Chapter 10: Hold the Mayo?

October 16, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

Mitsuko arrived at our house at 6:30am for our drive to Springfield. We’d participate in the Aikido class, then have lunch with Sensei Daniel and two other students, as we had the last time. We got into the car and headed out right away.

“Are you going to see your sister?” I asked.

“No,” Mitsuko replied. “I didn’t even tell her I was coming home because you need to be back before dinner so the girls can go out.”

“Are you enjoying being with them?” I asked.

“Yes. I talked to Kajri and Michelle and they mentioned gatherings at your house on Sundays as well. May I come to those?”

“Yes, you’re welcome to join us, but the Rap Sessions can get pretty intense, both in terms of topics and activities.”

Mitsuko laughed, “Kajri warned me.”

“How is school going?”

“Just fine. No trouble at all. As I told you, my parents instilled a very strong ethic in my sister and me for education. It’s so stereotypical!”

“Stereotypes work because they reflect common behavior or thinking,” I said. “The problem arises when you assume a particular behavior or thought pattern simply because a person is a member of the stereotyped group.”

“This is the kind of discussion we have on Sundays,” Kara said. “We’ll take an issue like this, or like lying, or fidelity, and basically discuss it to death.”

“May I ask you about that?” Mitsuko asked.

“About fidelity?” Kara replied with a smile. “I think I can answer your question. It means being faithful to your commitments. And yes, Steve is. He told me you were a bit surprised at his situation, but I promise you, he is being perfectly faithful. Whatever he’s done, has been talked about openly between us and doesn’t make him unfaithful. He wasn’t cheating with Crystal.”

Mitsuko smiled, “That was exactly the question I had in my mind! So you don’t believe it means being faithful to your partner?”

“It does mean that,” Kara said. “But that means keeping your word. And everyone defines that differently. Each relationship is different.”

I willed Kara, silently, not to make any offers or suggestions to Mitsuko and was happy when she didn’t. The conversation drifted back to school, martial arts, and our family, but without any discussion of outside relationships.

In Springfield, Sensei Daniel spent most of the class period teaching Kara and me holds, throws, and locks while Mitsuko led the class. At the end of class, we showered, and joined Sensei Daniel and two other students for lunch at his house. He asked Mitsuko about her visits to our dojo, and encouraged her to continue to learn some of our techniques, as they would help her defend herself better. We also discussed my rescheduled trip to Japan, and when we finished lunch, we drove back to Chicago.

“How was your Aunt Jess this morning?” I asked Jesse when he arrived home from his hockey game.

“Sad. She tries to look happy, but she’s very sad. Ashley is very sad, too. She wants her mom to come home. She told me.”

“I know, Son,” I sighed. “We all want her to come home.”

October 17, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“You ask Jorge THAT question,” I said to Kara on Sunday after lunch. “If HE is OK with it, then we’ll do it!”

Kara giggled, “I think if Jessica asked him, he’d say OK!”

“He’d be tempted, but no chance.”

When Jorge arrived, Kara asked him to join us in my study and told him what she’d proposed. His reaction was EXACTLY what I’d predicted.

“Kara, you know I love you, but that’s just over the line,” he said sternly. “We know that many of the kids wouldn’t hesitate to get naked, but some would do it only reluctantly - out of peer pressure. And some won’t. We saw that a couple of years ago when some of the kids walked out. Now, you want to add hugging? That’s a whole different thing. Night and day! I can tell Steve isn’t altogether comfortable with it. He still has issues hugging clothed, let alone naked! You can’t put that kind of pressure on those kids!”

“But I wouldn’t mind hugging anyone naked!” Kara insisted.

“YOU are a special case,” Jorge chuckled. “I’m not too sure that there’s anything non-sexual that you wouldn’t do naked!”

I laughed, “She and Birgit would happily walk down the middle of Hyde Park Avenue without a stitch of clothing on if they didn’t think they’d get arrested!”

“Or give a pizza delivery guy a heart attack!” Jorge grinned. “But no. You can’t take it that far, Kara. You know that.”

She frowned, but I could tell it was an intentional frown, not one of being upset.

“Bummer,” she sighed, but that quickly turned into a silly laugh, “You’re right. And Steve predicted your response perfectly.”

“YOU think it’s a bummer?” Jorge laughed. “Imagine how I feel having to disagree with you! I would have made SURE I was sitting next to you!”

I laughed, “And I would have made sure you were sitting between Ben and Mike!”

I started to leave the study and stopped when I heard Jorge whispering to Kara behind me.

