Chapter 43: Good Results

May, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

I arrived back at the house Thursday evening exhausted from the trip, the late nights, and the gallons of vodka that it seemed I'd drunk, mostly on Tuesday night. I greeted the girls and then took my bags up to my room. I decided that what I needed was a sauna and a whirlpool, and went to the basement. Ten minutes later, I was sitting in heavy steam with Elyse, Kara, Bethany, and Katy joining me.

"How was the trip?" Kara asked.

"Tiring. I didn't get a lot of sleep," I said.

The girls laughed.

"I bet!" Elyse said.

"From the parties! Tuesday night I drank more than I have in years and didn't get to bed until close to 3:00am. I wasn't much good to Tanya at that point! And Wednesday night, it was late as well, plus there was dancing to go along with the drinking. All I can say is those Russians sure can hold their vodka!"

"Was that your last visit with Tanya?" Kara asked.

"Probably, at least in terms of being lovers. She wants to see me again, but she knows that I'm likely to be engaged to Bethany before that happens."

"Or Jessica," Bethany said.

"Or someone else," Elyse said.

I chuckled, "I could always marry Colonel Anisimova's daughter. She's been angling to get me into bed for a couple of years and she's gorgeous. She's seventeen and is hoping to go to Stanford."

"That would be even more out of left field than Jessica," Kara said.

"Is Jessica really out of left field?" Elyse asked. "It's not as if they got engaged on their first date or anything. That would be the real shocker. But you know what? I wouldn't put that past Steve. It would be like being hit by a thunderbolt and he'd just do it."

"More likely it would be seeing Debbie V or Anna or Donna," Bethany said. "That's sort of what I would have expected if he was going to go rogue on us."

I chuckled, "You girls do realize that I'm sitting right here, don't you?"

"If you can rationally discuss this, so can we!" Bethany said.

"I suppose that's true," I agreed. "But why would you suggest Jessica when Tanya thinks I'll marry you?"

"Because there is a realistic chance that will happen. You know it. I know it. Kara and Elyse know it."

"And that doesn't bother you?" I asked.

"Not any more than me going on a date with Andrew bothered you. You and I agreed that we'd make a decision together, and that's what we're doing. As I've said before, I want to be with you. You want to be with me. We're both trying to figure out if that's what we should do."

"How can you all sit there and discuss it that way?" Katy asked, incredulous. "If you guys want to be together, then do it! Why are you procrastinating? Why even go out with anyone else?"

Bethany touched my arm, letting me know that she wanted to answer.

"A little over eight years ago, during Freshman year," Bethany began, "I asked Steve to a turnabout dance. My goal was to find the nicest, sweetest guy I could to help me feel comfortable with guys again after I was raped. He did that, and we became best friends. Originally, all I wanted from Steve was one good, intense fuck. When that eventually happened, it turned into more than that. You should be able to relate to that, Katy."

Katy smiled, "Yes, I suppose I can."

"So, as I was saying, it turned into something that I never expected it to. We've had some serious ups and downs in our relationship, and there has always been something that got in the way. But nothing has ever stood in the way of us being best friends. I can't imagine my life without him, but truth be told, his friendship is far more important than being his wife. Don't get me wrong, if he asks, I'll say 'yes' and I am sure we'll be happy together. But he won't ask until he and I are both sure that it's the right thing to do.

"It may well be that he should marry Jessica. Or one of the other girls that we've mentioned. And if that's the case, then that's what I want for him. It's like when I was going with Gene. Even though that ended badly, Steve only wanted what was best for me. At that point, he and I couldn't be together. Now finally, we're living under the same roof and we're going to figure it out."

"You two are certifiably nuts," Katy said. "Most people would KILL for the relationship that you have."

"Which is exactly why we might not marry," I said.

"That's just fucked up!" Katy exclaimed. "If I was in your place, Bethany, I'd marry him in a flash!"

"No, you wouldn't," Bethany said. "You can't share. That's why most of the other girls have dropped out — Sofia, Tanya, Penny, and anyone else who needs a monogamous relationship. It took me over seven years to get to the point where I could accept it. I don't think you'll ever get there, do you?"

Katy sighed, "No. I suppose not."

"Have you and Kenneth set a date?" Kara asked.

"He already asked me to move in with him, but we don't have a date for the wedding."

