Chapter 13: Life is Never Boring, Part V

February, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

The drive back to Chicago was, as it usually was, uneventful. We arrived home just before 6:00pm and to my surprise, Stephie was making dinner. I gave her a quick kiss and took my bag to my room, then came back to the kitchen. Eduardo said 'goodbye' and headed back to his dorm.

I poured myself a glass of red wine and sat at the kitchen table while the girls finished making dinner. They got everything on the table, then sat down so we could eat.

"How was the weekend?" I asked.

"Good. It was just the girls — Katy, Jackie, Julia, and Cindi — on Sunday. Dave went out with Chris."

"Interesting. How was the hen party?" I teased.

"Hen party?" Stephie asked.

"A British term for a female 'stag' party," I said, bringing back my fake English accent.

Stephie laughed, "It was good. I said we should compare notes on you, but Katy objected on general principles and Cindi objected because she doesn't have first-hand information!"

"You guys are bad. But you know Julia doesn't want Dave to know about her and me, right?"

"She told us a few weeks ago," Elyse said. "Katy was the only one surprised, of course. She just shook her head and said you were unbelievable."

"She has the entire survey Steve did!" Stephie smirked. "And she talked to Kathy. How is it unbelievable? The unbelievable part is that she wants to fuck him in the worst possible way but won't do it because of that one bad experience at her Prom."

"And that's a good enough reason, Peaches," I said gently.

"She's a damn fool, but I'm OK with that!" Stephie giggled.

"Speaking of that kind of thing, I was with a girl in Milford that I've been with a few times over the years. She'd wanted to thank me for something I did for her a year ago, but I was with Kara then."

"But Kara let you fool around," Stephie protested.

"It was this girl who wouldn't do it because of Kara. She saw her chance and asked if it was OK. I told her it was. I figured, hopefully correctly, that you'd be OK with it."

"And what is this girl to you?" Stephie asked calmly.

"Just a friend. She had a crush on me long ago, but I was with Jennifer the first time, and the second time was when Jennifer and I had our blowup when I got back from Sweden."

"Don't worry about it, Steve. If it's just a fuck, then it's cool. If it's more than that, then we need to have a serious talk."

"No serious talk necessary, Peaches, but we should probably talk about my trip to Sweden at some point."

"There are girls there besides Karin that want you, aren't there?"

"Yes, there are a few. But honestly, unless I'm moving to Sweden, I just don't see that it's much of a risk for you."

"ARE you moving to Sweden?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

"No. I have no plans to do anything other than graduate from IIT. Heck, yesterday I talked to Pete and Melanie about us moving into a house if Pete ends up in Chicago. My little sister is planning on the University of Chicago, so I'd look at renting a four-bedroom house around here — the three of us, Pete and Melanie, and my sister. And I'd get a job here when I graduate, given both of you are going to work on your master's degrees."

"Hell, then go fuck half of Sweden if it suits you, Yankee. If you're coming back to me and they're all more than 3,000 miles away, I won't worry too much."

"So you're pretty much on-board with him being part of a group relationship?" Elyse asked Stephie.

"It's who he is," Stephie said. "We'll have to have a hell of a serious conversation if it comes to us being together for life, but until then, yeah, I'm cool with it. I'm actually surprised you haven't had him recently."

"I take it you won't let me have him tonight?" Elyse said with an attempted innocent smile.

"Nah, but he can sleep with you tomorrow or Wednesday, if you want," Stephie said. "Tonight I need my lovin'!"

"Would you mind if we just set Wednesday as the night he sleeps in my bed with me?" Elyse asked.

"That's fine with me," Stephie said. "I'm cool with that."

"Do I have a say here, girls?" I asked with a goofy smile.

"No!" they both said forcefully.

"Well," I said, "remember that this Wednesday is my dinner with Tatyana's father."

Elyse and Stephie exchanged a look, and they both nodded.

"We'll figure something out," Stephie said. "You're not getting off that easy!"

I just shook my head, smiled, and finished my dinner. The three of us cleaned up the kitchen, after which I refilled all of our wine glasses and we went to sit in the living room.

"Tomorrow, before we head to class, I need to vote," I said.

"Do you mind if I ask who you plan to vote for?" Elyse asked.

"Byrne. She's done a credible job as mayor, and I think Washington is too far left."

"Why are you voting Democrat?" Stephie asked.

"In Illinois I can vote in whichever primary I want, and the Republicans have no chance in the mayoral election. That means that tomorrow might as well be the general election. I want a say, so I'm voting in the Democratic primary."

"That makes sense, but doesn't it feel a bit odd?"

"Yeah, but I'm pragmatic about stuff like that. The election in April will be a rubber-stamp of tomorrow's results."

