Chapter 66: Bethany Michelle Krajick

August, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

On Monday morning, we had a short staff meeting because Dave and Julia weren't back from their honeymoon. They'd return on Thursday, and things would get back to normal, at least at NIKA. Cindi reported that she had a few more presentations scheduled, and that she was sure we'd have another network installation in the next few weeks. She and Mario both had appointments, so they left immediately after the meeting. Penny, Dany, and I got to work on coding.

"I talked to Elyse," Dany said when we took a coffee break about 10:00am.

I chuckled, "And?"

"OK. Your life is officially nuts!" she laughed. "Perhaps even a bit too crazy even for me!"

"I provided fair warning! Are you happy here so far?"

"Absolutely. School starts next week, so that's when my schedule changes. I guess Penny has two more weeks?"

"Yes. You'll probably see her around on Saturday mornings when you're here. She's a great friend, in addition to being a great employee."

"That much is obvious. Do you know that she's madly in love with you?"

I nodded, "I'm aware. Penny and I have a special relationship, but like you, she's an employee, so ethically, she has to be off limits."

Dany cocked her head and looked at me, but didn't say anything. She and I went back to work until lunchtime.

"Penny, I need to run an errand. Why don't you come with me and I'll buy you lunch."

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily.

"Dany, we'll be out for a couple of hours. I have to run out to Wheaton to place an order. Penny's coming along."

"OK. I'll hold down the fort! Mario is supposed to be back by 1:00pm anyway."

Penny and I walked out to my car, and we started on our way to Wheaton.

"Penny, I brought you along because I want to tell you that on Friday I'm going to ask Jessica and Kara to marry me."

"Both of them?" she giggled. "Sounds like fun!"

"You're OK with this development?" I asked.

"Sure. I knew it was going to happen eventually. Of course, I thought it was going to be Bethany, but she's so dumb that she doesn't deserve you! What a dope!"

"I know that's how you feel, but you can never say anything like that to her!"

"I won't. But if you asked me, I'd say yes in a heartbeat! Even if I had to share!"

"You wouldn't like that, Pretty Penny. You wanted me all to yourself. But we'll be together forever, just in a different way."

"I know. What are we doing in Wheaton?"

"Buying an engagement ring for Jessica, along with a diamond pendant, and then rings for Kara, Jessica, and me."

"Oh cool! So she'll get a necklace like Kara, Sofia, and Bethany have?"

"And you, Penny."

"Mine's smaller because you didn't want mom to freak out!" she said.

"When you get older, I'll buy you a full-size one. You deserve it."

She smiled broadly and started asking questions about Jessica, Kara, and how the relationship would work. Her eyes grew wide at several points, but she took it all in and asked some thoughtful questions. By the time we got to Mr. Digrindakis' jewelry store, she knew pretty much everything there was to know about Jessica.

"You are, wait a moment, Steve, Dave's friend," Mr. Digrindakis said.

"You have a very good memory, Sir!" I said.

"What can I do for you and your lovely young lady friend?"

Penny positively glowed from the compliment.

"I need to buy an engagement ring, a diamond pendant like the one that Penny is wearing, only bigger, and then I need three custom rings."

"Let me show you what I have. Because you are Dave's friend, I will give you the same kind of deal that he received."

He showed me a number of diamonds, and as I'd done three years before with Kara, I selected one that was just under a carat. The new one that I'd purchased for Kara, and had offered to her on her birthday, was smaller, but I felt that wouldn't create any issues for her. I picked out a setting that was almost identical to the one I had for Kara, and then looked at the pendants he had on display. Penny and I found one that we liked that was in the right price range.

"For the rings, I need to bring my designer out. One moment."

He went to a back room, and a moment later he came out with a man who looked to be in his 70s.

"This is Mr. Papadakis; he can design the rings for you. When do you need them?"

"No sooner than the end of September," I said.

"This is easily accomplished," Mr. Papadakis said. "Please, describe what you want."

"Two ladies' and one man's rings. They need to match in design. I'd like white gold, with three stones, two small rubies with a purple stone of some kind set between them."

He nodded, "Spinel, I would think for the purple stone. It's quite durable. You would want the stones set flush in the ring?"

"Yes."

"So then, just chips, really. I can do this. I'll just need the sizes."

I gave him Kara's and Jessica's sizes, and he pulled a set of sizing rings from his pocket to check mine.

"Steve? Won't you need a ring for your left hand?" Penny asked.

"Sure, but I want Jess and Kara to pick that one out," I said.

About ten minutes later I had an order form with the total price, and a large discount shown. Penny gasped at the total, but it was actually less than I had expected to spend. I signed the order and Mr. Digrindakis ran my credit card for the pendant and a deposit for the other items.

