Chapter 32: Transition Plans

February 12, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“What time will Jodie be here?” Kara asked.

“Around 1:30pm. She has an assignment she needs help with, and I need to keep my word to her dad to keep an eye out for her.”

“And you also have lunch with Ailea tomorrow, right?”

“Yes.”

“How long will you be gone?” Kara asked as we walked home from the dojo on Saturday morning.

“My lunches with Ailea usually last about an hour, so with the drive, about two hours. I’ll be back before Amanda arrives.”

“What did you end up buying Ailea for her birthday?” Jessica asked.

“It was tough. I wanted something nice, but not personal. I do not want to send any wrong messages. I bought her a nice leather shoulder bag she can use to carry her books when she walks to class at UofC.”

“You seem to be having a lot of success with your girls as friends endeavor.”

“Present company excepted,” I said, putting my arm around Michelle.

“You two were never destined to be only friends!” Kara laughed. “You told me about your conversation! But you’re doing fine with Gina, Mitsuko, and Ailea.”

She was right, though the last conversation with Mitsuko had made me nervous. In the end, though, she hadn’t flirted or made any hints, so perhaps it was just some innocent teasing. Gina and I did that on occasion, though with her, I was positive of her motives. After all, I knew there was no way Bo was going to listen to her complain about ‘girl stuff’! Fortunately, she’d dropped any talk about her sex life. That would have made being friends with Bo decidedly uncomfortable!

“True. And speaking of female friends, Samantha is going to come by before tonight’s party. She and I haven’t had much time to chat since the accident. Between school and Spurgeon Capital, her time is really limited.”

“And you were basically out of commission for more than a month,” Kara said. “Well, close to two months, really.”

“I’m really just getting back in the full swing of things. Samantha, Jodie, and my sister have kind of gotten short shrift. I’m fixing things with Jodie today, and I’m having lunch with Stephanie on Tuesday. She’s actually in town for the week.”

“Just be careful with her,” Jessica said.

I nodded, “I will.”

We arrived home, and after a quick shower we had lunch and I went to my study to wait for Jodie who arrived on time.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Good. I’m pretty much back to 100%. It was very nice of your parents to send the fruit basket. And I apologize for not being able to help you more.”

“That one session was perfect. It helped me get an A in that class!”

“So what’s up for today?”

“C. I’m having issues with pointers and dereferencing.”

“Do you have your K&R with you?”

“Yes,” she said, pulling the thin white volume from her bag.

We spent the next hour going over the concepts with Jodie writing a couple of short programs on my Mac to test her knowledge. I was pleased with her progress and told her so. She thanked me, and we agreed that she’d come on Saturday afternoons to study, use my computers, and get tutoring if necessary. When she left, I helped my wives, Michelle, and Elyse prepare for the party. Samantha arrived about 4:00pm.

“Where’s Brian?” I asked when she came to the door alone.

“He’ll be here for the party. I don’t think he felt like sitting around for two hours.”

I chuckled, “He wouldn’t have! I’m sure my wives would have put him to work preparing for Bethany and Tom’s party. I’m sorry I haven’t had much time for you recently.”

Samantha laughed, “Seriously? You needed to get healthy and you needed to repair things with Jessica. I’ve been super-busy, too.”

“So what can I do for you?”

She smiled, “Just chat.”

“We can do that. I do have one thing to discuss with you as well.”

About ninety minutes later, she’d filled me in on how things were going for Ellie, Liz, and the other girls, as well as her improving relationship with her mom, and we’d discussed my request. We left my study just before Brian arrived, and shortly after that our guests began filtering in.

February 13, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“Happy Birthday!” I said to Ailea when she opened the door at Sensei Ichirou’s house.

“Thanks!” she said with a big smile. “Come in!”

I took off my winter gear, hung it on the hook next to the door, and removed my shoes. I followed Ailea to the low table where we ate, but instead of sitting, handed her the wrapped box.

“Should I open it now?” she asked. “Or after lunch?”

“It’s up to you!”

Ailea smiled and ripped the wrapping paper from the box, removed the top, and extracted the bag.

“Ooh!” she squealed. “I love it! Thank you!”

She stepped closer and threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I felt her young, firm body against mine and did my best to suppress the thoughts that immediately came to mind. She held the hug and I just accepted it without reaction. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality only about ten seconds, she released me and stepped back.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“You just surprised me, that’s all,” I said.

