Chapter 5: Alliances and Conspiracies, Part I

June 1981, Milford, Ohio

“Stephanie!” I growled when she came out of her room for swimming.

“What?”

“Get in here! Now!” I said firmly.

She walked into my room and I shut the door.

“When did you call her, Squirt?”

“Call who?” she said, trying, but failing, to act innocent.

“Stephanie, what got Jennifer in trouble? What was my problem with Becky?”

She visibly deflated, “Yesterday. But I had to! I had to! You were going to get engaged to Kara!”

“I was NOT going to get engaged to Kara.”

“Sure you were. You were going to choose her, and once you chose her, it was only a matter of time before you bought her the ring! You bought her that diamond and that scared me. Now I’m SURE what you were going to do. I knew that you would do that before you went to Sweden. So Karin would have no chance!”

“And neither would Jennifer. Come on, Squirt, it’s too obvious. You think that by having Karin come here, it will push things back with Kara and Bethany and keep your hopes for me and Jennifer alive. But you miscalculated! This could go very wrong for you in several ways.

“First, I could decide that Karin is the girl for me, which doesn’t help Jennifer. Second, Karin and I could decide that we’re not right for each other, which doesn’t help Jennifer because Kara and Bethany are here. But it could get worse. What if Karin and I don’t hit it off and Kara and Bethany both decide that me being with Karin is a good reason to give up on me? Then I have nobody! Did you consider THAT outcome?”

“That won’t happen!”

“Can you guarantee that? Remember, I don’t WANT Jennifer! If it wrecks my relationships with Kara and Bethany, and Karin and I don’t work out, then what the fuck am I supposed to do?”

A tear rolled down Stephanie’s face, “I’m sorry, but I had to do something!”

“No, you didn’t have to do a damn thing! It’s up to me, remember? This is my fucking life, Squirt! I know you love Jennifer and you think she’s the right one for me. I don’t. Until last Wednesday, I did, but I don’t anymore. You’ve made a real mess of things. Everything was calm and stable, now it’s total chaos! I was in a place where I was comfortable and happy. Now, every single one of my relationships is at risk because of you! Why the fuck did you have to butt in?”

I was seething.

“Steve, please, calm down. I’m sorry, but I did it because I think you’re making a huge mistake and you wouldn’t listen to me! You always listen to me!”

“I do. I always listen to you. But we’re talking about the rest of my life here, Squirt. I have to decide this one. And I was happy with my options.”

“You want to see Karin, Steve, you know it.”

“I do, but I don’t like the turmoil it’s going to cause. You should have talked to me before you did this. Just like Jennifer should have talked to me before she decided to go to Stanford!”

“I’m sorry,” she said, tears running down her cheeks.

“If you keep doing things behind my back, how can I trust you? And if I can’t trust you, then I can’t be with you the way we have been.”

Stephanie’s eyes bulged, tears streamed down her face and her mouth a wide ‘O’. She finally realized what she had done and what could happen to us because of it. I pulled her into a hug and held her tight to me. I loved her so much that I couldn’t stay upset with her for long, but I had to get her to stop trying to manipulate my life to be what she thought it should be.

“Steve, I need you. Love me, please,” she whispered.

“We can’t. We need to go swim, and then you have church. Mom and Dad will be up soon. And if you think things are in turmoil now, what would happen if we get caught screwing?”

“Please!” she said, trying to push her hand into my swimsuit.

I gently grabbed her hand and then released her from the hug. I walked out of my room and out to the pool. She followed me and we swam our laps. When we walked down the hall to shower and dress, I made a point of telling her not to come into the shower. She was so upset that she was thinking less about the risks than she normally did. That was something I was going to have to talk to her about. Even a whiff of suspicion could doom us.

We ate breakfast together and Stephanie went to church with my mom and brother. I couldn’t call Melanie right away because she was surely in church at that point in the morning, as was Kara. Larry would be in church as well. I could call Bethany, but I really felt I should talk to both her and Kara at the same time, and without my little sister. Beth and Krista would arrive just after lunch. I’d call Kara and Bethany and see if they could go out for ice cream afterwards.

I went to my room to do some thinking and write in my journal. Obviously I wouldn’t be able to make any decision until after Karin left, which was a month later than I had planned. By that point, I’d only be a couple of weeks from moving to Chicago. I had to decide soon what I was going to do in Chicago. I needed to call Elyse because she’d need to finalize her plans. Waiting until Wednesday only reduced the amount of time we’d have to find a place, assuming she still wanted to share a place. I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

“Hi, Elyse,” I said.

