Chapter 71: A Penny For Your Thoughts?

August 22, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

I shut the door to the office and sat on the couch. I patted the spot next to me and Penny slowly got up from her chair and moved to sit next to me. If what I feared was true, there was going to be upheaval beyond anything I’d seen in ages. I put my arm around her and she sagged against me; tears rolled down her face.

“What did they say, Penny?”

“The DNA results don’t match Terry,” she sobbed.

I had absolutely no clue what to say to her. I’d so completely discounted any result except a match that the alternative never even crossed my mind. The situation could be explosive and could potentially wreak havoc on NIKA given that a regional director, a manager, and two programmers were involved. Oh what a mess this could be! I had no real idea how to proceed, though I was sure there was no way that Penny could avoid telling Terry right away.

I supposed the next thing to do was a DNA test with Zeke, though if Terry didn’t match, I couldn’t imagine any result other than Zeke matching. Then again, I couldn’t imagine Terry not matching so I truly had no idea which end was up. But no matter how confused and conflicted I was, Penny was going to need me, and there was no chance I was going to let her down.

“What can I do for you Penny?” I asked gently.

She snuggled close and put her head on my chest and I held her while she cried.

“I have no idea,” she said through her tears.

I didn’t really have any ideas either, and ultimately, it was going to be between Penny and Terry, and if they chose to tell them, Tasha and Zeke. A lot would depend on Terry’s reaction, and I had no idea how he was going to react. I also had no clue what Tasha or Zeke would do. As I thought about it, I regretted making the suggestion for Penny to have the DNA test. I should have just told her to tell Alice to take a flying leap and be done with it.

“I’m sorry I got you into this mess,” I soothed, stroking her hair.

“I wish!” she giggled, even though she was crying.

“You know what I meant, Pretty Penny. I never should have suggested the DNA test. I should have just told you to tell Alice to mind her own damned business and lay off.”

“I guess I need to talk to Terry.”

“I guess you do. Use our office. I’ll eat in the break room or one of the conference rooms.”

“Could you ask him to come up? So I don’t have to walk through the office?”

“You bet,” I said.

I kissed the top of her head and she sat up, looking forlorn. I leaned over, kissed her cheek and then got up from the sofa. I left the office and went downstairs to Terry’s cubicle.

“Penny needs to see you,” I said. “She’s up in our office.”

“What’s up?”

“Just go see her, Terry,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He turned, looked at me, and I saw serious concern cross his face. I had no idea what he was thinking, and I wasn’t going to ask. He headed up the stairs and I followed him, though I stopped in Kimmy’s office when he continued down the hall. Kimmy had left, so I spoke to Keri.

“When Kimmy gets back with my lunch, have her bring it to me in Elyse’s office,” I said.

“Will do!” she replied.

I went next door to Elyse’s office and plopped down on her sofa.

“What’s up?” she asked.

I shook my head, “Something I can’t talk about, and which won’t go in my journals. And no, it’s not about my friend in Cincinnati.”

Elyse cocked her head, then got up and shut the door.

“You look like somebody killed your dog, Steve.”

Which was how Terry had known something was wrong.

“I know. But right now, it just has to play out. And I can’t say anything more.”

About ten minutes later Kimmy came to the door with my lunch and I excused myself to go sit in the ‘Orr’ room and eat, taking Sensei Ichirou’s advice about quiet time at lunch. Unfortunately, this was probably the only ‘quiet’ lunch I was going to have for the week. I was seeing Mitsuko on Tuesday, Sensei Jim on Wednesday, Al Barton on Thursday, and Melissa, from DP Engineering on Friday. I was afraid it was going to be like that for the next three weeks before my trip to Europe, but there wasn’t much I could do about it, especially given most of my lunches would be occupied with time with friends, something I knew I needed as much as I needed ‘me’ time.

The one nice thing about going to Europe was that other than my obligations with the law firm and SPSS, I was on my own, and could spend my free time as I wanted. I was going to gather some information about things to do and see, but I thought finding nice, quiet, out-of-the-way places to read, relax, and meditate should be my top priority. One thing was certain - I wasn’t going to be able to spend five straight weeks with my life on hold as I had done in Japan.

There was a knock at the door, and I called out that it was OK to enter.

“I’m going home,” Penny said quietly.

“Go. Just tell Dave you aren’t feeling well. How is Terry?”

“About the same, I guess.”

“Penny, call me if you need anything. I mean that.”

“Thanks,” she sighed, then pulled the door shut.

