Chapter 11: Home Is Where the Heart Is, Part I

June 1982, Over the Atlantic Ocean

As the 747 sped towards Chicago, I reflected on my time in Sweden. It had been far too short, but given my commitments in Milford, I really didn’t see how I could have stayed longer. I’d really enjoyed seeing my friends and wanted to see them again. I’d have to plan another trip, one that might include Kara, which would make the next trip very different from this one. I chuckled to myself when I thought about telling Kara about the trip. She’d ask me if I’d had fun and if I’d tell her all about it. I wondered about that, but I’d tell her anything she wanted to know.

The flight attendants served a meal about two hours into the flight and while I ate, I thought about the rest of the Summer. I’d spend a lot of time with Kara, we’d go to Seattle to see Jennifer, we’d see Katt and Mikael in Chicago and I’d be going to the race with Stephie. I had promised to call Tatyana as well, and expected that she would want to see me before she started school, something I could probably do in August. It would be easier if she came to visit me, but I didn’t know if that was possible.

As I planned the Summer in my mind, Kara and I would drive to Chicago on July 10th, we’d leave for Seattle on the morning of the 12th and fly back to Chicago on the afternoon of the 15th. While in Seattle, we’d be staying at Jennifer’s parents’ house, in their guest room, something that I was sure disappointed Jennifer’s parents. Once we were back, we’d have a week to ourselves in Chicago, then Katt and Mikael would visit and finally, I’d take Kara back to Milford on the 25th, the day after Katt and Mikael left.

I’d leave Milford on the 28th to drive to Georgia to join Stephie and Red for the race at Talladega, then drive back to Milford on August 3rd so I could spend a week with Kara, see Joyce, Pete, and Melanie, and spend some time with my little sister. Finally, I’d head back to Chicago on August 15th to get ready for the next school year. Elyse and Stephie would arrive during that week, as would Kathy and Kurt.

I finished my meal and contemplated sleeping for a few hours, but rejected the idea. We’d be arriving in Chicago around 7:00pm local time and if I slept, I’d mess up my sleep schedule, which would make things difficult the following day. I chuckled because I realized that Karin’s demand to make love all night had more or less put me on a Chicago sleep schedule. It wasn’t planned, but it helped. I reached for my book to start reading.

“Something amusing?” the woman in the seat next to me said in English with a Swedish accent, having heard me laugh.

“Sorry. Just thinking about something that happened in Stockholm before I left,” I answered.

“Were you visiting a young lady?” she asked.

I switched to Swedish and replied, “Yes, I was. Also friends who were graduating from «gymnasiet» in Göteborg.”

“Oh, you speak Swedish? Very good! How did you learn?”

“I was an exchange student two years ago, well, I went three years ago and went home two years ago.”

“Which program?”

“Youth For Understanding,” I said.

“I’m with AFS, American Field Service. I guess you could call us competitors with YFU,” she smiled. “I hope when you’re married and have kids you’ll want to host exchange students.”

“That is something I’d love to do. But I have three more years of university before I even really think about getting married.”

“Good point. You could volunteer, you know. AFS would be happy to take you, I’m sure. As I’m sure YFU would.”

“I’m pretty busy with school and work, but it’s something to consider.”

“Good. I’ll leave you to your book. I’m going to watch the movie, then sleep.”

I was glad about that, because I really wanted a quiet, peaceful flight. It wasn’t that I was antisocial, it was just that I liked the time alone which would let me unwind, at least a bit, from the trip before I got back into the hustle and bustle of my life in the US. One of the first things I’d do on Sunday in Milford would be to get into the sauna at the Spencers’ house.

I read for a few hours, accepting the offered Coke, coffee, and water from the cabin crew, and taking a couple of walks up and down the aisle to stretch my legs, as well as use the lavatory, then pulled out my notebook to write in my journal. I filled a dozen pages with thoughts about my trip, about Karin, Pia, Suzanne, Tina, Sofia, and Suzana.

As I thought about Suzana, I felt kind of bad for encouraging her to be with Peter because it seemed to have gone badly, though she seemed to be doing OK, even if he wasn’t. I also thought about Annie and how we’d reconciled and moved past the mistake that we’d made, about Elizabeth and our friendship that could easily have crossed back into intimacy if we’d allowed it to, and of my very good friend Torbjörn, who, with his parents, had extended fantastic hospitality. I’d once again seen numerous parents who treated me with respect and had no objection to me being with their daughters.