“This is a surprise!” she said happily. “What’s up?”

“Were you still interested in sharing a place in Chicago?”

“What about Jennifer?”

“We’re through. She told me a couple of days ago, out of the blue, that she decided to go to Stanford. She decided that in January but didn’t tell me until a few days ago. It’s even worse this time than when she hid her move to Seattle from me.”

“I don’t usually say ‘I told you so’ to people, but I told you so. How are you doing?”

“With the help of Kara, Bethany, and my sister, I’m doing OK. I’m upset, but I’m keeping on an even keel.”

“Good. Yes, of course I’m interested. What were you thinking?”

“Well, I looked at a map and I think our best bet is an apartment in Hyde Park by your school. It’s a short drive or a quick ride on the ‘El’ to IIT from UofC. The neighborhood around IIT is kind of bad, according to what I found, but Hyde Park has lots of students and lots of apartments. I’m going up at the end of this month to watch Katt skate, so I can look for places and then we could go up a couple of weeks later to pick a place, unless you’re OK with me picking it.”

“I trust you on that, Steve. Find a place and I’ll be fine. Are you expecting us to sleep together?”

“No, I wasn’t. I was thinking of a two-bedroom apartment. That keeps things open. If we decide to share a bed, we can. If we decide not to, we have privacy if we want to date. To be honest, I could see this being anything from platonic to being a couple. I just don’t want to decide anything like that on the rebound.”

“That’s pretty smart, actually. I’m happy to see you growing up and handling adversity better. We can talk more on Wednesday. I’m excited about this. I know you’ve been seeing Kara, so I know that this might just be platonic, but you and I get along great. Even if we’re just friends, I’ll be happy. On the other hand, I did promise to rock your world, so you never know!”

As if things weren’t complicated enough! Fortunately, Elyse had always been practical, and I knew she wouldn’t try to push me into a relationship.

I chuckled, “One step at a time. I’ll find a place when I’m there in a couple of weeks. I’ll call UofC and ask for the best way to find a place.”

“Cool. See you Wednesday!”

We said goodbye and hung up. One issue solved, but a whole lot more to go. I decided I needed to tell Joyce about Karin, so I dialed her number. I had no idea if she would be in church or not. In fact, I didn’t know if she went to church regularly or not. She was home.

“Joyce, there’s been a development; a surprise out of left field!”

“About Jennifer?”

“No, I did talk to her like you and everyone else told me to do. We’re done. I told her it was unlikely we could ever be more than friends, and even then, the trust issue is a problem. But that’s not the development. This morning Karin told me that she’s coming to visit next month.”

“Just what I wanted, more competition!” she giggled.

“You’re taking it pretty well.”

“The only way I end up with you is if I’m the last one standing. Karin was always in the picture, so this doesn’t really change anything. And you know what? I think there’s a good chance for me and you. We continue to click, despite all the changes, despite all the turmoil and despite you being a total shithead at times.” she giggled.

“Gee, thanks,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I’ve outlasted some of your other girls, Steve Adams. Kara is still in High School, Bethany is going to college and Karin is really young. All of them are going to change. Just like Jennifer did. Just like you did. I like my chances a lot better today than I did last week!”

“You never cease to amaze me.”

“I also have the ace in the hole that none of the rest of them has. You work for my grandfather. I know the things you’re going to have to do. I can handle it. Can they?”

“You made that point years ago,” I replied. “It’s a good point, obviously. But it’s also not the deciding factor, which I’m sure you know.”

“I can also fuck you within an inch of your life, just as well as Kara or Bethany can. Or Karin. Or, Steve Adams, even your baby sister.”

Holy shit! She knew! She knew! And she never had said a word until now! Well, that wasn’t quite true. She had insinuated it before, long ago. I had to play dumb and make sure she wasn’t just fishing for something.

“What?!” I said, feigning shock.

“You heard what I said. How dumb do you think I am? I dropped hints about you two before. When I saw you and her together at dinner, well, then it was obvious as hell. I don’t know how your parents don’t see it. And what about Kara?”

“She knows. So does Bethany. So does Jennifer. And so does Karin.”

“Damn, Steve, that’s dangerous for a whole host of reasons.”

