Chapter 19: New York, New York

July 20, 1986, Chicago, Illinois

"What are you going to do in New York City for the next few days?" Jessica asked as we cuddled with Kara in bed on Sunday morning.

"Probably be chased by Lyudmila!" Kara teased.

"I'll have dinner with Colonel Anisimova and her husband tomorrow night. On Tuesday, she's taking me on a tour of the United Nations building and I'm having dinner with Josh and Mary Harrison. They're driving down from Boston. Josh is going to the Kennedy School in the Fall, and they'll stay in the apartment that Mary was sharing with Tanya. Mary's staying in Boston for the Summer because she has an internship job with some foreign relations think tank."

"Are you still bringing Lyudmila with you when you come back?" Jessica asked.

"Yes. She'll be here from Wednesday until Friday. Kara and I will drop her at the airport for a 7:00am flight to California, and then we'll drive to Dawsonville for the race. We'll be back on Tuesday the 29th, when we'll stop in Indianapolis. We'll stay the night and then come to Chicago. Do you still plan to drive up on Friday evening?"

"I do. I'll give you a bunch of stuff to bring with you, if that's OK. Then I can bring the rest of the stuff with me."

"Cool! I am so glad that you're going to be here for two months!" I said.

"Me too! And congratulations again on your black belt! Those weapons were scary looking!"

"The ones I was using, or the ones that Sensei Jim had?"

"The ones your instructor had! Two different kinds of swords, a pole, a knife, and a gun!"

"The gun thing was silly," I said. "Pete's right. If someone points a gun at you, the only proper response is 'yes, Sir' to anything they ask for. Granted, if they're dumb, you might disarm them, but I think it's too risky."

"You managed to piss him off, too," Kara said. "I've never seen that before!"

"You notice I did that AFTER I was awarded 1st Dan, right?" I chuckled.

"Why was he so angry?" Jessica asked.

"Because I made him look foolish by showing him that even up close, he can't defeat a gun."

"Putting your finger in his back and holding the gun far away from him was a neat trick. When he did his arm sweep, he knocked away your hand, but then you squirted him in the face with the water pistol that was in your other hand!" Kara giggled.

"I proved my point," I said. "Of course, I also get to do twenty minutes of extra exercise in every class for three months, but it was worth it!"

"He'll relent in a couple of weeks," Kara said. "I think he just had to act tough. You'll do the exercises without complaining and he'll let it go."

"We'll see." I said, grinning. "He was pretty pissed!"

"But you showed him something that he needed to know!" Jessica said.

"Yes. Don't worry about it. I have the black belt and I get to wear a black or red gi now. I haven't decided which."

"Red. Definitely red," Jessica said.

"Red it is!" I said.

"Tiger, what are you going to do about Lyudmila? You kind of changed the subject before."

"I don't know," I sighed.

"She's going to put on a full-court press according to Kara," Jessica said.

"And Kara's a troublemaker!" I chuckled. "She invited Lyudmila to visit, knowing full well what would be on her mind! What do you think I should do?"

"I think the answer to that question is so obvious that I don't need to answer," Jessica said. "But it would fall within our agreement."

"Screw the agreement," I said. "What I asked for back then and what I want now are not the same thing."

"And why is that?" Jessica asked.

"I guess my attitude has changed," I said.

"Isn't this just your usual caution?" Kara asked.

"I don't think so. Honestly, I have you and Jess. And Elyse. And I have a son. A dalliance isn't as attractive anymore."

"But you are attracted to Lyudmila? And you do want her?" Jessica asked.

"She's cute, she's sexy, and I'm sure she'll be a lot of fun. But I'm not sure that I should do it."

"Because of me?" Jessica said.

"No, because of me," I said.

"I was prepared to say that given that you want her and she wants you, that you should screw her silly and be done with it. That would fit within our agreement. Honestly, all this silly agonizing over something you've done with more than seventy girls just seems, I don't know, forced. I'm afraid that you're trying to fit yourself into a mold that I've made, the same as you did with Kara when you two were in High School.

"We've already agreed to a plan, one that includes you taking Bethany away for a couple of nights to restore things with her. It's fine, Tiger. I made the deal with you and I don't have any regrets about it at all. None. Kara's concerned about you going so long without your dose of virgin blood!"

I chuckled, "I guess that you and Kara had another one of your long talks."

"We did. Every time I talk to her like that, I learn more about you, and what makes you tick. Kara commented that you've gone almost a year without a virgin, which I guess is unheard of!" she giggled.

"Oh, for Pete's sake," I chuckled. "YOU. I had YOU! Every possible way! And that was six months ago!"

"So you got your dose of virgin blood and it sated you for a time?" she teased.

"What am I, some kind of incubus crossed with a vampire?" I chuckled.

"Well, no," she giggled, "since the incubi were supposed to have a cold, unnaturally large penis. Yours is nicely sized, not unnaturally large. And it's certainly not cold!"

"That guy in Insatiable was certainly unnaturally large!" Kara said. "But I don't think it was cold!"

"You and your porn movie!" I chuckled. "And just how many erect penises have you seen, Babe?"

"Work geriatrics. You'll see all the erections you ever wanted to."

"No thanks!" I chuckled. "I guess old people still do it, huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe! I had to make house calls with a doctor to a retirement home. Do you want to know what the number one complaint was?"

