Chapter 34: Propositions

April, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

On Sunday morning, Aimee and I made love one last time before showering and then heading down to have breakfast with Sofia. Elyse arrived just before lunchtime and the four of us hung out until early-afternoon, though I did excuse myself to make a few calls. About 3:00pm, I drove Aimee back to Meigs so that she could fly home. We confirmed the plans for Bethany's flight the following weekend, and after a hug and quick kiss, Aimee removed the tie-downs and pre-flighted her Piper. When she finished, she climbed into the pilot's seat, waved, and a few minutes later taxied away. I waited until she was airborne and then headed back home.

My housemates trickled in during the afternoon, with Katy arriving last. Kenneth had picked her up from the airport and dropped her off, though he hadn't come inside. After she put her things in her room, I asked her to come to my study and chat.

"Did you talk to him?" I asked.

"Kind of. He asked me to marry him this afternoon."

"At the airport?" I asked.

She laughed, "No, silly. My flight got in at 11:00am. We went to lunch, and he asked."

"I hope you talked to him about your feelings before you answered."

She looked down at the floor, which told me that she hadn't. It also told me that she'd accepted his proposal, which I thought was a very, very risky thing to do.

"Katy, let me see your left hand," I said.

She held it up, and I saw a very nice diamond ring on her finger, confirming what I thought. There wasn't much I could say or do at this point, given she had to decide what it was that she wanted. Maybe it would work out, but my experience with Jennifer made me very, very concerned.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked.

"What's to say? You have to decide what it is that you want and who you want to be with. I can't answer that for you any more than you can answer for me. I'm here to talk if you want, but this is one of those things that is squarely on your shoulders. Just be really sure before you take your vows. And come talk to me at any time. I mean that."

"Thanks," she said. "I suppose I'll go tell the girls."

"The ring makes it pretty difficult to keep secret!" I observed.

On Monday, I got back into the regular swing of things after a great week off school and work. Time until graduation was ticking down, and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. All of my classes were going well, I was attending all my karate classes, work was busy and enjoyable, and most of the drama had died down.

Callie's lawsuit against IIT was still pending. The rumor was that the school was pressing for an early trial and that she was delaying, but that didn't make sense to me. Her appeal of the dismissal of the defamation case against me, Bert, and Charlie was also still pending, though Mr. Klein was confident that the state Court of Appeals would reject her appeal.

At lunch, Andrei Zhukov found Kara and me and formally invited us to go to the Pascha celebration at his church in Carol Stream. We told him we'd be there, as would Sofia, who had said she was interested, so he gave us the address and details. He suggested making a 'Pascha basket' that was, more or less, a celebration meal to be eaten after the service, and gave me a sheet of paper with suggestions for putting one together.

On Wednesday, Doctor Bauer stopped in both of the computer classes I was in to invite the Seniors to his traditional end of the semester party that would be held on May 12th. I scribbled a note to make sure I was free that day, no matter what. After my last class, I stopped in his office to talk, because I wanted to ask him to serve on the board of directors of my company. His secretary ushered me into the office.

"Mr. Adams, how can I help you?"

I handed him a copy of the business plan for NIKA Consulting.

"This is the business plan for the company I'm starting with Dave Kallas, Cindi Spanos, and Julia Simmons. We'd like you to consider serving on the board of directors."

"That's an interesting proposition. If I might ask, who would the other members be?"

"I'm going to ask Scott Bannerman tomorrow, then there will be my dad who invested, a representative of my other investor, and Beth Pater, the young woman who helped me run my company in High School, who's working on her PhD at UofI."

"Scott might have a conflict of interest."

"I considered that, and I've already promised Scott that we won't compete with Nuvatec. I'll put that in writing if necessary."

"Let me read the business plan and check with the Chancellor, but as far as I'm aware, there are no restrictions imposed by the university. If he has no objection, and the plan is sound, then I'd be honored to serve on the board. I'll let you know in a few days."

"Thanks, Doctor Bauer. I really appreciate it."

We shook hands, and I headed home.

That evening, I called Jessica to confirm our date for Friday night and once again she teased me about actually calling her. I also called Bethany to confirm her arrival on Saturday. My last call was to Beth Pater, whom I hadn't talked to in more than two years. I had to call her mom to get her number and ended up talking to her for a few minutes before I could hang up and make the call to Beth.

