Chapter 4: A Reunion with Friends and a Russian Christmas

January, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

When I arrived home, I started a load of laundry and went to my study to call Stephie to catch up as she'd requested. Her mom answered and called her to the phone.

"Hey, Yankee!" she said with a laugh.

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Peaches. But why are we using our pet names for each other?"

"Don't get your hopes up!" she giggled.

"I take it everything is going well with Red?"

"Oh yeah! I gave him his Christmas present! It seems that Rose wasn't very creative or adventurous!"

I chuckled, "So he's benefiting from your experiences?"

"You could say that! And you don't have a problem with it at all? You sure are a strange guy, Steve."

"Stephie, would it matter if I had a problem with it? It wouldn't be right to try to get you to stay with me by trying to hold you back from your true love."

"You really think that? That he's my true love?"

"I'd say there's a pretty good chance that he is. Just keep working on it."

"Thanks, I will. But tell me, how did things go with Jennifer? She visited, right?"

"Yep. Things went well and I'm pretty happy. And I saw Kara when I was home."

"How's she doing?"

"Better. She still has a ways to go, but she's not like a zombie anymore."

"That's great! Is Tatyana still coming to visit?"

"I'm leaving to get her at the airport in about two hours."

"Cool. Listen, I have to run some errands for Mom. Make sure you keep in touch."

"I will. You, too, Stephie."

"I love you, Yankee. I always will."

"I love you too, Peaches, and I always will. Just remember that you love Jason more."

"I'll remember," she said softly.

We said 'goodbye' and I pressed the switchhook and then dialed Becky's number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Becky," I said. "I'm returning your call."

"Hi, Steve! You got my message about Alyson, right?"

"I did. I'm not sure that I'm going to be available because Tatyana is going to be here. She flies home that afternoon. And the more I think about it, I'm not sure it's a good idea for Alyson to come to Chicago. What if she happens to be seen by someone who knows her?"

"Who? Those guys are all in Cicero. She's coming to meet me at Rosary and we'll be out in the suburbs."

"I still think you're taking a big risk," I warned.

"It's fine," Becky replied. "Alyson wants to see you. Can you make time?"

"As I said, probably not because of Tatyana. Be careful!"

"I will. Don't worry about it. Can I see you sometime?"

"We discussed this before," I said. "There is exactly zero chance of us getting back together."

"I didn't ask for a date! I just wanted to get together, just for coffee, or whatever."

"I'm busy for the next couple of weeks with Tatyana, school, and starting the new internship. Call me in a few weeks and we'll see. Say 'Hi' to Alyson for me, but honestly, you should go and see her rather than have her come here."

"Stop being a worry-wart! It'll be fine."

We said 'goodbye' and I hung up. I thought it was a singularly bad idea for Alyson to come to Chicago for any reason, even going to college. Any other city in the country would be fine, but there was always a risk of running into someone that Alyson had been with or knew who she was. I considered calling her and warning her against coming, but didn't think it would do much good. On the other hand, I wouldn't feel right if something happened, and I hadn't warned her. I paged through my address book to find her number, then dialed it.

"Hello?" an adult female voice, presumably her mom, said.

"Hi, this is Alyson's friend Steve from Chicago. I've visited her a couple of times with Becky. May I speak with her?"

"One moment!"

I waited and Alyson came to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Alyson, it's Steve. How are you?"

"Good. This is a surprise! Why are you calling?"

"Becky told me that you were planning to come to Chicago and the more that I think about it, the more I think that it's a really bad idea. What if someone recognizes you?"

"Do you really think that's a risk?"

"How many guys were you with? And how many Outfit guys know what you look like?"

She sighed, "But I want to see you and Becky! I really don't think it's a risk."

"I do. But you really need to reconsider! I just talked to Becky. I'm not available on the 8th, anyway."

"Oh. Well, that's a bummer. Would you be willing to come see me? I want to talk to you about my college plans."

"I suppose, so long as your plans don't involve coming to Chicago. What do you want to study?"

"I was thinking about computers or electrical engineering, but I'm not sure. And if that's what I decide, I guess I can't go to IIT."

"I don't think that's a good idea at all. There are lots of good schools. I'll call you in a couple of weeks to set something up."

