Chapter 33: Summer Vacation, Part VI

May-June 1983, Milford, Ohio

When we arrived back at the Spencers', there was a phone message asking me to call Ruth. I was sure what that was about, so I picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Sandy had her baby!" she said. "A girl and she named her Hope."

"Are they both doing OK?" I asked.

"Yes. They're at Clermont County and Sandy wants to see you."

"You do realize that if her dad is there, it'll start World War III? That just doesn't seem like a good idea."

"He works tomorrow, and so does her mom. If you go during the morning, they won't be there. Roger and I could come along, if you want."

"I need to talk to my girlfriend about that," I said. "Let me call you back."

We hung up, and I did my best to explain the situation to Stephie without getting into too many details, especially about Ruth. Stephie agreed that we could go, and I called Ruth back and told her that we'd pick her and Roger up at 9:00am. Because her parents worked, it would be OK to come to the house.

"There's more to this story," Stephie said when I hung up the phone for the second time.

"Isn't there always?" I grinned. "These are friends of Kara's, as I said. I shared a book about sexuality and reproduction with them, just as I did Josh Richards and some other kids from Kara's old church. In the end, that caused the pastor, who happens to be Sandy's dad, to have it in for me."

"And the baby?" she asked.

"Absolutely, positively, no chance that it's mine," I said. "None."

Stephie nodded and seemed to accept my explanation that didn't include me having sex with either girl. She'd most likely find out during the visit if she didn't already assume that I had been with the girls. I realized that I was having some kind of attack of conscience, or something similar, due to the number of revelations that were coming out. I needed to talk to Stephie about it, so I suggested a sauna and she agreed.

"Peaches," I said, once the steam had built up, "are you OK with things? I guess it's been kind of 'in your face' with all the girls you've met."

"It's sure as heck not the most comforting feeling, but as I said, I knew what I was getting into. These are all girls from your past. And I don't see you running around with them, or sneaking off behind my back or anything. In Chicago, except for your birthday, you really have only been with Jackie, and I knew about that. Yeah, you went off to Madison to see Bethany and Boston to see Tanya, but you weren't a jerk about it."

"You're really OK with going to see Sandy and her baby?" I asked.

"Sure. She's your friend, right? You seem to have a lot of friends with babies!"

"Well, technically, Gina's not a friend, but otherwise, I guess so. Except for Sandy, all of them seem to be doing pretty well and their parents are more or less accepting of what happened. And, right about now, Debbie is very, very tired and very, very happy! Her parents and his parents kept them apart for a couple of years, except in very supervised situations, if you get my drift."

"No sex for two years? I'd kill somebody!" Stephie giggled.

"And then the guy when you finally got to do it!" I teased.

"I know it might sound strange saying this given everything I've seen, but you're a good guy, Yankee. You may have had sex with half of the girls in Milford, but man, you treat people right. Maybe I need a new nickname for you given you act more Southern than I thought anyone from the North could."

"I'll keep the nickname, Peaches. It's kind of grown on me. It just wouldn't be the same without it."

After our sauna, we showered, took a bubble bath, then showered again before heading out for dinner. Stephie suggested a movie after dinner and I was completely in agreement this time because she'd suggested Return of the Jedi. I shouldn't have been, because I found the movie seriously disappointing. Ewoks? It was almost as if Disney had taken over the Star Wars franchise and I hated it! Compared to The Empire Strikes Back it was terrible, and certainly the worst of the three movies.

"Want me to get a metal bikini like Leia had?" Stephie teased as we walked from the theatre.

"That was indeed one of the high points, though I could have done without the whole Endor thing. I don't know, something was just off in the movie. I just hope the next trilogy is better, though I'm not sure when George Lucas is going to give us the next film."

"The Ewoks were cute!" Stephie said.

"Cute doesn't cut it for me in Star Wars!" I declared.

On Monday morning, after swimming and breakfast, Stephie and I drove to Ruth's house. Stephie and Ruth got into the back seat and Roger sat up front with me. He seemed like a decent guy and we hit it off reasonably well. The girls chatted in the backseat, but with the T-tops off, there was no way to hear what they were saying.

We got to the hospital and Ruth led us to the maternity ward. She talked to the duty nurse, and the four of us walked towards the room Sandy shared with another woman.

"They're keeping both of them an extra day because Sandy is seventeen. Technically, only family under eighteen can visit, but I was her support person, so I'm allowed in. Roger's eighteen and you guys are twenty, so no problems there."

