Chapter 78: Three Exciting Weeks, Part I

November/December, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

Monday after Thanksgiving was the start of our last week of class for the semester. It continued to amaze me just how quickly each one had gone by. After finals, I'd be down to just three more semesters until graduation. A lot was going to happen between now and then, but if the first two-and-a-half years were any indication, the last year-and-a-half would go by quickly.

Things were very quiet around the house, with everyone studying and preparing for exams, as well as finishing papers or projects. I wasn't surprised when neither Elyse nor Jackie showed up in my room, as they were both usually studying or doing homework past midnight. I'd let Penny know that we'd be too busy during the week and to just come by on Saturday, and Stephie and I were both skipping karate. By Wednesday, I had completed everything, including working with Dave and the girls to finish our side-scrolling flying game on the Atari for our graphics class.

It was too cold to run, and because I hadn't checked out the YMCA as yet, and I didn't want to take the time to drive to skating until after exams were over, I just did my karate exercises each morning. On Thursday morning, while I was showering after running through my kata, the phone rang. I was a bit surprised given it was just past 6:00am, so I hopped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and walked to my desk to answer it.

"«Hej Steve!»" came a lilting Swedish voice that I instantly recognized as Sofia's «Göteborgska» accent.

"«Hej!»" I replied, then continued in Swedish, "What's up?"

"I was accepted to Loyola! Pre-med! I'm coming to Chicago next August!" she gushed.

"Congratulations! I suppose I'll need to make some room for you!" I teased.

"You suppose? You better! And you know what I want!"

"I do. And you know where I stand right now. We'll talk when we see each other next Summer about the specific arrangements, OK? But I promise there's room here for you no matter what."

She sighed, "You sure do know how to take the wind out of a girl's sails, Steve Adams."

"I'm happy that you're coming here. I really am. I just can't promise you the kind of relationship you want. Not now, anyway. I'll see you in June and we'll have plenty of time to talk. In fact, other than seeing Torbjörn, my plan is to spend as much time with you as possible."

"Do you want to stay with us? Dad said it was OK."

"I suppose that's the best idea. My plan is to fly to Copenhagen on June 10th, stay in Helsingborg on the 11th so I can see the Anderbergs, then take the train on the 12th to Göteborg. I'll be there until around the 21st, then head to Stockholm to see the Anderssons. When do you plan to come to the US?"

"Around August 5th, because I don't have to worry about when I can check into the dorms. That's a Sunday, so if I arrive that morning, I assume you can pick me up? I'll have some big suitcases and stuff and I think you have a sports car."

"We'll work it out," I replied, writing down a note in my 1984 calendar. "OK, I have it on my calendar. I'm looking forward to it!"

"Me too! It's exciting!"

We talked for a few more minutes and then we hung up. I finished drying myself and got dressed, then went down to breakfast. I didn't have anything to do in the morning because there was no tutoring and our graphics project was done, so I did some work on the union programs. I was going to deliver updates to them the week after exams, and had a few things left to do. When I finished as much as I could, I went downstairs to eat lunch with Jackie and Stephie.

"My friend Sofia is coming to Chicago next Fall," I said. "She's going to Loyola, pre-med."

"I guess she'll move into my room, then," Stephie said sadly.

"That's the most likely solution, unless somebody else moves out or she moves into my room with me, which is possible."

"Hey! No fair!" Jackie protested. "You said you weren't going to be steady with anyone!"

I chuckled, "And that will be the sticking point. If Sofia wants to share my bed, she's going to have to share me, too. I warned her that I wasn't going to commit and couldn't promise anything. We'll figure out the specific arrangements when I see her in Sweden next Summer. I also didn't realize it was that important to you!"

"I like the situation," Jackie said. "Good sex, good companionship, and a warm body to sleep next to when I need it. I'd hate to lose that."

"There's nothing to worry about for at least the next semester, Jackie. And by then, Jamie might have time for you."

She laughed, "Sure! Like studying for the Bar isn't going to take every waking moment when he's not working? Hah! Maybe when he passes the Bar."

"Which would be in September or around then, right? So it might work out in the end."

"It might. It's just tough to have this relationship that seems to be on perpetual hold. But I like him enough to wait it out. And he's told me the same thing."

"How are your finals looking?" I asked.

"Not too bad, actually. This semester was pretty easy after the bear of a Spring semester. My project is in good shape and my advisor is happy with it, so I think I'll be far less inclined to go crazy next week."