I was tempted to say something, but I'd already made my point with Katy and harping on it wasn't going to do any good. She had to find her own way, and perhaps she'd find the emotional fulfillment she was seeking with him. I sure hoped so.

Elyse nodded, "Stephie, Cindi, Jackie, Julia, Anala, and now Katy. Jennifer, Kara, and I have our plans all set. Well, assuming the big oaf here doesn't totally upset the apple cart somehow. That leaves Sofia. Well, assuming Steve marries Bethany."

"Sofia and I had a couple of long talks," I said. "She can't accept the situation any more than Katy could. And you left out Penny, but she's only sixteen!"

"And your sister. She'll be here, but she's only eighteen, so I'm guessing that's four years away for her, if not more."

"And Joyce," I said. "Mary and Josh are permanent, even if they never marry. It's obvious Kathy and Kurt are as well. It's funny, but it looks as if I'll be one of the last ones in the core group to marry."

"Between Birgit and Becky and Jennifer, things got so messed up, that's not really a surprise," Bethany observed.

"I suppose not," I replied.

"Not to be too indelicate, Bethany, but when can you and Steve screw?" Elyse smirked.

"Next week, I hope! I'll find out on Wednesday. We're going to Madison on Tuesday so I can present my paper."

About fifteen minutes later, the five of us crowded into the whirlpool. There really wasn't enough room for five, but with Bethany sitting on my lap, we managed. We spent about twenty minutes in the swirling water, then got out and put on our robes. We went to take showers, and I was surprised when both Kara and Bethany followed me to my room. I was even more surprised when both of them got into the shower with me.

"Something you two need to tell me?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

"If we're going to be your wives, we may as well get used to being together!" Kara giggled.

"Let's not push this too far, Kara," I said, drawing a fake pout from Kara and a laugh from Bethany.

We got out of the shower and dried off and both girls got into bed with me. I held one in each arm and the three of us fell asleep together.

On Friday, things returned to a semblance of normal. Just after dinner, I slipped into my study and made a quick call to Jessica to wish her a happy birthday. We didn't talk long because I was going to karate class that evening to make up for missing Wednesday. After karate, Kara, Elyse, Bethany, and I went to see Ladyhawke at Water Tower Place. We all enjoyed the movie, which was a romantic fantasy set in the days of knights and ladies. Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, and Michelle Pfeiffer all did excellent jobs; the score was fantastic, and the storyline engaging. It was definitely something that I would want to see again on HBO or when it went to videotape.

Saturday was typical — karate, studying, dinner, and a nice evening with friends. On Sunday, I went out to Sandwich to skydive. Wally and I made a couple of training jumps, and then he invited me to jump with a larger group, all of whom had their Freak Brothers numbers. If I successfully completed the eight-way star, I'd get my own number. We boarded Mr. Douglas and a few minutes later were on our way to 15,000 feet.

As we neared the drop point, I lined up last, and would need to fly to the star and join as it formed below me. When the signal was given, the line of skydivers quickly went out the door. I waited a split second to give myself a bit more chance to get it right and then went out after them.

The more experienced divers quickly moved into the star formation, and I pointed myself at the spot where I was to join the star between Wally and Amy. My biggest fear was overshooting, or, worse, getting below the formation. If the latter happened, I was out and would need to fly away and deploy my chute away from everyone else. If the former happened, I might not have enough time to join the formation. I carefully used my arms and legs to steer myself into position and got it right on the first try.

We held the formation for about fifteen seconds, then broke it, turned and flew away from the center of the star to safe distances to deploy our chutes. Had I not been along, they would have held it longer, but Wally required me to deploy my chute by 5,000 feet while I was training. That was over 20 seconds from the ground in stable freefall and gave me plenty of opportunity to deploy a reserve chute if I had trouble with my main.

When I landed, I gathered my chute and carried it to the rigging area and was mobbed by the men and women I'd jumped with and several more who had been on the ground. Roger Nelson came out from the office and handed me a certificate that proclaimed me to be Freak Brother #2759. He also informed me that I needed to buy several cases of beer. I laughed and agreed that I'd run out to the Jewel store and bring back the beer before I made my next jump.

I ended up staying in Sandwich past dusk, and drank about half a bottle of beer, even though I didn't particularly like it. I also needed to follow my rules about drinking, given I had a 60-mile drive back to Hyde Park. I finally left the drop zone about 8:30pm and stopped at a Wendy's on Eola Road in Aurora on the way back into the city. I arrived home about 9:45pm and went to my study. I stashed the certificate in a file folder until I could get a frame and fired up the computer.