"Are you meeting with Anala again tomorrow?" Stephie asked.

"That's the standard for Tuesdays," I said.

"Are you seeing Jackie again on Thursday?"

"That wasn't the start of a regular thing. We might get together again at some point, but it's not a plan. I'll be home after my tutoring session on Thursday."

"Speaking of which, you had a call while you were in Milford. Another kid in that same class wanted to join the tutoring session. I told him I was sure it was OK, and you'd call him if it wasn't."

"Yeah, it's fine. Did you get any calls yet?"

"I did. A couple of girls who need help. They're actually going to come here on Thursday mornings starting this week. They want two-hour sessions, so I'll be making $40 for the morning. Can I contribute to the housing expenses once they start paying?"

"You don't have to, Peaches, but yes, whatever you want."

"I want to. And I want something else, too!" she declared.

I took her wine glass and mine and put them in the kitchen, and she followed me to our room. We made love twice before falling asleep in each other's' arms.

On Tuesday morning while Stephie showered, I went down to the mailbox to get the envelope with the betting list. There was a note from Theo asking me to stop by his place. I'd have to find some time before the end of the day, maybe after karate. When Stephie came out, I let her know that after karate I'd have to stop by and see a guy about some computer consulting work.

"Your meetings are always at night. That seems a bit odd."

"Except for my lunch meetings on Thursday, that's true. But think about it — I'm in class every day and have other stuff going on. It's just easier to set these up in the evening or on the weekend. When it's like this, it's usually some kind of special project. I won't be long, I'm sure."

I was a bit concerned that she was becoming suspicious. I'd have to talk to Theo about alternate meetings, but that would be tough because Stephie was with me almost all the time. I'd have to figure something out, though, that didn't attract attention. That was especially true after what had happened that night I'd driven him to make the collection.

When I finished breakfast, I walked down the street to the polling station and cast my vote for Jane Byrne. I didn't particularly care about the down-ballot races, but I had read enough in the Tribune to know who I wanted to vote for. When I had done my civic duty, I walked back to the apartment to get Stephie, then we headed to class.

On our way to class, Stephie suggested that we stop for coffee to take to class with us. I immediately agreed because the writing class was mind-numbingly boring. Armed with large coffees, we took our seats and did our best to stay alert for the three hour class. When class ended, we had lunch, Stephie went to class, I made my rounds of the fraternities and then headed to Bridgeport to see Anala.

"Did you have a good week last week?" she asked.

"I did. What's the plan for today?"

"I want to hear your life's story, and I'll tell you mine next week."

I chuckled, "And just how detailed do you want me to be?"

"You tell me what you think I need to know to really understand you," she said.

I nodded, took a sip of tea, and began telling her about my life, starting with all the moving around before we'd finally landed in Milford. As I started to discuss some of my intimate relationships and the things I'd done, there was a growing look of disbelief on Anala's face. By the time I got to the point I was leaving for Sweden, she stopped me.

"You're telling the truth?" she asked. "All that really happened?"

"Yes. By the time I get done, it'll be nearly 60 girls that I've been with."

Her eyes flew open wide at that point, "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"I don't even know what to say to that. Have you been tested for VD?"

"A few years ago, yes. Most of the girls I've been with have been virgins, or I used a condom, or both, if they weren't on the Pill. I've been pretty careful."

"Continue, I guess," she said, clearly uncomfortable with the revelations.

I picked up the story with Becky's pregnancy and abortion, and the emotional roller-coaster of getting closure with Birgit. About ten minutes before I had to leave, I finally caught up to current events. Anala had sat quietly through the entire story, with only the one brief question confirming that I was being honest, and didn't say anything while I took several sips of tea. She finally spoke.

"Well, that was nothing like what I expected. I guess I made some assumptions about you that first day and had you figured for a mostly naïve, small-town Midwestern kid. You hadn't had any exposure to any kind of Eastern philosophy, which is pretty common for American kids, but the way you talk and act, you don't seem like a Lothario."

I knew that reference from Don Quixote and took exception to the classification.

"I'm sorry, but I hardly think I'm an unscrupulous seducer. If I gave that image, or if you just assumed it, I think it's incorrect. In many, if not most, of the cases, the girls came to me, not the other way around. And I was pretty much always straight with them, though I had a couple of instances when I should have been more proactive in talking with a girl beforehand. But even in those few cases, I resolved the issues and I'm either still in touch with them and friends, or parted on friendly terms."

"I find that hard to believe," Anala said.

"And yet it's true. It doesn't surprise me that it makes you uncomfortable."

"Do you see me as just another conquest?" she asked.