That made me think about Alan Blanchard, and how I wished that I’d had a chance to talk to him before he’d died to hear from him that he was finally accepting that Kara and I would be together. Sadly, that couldn’t happen, nor could he see the grandkids that Kara and I would have. Of course, I’d do everything I could to keep my mom away from my kids, though they probably would want nothing to do with her if they developed the same attitudes and values that I had.

June 1982, Chicago, Illinois

About 90 minutes out from Chicago, we were served a light meal and shortly after that, we started our descent into O’Hare. We’d hit a slightly stronger headwind than normal, so we were about fifteen minutes late arriving at the gate. When the plane was safely parked on the ramp, I grabbed my bag and joined the other passengers in filing off the plane. I waited for about fifteen minutes for my bags, then headed for Passport Control and Customs. I quickly cleared them and boarded the tram for the long-term lot where I loaded the bags into the car, paid the fee, and headed back to Hyde Park.

It was about 9:30pm when I arrived back at the apartment. I checked the mailbox and removed the mail, happy to see that there were no notices to claim letters at the Post Office. I dropped my bags inside, then turned back out to walk to Theo’s. He was in and handed me an envelope and asked me about my plans. I let him know that I’d be back in a couple of weeks. There really wasn’t anything he needed from me immediately, but he did say that when school started, he’d have some things for me to do.

I headed back to the apartment and started my laundry. Kara had insisted that I call no matter how late it was, so I called her and let her know that I was safely home and that I’d see her Sunday afternoon. When I hung up, I opened my mail, wrote out checks to pay the bills, and wrote a note to remind me to stop by the mailbox in the morning to send them out. I changed the laundry from the washer to the dryer and then checked my messages on the machine. There were three, but only one of them was important.

I remembered the envelope that Karin had given me and pulled it out of my carry-on bag. I carefully slit the envelope with a knife and pulled out a piece of paper and a few photos.

There were five photos. The first one was a picture of Karin and Birgit at the beach. From their looks, it was taken not long before Birgit died. The second photo was of Karin and me on the couch in the Andersson’s apartment that very first day that I’d been there. The third photo was of Karin and me in Stockholm’s Gamla Stan in December, a light snow falling around us. The fourth one was Karin in the shower, facing mostly away from the camera, but with her face turned towards it. The fifth picture was Karin lying on her side, stark naked, on her bed.

I smiled as I put the photos back into the envelope and put it in my desk. Those last two photos were nothing short of amazing, but pictures like that of a girl under eighteen were very likely illegal. I’d have to find a safe place to keep them that nobody would accidentally stumble upon. That said, I also wanted to be able to look at them from time to time, so it had to be some place accessible. It dawned on me that I had the perfect place — the locking box where I kept my gun in the trunk of my car. I’d put the envelope there, at least for the time being.

When I’d stashed the pictures, I went back inside and dialed Becky’s number despite the late hour. She explained the problem that had been reported the day before by Frank, I explained how to fix it, and asked her to call Richie in the morning and make sure that it was OK for her to fix it. If not, I’d do it before I headed to Ohio. She reminded me that she wanted to have coffee soon, and I replied that it was likely going to be several weeks before that could happen because of everything that was going on. She promised to call me in the morning to let me know if I needed to head out to Cicero.

When the dryer finished, I folded the clothes, put them away, then packed what I’d need for two weeks in Milford. By the time I finished, I was extremely tired, having been up about twenty hours, and with my body thinking it was close to 5:00am. I set my alarm, crawled into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

When my alarm rang, I slipped on shorts and a t-shirt and my sneakers and went for a leisurely run in the park. When I arrived back at the apartment, I showered and made breakfast. I called the Anderssons to let them know I was home safely and spoke briefly with Karin. I thanked her for the pictures and she giggled softly when I said I’d look at them from time to time.

