Chapter 69: Making Plans

November, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

On Monday morning, just before Kara and I left for IIT, I called the union electrician to make arrangements to get him the new programs. He said he could stop by the house and pick them up that evening, and I could show him anything he needed to know.

We were down to five weeks left in the semester, six if you counted Thanksgiving week, when we didn't have any classes. The only major things I had left to do were a paper on Islam for Mark's class and to complete the project in Scott's class. Otherwise, it was just the weekly papers for the literature class and my accounting homework. I wondered if I actually could swing starting karate class again and decided that I'd call Sensei Jim that evening after the union electrician picked up the disks.

The electrician arrived just after dinner and I showed him the programs and handed him the documentation that I'd written. He took the four sets of disks and said he'd call me if there were any problems. Once he left, I called Sensei Jim and asked what I would need to do to restart. He suggested a couple of weeks of private lessons with him and then returning to the group lessons.

At dinner I'd mentioned karate to the girls and both Kara and Sofia expressed interest, mainly because both of them felt like they needed some exercise before they gained the 'Freshman fifteen'. I let Sensei Jim know about that and he said that he had beginner's classes starting in three weeks if they were interested. I said I'd let them know and he and I agreed that I'd come to the dojo before class for the next couple of weeks so that he could get me back up to speed. After a bit of back and forth, I agreed to see him on Wednesday to begin the private refresher course.

I went to find Kara and Sofia and asked them if they were interested in a beginner's class that would start on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and they both said that they would think about it. I also let them know that I was starting up again and that as soon as they finished the two-week beginner's class, we could all go to the same practices on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

On Tuesday morning, I ate breakfast and walked to the polling place. I wanted to vote before work, and I had just enough time to do it, so long as I was there right when they opened at 6:00am. I was second in line and fairly quickly punched my ballot for Reagan and the other Republicans listed. I wasn't thrilled with the incumbent US Senator Chuck Percy, but Paul Simon was simply too liberal for my tastes. I could have voted Libertarian, Socialist Workers, or Communist, but decided, in the end, to vote for Percy.

When Dave and I arrived at work, I went to see Scott to give him a letter and a short resume from Jennifer, explaining the situation.

"She's your girlfriend?" he asked.

Explaining our relationship would be difficult, so I decided to stick with a conventional, if somewhat incomplete, explanation.

"She was. We dated off and on during High School. At this point, we're just really close friends. But I can vouch for her being one of the smartest people I know."

"We'll have a spot for an electrical engineer, but the competition is pretty tough. The real issue is being able to interview her when she's at Stanford."

"She'll be here visiting in December. If enough people are in the office on December 27th or 28th, I could make sure that she's here."

"I think we can arrange that. Stanford is a really good school, and honestly, between you and me, we need a little diversity in this frat house!"

I chuckled, "Did Charlie Johnson talk to you yesterday?"

"She did. She also said that you would vouch for her, which means a lot. Are you recommending her for the internship?"

"Unequivocally. You wouldn't go wrong with Wen Zhao either. Think two female interns would cause too much of an uproar?"

He grinned, "No. I'll talk to Doctor Bauer and see what he thinks about both of those young women. I'm looking at my calendar and December 28th would be the best day for the interview. Most of the guys will be here."

"I'll let Jennifer know. Thanks a bunch!"

"Don't thank me yet. She has to pass the interview!"

"If I know Jennifer, and I do, she's going to knock your socks off!"

"We'll see. Go see Brad this morning; he has some Z80 stuff he needs you to work on."

"Thanks, Scott!" I said.

I spent the day writing a series of small subroutines for a video game that Nuvatec was developing for the ColecoVision. This wasn't a port, but was their first attempt at writing their own game. The routines I was assigned to write would create and display dungeon levels on the screen for an adventure game, in the style of Wizardry. I'd be on the project for the next few months.

That evening at home, after dinner, I called Jennifer at Stanford. True to form, it was Josie that answered the phone.

"I always end up talking to you first!" I chuckled.

"Hey, you had sex with me first in Chicago, too!" she said with a laugh.

"That's true. Is Jen available?"

"No! She's taken! But I might allow you to speak to her."

"Might?" I chuckled. "I'm sure she'll tickle the phone away from you again!"