I returned to my lunch, and as if on cue, Dave was at the door to the conference room five minutes later.

“What’s up with Terry and Penny?” he asked. “Should I be concerned?”

“Penny told me just before they left she’s not feeling well. I guess Terry took her home?”

“Yes, but something seems to really be bothering them. They’re two of my top programmers, which really worries me.”

“It worries me, too,” I said. “But all we can do is wait for them to tell us what the issue is, if there is one.”

“Sorry I disturbed your lunch,” Dave said.

“It’s OK.”

He left and I went back to eating my salad, doing my best to relax despite the stress of the last hour. The afternoon was full with work, and later that evening, Albert and Michael told me all about their first day of school.

August 23, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“Penny and Terry called in sick today,” Kimmy said, coming to my office just after 8:00am.

I was worried about Penny and Terry, but I figured they needed some time to decide what to do. All I could do was be supportive, and do my best not to let it cause problems at NIKA.

“OK, thanks,” I said evenly.

“Mario and Barbara are here. They’re getting coffee, and then they’ll join Zeke in the ‘Gretzky’ room.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I don’t believe they need me for anything. What time will Ailea be here?”

“Her class ends at 11:00am, and she’s coming straight here. We’re going to have lunch.”

“Thanks, Kimmy!”

“Coffee or tea?”

“Tea; Earl Grey; hot.”

“By your command!” she giggled.

“You’re mixing shows!” I laughed. “Picard in Star Trek says ‘Tea; Earl Grey; hot’. ‘By your command’ would be a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica!”

“Sorry, I’m not a huge science fiction fan!”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m also very pedantic. Did you hear from Jackie Phelan yet?”

“No, but I expect to hear from her today. Once the plans are finalized, do you want me to set up a meeting with Gerald Brown?”

“Yes. You set up a meeting between the two of you and you handle it. You managed the last construction project with very little oversight from me or Elyse, so I’m sure you can take this one start to finish.”

She smiled, “Thanks for your confidence! I’ll be right back with your tea!”

Barbara and Mario both stuck their heads in my door to say ‘hello’, but then went to join Zeke for their Regional Director’s meeting. Their being in Chicago reminded me I was missing trips to both remote offices, but it really couldn’t be helped. Given my schedule, it looked like I’d go mid-November or mid-December, but I wasn’t sure just yet. I was still too damned busy and I wasn’t making enough progress towards fixing that issue.

Kimmy brought my tea, and I settled down with a design document to start coding, and it felt very, very good. I got into my zone, and didn’t stop until Kimmy came to tap me on the arm to remind me about my lunch with Mitsuko. I saved my work and headed for Takumi where Mitsuko and I greeted each other with a chaste hug, and went into the Japanese room to have our lunch.

“How was Japan?” she asked once our order was taken.

“I didn’t want to leave,” I said.

She smiled, “Remember, I wanted to stow away in your suitcase!”

I nodded, “I do, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but it would have been a distraction.”

“I know! You didn’t say much on the phone, and I’d like to hear the story.”

“The short version is, I learned more about myself and about the world in those five short weeks than I have in the past five years.”

“So what did you do?”

“Well, among other things, waxed the car, sanded the floor, and painted the fence!”

“Oh you did not!” she laughed. “You’re teasing because I told you how silly that second movie was!”

“I did! But only the last day, and it was meant as a joke.”

“So, now you are «yondan»!” she smiled.

“No, I am «godan» and received the honor of «Renshi», and I was given my license as «shihan».”

She sat back and stared, which was becoming a fairly typical response.

“Congratulations, «Shihan» Steve! This is no small honor. To be advanced two ranks in a short time is rare. I am impressed.”

“I understand the sentiment, but it’s also no small thing to wear the belt of a «shihan» and have true responsibility to the students at the dojo and to the school of Hisakawa Hiro.”

“Tell me the whole story, please!”

I nodded and related what had happened in Japan, again, leaving out the part where Sakurako and I became lovers, interrupted only by our food being brought to the table. Mitsuko sat in rapt attention, simply listening to the story, though we did both manage to eat our lunches.

“Are you judging the Labor Day tournament?” she asked when we finished eating and I finished my story.

“No. I’m just too busy. I need some time to relax, and that’s a perfect weekend to do it. I’d be happy to take you and Miyu to dinner, though, if you like.”

“Very much so! I’ll start coming to the dojo a couple of times a month, too. You’re going to be away again, right?”

“Yes. I need to spend a few weeks in Europe doing software installs, training, and setting up videoconferencing equipment.”