I chuckled, "No. I'm not sure how that question jibes with the fact that I haven't made any moves on you or even suggested anything. I'll remind you that you approached me and started us down this path. That's hardly the mark of me being some kind of predator."

"True. Unless you're like a tiger — patient, stalking the victim, waiting for the exact moment to strike."

"I really don't think that fits the facts. Look, if you're that uncomfortable, we can call it quits as of right now."

"Would you do something for me?" she asked.

"Probably. But tell me what it is before I agree."

"Get a VD test at the IIT clinic. And share the results with me."

I nodded, "I can do that."

"Good. See you next week," she said.

I got up, put on my jacket and walked back to campus to meet Stephie. She walked up to the car a couple of minutes after I got there and we headed home. After dinner and karate practice, I walked over to Theo's place.

"Hey, kid," he said when he opened the door.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"OK. Not the first time that happened. I should have been more careful, but I walked away and he didn't. And you just keep your mouth shut about it. You don't know nuthin'."

"Don't worry about that. I know the score. That said, I think we need to find a way to meet that doesn't make my girlfriend suspicious. These late night meetings draw attention. Obviously, I'll do what you need, but if our general meetings could be during the day on Saturday or Sunday, that'd be better."

"That's fine, kid. I just needed to see you today to let you know I was back. Nothing special is going on and I won't have any meetings like that soon. I'm supposed to have a regular guy with me, but he's not been the most reliable lately. I might have to dump him for somebody new. I can't use you because I'm not supposed to, but in a pinch, well, you know how it is. You'd be perfect. You're one cool customer, kid. You did exactly the right thing both times, especially the other night. Having the car ready to go was perfect, and, if my number had come up, you would have been able to get away clean."

"Thanks. Here are the collections. Pretty thin because football season is over," I said.

"Yeah, there are a couple of regular basketball bettors, and one of them loses a lot, as I'm sure you've noticed, but football is where the money is."

"Well, let me know if you need anything else. The computer stuff seems to be going well, and Becky is doing a good job."

"Yeah, Richie likes her. I think he'd like to get into her pants, but he says she's cold as ice."

"That sounds like Becky," I said, wanting to cement that idea in Theo's head.

I didn't want anything bad to happen to Becky, unless and until I needed to protect myself. If things worked out and that never happened, so much the better.

"OK, kid. I'll be in touch. For now, just keep things going the way they are."

He handed me my envelope, which I figured had two weeks' worth of pay. I shoved it into my jacket pocket, we shook hands and I headed back to the apartment. I went to my room to put the cash in my lockbox and found a note from Theo saying I'd earned a bonus from him for what I'd done — fifteen crisp $100 bills. I smiled and put the money away. I might be able to BUY a house, rather than rent one, at the rate things were going.

I went back out to the living room and turned on the TV. The news was projecting that Congressman Harold Washington was going to defeat Mayor Byrne by a few percentage points, with State's Attorney Daley finishing third. It looked very much like Byrne and Daley had split the white and Hispanic vote and that Washington had taken most of the black vote. That pointed to the city having a new mayor after the pro forma general election in April. I shut the TV off and sat down to read a chapter in my international relations text before Stephie and I went to bed.

On Wednesday morning, I reminded Stephie that we needed to head home immediately after class so I could change into my suit and head to the Hancock Center to meet Ivan Voronin. We got to school early as usual, and I met Jackie for coffee. We had a good chat, and she reminded me of her request for the Summer.

"I haven't forgotten, Jackie," I grinned. "When I get back from Sweden, I'll call you. You can have 48 hours of uninterrupted time!"

She smiled, "Do I have to wait until then?"

"I promised Stephie it wouldn't be a regular thing, so it's probably best that we wait."

Jackie sighed, "That's too bad, but I understand. I won't ask again."

"I'm not upset, Jackie. Don't worry about it."

After we finished our coffee, I went to my American History class and when that finished, I walked over to the campus clinic and had blood drawn for the VD test that Anala wanted. They said I could stop back on Monday and get the results. I left there and walked to The Bog to meet Stephie for lunch. When our afternoon classes ended, we met at the car and headed back to Hyde Park. I took a quick shower and put on the suit that I'd set out that morning to save time.

"You look awesome, Steve!" Stephie said as I tied my tie.

"Thanks, Peaches," I said as I tossed a pair of sweat pants, a sweat shirt, socks, and sneakers into my overnight bag.

"What's with the sweat suit?"

"After dinner, we'll drink in his hotel room if things go like they have in the past. I'm taking the El into the city because I don't want to drive home and it's silly to park my car downtown. Depending on how late I'm there, I'll take the El or a Taxi home. I suggest not waiting up!"

"I don't have class in the morning, so I might stay up a bit, though not too late, because I have tutoring tomorrow at 9:30am."