"You were there when she had the baby?" Stephie asked. "What about her mom?"

"There are serious problems between Sandy and her parents," Ruth said. "That's why she's giving up the baby for adoption."

We walked into the room and Sandy was holding Hope.

"Hi, Steve," Sandy said.

"Hi, Sandy. This is Stephie, my girlfriend."

"Hi, Stephie!" Sandy said. "Steve, would you like to hold her?"

I very, very carefully took Hope in my arms and held her for a minute before handing her back. I was amazed at just how small Hope was, and how fragile she seemed compared to Kyle, who had seemed like a brute from the time I first saw him. Of course, he'd been quite a bit older when I had met him.

"How are you doing?" I asked Sandy.

"I feel fine, I guess. Well, that's not quite true. Certain parts are uncomfortable, if you know what I mean."

"I can't even begin to imagine, and if I claimed I could, there are three girls in this room who would tell me exactly why I was full of crap!"

The girls giggled, but Roger looked uncomfortable, which didn't surprise me. Your girlfriend's best friend having a baby might be a bit unnerving, and hearing even oblique references to the process was probably a bit uncomfortable.

"I did finish my Junior year," Sandy said. "Just in time! I wasn't allowed to go to school the last couple of weeks because my doctor was worried about me, but I finished all my work and took all my exams. I'm sure I passed everything."

"Good! And you'll start your Senior year on time as well?"

"I will. I'm meeting with the social worker later today about the adoption. My dad is pissed, but a couple, the Schoberts, from Grace Church, are going to take her. It's called a 'private placement' I think. Basically, I can arrange for a family to take her and it's just a bunch of paperwork. And they agreed I can see her from time to time as she grows up."

"I can't even begin to imagine how upset your dad is. Is he still making threats about me?"

"No. I think he kind of gave up on that when he finally calmed down enough to realize that you were in Chicago when I got pregnant and that there was no way the baby could be yours. But I'm not going back to that church, or any other church."

"I can understand that completely," I said.

"I quit going to church, too," Ruth said. "But I want to find one that isn't so uptight. The church Kara goes to might be a good choice, but for right now, I'm not going."

"Have you seen Kara?" Sandy asked.

"Yes," I replied. "And she's in bad shape. She's seeing a counselor, but that's going to take a long time, I guess."

We spent about fifteen more minutes talking with Sandy and the girls each took turns holding Hope. Ruth tried to get Roger to hold Hope, but he just shook his head and looked like he'd seen a ghost. I'd never been afraid of babies, or the thought of having one, but Roger looked like he might bolt from the room. When it was time to leave, Sandy asked to talk to me privately, so Ruth, Roger, and Stephie stepped out into the hallway.

"Thanks for coming," Sandy said. "I know it has to be difficult because of my dad. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," I replied with a friendly smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, not really. I have to go home tomorrow, which doesn't thrill me, and Hope is going home with the Schoberts, which makes me sad, but I really don't have any choice. I did something dumb and now I'm paying for it."

"Sandy," I said gently, "you made a mistake. Learn from it and move on. Look at it this way — you'll still have a chance to be involved in your daughter's life. And you'll graduate from High School and go to college, I hope."

"That's my plan. I guess that there's a good chance I won't see you again. I heard you bought a house in Chicago and I see you have a new girlfriend, so you won't come home much."

"Home for me is in Chicago now," I said. "I'll be around from time to time over the next couple of years until my sister graduates. And I do have a few friends in the area. But I agree, there's a decent chance we won't see each other."

"Thanks for everything you did for me. I'm just sad that I messed things up. Ruth was smarter."

"Ruth's situation was different. As I said, learn from what happened. You're a good person and you have a bright future. Take advantage of that."

"Thanks. Can I have a kiss and a hug?" she asked, her eyes turned down.

"Of course!" I said.

I leaned over the bed and gave her a soft kiss, then put my arms around her and hugged her gently, careful not to crush Hope. I kissed Sandy again, this time on the forehead, said 'goodbye', then walked out into the hallway to find the others. We dropped Ruth and Roger at Ruth's house and then headed back to the Spencers'.

"Today's my lunch and afternoon with Stephanie," I said when we arrived. "What plans do you have?"

"You can drop me at Kathy's. We're going to hang out with Bethany and a couple of their friends."

After eating lunch at the Deli and spending a bit of time talking to Andreas, Stephanie and I walked around Milford and talked. We really didn't have a place we could go to be alone together, but the weather was nice enough, so when we went back to my parents' house, we took a walk and ended up in the clearing in the woods behind the house. We spent a couple of hours there, mostly kissing and cuddling, but we did make love once, slowly and carefully.