Stephie laughed, "Not to mention gettin' your itch scratched regular-like this whole semester."

"True!" Jackie agreed with a smile.

When we finished lunch, I drove to Bridgeport to pick up Anala and bring her back to the house. Instead of my bedroom, I led her to the Indian room so we could talk. She smiled and said that she'd expected that after missing a week, I'd want to get right to bed, but I told her I felt that talking was more important. I did promise that I'd take her to my room before the afternoon was over.

I talked to her about what had happened with Kara and about my conversation with Joyce. I told her that I'd expected to hear from Doctor Mercer, but hadn't, and that I had no idea what the effect of what I'd done would be. Like Bethany and Joyce, Anala told me to simply wait to see what happened. From Anala's perspective, I'd certainly done the right thing, so I wasn't surprised at her response.

"Your handling of Joyce was a very, very positive sign, Steve," Anala said when the topic shifted to Joyce.

"Bethany pushed me pretty hard to fix things, and of course, you know my feelings on hypocrisy. I didn't really have a choice except to reconcile with her."

"That was good, but I was thinking more about how you handled the situation with your relationships. Once again, you explained your situation with sincerity and let the girl decide what do to."

"Yes, I did. And I did the same thing with my friend Anna, who more or less had the same negative response as Joyce did. And I'll have that same conversation with Sofia, my friend from Sweden, when I see her next Summer before she comes here for school."

Anala laughed, "You do seem to have plenty of girlfriends! I suspect they see much the same thing that I see in you — a very good, caring, loving, and considerate man who is also an expert lover. What more could a girl wish for?"

"Anna would agree with you, though she'd throw in a good dad, given that I get along so well with her nephew."

"I'm not surprised, really. Most guys your age would be loath to be around kids, but you have a very gentle, loving nature and I suspect you accept the kids for who and what they are. You do that with your friend Penny, too, from what I see and hear. You treat her as an adult, so long as she acts like an adult. That's going to make you a good guy for teenagers to be around, in contrast with the people who want to treat them like toddlers."

I sighed, "I've seen a bit of that. My mom certainly is still like that. And so were Kara's dad and the pastor of her old church. And look at the disaster that created! I certainly won't make THAT mistake. I'm sure that I'll make others, but not that one."

"Good."

"How long can you stay? I know you want me to tell you what to do, but you have finals the same as I do, not to mention projects. I don't feel right about telling you to stay."

"If you don't mind," Anala said, "I'd prefer to get home early."

"I don't mind at all. Let's go upstairs!"

She smiled and nodded. I took her hand and led her up to my room, where we made love twice before showering together and then dressing so I could take her home.

"Next week, I have a final on Thursday," she said.

"Me too. I don't plan to go to Ohio until around the 20th, and I should be free after Monday of the following week. Do you have plans?"

"No, I don't. Is everyone leaving by Tuesday?"

"Yes. If you want to come and stay for a week or so, you're welcome to."

She just looked at me and said nothing. It dawned on me what she wanted.

"Anala, stay with me from Tuesday afternoon after finals until the Monday of the following week."

"OK," she said, smiling.

I took her home, then came back to the house to make dinner for my housemates. At dinner, we talked about Christmas break. Julia and Stephie were leaving on Friday afternoon and evening, respectively; Elyse, Jackie and Cindi all planned to leave early on Saturday morning; Katy's flight wasn't until Sunday morning. Dave was going to give Julia a ride to the airport, and he'd head to Ohio on Saturday morning. I'd take Stephie to the airport. She'd be sending some of her things home by mail or UPS because she wouldn't be coming back, a fact that was really starting to hit home.

"When are you going to Milford?" Elyse asked.

"Around the 20th and then I'm coming back to Chicago on the 26th because Jennifer is coming to visit, and then after she leaves, Tatyana will be here."

Cindi laughed, "Well, we know what you're going to be doing for two weeks!"

"Talking," I said.

"Riiiiiight!" Cindi smirked.

"Actually, with Jennifer, that's the most important thing I can do. She and I have a lot to talk about. I have no doubt that we'll do what you implied, but not until after we talk."

"That's Steve for sure," Stephie said. "He doesn't have sex lightly. He has a lot, but it's always after long talks about it."