"The diamond ring will be ready on Friday morning. I'll call you when the others are ready, most likely in two to three weeks. Do you want to see a drawing before the rings are made?"

"That makes sense," I said.

"I'll have it on Friday morning when you come for the ring," Mr. Digrindakis said.

I thanked him, we shook hands, and he kissed the back of Penny's hand, which caused her to giggle and blush. We got back in the car and stopped at Wendy's on Roosevelt Road for lunch, then headed back to Hyde Park. When we arrived home, I put the pendant in a locked drawer in my desk, and then Penny and I went back to work.

"Steve, do you have a minute?" Mario asked as I walked in.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Do you have time to call on a customer? They want to meet the owner before they sign up for a support contract."

"No problem. I'm free the rest of the week, basically. Set it up. Which customer?"

"Allen & Baker. They want a dozen computers, a network, and a server."

I laughed, "That's where my friend Jamie works as a lawyer. I think it's a lock. Let me know when."

He picked up the phone and spoke to someone there and arranged a meeting for Wednesday afternoon. I only had one suit, and I figured it was time to buy another one. I'd have to do that soon, if I was going to have to go to meetings like this. Theo was always impeccably dressed, so I'd ask him the next time I saw him. That made me think about Anthony. I hadn't heard from him, which didn't bother me, but I was sure that something would be asked, and probably soon.

That evening, after dinner, Penny and Dany went back to the office. I knew that I needed to talk with Bethany and figured this was as good of a time as any.

"We should talk," I said to Bethany as we left the dining room.

"OK," she said. "Where?"

"It's up to you. We can use the Indian room, or the back yard, or go for a walk."

"How about the Indian room?" she suggested.

"OK. I put water on for tea earlier, so let me fix the pot."

She followed me to the kitchen. I put the tea leaves in the tea ball, put it in the teapot, and then added hot water from the kettle. I put two cups and the teapot on a tray and we went to the Indian room.

"George, do you mind if we have this room?" I asked.

"No, it's cool. I'll go sit in the sunroom. I'm just reading."

"Thanks," I said.

I shut the door behind George and locked it, and then Bethany and I sat at the low table on the floor pillows. We were quiet for a bit while the tea steeped, and then I poured some for each of us.

"Are you doing OK?" I asked.

"I guess so," she sighed. "I still feel like everyone is angry with me."

"I know. I wish I could wave a wand and make it go away, but I think everyone will get over it. I'm certainly going to do anything I can to change that as quickly as possible."

"Thanks. Are you doing OK?"

"Yes," I replied with a nod. "I have something I need to tell you. I'm going to ask Jessica and Kara to marry me on Friday."

She sighed deeply, "I'm not surprised. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. The three of us spent most of the weekend together. It won't surprise you that I talked to Anala, Jackie, Stephanie, Jennifer, Josie, Sofia, and Kathy."

"Of course you did," Bethany smiled. "And nobody told you not to?"

"I didn't talk to them until after Kara told me that she wanted me to accept Jessica's proposal."

"Are we going to be OK?" she asked.

"I think that's up to you and Andrew," I said. "You need to bring him around at some point."

"I know, but you have to admit that this is a lot to swallow for someone who isn't used to it."

"True, but Jorge adapted. Even Prajesh can handle us in small doses and he's the most conservative person I know! Well, not counting religious fanatics. Pete manages as well."

"I don't want to freak him out!"

"But that won't change if it's now or later. The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be."

"I know; I know," Bethany sighed.

I wanted so badly to ask her if she was sure that she was making the right decision, but I really couldn't do that. Kathy was right in that none of us could say anything to Bethany without it sounding like we were trying to interfere. It just wouldn't be right. I wished there was something I could do, but I couldn't think of anything.

"How are your parents taking this news?" I asked.

"They're confused. My mom was truly shocked that you confessed to cheating on Kara. I explained as best I could what had happened without giving away too much information, but you spilled the beans, so to speak. My dad spent twenty minutes lecturing me on the phone yesterday! Why is everybody so upset?"

Now I was sure that she was making a huge mistake. If she didn't know the answer to THAT question, she definitely wasn't thinking clearly. Something else was going on, and I had no idea what it might be. The only thing I could think of was that she had finally decided that she couldn't handle the group marriage situation, and this was her way of escaping. If she got engaged to someone else, it eliminated that issue.

"You honestly don't know the answer to that question? Seriously?"

She sighed, "They all want me to marry you. They're all angry that I hurt you."

"Yes, that's certainly the case. It's no different from how a lot of them would have felt if I was the one to break it off with you instead of the other way around. Kathy would have been livid."

"I suppose," Bethany said. "She thinks I'm making a huge mistake. She didn't say it, but it was clear from the way she reacted."

"Given our joint history, that shouldn't have come as a surprise. She told me what you two discussed."