She stepped forward again and held her arms out. This time I hugged her gently, trying to avoid too much body contact. I felt her nipples harden as her small breasts lightly brushed my chest and knew I had to put an end to it. I dropped my arms, and thankfully, Ailea did the same, but not before kissing me on the cheek, but close enough to my lips that the corners of our mouths touched. That was enough to make me take a step back, to break the contact. Ailea smiled and excused herself to go to the kitchen to get our lunch. I sat down at the low table and waited while she brought out miso soup and sushi.

“You don’t hug your friends?” she asked.

“I do, but I’m careful with young women,” I said with a slight smile. “Especially young women alone in their grandfather’s house!”

“I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable,” she replied quickly with a quick look of concern.

“Don’t worry. It’s just my usual caution, only exacerbated because of your grandfather. Think how it would look to him!”

“I would be in SO much trouble!”

“So why risk having me here, then?” I asked.

“Why come here?” she countered.

I chuckled, “Good point. In the end, I’d be the one in serious trouble! I’m here because you asked me to be your friend and I enjoy talking with you.”

“And I enjoy having an adult friend. Well, I suppose I’m an adult now that I’m eighteen. So an older friend who can help me be successful.”

I nodded, “I had a mentor when I was your age, though mine was an older Italian man.”

“Do you still see him?”

“He died about ten years ago,” I said.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that!”

“As he told me, it’s the way of all things, and that he’d lived a long, happy life.”

“Do you have a new mentor?”

“A doctor at UofC.”

“What kind of things do you talk to him about?”

“Pretty much everything,” I said. “I get advice from him. I don’t always take it, mind you.”

“So how do you decide?”

“That’s a good question! How about we eat our sushi and then we can discuss it!”

She nodded and the two of us devoured our sushi and ate our soup. After Ailea cleared the table, she served green tea and we continued our conversation.

“I think, in the end, you have to decide what’s best for you,” I said. “You’ll get lots of advice from lots of people. Some of it will be very good. Some will be very bad. And often you’ll get conflicting advice. Deciding which to take involves a lot of thinking.”

“You’ve mentioned ‘do no harm’ as your guiding principle. Is that how you decide?”

“That’s certainly a consideration, but I have to take into account how what I do affects people around me. You know, what’s good for my family or business or whatever. And sometimes it comes down to what I prefer. And you always need to take into account the risk and reward.”

“You mean the possible downside?”

“Yes, but sometimes our choices are very risky. For example, skydiving. I’ve done it before. It was risky, but not terribly so. But, now after I’ve had whiplash and two concussions, it’s too risky to do. Another example is that I like to smoke cigars occasionally. I know the risks, and decided they’re worth it.”

She smiled, “So like it’s risky for me to invite you here and for you to come here because of how my grandfather would react! And I decided it was worth the risk and so did you. And the reward is I have a friend.”

“Yes. Exactly. You’ll face choices like that in the future. The real challenge is when you aren’t sure what the outcome will be. That makes it hard to assess the risk.”

“So what do you do in a case like that?”

“It depends on the situation. Sometimes you decide it’s not worth the risk. Sometimes you put off the decision to try to get more information. Sometimes, you just have to go for it and hope for the best.”

“And if things go wrong?”

“Then you do your best to recover. Mostly, I try to have an escape plan, if you will. It’s not always possible, and when it’s not, that’s when you have to be the most careful. Decisions that have permanent or long-lasting effects are where you should exercise the most caution.”

“What’s the most difficult decision you’ve had to make like that?” she asked.

That was a very good question. I was sure the answer was one I couldn’t share - Stephanie. But I had an easy backup which could be explained and discussed without risking any improper conversation.

“Deciding to become an exchange student to Sweden and to leave home for a year.”

“You were gone your Junior year, right?”

I nodded, “Yes. But I had to decide when I was a Sophomore. I was fifteen.”

“But it worked out OK.”

I nodded, “Yes, but it really was going into an unknown. I mean, I knew a couple of people there, but they were in Stockholm and I was in Gothenburg.”

“What about something that went badly?”

I should have been prepared for that question, but I wasn’t. And the vast majority of the things that went badly had to do with sex. I wracked my brain for something appropriate I could discuss with Ailea. The only things I could think of were Mafia-related, and there was no way I could talk about those, either!

“It’s kind of difficult to talk about my biggest mistakes because they involve dumb things I did in relationships!”

Ailea laughed, “Nothing at school or work? Or with your kids?”

“Not really. My Board of Directors and executive team do a good job of keeping me from making mistakes at work! And the kids keep me honest!”

