Chapter 11: Wake Up Call

October 30, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“They’re all adorable!” Michelle exclaimed when she saw my kids and their friends. “How long do you let them stay at the party?”

“Until we finish the costume contest, which is usually around 9:00pm. There’s a category just for the kids. It’s been a bit of an issue between Jesse and Birgit. They compete over that like they do everything else.”

“Jesse had a snit last year because Birgit won,” Jennifer added quietly.

“Jesse has a snit about ANYTHING where Birgit comes out ahead!” Josie laughed. “Including that stupid Candyland game!”

“It does teach them their colors,” I said. “And basic concepts like taking turns. And being a good loser.”

“Somebody forgot to tell our son about that last one!” Jennifer laughed.

“Veronica was a real stickler about that, and Abbie is pretty good about it as well,” I said. “He happens to agree with Dale Earnhardt that second place is just the first loser!”

“Everyone in this house is so competitive!” Michelle said, shaking her head.

“They’re all my kids!” I grinned. “Why play if you aren’t trying to win?”

“Forget it Michelle,” Bethany laughed from behind us, “they play games in this house as a blood sport! I’m sure you’ve seen it!”

“I was in the poker tournament last Guys’ Night,” Tom said ruefully. “I THOUGHT I was a good card player. But Steve, Karl, Terry, and Jorge took me apart like I was a five-year-old! It was like they KNEW what cards I held!”

Jennifer smirked, “You didn’t spot the marked deck?”

“Jennifer!” I tried to say sternly while laughing. “Don’t give away our secrets!”

“Marked deck?” Tom asked, sounding very angry.

“Whoa, Tom!” Jennifer said quickly. “We’re teasing. Seriously.”

“They are teasing,” Kurt said. “I brought my own decks after the first time we played just to make sure Steve and Karl weren’t pulling a fast one on us as a joke. They aren’t. And given we have an armed US Marshal at the table, somehow I don’t think cheaters would last long!”

“Marshal or not, they wouldn’t last long,” I said. “Nothing could be lower than cheating your friends.”

“Well, there was that time that Jorge brought that two-sided deck!” Terry chuckled, making us laugh again.

“Are you going to stand here and yack or are we going to get this party started?” Abbie asked.

“You’re in charge of music!” I reminded her. “I don’t hear any!”

“And you can’t push play on the tape deck and turn on the amplifier and tuner? When did you become helpless?”

“Oh, he’s not helpless,” Kara giggled. “He knows exactly which buttons to press to make me purr!”

“And that’s all I’m good for?” I asked, trying to sound offended.

“Yes!” came a chorus from Kara, Kathy, Bethany, Abbie, and Elyse.

“You know, Grace is going to be here tonight,” I said. “I’m sure SHE will appreciate me!”

Kara giggled, “I don’t think that helps your cause because the ONLY thing she wants from you is a good, hard fuck! Or three!”

“Grace?” Michelle asked, sounding concerned.

“A girl who works for Melanie,” I said. “She used to be a Petty Officer in the Navy, and knew Nick. She and I got together on New Year’s a few years ago. You know how I was.”

Michelle nodded, “I do. But not any more, right?”

“Grace will need to find someone else to play with tonight,” I said, trying to reassure her.

Michelle smiled, but I could tell she was uncomfortable. Abbie put on some music, and I pulled Michelle to a quiet, corner of the room for a bit of privacy. She hadn’t been to one of our big parties and hadn’t really been exposed to the crazy talk that occurred between me and my closest friends. It was something she was going to have to adapt to, because if she didn’t, she was going to be upset almost constantly.

We talked for about five minutes, and I did my best to convince her not to take anything that was said at the parties too seriously. I also promised that I wasn’t going to run off with any girls. And I took the time to explain about Kurt and Kara, and how they behaved.

“And you’re OK with that?” she asked.

“Yes, because it’s all in good fun! You know how Kathy and I tease each other? Well, Kurt and Kara do, too. They just usually limit it to parties. That’s why you haven’t seen it when you’ve gone out with us. Jessica had started in on Jorge in the same way, and I think Jorge and Kurt have something planned to try to get Kara flustered tonight. I’m not sure there’s much chance of that, though. She’s the most free-spirited, uninhibited person I know.”

“But why do you do it?”

“Because it’s fun! We enjoy the banter, and everyone plays along. The important thing is that everyone agrees in advance what the ground rules are. That way nobody gets into an uncomfortable situation. And nobody will try anything like that with you. Have you noticed they treat you differently? Just like they treat Bethany differently? Or my sister? Or Elyse?”