“You know, if you had your heart set on that,” he whispered as he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

Kara squealed and hurried past me.

“Even Miss Exhibitionist has her limits,” Jorge chuckled.

I laughed with him, and we left the study, following the scampering Kara to the great room where our guests were assembling.

“Gotcha!” Jorge said sotto voce to Kara as he went to his usual spot on the couch with Trish.

“What’s today’s topic?” Elizabeth asked when the clock struck 1:00pm.

“Feminism,” I said.

“Oh God, no!” Ben groaned.

“You do know that NOW isn’t the only opinion on that, don’t you?” Samantha asked.

For the next two hours, most of us sat quietly while Elizabeth and Samantha went the full fifteen rounds on their opposing views on feminism. It was a good discussion with others occasionally asking questions or making comments. There was no resolution, but it was interesting to hear Kajri, Cèlia, and Penny talk about how things were run at NIKA and watching Elizabeth’s facial reactions as she heard their stories about our egalitarian system that offered paid maternity and paternity leave, and the fact that all of our executives except me were female.

“OK, so the exception that proves the rule!” Elizabeth said.

“Or the example others should follow,” Samantha said. “I know I’m going to try to run things like that when I run my own company.”

“The boys do not like the girls invading their space,” Elizabeth countered. “Try being a woman scientist or engineer! Or a Fortune 500 executive.”

“Very true,” I said. “But forcing it by legislation doesn’t really help you. You’ll always be known as the person who got the job by some government mandate.”

“Work with me to fix the system, Elizabeth,” Samantha said. “By education and example. Nobody made Steve run his business that way, and he appears to have a team of loyal, dedicated staff, who make him a lot of money which he shares equitably with everyone.”

“So a socialist, then!” Elizabeth teased.

“No,” I said. “I spend my money as I see fit to best run my company. That makes me a capitalist. If I demanded the government force everyone to do it, THEN I’d be a socialist.”

Everyone laughed and that seemed to be a good place the end the conversation. Wanda talked to me while we were having refreshments and invited me to lunch with her and Lena on Thursday, and Mitsuko invited me to lunch on Wednesday, and said that Kara could join us if I liked.

When everyone had left, I went to the kitchen to start making the family dinner. Kara and Michelle joined me to help, and when Ed and Stephanie arrived, she offered to help as well. Work was going well for her and she and Ed were busily making wedding plans. May was seven months away, but time seemed to be flying. After a nice family dinner that included Brian and Samantha, Bo and Gina, and Tom and Bethany, we all relaxed in the great room.

“Tom and I are going to get a place together,” Bethany announced as we sipped drinks.

“You finally obtained approval from Nicholas and Jesse?” I chuckled.

“Jesse is a tough customer,” Tom laughed. “I got the third degree from him!”

“About Nicholas, right?”

“Yes. I also had a very interesting set of instructions given!”

I laughed, “No sister for Nicholas if you and Bethany try to make a baby!”

“He is a VERY strange kid!” Tom said.

“Look who his parents are, Tommy!” Bethany laughed. “Jennifer, Josie, and Steve? That’s enough to make ANYONE strange!”

“How are all the wedding plans going, Jason?” Jennifer asked, stirring the pot just a bit.

“On track for June!” Jason said. “But ours are simple. Here at the house, with just the family and a few friends.”

“May for us, but a blowout, like Steve’s!” Stephanie said. “It’s a lot of work, but I’m getting help from Kara and Elyse.”

“Screw that!” Gina laughed. “We’re going to Vegas next weekend!”

Everyone laughed, but it quickly became obvious she wasn’t kidding.

“Seriously?” Samantha asked.

“The Vegas part was a joke. We’re going to the Cook County Courthouse on Friday afternoon. Just two witnesses. I always thought huge weddings were more pain than they’re worth!”

“Ever the practical doctor,” I grinned. “But you didn’t tell your best girlfriend about it!”

“Because she’s a bitch and she’d either blab or insist we have a big wedding!”

Everyone laughed, knowing she was referring to me.

“So long as you’re happy,” I said. “Are you moving to the Gold Coast?”

“Hell no!” Gina laughed. “That commute would positively suck! We’ll buy in Kenwood or Hyde Park. Our combined incomes can handle it.”

When the evening wound down, Kara, Michelle, and I went up to bed. The girls snuggled close, in pajamas, as we’d agreed. After a few minutes, I slipped my hand under Michelle’s arm and cupped her small breast. She gasped softly, but didn’t pull back or protest.