"No!" Bethany gasped. "You weren't supposed to ever know that!"

I smiled, "It's OK. Kathy did the right thing in the end. Remember our talk about fantasies? And how the best ones have to stay fantasies?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Well, that's hers. And yours, I guess. Now I understand what you were really saying when you told me about wanting a threesome with her again."

"You turned her down before her wedding, the same as you did Katt."

"Yes, of course I did. You know how much I love Kathy and how much I like making love with her. It's almost as much as YOU like making love with her! But my rule is firm. It has to be. Sofia and I decided against making love again because I'd made up my mind to be with Jessica and Kara."

Bethany smiled, "You're right about that. Pam was fun, but I love Kathy as much as you do. Well, not in a romantic way, but if I had to share you with someone, she was the one I would have preferred. Not that Kara is bad in any way, but, well, Kathy is Kathy."

I nodded, "I know. Trust me, I know. Growing her pubic hair was such a clear sign of what she wanted. that I had a very hard time resisting. But let's get back on topic here. How do we move forward?"

"Will Jessica be OK with me as your best friend?"

"She's bought into the program completely," I said, "to the point of declaring Kara a co-wife. And the two of them agreed that they don't need their own rooms."

"No way!" Bethany gasped.

"Yes. Jessica is fully aware and very willing to join the circus. What about Andrew?"

She sighed, "It's going to be a tougher sell. But I'll work on him. We're going away Labor Day weekend. We have a room in Lake Geneva, and I'll tell him everything."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you should have done that before you let him propose, or at least before you accepted."

"I know," she said. "I was afraid of how he'd react."

We both sipped our tea quietly for several minutes. I really wanted her to open up about why, and I hoped she'd do it voluntarily. If she didn't, then I was going to ask. The silence ended up lasting for ten minutes before she finally spoke.

"You want to know why, don't you?" she asked.

"I do. But only if you really want to tell me."

"I'll try," Bethany said. "I fell in love with him. It didn't happen right away, of course, but I realized it before he asked me to marry him. That part I can't explain any more than I can explain why I love you, or Kathy, or anyone else. But I always dreamed of a typical suburban house, with the picket fence, neighbors with kids, a dog or a cat, living with a good man, and being faithful to him and him to me for our whole lives.

"I never was able to find a guy who could provide that who measured up. We talked about that. I was always looking for a guy like you, but not like you, if you know what I mean. I wasn't looking for Andrew, he just kind of appeared. He's not you. He's almost your exact opposite in many ways. He can provide what you can't — the fulfillment of that dream. Does that make sense?"

"It doesn't have to make sense to me," I said carefully. "It only has to make sense to you. It has to make you happy. It has to meet your needs. If I couldn't meet them, then it makes sense that you wouldn't marry me."

She sighed, "You see, that's just it. You and Andrew meet my needs in very different ways. In fact, you meet very different needs. That's why it snuck up on me. I think you'll understand that, given how you always saw yourself as having very different options and choices."

"Yes, that's quite true," I agreed. "It's what I've always struggled with in the past — which girl met the real needs that I had. Not the ones that I had right at that moment, but the needs I had for the rest of my life. And if she didn't meet them, I had to believe that she could meet them. I finally realized that you were that girl. I realized it just in time for you to tell me you were going to marry someone else. I wonder if I waited too long."

"No, you didn't," Bethany replied. "I knew you were ready to marry me long before you told me. But then I wasn't ready to marry you, and made sure that was clear to you, so you didn't ask. Maybe it had to do with what you told my mom. In fact, I think that was part of it, but only a small part. Mostly, it was figuring out what I needed, really needed, for the rest of my life. You provided so much that I wanted. But it didn't match that dream I had of the future."

"And Andrew does," I said.

She hesitated, and then said, "Yes."

"Why the hesitation?" I asked.

"Because when all my friends think I made a bad decision — in fact, the absolute wrong decision — it's hard to be as sure of myself as I was when he asked me. I was sure. That's why I sort of pushed you away."

"I know," I replied. "And it's OK. As for your friends, they aren't you, and they can't decide for you. But unless you want to end all these friendships, you have to include us in your life, and Andrew has to be part of our clan. If he can't, then you can't. Anala didn't want to integrate too far into our clan because she knew that when she eventually met her husband, it would have to end. Pete and Melanie are on the periphery because Pete can only handle so much crazy. Kurt and Jamie have more or less joined the program. Kenneth hasn't been around much, but that's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Oh? Why?" Bethany asked.

"Confidentially, to my best friend, Katy is at least bi-sexual, but I think she prefers girls. She talked to Josie at length about it and she's trying to suppress her feelings the way Jennifer did. I tried to warn her off marrying Kenneth, but she accepted Kenneth's proposal. I think that's eventually going to go down in flames."