Then, because I had to wait for Becky to call, I put on some music, sat down at my Apple and started typing in the handwritten journal entries that I’d made. The phone finally rang at 9:30am. Becky said that Richie had told her that Frank was OK with her doing the work, but he wanted me there the first time. I said that I’d leave right away and meet her in Cicero. That would mean not getting to Milford until around 5:00pm, but that couldn’t be helped. I put my stuff in the car and headed for Cicero.

I met Becky outside the house and we walked in together. Frank and Richie were waiting for us. I introduced Becky and then supervised her fixing the issue. She did it exactly as I’d taught her and we were done in ten minutes. Frank offered us food or coffee, but I declined, saying that I had to head to Ohio. He told me to call him when I was back in town and he also said that he was OK with Becky doing the work alone going forward, which made me happy.

When we walked outside, Becky asked me to have coffee with her, and I had a few minutes, so we drove over to Roosevelt Road and found a small diner where we could get a cup. We sat in a booth and the waitress brought us coffee immediately. Becky asked about my trip and I gave her a quick overview and then we talked about business. Beth had given her a demo to do, and she’d done it the previous week and thought we’d get the sale. Then talk turned to the below-board side of the business.

“Becky, because you’re here all the time, I think I’ll have all the calls come to you and you can let me know what I need to do or if you need help. Just keep track of everything, and I’ll make sure you get paid properly.”

“It doesn’t have to be money, Steve,” she smirked, then quickly said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s OK. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just keep this businesslike and friendly.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Forget it. I’m sorry, but I really can’t stay longer. I need to get on the road.”

“OK. Just call me when you get back into town. I have your number at your friend’s house in case I need you.”

“Remember to call yourself Rebekah if you need to leave a message or say who you are,” I said.

“I know. Nobody in Ohio can know about this. I have to say I’m happy that we’re working on being friends. I hope someday we can be.”

“One step at a time, Becky,” I said.

I paid for the coffee and left a tip and headed out to my car. I waved to Becky and pulled out onto Roosevelt Road and then turned onto Central Avenue to get on the freeway and head for Milford.

June 1982, Milford, Ohio

I didn’t run into any traffic or anything else that delayed me and pulled into Kara’s driveway at 5:48pm, having made only one combined stop for lunch and gas. I went to the door and rang the bell, the door opened and Kara squealed and pulled me into her arms.

“Hi, Snuggle Bear!” Kara said, then kissed me softly. “Come on in.”

I went inside and greeted Mrs. Blanchard in the kitchen. She had dinner ready about ten minutes after I arrived and we sat down to eat. I answered questions about my trip and found out that Mrs. Blanchard was still having trouble even getting an interview. She felt that it was partly the economy and partly her lack of work experience. I suggested that I place a call to Don Joseph and see what he might be able to do because he had a number of businesses.

“I would be ever so grateful if he could help,” Mrs. Blanchard said. “I asked your dad, and he called a few friends of his, but nothing has materialized from that so far.”

“I’ll make the call right after dinner,” I promised.

When we finished, I went to use the phone in the den while Kara and her mom did the dishes. I knew Don Joseph would be home because it was Sunday and the family would be there.

“Steve!” Joyce answered happily. “When did you get back?”

“Less than an hour ago,” I chuckled. “Can we get together?”

“Kara already has some stuff set up. Why are you calling?”

“I need to speak to your grandfather if he’s available.”

She laughed, “For you? He’d leave an audience with the Pope! Give me a minute.”

She put the phone down and I heard her muffled voice. and a few seconds later, Don Joseph came on the line.

“Steve, «figlio mio», I hope you had a pleasant journey!”

“I did. It was very enjoyable, and I met with many friends I made during my last trip. I’ll tell you all about it the next time I see you. It will probably be a few weeks, though, because of my schedule.”

“You need no invitation to my house!” he declared. “Come any time! I will be happy to hear about your trip.”

“Don Joseph, thank you, you are always too kind to me,” I answered. “But now, I’m calling to ask you for a favor that I hope you will grant.”

“Of course. Simply tell me and it will be done!”

I explained the situation with Mrs. Blanchard in a few sentences.

“This must be a proper job, Steve. But I think I can easily do this. How can I reach you tomorrow?”

I gave him the Spencers’ number as well as my sister’s number. He promised to call no later than noon. I thanked him and went back to the kitchen.