Chapter 39: Surprising Developments, Part I

July, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

Although I doubted she could see me, I stood at the window and watched the plane push back from the gate, leave the ramp, and taxi away before leaving the terminal and walking to my car. I felt extremely good about Jennifer's visit and it gave me hope for the future. But with that hope came the realization that if things went the way that Jennifer wanted them to, it didn't bode well for Stephie, Karin, or Sofia.

I had a number of things to consider with regard to the future, and my conversations with Sofia, Karin, Anala, and Jennifer had made a huge difference. Anala's analysis was absolutely correct — I had to sort out my inner contradictions before I did anything else. I couldn't put my life on hold trying to figure it out, and I wasn't going to make any changes to how things were until I had more clarity.

At the moment, things were calm and ordered. Stephie and I were living together, and she was my main girl. She didn't object to my dalliances, or even to the other more serious relationships with girls. That said, she knew nothing about the situation with my little sister and that was an issue that was going to come to a head in two years, and not just with Stephie. I had no idea how my little sister and I would manage THAT situation, but I had two years to figure it out.

I arrived home and stripped the sheets from the bed. They smelled like Jennifer and I was loath to wash them, but I knew that I had to. I also knew that the next five nights or so would be spent alone. I hated nights alone, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I was sure that Rosie would come visit if I called her, and she was a fun diversion, but I'd be sending her the wrong signal. Jackie was a possibility, but again, I didn't want to send the wrong message. I'd just have to deal with it.

I did laundry and cleaned, then ate dinner. After dinner, I poured myself a glass of bourbon and turned on the stereo. No sooner than I had sat down, the phone rang. I got up and went to my office to answer it.

"Hi, Steve!" I heard Becky van Hoek say.

"Hi, Becky. What's up?"

"Could we have lunch on Saturday?"

"Is there a problem that needs my attention?"

"No, not like you mean. I just want to see you. It's been two months since we had lunch."

"I don't know," I said.

"It's just lunch, Steve. Like we do during the school year. I have disks to give you, but I also just want to have lunch. I like our lunches."

Would having lunch with her be letting her worm her way back into my life? I was afraid it might, but then again, we'd have our weekly lunches during the school year. One more lunch really wasn't a big deal in the end.

"Sure," I said reluctantly, wondering if I'd regret it. "That's fine. Should we meet at our usual diner?"

"Yes! Noon on Saturday?"

"See you the day after tomorrow," I said.

We said 'goodbye' and hung up. I didn't want to be alone, but being with Becky was always fraught with danger. I'd kept our relationship platonic, and I was determined to continue doing that. She might have other plans, but I wasn't at all interested.

The phone rang again about fifteen minutes later. This time it was Jennifer, calling to say that she'd made it home safely. She thanked me again for everything and let me know that she'd seen me at the window as the plane had taxied away. She said that she was going to Vancouver for a week with her family and that we'd talk when she got back. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

On Friday morning, just after 10:00am, the photographer arrived to take the final pictures of the basement. There was a cute young brunette with him that he introduced as his assistant, Carla Rizzi. They carried their equipment to the basement, and I stood back while they set up lights and screens. These shots were going to be much more involved than the previous ones where he'd just used his camera.

"Mr. Adams, would you mind posing for a shot at the pool table? If you'd rather not, that's fine, and we can just use the balls and cue as props."

"I'm fine with being in a few shots. I told Mr. Brown that I'd give him a ringing endorsement, so being in some shots is cool."

Over the next fifteen minutes, Dustin, the photographer, took quite a few shots of me at the pool table, sitting at the bar, and standing behind it. He took shots without me as well. When he finished, they moved some of their equipment to the sauna to take some interior shots.

"Would you be willing to pose here as well?" Dustin asked.

"Sure. How do you want to do that?"

"Just wrap a towel around your waist the way you normally would, if you're cool with that."

I chuckled, "I'm usually naked in the sauna, but I think you're right!"

I quickly stripped to my briefs without worrying about his female assistant's reaction and wrapped a towel around me. I sat on the bench and they snapped a few pictures.

"Hmm. I can't have you turn on the heat or make steam because it would hurt the cameras. Do you have a squirt bottle we can put some water in and make it look like you're sweating?"

I chuckled and got up and went to the closet where I kept my cleaning supplies and got an empty squirt bottle that I filled with warm water and went back downstairs. Dustin had me sit, then squirted some water on me and took a bunch of shots.