Elyse nodded, "That's pretty much my experience, though I seem to have lucked out and not got the full talking treatment before we fooled around the first time!"

"I was a lot younger then," I grinned.

"True. We were both sixteen. It seems like forever ago!"

"A lot has happened since then, that's for sure."

"Are we having a party on Friday night?" Cindi asked.

"Everyone is welcome to hang out, and the bar will be open. So call it a party if you want to!" I grinned. "I'll spread the word to our other friends and you guys can invite anyone you want to. We'll just do snacks and drinks, nothing special."

At class on Friday, I invited Jorge, Wen, and Cleveland to the Friday after exams party and they all accepted. I was glad that Jorge accepted, and that he seemed to be a bit more comfortable around us these days. I stopped by Theta Xi and invited Mike, and I found Tom and Jake and invited them as well. Jackie had invited Jeremiah and when I arrived home on Friday, I called Kurt and Kathy and invited them as well.

That evening, after dinner, we all gathered around the TV to watch the premier of Michael Jackson's new music video — Thriller. It was nearly fifteen minutes long and, in addition to the choreography and music, there was narration by Vincent Price. Overall, the effect was mesmerizing. All of us sat entranced in front of the TV, marveling at the video.

"That must have a cost a fortune to make," Stephie observed.

"No kidding," Elyse added. "But wow! If all music videos are like that, I may have to watch more MTV!"

Pretty much everyone agreed. We watched a bit more MTV before everyone filtered out of the room.

Except for the ninety minutes I spent with Penny on Saturday morning, and the hour that Stephie and I were at her last karate class, the entire weekend was spent studying. Of our friends, only Dave and Jeremiah were at the house, and for the most part, it was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. I spent most of my time in the Indian room, as did Stephie, who seemed to want to be with me as much as possible during her last weeks in Chicago.

On Sunday evening, after dinner, everyone went to the sauna to try to relax as much as possible before our exams started on Monday. We sat in the heat and heavy steam for as long as we could stand, then everyone took a shower and dressed. Most of us went to bed early, though Stephie said she was staying up late to finish reviewing her organic chemistry, as that was her first exam on Monday morning.

Exam week was grueling, but by Friday morning I was confident that I had scored well enough on my exams to have A's in every class. My Friday exam was in American Government and there were significant essay portions on the test. My grade had hovered just above an A and I knew that Professor Pleasonton would be tough when he graded my exam. By the time the exam was over, my head hurt and my right hand ached. I was one of the last to hand in my exam, having gone over it three times to make sure I was fully satisfied with my work.

"Mr. Adams," Professor Pleasonton said as I handed in my exam, "it's been a pleasure to have you in my class."

I was surprised, and simply said, "Thank you. I've enjoyed it."

I walked out feeling pretty good. Despite my headache, I chuckled to myself that he'd waited until after I turned in the exam to say that, ensuring that I busted my butt. That was fine with me, and I had really enjoyed his class, despite disagreeing with him. Stephie and Jorge were waiting for me outside the exam room.

"Another semester done!" I said.

"And tomorrow I head home to Puerto Rico," Jorge announced.

"I guess I'll say goodbye now," Stephie said.

She surprised Jorge by hugging him and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Jorge, keep hanging around Steve and his friends," Stephie said with a smile. "They're good for you. They want you there! Especially Cindi!"

"It was nice to know you, Stephie!" Jorge said. "I hope everything goes well for you in Georgia."

I took Stephie's hand, and we left the building. We started walking towards the car and just as we were about to cross State Street, I heard my name being called. I turned to see Doctor Bauer hurrying to where I was.

"I'm glad I ran into you. I was going to call you at home if I hadn't. I just had a conversation with Scott Bannerman. He's looking for two students to intern at Nuvatec next semester. I recommended you. I know that it's short notice, but the owners only gave approval last night. Are you interested?"

"I might be. I'd be concerned about my course load and how many hours they'd want."

"I'll authorize it as independent study, so you could drop one of your computer classes if you wanted. If you do it during Senior year, it can replace your senior project. Call me on Monday and we can discuss the details."

"Do you mind if I ask who the other student you're recommending is?"

"Your friend Dave Kallas. Are you in town on Monday?"

"I am, but Dave's planning on going home on Saturday."

"I already talked to him, he's available Monday. Come by my office around 10:00am. Scott will be there and we'll work out the details. I can get the Registrar to rearrange your schedule if need be."