"Hi, Beth, it's Steve Adams," I said when she answered.

"Steve? Holy moly! I haven't heard from you in ages! How are you? Are you still seeing Kara?"

"I'm good. I'm still seeing Kara, but it's a bit complicated. As usual."

She laughed, "Four years later and you still haven't calmed down? Why am I not surprised? What can I do for you?"

"I have a proposition for you."

"Yeah, right! Your stupid rule wouldn't allow it even if I drove up to Chicago today and stripped naked in front of you!"

"It sounds like you're steady with someone. Brent?"

"No, we broke up some time ago. A grad student in the physics department. So what's your proposition?"

"When I graduate, I'm starting a new software company. I know you want to work on your PhD and do research, but I'd like you to serve on the board of directors."

"What?! Me?! Why?"

"You more or less ran Four Dimensional Software. I focused on programming. I think you'd be perfect as an advisor. I'm offering the same thing to the head of the Math and CS Department here, as well as a manager at the place I've been interning. I can send you a copy of the business plan."

"What would be involved?"

"Coming to Chicago for four meetings a year. We'd work around your class schedule and, of course, we'd cover your costs and pay you a small stipend. And eventually, you'd get some shares in the company."

"Sign me up!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Cool. Give me your address and I'll send you the business plan."

She gave me her address, and we talked for another ten minutes to catch up. Just before we hung up, I told her I'd put the business plan in the mail and that I'd let her know when the first board meeting would be.

On Thursday at work, I repeated to Scott the gist of the conversations I'd had with Doctor Bauer and Beth. He told me that he wasn't surprised at the offer, but that he'd have to read the business plan and get clearance from the owners. I repeated what I'd said to Doctor Bauer about signing a non-compete contract if that was necessary, and he said that it might be. Like Doctor Bauer, he said that he would let me know in a few days. I also confirmed with him that I could miss two days to go to Washington to attend two receptions at the Soviet Embassy.

"You do get around! It's that beautiful young Russian woman who was here with you, right?"

"Yes. And her father. And the head of his KGB security detail."

"Mr. Adams, you have quite the eclectic collection of friends," Scott chuckled, shaking his head. "Did Jennifer talk to you?"

"Yes. To say I'm happy would be the understatement of the century!"

"And we're happy to have her. She was our first choice from some pretty tough competition. Also, I offered Wen the internship yesterday, and she accepted. The second slot will be filled by a student from the University of Chicago. You'll be pleased to know that it's another female," he grinned.

"This place can use it. It's like a fraternity house!" I chuckled.

"I heard that!" Dave said from across the hall.

Scott and I both laughed, and I went back to work.

That evening, Penny came over and we had our usual very enjoyable session in my bed. Penny used up every minute that she had before she had to head home, rejecting a shower saying she could do that at home, and thus get an additional round in. She was, as she'd promised, getting as much as she could before this part of our life ended.

Friday seemed to drag, as it usually did when I was anticipating a date with Jessica. There were a few times when I thought that the clock had actually moved backwards like the one in Risky Business, but eventually my last class was over and I headed home. I talked to Kara and let her know that Jessica and I would be at the house around 8:00pm, and then went upstairs for a quick shower.

When I got out of the shower, I dressed, and then called Bethany to wish her a happy birthday, with a promise that we'd celebrate in Chicago. She said she was really looking forward to it and after we exchanged professions of love, I hung up and headed to my car to drive to Connie's Pizza.

This time, I was waiting at the table for Jessica when she came in. I got up to pull her chair out and she hugged me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, as she was wont to do. I smiled in silent surprise as our usual waitress brought our usual drinks.

"Same thing?" the waitress said with a pleasant smile.

I looked at Jessica, she nodded, and I answered, "Yes, please."

"I guess we're becoming creatures of habit," I said when the waitress left to put in our order.

"And is that good or bad?" Jessica replied.

"Yes!" I smirked.

"Did you have a good break?" she asked.

"I did. I hung out with my friends and worked things out with Jennifer."

"Your first wife?" she asked lightly.

"I suppose you could see it that way, yes, though Jennifer and I will never actually marry."

"But you are making a commitment to her."