"You were gone a long time!" Bethany said.

"I did a cool skydiving formation with seven other people and they gave me an award. I got to join a skydiving club, too."

"Sounds like fun, but leave me out of it!"

"With your situation, I can't imagine you could do it anytime soon, if ever."

"No, I guess not. As I said, it does sound fun, but it's not something that I'd want to do. Anyway, I was just checking on you. I'm going to head to bed. I believe Kara would like some personal attention."

"Good night, Sweetheart."

I wrote in my journal for a bit, and then spent an hour working on history paper that was due on Friday, the last day of class. I was happy with my progress, so I saved my work and headed up to bed with Kara. She received her 'personal attention' and we fell asleep in each other's arms.

The last week of school started normally, with class and karate, but early on Tuesday morning, Bethany and I got into my car and set off for the University of Wisconsin in Madison to meet with Doctor Krieg and other members of the psychology faculty. The drive was uneventful, and we parked on Jefferson Street and walked a few blocks to the building that housed Doctor Krieg's office. Bethany led me there, and we were shown to a conference room where Bethany would make her presentation.

About ten minutes later, Doctor Krieg and four other professors arrived. Doctor Krieg came over and shook my hand and asked me to sit in the back of the room and observe quietly. I poured myself some coffee from the pot on the table and moved to a chair against the back wall.

"Good morning, Bethany," Doctor Krieg said. "You know all of us, so we can dispense with introductions. You may begin when you're ready."

"Thank you, Doctor Krieg. My Senior project is an examination of the effects of incest between siblings on mental, emotional, and physical health, and a discussion of the efficacy of various counseling techniques. I also present an interesting case where the principals are known personally to me, which resulted in a healthy, loving, sexual relationship."

"Miss Krajick," a woman professor interrupted, "Do you have proof of this personal research into the purported positive outcome?"

"I have my research notes taken from interviews, as well as from reading the detailed journal kept by the male sibling, whom I call Abel in my report. He documented his feelings and reflections on his relationship with his sister, whom I call Delilah, both contemporaneously and later. In accordance with the research guidelines, I have handed in my interview notes as well as the notes I made from the journal. These are far more detailed than any of the other cases, because the outcome is at odds with all my other research. Obviously, I cannot reveal the names of the individuals involved because I promised complete confidentiality."

"Proceed, Bethany," Doctor Krieg said.

She spent the next two hours describing her research, the interviews that she conducted, and the counseling provided, and the short and long-term mental and physical health status.

"Miss Krajick," a male professor asked, "You describe the home life of Abel and Delilah as abusive and severely repressive. Was this observed by you at any point?"

"Yes. I did see the abusive behavior first-hand, and I also have third party confirmation. I was able to interview three close family friends as well."

That was news to me. I wondered who she talked to. Probably Melanie, Larry, and Jennifer. They would be in the best positions to back up her statement that my mom was abusive.

"Bethany," Doctor Krieg said, "You suggest that Abel and Delilah's mother had a diagnosable mental illness, and you believe that this illness drove Abel and Delilah to develop their relationship in, for lack of a better term, self-defense. I know this is speculation, but do you believe that is the actual cause for the success, if you will, of their incestuous relationship?"

"Partly, yes," Bethany replied. "But I would say the main reason is that the younger female sibling, Delilah, was the one who initiated the contact. There was no grooming by Abel that I could discern. In fact, if there was grooming, it was by Delilah with help from two of Abel's closest female friends. I've documented this in the paper."

Mercifully, the conversation turned towards other topics, as I was becoming more and more uncomfortable, and it was taking serious effort to remain completely placid and not react to anything that was being said. The questioning went on for another forty minutes until all five professors indicated that they had no further questions.

"Because of the special circumstances, we're going to meet right away to discuss your grade on your project. If you and Mr. Adams would step out, we'll call you back as soon as we decide. I would expect at least thirty to forty minutes, so if you want to go get a bite to eat, be back about 1:00pm."

"Thank you, Doctor Krieg," Bethany said.

We left the building and went to Rocky Rococo's to have lunch and were back outside the conference room about forty minutes later. Ten minutes after that, the door opened and Bethany was invited in. I wasn't asked in, so I stayed put. Fifteen minutes later, she came back out with a broad smile.