t have done that without your help.”

“I’m glad I could help. I’ve watched you change so much since the first time we met back in eighth grade. Of course, I barely knew you until the Turnabout dance. And since then, you’ve been the most consistent friend I’ve had.”

“Not Melanie or Larry?”

“Larry and I have ups and downs — there are times when we don’t see each other much. Melanie, well, there was quite a bit of drama there from the time she met Pete until they finally got engaged. Granted, I’m sort of the king of drama, but Melanie was pretty bad at times as well. You, on the other hand, have been there through thick and thin. And you’ve never deceived me nor lied to me.”

“And yet, you’re choosing Kara,” she sighed. “Maybe I made a mistake last year when I decided we just needed to be friends.”

“I don’t think so. Everything that’s happened since has helped me grow and become a better person. Being my best friend is the most important thing you could do for me.”

“But not for me,” she said sadly. “I lost you to Kara. With Jennifer, I was always sure something would happen to cause you two to break up. I don’t think that’s the case with Kara. Well, that’s assuming you make it through the next year.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What I always have. Be with you however you’ll let me. I’ll do what you said and probably start dating when I get to Madison. I guess all I can do is hope that you change your mind. I don’t wish anything bad for you and Kara. I think she’s good for you. Of course, I think I’m better, but of all the other girls, honestly, she’s the right one for you. That is, if you’re not choosing me!” she smiled.

“You know I love you, Sweetheart. I always will. And I only want the best for you. Right now, though, I can’t give you what you want.”

“Right now, Mr. Adams, I want orgasms. THOSE you can give me!” she giggled. “I know at some point that has to stop. I’m really surprised that Kara didn’t ask you to be exclusive again.”

“That’s what she wants, of course. She blames herself for breaking things off when she did, and I think she also blames her dad for not letting her go to Prom. After that and Jennifer’s revelation, things really spiraled out of control, with Stephanie calling Karin and convincing her to come here and then with Jennifer coming here, plus you and I going to Madison. At least for the Summer, she’s going to tolerate the situation. She did put it on me to decide, though. And I think she expects me to, well, behave, I guess.”

“Behave?” Bethany asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Not screw every girl in sight,” I chuckled. “As much as she hates it, she can handle you, Karin, Joyce, and even Elyse, should anything happen there. But she doesn’t want to know. Not like Jennifer, or, to a lesser extent, you. So I’ll keep it low key, assuming I do anything with anyone besides you.”

“Interesting. I thought you and Pam might get together in Madison. And Kathy will be in Chicago.”

“I don’t know if either of those will happen; I really am confused. Kara is behaving in ways I never expected. I guess in one sense she’s like Pia, who wanted me exclusively but realized that the situation was such that it couldn’t happen. Part of it with Pia was that we made love the first night we met without any kind of agreement. Then, before we could really talk in detail about it, I ended up with Pam. By the time Pia and I talked about it, it was kind of too late.

“Speaking of which, I see you and Kara have exchanged notes on some of my past relationships. She knows way more names than I’ve shared with her or shared with Joyce. Those really could only have come from you. I’m not upset about it, just curious how those things came up.”

“She obviously knew about your past, and when she and I talked, she asked lots of questions that I think she was afraid to ask you. I knew you talked to her about some of your history and I filled in the gaps with a woman’s perspective. I’m the one who told her not to push you too hard to be exclusive again after the Jennifer thing. I told her how our relationship had worked and why I thought, at least in the short term, she was better off simply accepting the situation instead of pushing it.

“Mainly, I was sure that if she told you not to have sex with Karin, that it would end in disaster one way or another. She’s worried about Karin, and she should be, at least a little bit. You still see Birgit, I think, and that’s going to color how things go with Karin. You have to get past that or you’ll hurt Karin, Kara, and yourself. Karin is NOT Birgit and can never be. Forget that mystical BS of Karin/Birgit because it’s not real. It never was. It was some strange fantasy that the two of you engaged in.

“From what you told me, she has this idealized picture of Steve Adams that is divorced from reality. She’s never experienced your drama, your mood swings, or the sometimes crazy notions that you get in your head. Even ten days here won’t be enough for that, since you’ll do everything you can to keep things on an even keel. She’ll leave here just as convinced that she’s your soulmate as she was when you were there. I know you’re going back to Sweden next Summer. How much time will you spend with Karin?”

“A couple of weeks, probably,” I said. “I’ll be in Göteborg for two weeks, with a couple of days in Helsingborg to see Pia and the Anderbergs, then head to Stockholm. If the timing works out, I’ll see Josh when I’m in Sweden, which will be totally cool.”