"Yes, of course. The same commitment any man makes when he has sex with a woman — to bear responsibility for any kids that result. Of course, in this case, we're planning to get pregnant."

"You actually believe that having sex commits you to supporting a kid for eighteen years? Or more if they go to college?"

"Yes. I believe in birth control, but I'm no fan of abortion. As my friend Anala said, you accept that responsibility at the moment of penetration. If you can't, or won't, then you shouldn't do it."

"You did say that you don't believe in abortion," she said, sipping her Coke.

"I did. And, as I said, all that means is that I'll never have one," I said with a smirk, and Jessica laughed. I continued, "But remember what I said — that it's not up to me to decide for someone else what they should or shouldn't do. I'd counsel against it, but in the end, it would be up to the woman to decide."

"So you think it's wrong, but you wouldn't make it against the law?"

"Exactly. Sex education, birth control, and teaching personal responsibility to men would all go a long way to drastically reduce the number of abortions. But we're getting way off topic."

"Are we? Things like that define us as people and are important to know. For example, you have little use for laws about marriage and age of consent, though I suppose you have some limits."

"For marriage? That shouldn't be the government's business. If Jennifer and Josie wanted to marry, how does that hurt me? In fact, I think it not only doesn't hurt me, it's a good thing in my life. As for the age of consent, fifteen is probably about right. I was fourteen."

"Jesus!" Jessica exclaimed with a soft laugh. "Fourteen?! And how old was the girl?"

"The woman was nearly twenty-four. And a widow."

Jessica laughed, "More pieces are falling into place. And how long did this little love affair go on?"

"Less than two months. She was afraid that she'd fall in love with me. We're still friends, though I haven't talked to her in quite some time. We exchange Christmas cards, that kind of thing."

"And you've been carrying on with your next-door neighbor, who's fifteen?"

"Yes. Since our mutual birthday last April."

"April? When's your birthday?"

"The 22nd. When's yours?"

"May 3rd. I'll be twenty-four."

"You know, I usually don't go for older women!" I teased.

"I'm only two years older!"

"Which, except for that first woman and Anala, is pretty much the upper limit. More typical is a year or two younger."

I remembered then about Candace, but didn't feel the need to bring her up and interrupt the flow of the conversation.

"I suppose that's fairly traditional, though you don't strike me as traditional. So this thing with the neighbor girl? It's just a fling?"

"Yes. It's going to end in May. I'm going to hire her to work during the Summers for my company. The boss sleeping with the employees is a pretty big ethical problem."

"Somebody should tell the surgeons," she half-muttered under her breath.

I didn't think that warranted a response, in light of her opinion of doctors and relationships. Our salads arrived, and we began eating.

"Do you go to church?" Jessica asked.

"No. I was raised Catholic, but other than weddings, the only time I've been in church recently is for Greek Orthodox Easter a couple of years ago. I'm going to the Russian Orthodox Church for Easter tomorrow night."

"Why?" she asked.

"I love the rituals, the icons, the incense, and the a cappella music. And the worldview speaks to me. It's more Eastern than Western, and the focus on synergy between God and man resonates with me. Not to mention the crazy party afterwards."

"A church party? I remember those from the Baptist church back home. I'd rather watch paint dry!"

"Drinking, dancing, and general carousing don't sound Baptist to me! And the food was out of this world."

"And you'd consider joining this church?"

"The thought has crossed my mind once or twice. Right now, though, the best that can be said for me is that I'm an agnostic."

Jessica nodded, "That sounds about right. I went to a Baptist church until I was about twelve and then later on, my parents quit going to that church because they didn't agree with a lot of stuff the pastor was saying. They kind of floated from church to church after that."

"You and Kara can certainly talk about that. She was raised in a very conservative family that went to a very strict Bible church. Between me and the way the pastor handled the death of Kara's dad, she finally had enough and walked away. She's going with me tomorrow night. So is my friend Sofia, whose dad is Greek, despite her being Swedish."

"And you spent a lot of time studying Eastern philosophy?"

"Yes, I did, with my friend Anala. I'd say that between Bethany, Kara, and Anala, they made me who I am today. If you like what you see, you should thank them. Well, and my sister, who, except for Bethany, has always been my closest confidante. I take it you haven't gone to church in some time?"