"OK."

We said 'goodbye' and I hung up. I felt better now, even though I'd have to make a trip to Iowa to see her. It wasn't that I didn't like Alyson, but my schedule was already crazy enough that taking a full day out to drive there and back was going to be a real issue.

After I hung up with Alyson, I called Karin and Sofia, because I'd missed the usual Sunday calls. I didn't discuss Jennifer with them because in each case we had a plan for when to talk — with Karin when she visited in February and with Sofia when I saw her over the Summer.

After my calls, I changed the laundry loads and remade my bed. I straightened the house, though there wasn't really that much to do. I made myself some lunch, and when I'd finished eating, I went out to my car. The temperatures were in the upper twenties, which felt warm compared to the negative temperatures that we'd had recently, though the forecast said that the mercury was going to dive again by mid-January.

Tatyana's flight was late, just as Jennifer's had been a week previously. My good luck with regard to flight arrivals seemed to have run out, and I was happy that I'd brought along my book to read. I had nearly an extra hour for The Brothers Karamazov before I saw the jet park on the ramp and then saw the Jetway move into place. Tatyana was one of the first off the plane, as usual, and I greeted her Russian-style first, but then gave her a deep kiss.

Tatyana giggled, "You are VERY «некультурный», Stepa!"

"Perhaps I should have invited Lyudmila Alekseyevna, SHE appreciates my greetings!"

"She would appreciate much more, I think, which is a good reason to keep her away! I do not think you would be happy with the reaction of Comrade Colonel Anisimova!"

"You are probably correct, but Katya Sergeyevna did give me permission to kiss Lyusya, so you never know!" I teased.

"You prefer women, Stephen Rayevich, not little girls. Come; take me to your decadent capitalist sports car so we can go to your decadent capitalist house!"

"And my decadent capitalist bed?" I teased.

"Of course. But you do know that socialists make love, too!"

"Clearly!" I grinned.

I picked up her carry-on bag, and we walked out to the car and drove to Hyde Park. It dawned on me that Tatyana had not seen the house, as our Summer visit had been in Milford and our September visit had been in Washington. She was truly going to believe that it was decadent when she saw it!

"I was teasing at the airport, but I take it back," Tatyana said when we walked up the steps to the house.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" I grinned.

We went in and I gave her a tour, starting upstairs so that we could drop her bag in my room, and ending in the basement with the sauna. She was wide-eyed throughout the tour and shook her head several times as if in disbelief.

"You were right! I recall your parents' house and this is even nicer than that! Perhaps Lyusya has a point about being rich!"

"Thinking of changing your mind and abandoning your goals to become the wife of a rich, decadent, capitalist?"

Tanya laughed, "No, but I can see the temptation."

We walked back upstairs so that I could make some tea for us.

"I'm slowly wearing you down, Tatyana Ivanovna. The next thing will be listening to rock and roll music and wearing an REO Speedwagon t-shirt!"

"That would not be a good career decision, I think."

"True. What did you want to do this week?" I asked.

"The only plan was to spend time with you, well, and celebrate Christmas on the 7th on the Western calendar."

"My housemates will all be back before you leave for Boston, so you'll get to meet all of them. On Wednesday, we have to pick up my friend George at the airport, and on Friday afternoon, we have to pick up my friend Katy. Stephie won't be here because she's going to school in Georgia now."

"And you are OK with her decision?"

"Does it matter? She made the decision that was best for her, and I really can't see any reason to complain. It's not as if I was committed to being only with her, nor could I do that any time soon."

"You have a very strange life, Stepa. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I replied.

"If I were to make a different decision, would you be willing to give up all of these other girls for me?"

"That is a difficult question to answer because it involves too many 'What if?' ideas. As my friend Anala says, you have to decide what you want, then tell me, and then I can make a decision. Is that something you are considering?"

Tanya sighed, "There are times when I wonder if I would prefer being with you to being a diplomat. It's a difficult thing to consider, though, as I have planned my career from the time I was little."

"Tatyana Ivanovna, if you ever decide that you truly want to explore that, tell me then and we'll discuss it."