“I don’t think even that’s enough. You two will have a very, very limited view of each other. Unless you drop your mask, you’ll never really get to know each other. That, Steve, is a recipe for disaster. Of course, if you and Kara do get engaged next year, it won’t matter. Unless I miss my guess, you’ll go to Sweden and then come back and buy Kara an engagement ring. That is your plan, isn’t it?”

“It’s certainly something I’ve thought about since she offered to move in with me in Chicago. Of course, I need to make sure Elyse is OK with that, if it should happen. I’m sure she will be, but I’ll talk to her next Spring when I see where things are.”

“Now, about those orgasms...” she smirked.

Bethany and I made love again, slowly and passionately. It wasn’t the last time, but we both knew that the last time probably wasn’t that far in the future. When we finished, our desire sated, we showered and dressed, changed the sheets on the bed, and then I took her home.

After taking Bethany home, I met Joey and drove him to Loveland. It was another uneventful night.

On Thursday, I hung out at home with Stephanie in the morning and Larry came over in the afternoon. He stayed for dinner and even talked me into playing chess. I got my butt kicked, but we had a good time.

On Friday, I spent the day with Mary. We bought the food and some decorations for the going away party and we both bought Josh some gifts. I bought Josh a Swedish/English dictionary. Mary bought him a nice polo shirt and two boxes of condoms.

“Rubbers, Mary?” I chuckled.

“I think he’s going to have a VERY good time in Sweden!” she giggled. “He’s like your protégé at this point. He’s not as good as you are. Yet. Speaking of which, is your situation such that I can collect on my marathon?”

“So you ruled out the threesome?” I smirked.

“Oh, poo! You can really be a prick, you know that?” she said with a smile. “Can I collect?”

I thought about it. I had promised her, and I had relatively free rein from Kara for the Summer. I had to carefully consider each situation and decide if I could live with it. For Mary, I certainly could. I would have to think hard about Krista, Pam and Katt.

“Sure. But, and this is super important, you need to keep it quiet. Not because I’m hiding it, but Kara simply does not want to know about any dalliances I have. She’s not Jennifer or even Bethany.”

“Goody! Next week sometime?”

“Maybe Tuesday. I hope all day will be enough rather than 24 hours. Staying out all night might be an issue.”

“It certainly would for me, but if you pick me up early and drop me off late, I’ll consider your debt paid in full!” she giggled.

“This will probably be the last time unless something drastically changes.”

“Oh, poo! You and Kara are really that serious?”

“Yes. It’s only because of the crazy series of events that I have the freedom to do this with you. I guess in a sense you could thank Jennifer. She’ll be here in about a month, by the way.”

“Wait. Jennifer is coming to visit? Are you two getting back together?”

“No. That’s not happening. She’s coming so we can talk this whole thing through. I hope when we’re done talking we can be friends, but before you ask, no, I have no intention of sleeping with her. She and I are done, and probably for good. I just don’t see how I can trust her again.”

“That was a pretty spectacular blowup for something that a lot of us thought was permanent. For as long as you two have been friends, I hope you do work it out. And you never know what might happen in the future, Steve.”

“That is one thing I know for sure. But, honestly, I expect Kara and me to be together next year, and for that to be permanent.”

“Permanent? As in engaged? As in getting married? You? Now I’ve heard everything!”

“You know that I’ve changed. I know Kara is pretty much the last person any of you would have expected me to end up with, but it shouldn’t be that surprising to you, given the situation with Josh.”

Mary sighed, “I do wish he wasn’t going to Sweden. I thought at first it was just a fun thing, but I like him better than Ben.”

“Well, he’ll be back in a year, you’ll be at OSU and you can continue corrupting the younger guy!” I chuckled.

“That’s true!”

We stashed everything at my house, making sure to mark all the food so that it was clear that it wasn’t to be used. I also made sure to let Dad know we’d done that. Mary headed home, and I showered and dressed for my dinner date with Joyce and Kara. The three of us arrived at the apartment at the same time, and Kara and I carried the things from Joyce’s car into the building. While the girls prepared dinner and chatted, I read my book and drank tea.

Dinner was excellent, as always. Tonight it was pork medallions in an herb-butter sauce, fresh green beans, and rice pilaf. I’d yet to find a single thing that Joyce made that wasn’t top-notch. When we finished, Joyce served coffee and blueberry pie with ice cream.

“Are you planning to ask her?” Kara giggled.

I hadn’t kept track of how much wine she’d had, but I noticed the bottle was nearly empty and I’d only had one glass. That meant Kara was tipsy again.