"Would you mind if Carla was in a few shots?" he asked.

"Not at all," I said.

To my surprise, Carla stripped to her black bra and panties right there and wrapped a towel around herself, making it appear she was naked underneath. The loose, comfortable clothing that she'd been wearing had hidden a fantastic figure — small, pert breasts, curvy hips, and a flat stomach. She sat next to me, close, but not touching. Dustin sprayed some water on both of us and then took several more shots.

"You know," I said to Carla, "you're more than welcome to join me for a real sauna!"

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?" she said, shaking her head. "And did you want Dustin to take pictures of THAT, too?"

I laughed, "OK, I deserved that!"

"He does that kind of thing, though tastefully," Carla said. "We do model portfolios. He hired me because he needs a girl with him at all times to protect himself from trouble. A lot of those shoots are fairly risqué, though of course it depends on the age of the girl."

"And how old are you?" I asked.

"Twenty-two," she said. "You?"

"Twenty."

"And this is your house?" she asked. "Damn. I'm traveling in the wrong circles!"

"If you're done flirting, Carla," Dustin said with a laugh, "I do need you to do your job."

She got up and used the towel to dry off the water droplets and then dressed.

"Inheritance?" she asked.

"Nope. My dad and I bought it together. I own half the house. I made quite a bit of money from a computer software business that I started in High School and sold recently. I'm renting rooms to my college friends. My dad fronted me the money for my half and I'm paying him back, but my name's on the deed."

"Impressive. I guess that'll teach me to assume. I had you pegged for a trust-fund kid who was blowing his money on fast living."

"Nope. Just a college student who happened to be in the right place at the right time with regard to computers."

Carla started dismantling the gear and Dustin let me know I could get dressed. When everything was dismantled and packed away, we went upstairs. Dustin handed me a release for today's shoot that included me posing. I read it and signed it and handed it back. Dustin and I shook hands, and they carried their gear out to the car. I waved as they drove off and went to make some lunch.

Late in the afternoon, the phone rang, and I walked to my study to answer it.

"Is this Steve?" the voice asked.

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Carla. I hope you don't mind me calling you like this. I got your number from the paperwork."

I suppressed a chuckle, "No, I don't mind. What can I do for you?"

"You invited me for a sauna. I've never actually been in one and decided I'd accept."

Now I did chuckle, "Sure. I'm free this evening or tomorrow late afternoon and evening. If you make it tomorrow, I'll cook you dinner afterwards."

"You cook, too?" Carla said, her voice showing surprise.

"One of my many talents," I said suggestively.

"Down, boy!" she laughed. "Let's stick to a sauna and dinner, shall we?"

"Sure. How does tomorrow around 3:00pm grab you?"

"See you then!" she said, and we hung up.

I wasn't surprised at all by the call. She'd clearly been flirting as Dustin had observed, and even if it was just a sauna and dinner, I'd enjoy the company, not to mention enjoying the view of her exquisite body that I was likely to have.

On Saturday about 11:30am I left the house to head to Bridgeport. I arrived at the diner a bit early and Candace sat me in my usual spot.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Candace asked.

"I expect Becky will be here in a few minutes, but she's not my girlfriend. She works for me."

"Works?" she said with an arched eyebrow.

"You did NOT just ask me if I was a pimp!" I chuckled.

"Sorry, I was just teasing, kind of like you asking me about my natural hair color. I did promise to show you, remember? And if Becky isn't your girlfriend, then you can take me up on it!"

"So you want to share your candy with me, is that it?" I teased.

"Nice wordplay, Steve! But I'm sure you'd like the sweet taste!"

"I just might!"

I saw Becky's BMW through the diner window and knew it was best to end the banter.

"If you're serious," I said, "call me sometime."

I handed her one of my consulting business cards just as Becky walked in the door and sat down.

"Hi, Steve!" she said.

"Hey, Becky. How has your Summer been?"

"Good. I went to see Alyson a couple of times — once in June and then last week. She's doing pretty well. She's even been on a couple of dates. I think she's taken your advice to heart."

"And put her past behind her and living her life as Alyson?"

"She is. She wants to see you if possible. I know you're super busy, but maybe we could go down to Iowa City before school starts?"

"We'll see. I would like to talk to her and hear how she's doing."