"She's a bitch that way!"

Unsurprisingly, there was a muffled squeal, a bunch of laughter, and then Jennifer had the handset.

"Hi, Steve!" she giggled.

"Hi, Jen. You two are nuts! Anyway, I talked to Scott today. He said he'll set up an interview for you on December 28th. I think you have a good shot at landing the position. Obviously, it's not a guarantee, but I think you'll do quite well."

"Awesome! Josie has her list of cities and towns and she's researching. Do you have any contacts with the city of Chicago?"

"Not really, but I know some people who know some people. Why?"

"According to what Josie found, Chicago is hiring a number of civil engineers in the Spring for some major projects that will start next Summer. She's sure the competition will be fierce, so any help she might get would be appreciated."

"I'll talk to Gerald Brown. He's the guy who did the basement, front porch, and other work here. I'm sure that he knows some people to talk to. I'm guessing that Josie isn't too picky with what assignment she'd have?"

"Nope. It's hard to be picky right out of school."

"Is everything set for December?"

"Yep. Josie's coming home with me and then we'll fly to Chicago. She'll get right on a plane for Minneapolis and I'll come home with you. Her parents weren't thrilled with her missing Christmas, but we want to spend it together."

"That makes sense. It's like Kara and me, I guess."

"Yes, though I don't think Josie and I can get away with making love under the family Christmas tree!"

"Your dad would have a cow!" I agreed. "But he'd have a cow if you and I did that, too."

"True! I'm looking forward to seeing you!"

"And me you. You'll get to meet Tatyana. She arrives on New Year's Day."

"Cool!"

We spoke for a few more minutes before hanging up. I went to the great room to check on the election returns. It was about 9:00pm Chicago time and all three networks had called the election for Reagan nearly an hour earlier. The only question was whether or not he'd win all 50 states. I watched for about fifteen minutes, then went back to my study and worked on converting some of my journal files to MacWrite. I knew at some point I'd need to type in the old handwritten ones, but that was something that was going to take a lot of time and I wasn't ready to do that yet.

Later, as I was getting into bed, Elyse came to the door and asked if I was OK with some company.

"Of course. Come on in."

She shed her robe and climbed naked into bed next to me. She snuggled close, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"Good. Why?"

"Oh, just a check-up, so to speak. We haven't talked a lot in the last few weeks except at dinner or with other people around."

"That's why you came?" I asked. "To talk?"

"Actually, yes. I mean, I'll take the other stuff, but I actually wanted to talk."

"Is something bothering you?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling that something's not right and I can't put my finger on it."

"With you? With me? With the situation here?"

"All the above, I guess. Maybe I'm just getting melancholy over the fact that in six months or so, everything is going to change. Cindi, Julia, and Katy will be moving out. You know me, I don't like change."

"True. But you and I will still be together, just like we started out almost four years ago. And as best I can tell, that's not going to change any time soon. I expect you'll live here at least until our kids are born."

"That was what I hoped would happen. That's probably three years from now. Do I get to decide the timing?"

I chuckled, "I thought that was how it worked. The woman decides when to have the kids!"

"I suppose. Well, the way I see it, I graduate in May of '87. So I want to start trying to get pregnant in January of that year. Is that OK?"

"Of course. Whatever you want. I've been thinking more about starting my own business and I'm probably going to do it. My goal is to hire Dave, which I can easily swing with both Larry's grandfather and my dad, having said that they would invest. And I already have a good client base with the unions. Would you be willing to work part time and do the books, payroll, billing, that kind of thing?"

"Sure. A small salary and a piece of the action, and I'm in!"

I chuckled, "I figured. If I can swing it, in the long run I'd want Cindi and Julia, too, but I'm not sure I can swing that until I get more business."

"Are you still thinking of having your sister run the company for you?"

I chuckled, "It has nothing to do with what I want! She's TOLD me that's going to happen. And you know me, I can't say 'no' to her about anything."

"No kidding. She's going for her MBA from Chicago?"

"Yes. I suppose your role is Chief Financial Officer in the long run."

"You know, if you could swing keeping the gang together, that would be awesome."

"I'd love to do that!"

"Can I ask you a question?" Elyse asked, propping herself on her elbow.