“Sure.”

“You know Kathy and Kurt are our dearest friends, and none of us would do anything to mess that up. The same goes for Jorge. I trust him with my kids and with Jessica. And I know you’ve seen how Melanie acts around me.”

“I can’t believe her husband lets her do that!” Michelle protested.

I chuckled, “Nobody tells Melanie what to do! JUDGES cower before her! And she’s been kissing me like that since High School when she and Pete were just dating. It’s all play acting. You missed a lot of this because of how much time you spent in your room, both before and after you went to Pennsylvania. I don’t know if anyone told you, but Melanie and I dated before she met Pete.”

“I don’t know much about what happened in High School before you met Kara. She’s told me about what happened from that point.”

I nodded, “I dated Melanie, Kathy, Bethany, Sofia, and Jennifer before I met Kara. I’m sure some of them have told you things.”

“Yes.”

“And they aren’t the craziest ones. Have they told you about Cindi?”

“No.”

“A couple of years ago, before her son was born, she came in body paint. Period. No clothes. That was the culmination of her wearing less and less each year. Since her son was born, she’s been a bit more careful about how crazy she gets. She still dresses to flaunt her figure and show some skin, but it’s not like it was before. She’ll probably have on something like you do, now that she’s toned it down a bit.”

“And I thought the Rap Sessions were wild,” Michelle sighed.

“You don’t have to stay if you’re uncomfortable,” I said.

Michelle smiled, “I trust you to keep me safe.”

“Then have a good time, dance with some sailors to keep up the military morale, and enjoy the party!”

We hugged and when I turned I almost bust a gut laughing. Jorge and Kurt had Kara on the dance floor and were doing the most exaggerated ‘dirty dancing’ moves imaginable. They were dressed identically as ‘Latin Lovers’ and Kurt was even wearing makeup to make his skin a few shades darker. I couldn’t hear them, but clearly something was said and the two of them made to unbutton a button on their shirts. I DID hear Kara squeal, smack them both on the shoulder and then burst out laughing. The three of them hugged and she came back to me.

“It was a draw,” she giggled.

“You’re losing your touch, Honey!” I teased.

“I’ll get Kurt out there alone so Kathy can have her fun!” Kara giggled. “And I’ll talk to Trish, Gaby, and Abbie!”

“Uh-oh!” I chuckled.

“Turnabout is fair play!” Kara said primly.

“Michelle, would you like to dance?” I asked.

“I, uh, don’t know how.”

I took her hand and led her to the dance floor and spent the next hour teaching her to dance, stopping only to get a drink. When I released her, she and I went back to stand with Kara, who was smirking as she watched Gaby, Trish, and Abbie drag Jorge onto the dance floor.

“This is NOT going to be pretty,” I said.

Jason walked over to where Kara, Michelle, and I were standing.

“Somebody has to explain this to me,” he said.

I was glad he had a smile on his face, as this was his first real experience of ‘crazy’ just as it was for Michelle.

“Are you upset?” Kara asked.

“No, just confused! I trust Abs completely.”

Kara explained to him the history of our relationships with the Jaegers, and how Jorge had become involved, and her marshaling her forces against a joint effort by Kurt and Jorge to try to put her in her place. From his laughter, it was clear that Jason found it amusing, despite being very conservative.

“The guys on a lot of NASCAR teams pulled stunts like that,” he laughed. “That bit in Days of Thunder with the fake cop was the kind of thing they’d pull all the time. Alan frowned on it, and it doesn’t happen as much as it used to in the old days, but it still goes on.”

“Thanks for being a good sport!” Kara said.

I watched as the girls got Jorge so flustered that he finally threw up his hands and walked off the dance floor, leaving the laughing girls standing in a circle. They hugged, then Trish went to Jorge and gave him a hug and a kiss. I could see him talking to her, and I was sure he was swearing revenge!

The costume contest wasn’t nearly as good as ones in the past, with quite a few people simply wearing simple masks. When it finished, I helped Jennifer, Elyse, and Bethany gather the kids to take them to the coach house where Shanita and Kayla had the smaller kids who had their own party.

“Did you arrange that?” I asked Elyse.

“For Nicholas to win? No. But it sure worked out, didn’t it?”

“Jesse can hardly complain, and neither could Birgit, so yes!” I agreed.

She went back to Eduardo and I rejoined Kara and Michelle. The rest of the party was uneventful, and when it finally wound down, Kara and I went to bed.