“Sounds like fun! I wish I could travel more, but with school, Aikido, and my responsibilities at home, it’s kind of tough. With everything that’s going on, are you going to have time for ... you know?”

“I will have time for you,” I said. “For our Sunday mornings, I’ll let you decide if you want to practice martial arts or,” I smiled, “you know.”

Mitsuko laughed softly, “Very funny! Sunday morning I’d like to be with you, if it’s OK.”

“Yes, of course!”

She smiled, “Thank you, «Shihan»!”

I paid the bill, we exchanged another chaste hug, and I went back to work while she took the L back to Hyde Park.

August 24, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“I’m very concerned,” Dave said on Wednesday morning.

“All I know is they have some personal issues to work out,” I said. “Penny called me last night and she promised they’ll be back to work tomorrow.”

“I’m worried about having lost a couple of days for both of them.”

“I know. And that concerns me, too. But you know where my priorities lie. Family has to come first.”

He nodded, “I hear you. Let me talk with Alonzo and Tasha about resources. I may want to hire another programmer just to cover situations like this. My budget can handle it.”

I nodded, “Go ahead. I’ll sign off. I’m most likely going to implement the vacation policy and the plan for allowing sabbatical leave. You’ll need someone to cover that extra time off, too.”

“I hope the productivity gains are worth it.”

“Remember, that’s only part of it. We have a very, very good team here and we want people to stay, and we want to attract top talent when we need to hire. I’m not going to tell you how to run your team, but I’d strongly suggest your new hire be at the Senior or Master Software Engineer level. Someone like Sam, Kajri, or Brenda.”

“I’m curious; why?”

“New blood with outside experience. The downside to high retention rates is monoculture. Bringing in people with significant experience is a way to bring in new perspectives and new ideas. Of course, you have to temper that with finding the right fit.”

“I’ll think about it. How was your first morning of coding?”

“I’m more than a little bit rusty,” I said. “And there have been a lot of changes to the code base in the last three years. I’ll get up to speed in the next couple of days.”

“Then I’m going to leave you alone so you can get coding!”

Dave left the office and I got to work on a new module for the medical software. As we’d agreed, Kimmy came to remind me to leave for my lunch with Sensei Jim. We were meeting at Sixty-Five Chinese for lunch, which saved me the trip down to Hyde Park. It was a bit of a walk, but I realized I was getting less exercise now than I had in Japan, and wondered if that, too, was part of the sense of difference. Jim and I found a table in the corner which would be relatively quiet in the fairly noisy restaurant.

“I had a very good talk with Robert yesterday,” he said as we sat down to eat.

“«Itadakimasu»,” I said as I sat down.

“You’ve developed some very Japanese habits.”

I nodded, “There is serious wisdom to be found, if only one looks in the right places. What did you and Robert talk about?”

“You, of course. I think I have a better understanding now. You’ve left out some important details during our conversations, but I can’t complain, really.”

“Such as?”

“All the compliments you were given, which I understand you not telling me about. It’s just not your way. But the discussions about «kami» were fundamental to you being promoted, and one very specific statement led to your double promotion.”

I smiled, “When I said ‘Work is fleeting, ephemeral. Karate is eternal.’”

“And what did Robert say to you?”

I nodded in understanding, “‘And with that, the student has become the master’.”

“I also had a good laugh with him about the ‘Major Powers’ incident. He said it reminded him of a Brigadier General who had been in World War II and Korea and who dressed him down severely right before signing off on his promotion from Captain to Major.”

“That’s a heck of a career,” I said.

“General Reston. First Lieutenant when he hit the beach at Normandy, Captain in the Bocage, Major by Remagen.”

“Wow. That’s less than a year.”

“Two field promotions. He became a Light Colonel in the Pusan perimeter, a Full Bird during Tet, and got his flag right before the dressing down I’m talking about.”

“What happened to him?”

“He retired to a cabin in Montana to fish and hunt. I think he’d seen enough of the world at that point.”

“I can see that.”

“May I be blunt with you?”

I chuckled, “NOW you ask permission?”

Sensei Jim laughed, “Good point, but our relationship has changed, significantly, because of that itty-bitty gold stripe.”

“Go on.”

“I told you, back just before Stephie died, about the importance of a good relationship between us. You blew me off for seven years; seven wasted years. Then you go to Japan, and in a few days, you develop a deeper relationship with both Robert and Hiro-san’s granddaughter than with your own Sensei. Frankly, it’s appalling.”