“Tell me about it. But none of them are going to say anything. Are you?”

“No. If I was, I’d have done it already, don’t you think? What about your parents?”

“They’re blind to it, I guess. Stephanie and I have always been close and we have never once even so much as kissed on the cheek or hugged more than briefly in front of them. They don’t suspect anything, I’m sure of it. But what about you?”

“If I had a problem with it, I’d have said something. It’s sure as hell not normal, but let’s just say it’s not as uncommon as you might think.”

“You don’t have a brother. You and Connie?”

“No way! But my cousins Sarah and Mary sure are. They like guys, of course, but they fool around all the time. They have for years. And I have another friend who messes around with her male cousin. Just promise me one thing. That if you and I ever become a couple, it has to stop.”

“That’s a promise. That was my deal with Stephanie when she made it clear what she wanted.”

“I suspected she was the predator, and you were the prey given your approach to sex. She’s like a lioness hunting the wounded zebra!”

“Now I’m a wounded zebra?” I chuckled.

“No, but you might as well be. You’re putty in her hands and you always have been.”

“You amaze me.”

“So, does this mean you’ll ask me to make love, Steve Adams?”

“Let me sort things out with Kara and Bethany before I do anything. They don’t know about Karin coming yet. You and I can talk after that. No promises yet.”

“Yeah, I know you well enough. Don’t worry. Just let me know and worst case I’ll see you and Kara in a week.”

We said our goodbyes just as my mom and siblings arrived home from church. I pulled Stephanie aside and told her what Joyce had said, and made my point about being very careful to not give our parents anything at all to suspect. Stephanie Melanie said had been at church, so I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

“I wondered when you would call,” she said after I said ‘hello’. “I assume you talked to Karin this morning?”

“Yes, Melanie, I did. You guys set that up fast!”

“She called yesterday and talked to Mom about visiting. You know my mom; she said yes right away. And when Karin told her why, my mom basically invited you to stay here the whole week or so.”

“Which is going to create more cheap thrills for your mom, right?” I chuckled.

“She tries to get them with Pete, but he’s so damn reserved and proper that it doesn’t work. He doesn’t really want to sleep in my bed with me at my house! He’s boring, Steve!”

“Bullshit, Melanie! Quit comparing him to me. You’ve told me that he curls your toes.”

“Yes, he does. The orgasms are great, but he’s just not willing to be crazy like you were.”

“Melanie, almost nobody is as crazy as I am! And that’s mostly your fault. You created me; it just took Katt to unlock my full potential in the crazy department!”

“Jennifer called me. I know.”

“Of course she did. You were always her ally. I can’t wait to see you try to play Switzerland now! Karin Andersson vs. Jennifer Block. Who do you choose, Melanie? Your friend Jennifer or your host-sister’s little sister? This should be amusing!” I teased.

“That’s not fair! Picking sides is wrong. And that’s what I told your little sister when she tried to enlist my help. What I want doesn’t matter. What I think is right doesn’t matter. I tried to explain that to Stephanie, but she is really freaked-out by the whole thing with Jennifer. So much so that I’m guessing she called Karin and set this whole thing in motion.”

“Good guess,” I replied. “But keep that to yourself, please. I think it might make a real mess of the support system I have with Kara, Bethany, and my sister. I don’t want to wreck that by making Stephanie out to be the bad guy.”

“Bad guy? Your little sister arranges for your hot fifteen-year-old Swedish friend to come over and fuck your brains out, and that makes her a bad guy?”

“Yes, it does. Because she did it to prevent me from making a choice between Bethany and Kara and sticking to it, possibly forever.”

“Holy shit! Are you serious? Steve Adams? Off the market?”

“That WAS the plan. Now it’s turmoil again. I certainly can’t do anything before Karin arrives now.”

“Your sister did really step in it this time. I can’t even begin to imagine how pissed you are at her. She went behind your back and that is the number one sin in your book — keeping important secrets. That’s what put Jennifer in the doghouse, one she’s not likely to escape from.”

“Exactly. A game misconduct. My sister realizes just how badly she messed up, but we’ll keep that a secret between us. Why Karin is coming isn’t nearly important as the fact that she is coming. In this case, I’m following Joyce’s advice of not being ‘too honest’ to protect Stephanie, as well as my support team.”

“That’s a good choice,” Melanie replied.