“I was sad we didn’t get to dance to our song,” Kara said. “But I agree it wouldn’t be right to do it without Jessica.”

“Abbie remade that mix tape just to remove that song, and leave in the one for the ‘Gang of Four’. I hated that!”

“Have you thought about kidnapping her to Iron Mountain again?”

“Yes, but this time, she might actually call the cops,” I sighed. “I told you how she was when I gave her the results from Mayo.”

“Six months,” Kara sighed.

“I know, Honey. I wish there was a solution, but I don’t think there is. Al and I were both sure she was going to hit bottom at some point, but she’s simply turned completely stoic on us; ‘Mr. Spock’ in the extreme. Jesse says he thinks she’s sad, and so does Jorge, but she’s simply turned on ‘Doctor Jessica’ mode and she never turns it off.”

“I don’t understand how anyone can live that way,” Kara sighed as she snuggled close.

“Me either,” I agreed.

October 31, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

Sunday was a lazy day around the house. In the morning, after breakfast, I spent time with the kids, and during the afternoon, I watched the race from Phoenix with Jason and Abbie. Kara was doing homework for one of her PhD courses and was closeted in my study, while Michelle was spending time with Birgit and her friend Tiffany. The race wasn’t bad for Bill - he finished fifth. With one race to go, Earnhardt had the championship all but locked up. He would only need to finish 34th or better at Phoenix to win his sixth Winston Cup.

Michelle and I cooked dinner with help from Jesse and Birgit who had put aside their competition long enough to cooperate to set the table.

“They’re so cute when they cooperate,” Michelle said quietly.

I nodded, “They love each other to pieces, but they’re both so ‘Type-A’ that they can’t stand the other gaining even a tiny advantage. But I think the one to really watch out for is Stephie. The quiet ones are the most dangerous!”

Michelle laughed, “So, like me?”

“You were NEVER quiet!” I laughed. “You might have spent a lot of time cloistered, but you certainly talked in the Rap Sessions and you talked my ear off in the sauna, ‘Indian’ room, and my study!”

“Dad, Nicholas is here,” Jesse announced, coming back into the kitchen.

“With his mom and Tom?”

“No! They have a date! Aunt Elyse said she knew!”

“Well, set a place for him, please. Is Tiffany staying?”

“No! Her mom just took her home!”

“OK,” I said.

That settled, we had our family meal, and then spent time together until all the kids were in bed. After Jesse and his moms went to the coach house, Kara, Michelle, and I spent time in the sauna, then went up to bed. As I had the previous Sunday, I slipped my hand underneath Michelle’s arm and cupped her small, firm breast. She sighed deeply and snuggled close and the three of us fell asleep.

November 2, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“How do you want to handle the Pittsburgh hire?” Cindi asked.

“I don’t see any choice but to bring your top one or two candidates here. We’re not going to Pittsburgh for more than a month and I know you don’t want to wait. That’s how Charlie handled the Denver hire.”

“I don’t want to wait for the trip. Mario did a good job of screening and I talked to his top two candidates. I’ll bring them in one at a time. Honestly, I won’t go against Mario’s recommendation unless there is some major problem.”

“Same here,” I said. “Make it happen.”

“Thanks.”

She left my office and a few minutes later, I headed out to my car to drive to have lunch with Al Barton. We met at Medici as usual, and talked about everything except Jessica. We’d both said everything we had to say on the topic, and she wasn’t talking to either of us. When I finished lunch, I headed back to the office.

November 5, 1993, Chicago, Illinois

“Hi, Stan,” I said when I walked into Venice Café.

“Hi, Steve.”

“So, what can I do for you today?” I asked.

“Before we get to that, I wanted to let you know that I heard from a contact in the State’s Attorney’s office that they worked out a plea deal with Lisa Glass. Forty years in exchange for a guilty plea.”

“Wow. What were they holding over her?”

“Death or life without parole. She’s pleading to the federal charges as well. No time in exchange for a guilty plea and large fine.”

“I suppose I’m not surprised by the plea,” I said. “But I’m shocked that she’d arrange for John’s murder.”

“There’s more to this, but the Feds haven’t tied it all together. There’s a missing piece, but nobody seems to know what it is, and nobody’s talking. To me, that has Outfit written all over it. Did the FBI ask you about any unions or the Outfit?”

“They really focused on Lisa, and asked about some city employees, but I had nothing to give them. They’ve talked to me in the past about our work for the unions, but nothing came of that because NIKA’s work is all above board. I’m VERY glad we got out of the construction and transportation sector.”