"One time in a couple of weeks! And you're going away again on Sunday!" Stephanie complained.

"You're coming to visit in July, right?" I asked.

"I am. Trish is coming with me. We'll have to be careful, but I think we can manage with her there, because she knows about us."

"What happened with Carie?" I asked.

"Just how the hell do you think we could sleep in your bed together if she was there?" Stephanie asked.

"Good point," I replied. "Is Trish seeing someone?"

"Still interested in her?" my little sister asked with a smirk.

"She was fun!" I replied. "But I was just curious about what YOUR intentions were."

"She has a boyfriend, so she's off-limits for you, I guess."

"I'm sticking firmly to that rule. It'll save me a lot of heartache and keep me from being killed by a jealous boyfriend!"

"Yeah, you were lucky that time Pete merely shoved you hard. I was afraid he was going to kill you."

"Exactly!"

When we went back to the house, we decided to take a swim so we could cover the evidence of our lovemaking. We managed to get into the pool without anyone being the wiser. Afterwards, we hung out in my old room.

"So is Jeff going to Bowling Green?" I asked.

"So it seems. Mom's still trying to figure out a way to keep me from coming to Chicago, but because Dad already agreed to pay for school, she's pretty much out of options."

"Well, fifteen or twenty years from now when you and I are successful, and have families of our own, he'll be living in Mom and Dad's basement, divorced at least once and possibly after serving jail time for being a pedophile!"

"Who would marry him?" Stephanie said, recoiling at the idea.

"It takes all kinds, Squirt."

"Gross! Let's change the subject! What are you doing for the rest of the week?"

"Just hanging out. Lunches and dinners with friends, Swimming and breakfast with you. The usual stuff. We'll head home on Sunday morning, as you mentioned."

"Stephie is really special to you, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. As I said, I like how things are going and don't want to change them and have no plans to change them."

"But what about Jennifer?" Stephanie asked with obvious trepidation.

"What about Jennifer? We're friends, and I hope we'll be very close friends again. Beyond that? Who knows? Yes, I did call her upcoming visit our 'second date', but honestly, right now, right this moment, Stephie is my main girl. Could things change? I know damn well that they can. But Jennifer and I are still a long shot, Squirt. In two years, when we both graduate, who knows? But remember, Stephie will still be with me because she's going to grad school."

"I know," Stephanie sighed. "I was just hoping for you and Jennifer. Don't count it out, Steve."

"I know you're serious when you use my name! I'm not counting her out. I promise."

The rest of the week went as I'd told my sister it would, and on Sunday, June 5th, Stephie and I headed back to Chicago. Once again, we made good time, making the trip in just under five-and-a-half hours arriving about 1:00pm. After bringing our bags inside, the first thing we did was start a load of laundry and then we headed to Jewel to buy food for the next few days. Stephie was leaving on Wednesday for Georgia and I was leaving on Saturday for Sweden.

June, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

"Think we can finish the rooms in three days?" Stephie asked, as we put the last of the groceries away.

Instead of answering, I picked her up, sat her on the island, and quickly removed her shorts and panties. I figured because it was the kitchen, eating was the perfect exercise. I feasted on peach juice then had to figure out how I was going to move to the main course. The island was high enough that I'd need a stool, but it was also long enough that I could scoot Stephie back and climb on top of her. I'm sure it wasn't the most comfortable spot for Stephie, but she came two more times before I did.

Stephie laughed when I slipped out and got off the island, "That wasn't the most romantic, but it was fun!"

"I was seriously worried I was going to hurt you if I went too hard!"

"The bathroom sink was better. Maybe with the pool table we should do it from behind!"

We cleaned up the small spill in the kitchen, then went to the basement and discovered that Stephie was correct. She bent over the pool table and I took her from behind. The position allowed me to thrust really hard and Stephie groaned each time I slammed into her.

"God damn, Yankee!" she groaned after her third huge orgasm. "I love this!"

I was running out of energy but managed to bring her off twice more before pushing as deep as I could and firing jet after jet of cum into her spasming pussy.

We cleaned up in the bathroom, then went straight to the sauna and relaxed in the heavy steam.

"Well, the upstairs and the basement are done, plus the kitchen," Stephie smirked. "I think we can get one more today, maybe your study, and then finish up tomorrow and Wednesday morning."