“If you can’t tell details, could you give me any advice?”

“Just make sure you talk honestly and openly. Nothing is more important in any relationship, no matter what type of relationship. And listen to what the other person is saying. I failed to do both and created all kind of needless drama in my life!”

“That sounds like good advice!”

“And, on that note, I’m sorry but I need to get home. Our new nanny is coming by this afternoon.”

Ailea pouted, “I was really enjoying the conversation!”

“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you next time, and stay longer.”

She brightened, “OK!”

We got up and she walked me to the door.

“Happy eighteenth birthday,” I said.

“Thanks!” she beamed.

She hugged me and I hugged her back, trying to be careful, but again feeling her nipples harden as they brushed my chest. She kissed me again, this time about half her mouth touched mine, and I was sure she was testing the waters. I thought about saying something, but decided it was best just to let it go. We didn’t have time to talk about it, and I didn’t want to hurt her by reproving her and then walking out.

“See you on March 13th?” she asked.

“I think so,” I said. “I’ll double check and call you if there’s an issue.”

“OK! Thanks again for the gift!”

“You’re welcome!”

I put on my winter gear and headed out to my car for the drive home. Amanda rang the bell just as I hung my coat in the closet in the foyer. I welcomed her and ushered her into my study when Jennifer joined us. We talked about each of the kids, went over the schedules, discussed our house rules, got her tax information for Elyse, and finished up with how to arm and disarm the alarm.

“Any questions?” Jennifer asked.

“No, I think I’ve got it!” Amanda said. “7:30am tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Jennifer said. “We’ll give you the full tour now.”

We started in the basement and worked our way to the attic room. When we finished, I gave Amanda a set of keys and we walked her to the door. When she’d left, Jennifer and I walked back to my study.

“I never asked - what are you doing with Abbie’s old room?”

“For now, it’s a guest room. I don’t think we’ll need a live-in nanny in the future.”

“Did I detect something between you and Amanda?” she asked with a smirk.

“Abbie likes to cause trouble as much as you and Kara do!”

“Now what?” Jennifer laughed.

“She said she was very interested in the fringe benefits!”

Jennifer shook her head in amusement, “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because you know me and my history!” I chuckled. “And because you were a major troublemaker!”

“So?” Jennifer asked with an arched eyebrow.

“I’ll worry about it when the time comes!”

“How are you doing?”

“You mean me? Or my marriage?”

“Both.”

“I’m fine. The marriage is a work in progress. But Jessica is making adjustments and compromises, which is a major change from before. Part of it is that she’s finally at a point where her training allows it.”

Jennifer shook her head, “I’ve seen Jessica, Sofia, and Alejandra go through hell. I do NOT understand why anyone thinks this is a good idea!”

“Something I tell Al Barton all the time,” I said. “But it’s not just Residency. The problem starts in High School where the cutthroat competition starts. It continues in college and medical school. And it culminates in insane thirty-six-hour shifts and hundred-hour weeks. And even then, there’s competition for fellowships and Attending spots and teaching positions. People die because of that stupidity. And it’s not only accepted, it’s considered an important part of training!”

“I’ve heard that stupid saying about not being a real doctor until you kill someone.”

“And they really believe it. Even Al and Jessica believe that BS. But I have to be very careful about my criticism of the system. In a sense, Al and Jessica are trapped by the system and there is very little they can do except try to nudge it in the right direction. Al thinks it’s going to take a lawsuit or regulation to fix, but I don’t want judges or bureaucrats making those kinds of decisions.”

“I knew you’d sneak in an anti-government rant!” Jennifer laughed.

“Do you disagree?”

“No. You’re a bit extreme in your anti-government beliefs, but on this one, I agree with you. But at least Jessica is through the worst of it.”

“She is. How are things with you?”

Jennifer smiled, “I have a nice, quiet life with my wife and our son. And just enough craziness next door to keep things fun and interesting!”

“We’ve come a long way since 1978,” I said.

“We did promise to be together always and have kids. It just didn’t turn out quite the way we expected.”

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Me either!”

We hugged and she headed back to the coach house and I went to be with my wives and Michelle until it was time to get Jesse and head for the airport to get Pia and Marta. There had been a lengthy discussion between Jennifer, Bethany, and Sofia on Saturday night that I hadn’t been privy to about the sleeping arrangements. Marta was seven, and Jesse was almost eight, and there was some concern about the right time for them to stop sleeping together.