Her question had thrown me a bit off-balance, but it didn't seem as she was trying to change the situation. If and when she did, then we'd have to discuss things. I didn't see any point in getting into details about Jennifer when Tanya was planning on going back to the Soviet Union after her graduation in 1986, and I had no intention of following her there. The tea was ready, and we moved to the Indian room.

"This is very different, almost oriental," she said. "Including the idols!"

"Yes, my friend Anala helped me decorate this room. It's quite comfortable and relaxing. I like to sit in here to study. Oh, and before I forget, we need to go out to Downers Grove on Thursday so I can fill out some paperwork for my internship."

"And I can go with you to this meeting?"

"Yes, of course. It's just to fill out tax forms and stuff like that. It shouldn't take more than thirty minutes at the most."

Tanya and I spent the rest of the afternoon talking and drinking tea, then she helped me make dinner. After we ate, we worked together to clean up and sat in the breakfast nook with coffee. When we finished our coffee, we took a sauna together, then sat in the whirlpool, and eventually found our way to bed. Tanya's enthusiasm for lovemaking hadn't waned, and we enjoyed each other greatly before falling asleep together.

On Tuesday, I discovered that Tanya played chess, so we played several games. We were about equal in skill and the results were split almost down the middle. After lunch, we took a walk in the cold Chicago air, and then warmed up with hot chocolate. After dinner, we used the sauna and whirlpool, then went to bed to make love and then sleep.

Wednesday morning, after breakfast, we drove out to O'Hare to meet George's connecting flight from Los Angeles, where she'd cleared customs. We arrived about five minutes after the scheduled arrival and saw that the plane was just reaching the gate. She walked out about five minutes later and I laughed hard when she greeted me with a hug and Tanya realized that George was a girl, not a guy.

"You did that on purpose, Stephen Rayevich!" Tatyana giggled after I made the introductions.

"I did!" I said with a smile. "George, are we dropping you at the dorms?"

"No. I can't get in until tomorrow. I thought I mentioned that. I planned to use your guest room, if that's OK."

"It is. I'm sure you told me and I just forgot. We'll need to move your things from my house to the dorms."

"Charlie is going to help me do that. Her car has way more room than yours for my stuff, so we can make it in a single trip."

We started walking to the baggage claim.

"How was Cebu City?"

"The usual. My parents' house is always crazy at Christmas. I'm the second of eight kids."

"Eight?" Tanya and I both said at the same time.

"Yeah! My parents are Catholic and really believe it. No birth control for them!"

"This is crazy!" Tanya observed.

"I agree with you!" George said. "No way would I ever have eight kids!"

"That is a bit over the top," I said.

That said, if I did what Jennifer and the other girls were suggesting, I could well end up with that many kids — two with my wife, two with Elyse, and a couple with Jennifer and maybe even with her long-term lover. The sheer weight of THAT hit me like a ton of bricks. In all the talking, I'd never really stopped to think about that aspect of it! Supporting the kids wouldn't be tough given both Jennifer and Elyse were likely to have good-paying jobs, just as I would. And Bethany, if she was the wife, would have a private practice that would give her both flexibility and a decent income.

"I think one child, or perhaps two, is sufficient," Tanya said.

"Sufficient?" I asked. "That's a strange word to use!"

The baggage carousel began to turn, and George kept an eye out for her bags.

"What would you say in English?"

"Something like 'two is the right number' or 'two kids are enough for me'. Sufficient sounds like you're filling a quota or something."

George's bags came past, and I helped her pull them from the carousel. We put them on a cart and walked out to the car for the drive to Hyde Park. Once we arrived, we put George's things in the guest room and then went upstairs for some hot chocolate. I was happy to see that Tanya and George got along well and the three of us spent some time listening to classical music and talking until Bethany arrived.

Bethany was on her way to Madison and stopped in to say 'Hi' and take a rest from her driving. She stayed and had dinner with us, then I walked her out to her car. We hugged and exchanged a quick kiss, and she promised to visit as soon as things settled down.

After Bethany left, Tanya and I went to the sauna, and I was surprised that George joined us, as we weren't using towels. I guessed it was because there were no other guys around and because it was only Tanya and me. When Tanya and I got into the whirlpool, George went to take a shower and headed to bed because she was exhausted from the long flight from Manila via Honolulu and Los Angeles.

Chapter 5 »