October 18, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“And just when were you going to tell me?” I asked as Gina and I ran through the mist on Monday morning.

“Yesterday! We only decided on Saturday to basically ‘skip to the end!’.”

I laughed, “Man and wife! Say ‘Man and Wife!’.”

“Exactly. The Princes Bride.”

“You’re no princess, Princess!” I laughed.

“Bitch!” Gina laughed, then became serious. “Any change with Jessica?”

“No,” I sighed. “Jesse went with Jorge to see her on Saturday and said he thinks she’s sad. Jorge has more or less said the same thing. But she won’t talk to me. I plan to call her this morning to let her know everything went OK at Mayo, but I’m kind of on hold for a few weeks until the results are in and they have the clinical conference.”

“Hold the Mayo?” Gina laughed.

I laughed, “Cute. That reminds me of Airplane.”

“I haven’t seen that movie in ages. It was pretty funny!”

“True. So, why the judge and no ceremony?”

“I’m getting too old for that kind of stuff. Seriously, if this was ten years ago, maybe I’d go in for it. I’m 32, and hardly a blushing bride!”

“But the party!” I protested.

“Throw one! We’ll be there! But neither of us have much desire to plan anything like that. And my parents sure as heck aren’t going to pay for it when Bo and I make more than ten times what they do! Not to mention that my dad is in a wheelchair because of emphysema and my mom suffers from severe arthritis. They’re in an assisted living community in Arizona.”

“Your dad was a big smoker?”

“Two packs a day for fifty-plus years. He started at age 15 and he’ll turn 70 this year. Mom is 65.”

“They were a bit older when they had you.”

“They had trouble conceiving. I blame the nicotine, personally. She smoked too, but nothing like my dad.”

“Were you low birth weight?” I asked.

“No. Mom had the sense to quit smoking as soon as she missed her period. And got decent pre-natal care. Well, what passed for it in 1961, anyway.”

“And now the touchy subject - kids?”

“An open discussion. He’d like to have one, but I’m not sure.”

“You should really decide that before Friday,” I said. “That could be a real point of contention.”

“Not really,” Gina said, huffing a bit from our unusual extended conversation while running. “I’m OK with it if it happens. Not sure doesn’t mean ‘no’.”

“Got it. I’m glad this has worked out!”

“Thanks to your little friend Samantha!” Gina laughed. “And you, of course.”

“All we did was put you two in a room together. You did the rest. You’re smart, witty, and after running with me for eighteen months, you’re looking pretty damned good!”

“Your flattery will NOT get you a bachelorette fuck, Mr. Doctor Adams, even if your wife is estranged!”

“Wow! I didn’t know you wanted to get it on with your girlfriends! Noted!”

She laughed hard, “Bitch!”

We finished our run and both headed to our homes.

After breakfast, Elyse and I headed to the office, where I called Jessica to let her know I’d been to Mayo and that I was waiting on test results due in a few weeks. As always, she was perfunctory and wouldn’t engage in conversation. And once again, we hung up without really communicating.

“Jesus,” Penny said when I hung up. “You had better conversations with Carla and with that chick who tried to wreck your life in High School!”

“Becky. Yeah, I know. Jessica’s put up a damned wall and there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.”

“I know what you’re going to say, but I think at this point, you should just file for divorce.”

“I can’t. You know that. I still love her and I gave my word. And you know Kara doesn’t care about a piece of paper! That might have been important to her ten or twelve years ago, but not now.”

“What if something were to happen to you?”

“All the agreements we signed would come into force. And Jess signed off on everything. And that includes insurance where Kara and her kids are the sole beneficiaries. All my shares in NIKA go to Stephanie.”

“What about Ashley and Albert?”

“Kara has irrevocable, and effectively unlimited, visitation rights. If something were to happen to Jess, then the kids stay with Kara. And if something happens to both of them, the four kids go to Kathy and Kurt, with Elyse as trustee. And the house belongs to the kids so they can all stay there.”

“Damn that’s complicated!”

“I know. The only one we really worry about is Jesse, if something were to happen to Jennifer and me. Even with all the legal documents, there’s no guarantee that Josie would get custody of Jesse.”

“Who would he go to?”

“Jennifer’s parents or mine. Obviously, I’d prefer the Blocks in that situation, but I’d really prefer Josie keep him. She’s ‘Mom Two’, after all. And she’d raise him the way Jen and I would.”

“You know, I never thought about stuff like that. I need to talk to Terry, but would you take our kids if something happened to us? I’d hate for my mom to raise Amber and Andy!”