Candace came and asked if we wanted our usual. We both said 'yes' and she quickly wrote up the order without either of us saying anything. Ten minutes later, we had our food in front of us.

"How was your trip to Sweden?" Becky asked.

"Good; really good. The high points were Katt and Mikael's wedding and a picnic with a bunch of my friends from my school there."

"Not your time with girls?" she asked.

"That was way more limited than in the past."

"Interesting. What's planned for the rest of the Summer?"

"A trip to Ohio for a few days, a trip to Georgia to go to a NASCAR race, and then a couple of weeks before school starts. What's the scoop with the new computers?"

"I haven't heard from Richie. I heard that we were going to need two or three more, but then I haven't heard from him. It happens sometimes. I'm sure he'll be in touch."

"If not, let me know and I'll ask Theo what's up."

"Speaking of Theo," Becky said casually.

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out an envelope and shoved it across the table. Becky simply put it in her purse without opening it, having listened carefully to my instructions on how to handle things like this.

"What are you doing for the rest of the Summer?" I asked.

"Rosie and I are getting together next week, plus I have a couple of other friends in the area who go to Rosary. Things have been quiet otherwise. Only a couple of minor problems that I fixed."

She slipped a stack of floppy disks across the table, and then continued.

"The top one has some revised programs. I fixed the bugs myself. Check everything, please, and let me know if I did it all right. It all seemed to work."

"I will," I confirmed. "Sounds like you're getting better!"

"Thanks."

We finished eating and after I paid the check and left a generous tip, Becky and I walked out to her car. She clearly wanted a hug, and I didn't see any real harm in giving her one, so I pulled her to me and gave her a quick hug. She smiled, then got into her BMW and drove off. I walked a few steps to my car, got in, and drove back to Hyde Park.

The phone was ringing when I unlocked the door. I quickly walked to my study and answered it.

"Want some Candy, little boy?" a very sexy voice said.

I chuckled, "Hi, Candace. I literally just walked in the door. And what's this 'little boy' stuff?"

"How old are you?"

"Twenty," I said.

"And how old do you think I am?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I figured you were a college student, so about my age."

"I'm twenty-five, almost twenty-six. I took a few years off to backpack all over Europe before I started school."

"Cool. I've lived in Sweden for a year and been back a couple of times. I've also been to East and West Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Norway. And England, if you count changing planes at Heathrow."

"That doesn't count! So, did you want some Candy?" she teased.

"Katy told me you were interested. I didn't really believe her. I figured it was just harmless flirting."

"It was until you took the bait!"

"I'm really only available tomorrow morning and early afternoon, then I'm heading to Ohio to see some friends and family. I'll be back on the 25th."

"I don't work tomorrow. You could have Candy for breakfast or lunch!" she teased. "Or both!"

"Let's start by having breakfast together," I chuckled. "There's a bakery on Hyde Park Boulevard, a block east of Woodlawn. Does 8:00am tomorrow work for you?"

"See you there! I hope you have a sweet tooth!"

We were both laughing when we hung up. Suddenly, I'd gone from mostly being alone until my trip to Ohio to being busy every day. It was odd how things had worked out. If I'd had a mind to, I could probably have four different girls in two days, but Becky was off limits for a host of reasons and Anala and I weren't there yet. I might be counting my chickens before they hatched and making assumptions that I shouldn't be making, but they did seem to be accurate.

I checked to make sure I had the ingredients I needed for dinner with Carla and made a quick trip to Jewel for some fresh corn on the cob to go with the two steaks I was thawing. I made a tossed salad and put it in the fridge and opened a bottle of red wine so it could breathe. At 2:45pm I went to the basement and turned on the sauna and filled the oaken bucket with water.

Just before 3:00pm the doorbell rang, and I opened it to see Carla with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was dressed in shorts and a midi-shirt that showed off her toned legs and firm stomach. She flashed me a big smile and removed her dark sunglasses as she walked into the house. It dawned on me that she looked a lot like Melanie had that day the 'Opportunity' picture had radically changed my life, right down to the sunglasses, ponytail, and shirt that showed off her stomach. I smiled and shook my head.

"What's wrong?" Carla asked.

"Nothing," I said with a smile. "You just reminded me of someone."

"Another girl?"

"From when I was fourteen. You're dressed just like she was, and you look a lot like her. She was a little older than me, just like you are."