"Anything."

"Tell me how things with your sister developed."

I told her the story, culminating with Spring Break of 1981. She listened without asking any questions.

"You know, I think that explains quite a bit. I don't condemn you for it, but you have to admit it's more than a little odd. But if Bethany knew about it and talked to Stephanie and was satisfied, I can't imagine there was an iota of coercion on your part."

"Contrary to how it usually happens," I said, "if there was any coercion, it was Stephanie who did it. But I honestly don't see it that way. She knew I needed to be loved, truly loved, and that we needed to be closer than a normal brother and sister out of self-defense. You know how my mom was. I'm not placing blame, if you want to assign it, on anyone but me. I was the older sibling. But I'm not apologizing for what she and I did."

"I've known you a long time now," Elyse replied, "and what happened completely fits with who you are. In fact, the more I thought about it, the less I was surprised. You and your sister are very sexual beings, and you express yourself sexually with complete freedom. I suspect your sister does the same. What I wonder is, what changed?"

"I moved away from home," I said. "For me, I no longer needed to worry about my mom. My little sister saw the light at the end of the tunnel and had a means of escape — move to Chicago to be with me. For her, that was sufficient to break the spell, so to speak. When we were together last, I felt like I was with my sister, not a lover, if you know what I mean. The attraction simply isn't there anymore."

"Interesting. And Sofia doesn't know about this?"

"No, she doesn't. And I have no intention of ever telling her. I suppose she might find out some day, but I don't plan to reveal that part of my life to her."

"I find it a bit hard to believe that Kara knew about it and was OK with it."

"She wasn't OK with it, but in the end, she decided that she wanted to be with me more than she was upset with me being with Stephanie. And that pattern has continued. You knew her solution to my dilemma."

"It's a damned good one, too," Elyse said. "I guess the only one who loses out is Sofia."

"True," I agreed. "But I keep hearing something Katt said to me at her wedding — that I should only marry a Swedish girl. That does have its attraction."

"Only you can make the decision. Of course, you could just forget all of that and marry me! Remember my deal? It's the best one that you'll get! Have a couple of kids with me, keep me warm and safe and sexually satisfied and you can fuck any girl you want. Hell, have a live-in mistress for all I care! It wouldn't be much different from now."

"It's an interesting offer," I chuckled.

"Well, at least you can work on the sexually satisfied part right now!"

I could and I did. And she was!

On Wednesday morning, I got up a bit earlier than usual and walked to the dojo. Remembering the tradition, I wore my uniform but carried my belt and asked Sensei Jim for permission to put it on. Having left training, I wasn't automatically entitled to the belt he had conferred on me. He gave me permission, and we began to run through the things I had been taught. I was very rusty, and had forgotten quite a bit, but as he corrected me, things began to slowly come back. At the end of the hour, he said that he thought I could rejoin the class on the Monday following Thanksgiving. I thanked him and headed home for a shower and breakfast.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Reagan had won every state except Minnesota, and that Minnesota was close enough that it was possible that Reagan could actually win it. He'd lost the District of Columbia, but there was no chance that any Republican would ever carry those electoral votes, which should never have existed, as DC was never intended by the Founders to be a place anyone lived except during their government service, which was supposed to be short-term, not lifetime employment.

That afternoon in The Bog over our beers, we had an interesting discussion about Islam, and the fact that the Sunni and Shi'ite factions were essentially blood enemies over the correct understanding of the positions of Ali bin Abu Talib, Muhammad's son, and Abu Bakr, Muhammad's trusted friend and closest advisor. There was a series of assassinations, culminating with Ali's assassination in Kufa, which caused the split.

"Did he really marry his wife A'ishah when she was six and have sex with her when she was nine?" Staci asked.

"That's the traditional interpretation," Mark said. "There's some critical scholarship that disagrees, saying that the dates were counted from menarche, so she might have been fifteen when they married. Certainly, Saudi Arabia and Iran say she was actually nine when Muhammad had sex with her and insist that's a valid age for marriage."

"That's sick!" Staci said.

"I agree," I said. "But be very careful in applying modern values to earlier times. It's super easy to judge people in hindsight for not being as enlightened as we are. And we know that historical accounts are sometimes suspect."