"Let me guess. VD?"

"Yep. You got it. A bunch of randy buggers, as a doctor from England that I met in Ethiopia, would say!"

"I think we can safely change the subject," I chuckled. "Back to our agreement."

"Kara mentioned that both Leila and Effy came on to you. I don't think either of those is a good idea."

"Neither do I," I said. "And honestly, even with your, um, encouragement, I'm not sure Lyudmila is a good idea. But I'll take it under advisement."

"Remember one thing — if you do, you have to use a rubber with her. The last thing you want is for her to get pregnant. And you know that it's possible for her to have a sexually transmitted disease while still being a virgin?"

I nodded, "I know. But wearing a rubber is not going to fly with Bethany when the time comes."

"She was tested, right?"

"Yes. And she's been celibate since her last test, after she was with Andrew. No blood transfusions. No needles."

"And you're sure about her birth control pills?"

"Positive," I said. "She'd never try a stunt like the one that Becky pulled."

"OK. In that instance. And that instance only. You and Elyse are using rubbers now, right?"

"Much to our mutual chagrin. But she wants to make sure that the hormones are flushed from her body so she can get pregnant in September as she plans. She quit taking her pills on the 1st of July."

"And a year later, Kara will have her first?" Jessica asked.

"That's the plan," I said. "You'll have your first in 1989?"

"I think so. I've talked to Doctor Barton about it. I can pretty much work right up until I'm ready to deliver and then come back in six weeks. It will prolong my Residency a bit, but it's long already, so it's not that big of a deal. Kara, how do you plan to juggle your Master's and the baby?"

"If the baby is born at the start of the Summer, it'll be pretty easy. I'll arrange my classes so that we'll only need a babysitter a few hours each day. Jesse will still need someone to watch him, so we can probably share with Jennifer and Josie. But we're still talking two years from now, so we'll worry about it when it gets closer. Elyse has more of an issue, though I suspect she'll just keep her baby with her in the office. I hear her boss is a nice guy!"

I chuckled, "It is convenient to work out of the house, though I am still considering a loft in Hyde Park. Alderman Bloom has some connections and we might be able to get some good space at a good price. He wants small companies in his ward, and we're exactly what he's looking for."

"I'm sure that you'll let Elyse bring the baby to the office either way!" Kara said.

"Well, with Jesse, Elyse's kid, and your kid, we might just have company daycare until you finish your graduate degree!" I chuckled.

"I'm glad that I'll be able to contribute to the household budget starting in a year," Jessica said. "Right now, I feel kind of like a mooch."

"Why?" I asked. "What's mine is yours. We're married. We share everything. That's why I'm paying part of your tuition in the Fall and helping with your rent."

"He's right, Jess," Kara said. "We share everything. In ten years, you'll be making six figures and so will Steve. I'll probably never make more than $35,000 or $40,000 a year, unless somebody decides to pay college professors like baseball players!"

"Doubtful," I chuckled. "But then again, I'm a decadent capitalist, so I'm the wrong person to complain to!"

"Practicing for your Russians tomorrow?" Jessica asked with a smirk.

"Tanya was the most strident believer in world socialism of any of them," I said. "Heck, if anything, Lyusya is even more decadent and capitalist than I am!"

"She did seem fairly outspoken at the wedding!" Jessica said.

"That was Lyudmila being calm!" I chuckled. "Remember, this is the girl who was waiting naked in Tanya's bed for me with her charms fully on display, asked me, in front of Tanya, to demonstrate my prowess, and is outspoken about wanting to be an American. She was definitely on her best behavior."

"Did you need to work this afternoon?" Jessica asked.

"Yes, just like I did yesterday," I said. "It's necessary because I'm going to miss some time because of going to New York and then to Dawsonville. I really do have to cut down on the time I'm missing. I can make up some, but it's going to affect the company if I keep doing it. That said, it should calm down a bit after these two trips. I have no plans to go anywhere, not even Indianapolis, because you're going to be here for a couple of months."

"If you don't object, Kara and I will go out, and then I'll head home. I'll come kiss you before I leave, assuming I can get your attention!"

"Let's go have breakfast," I said.

July 21, 1986, New York City, New York

I walked off the plane at La Guardia and down the Jetway to the terminal.

"Welcome, Stephen Rayevich!" Colonel Anisimova said, as I walked up to her.

"Good afternoon, Comrade Colonel!" I said, moving to exchange a Russian style greeting.

"We shall take you to your hotel so that you may check in, and then we shall go to our apartment to have some tea and wait for Aleksey. Lyudmila is at school and will join us for dinner."

We walked out to a Lincoln Town Car which whisked us from the airport, across the East River, to the Hotel InterContinental on 44th Street. Colonel Anisimova waited in the lobby while I checked in and took my bag to my room, and then we were driven to her apartment near the United Nations. She made tea, and we sat on a very comfortable couch to drink it.

"How have things been in New York, Katya Sergeyevna?" I asked.

"This is a very good posting. I like it better than Washington, actually."

"And you get enough time with Aleksey?"

"Yes, he usually does not work on weekends and has permission to travel here. I'm just worried that Lyudmila will decide that she wants to stay in the US when she finishes her education."

"I think that's a given!" I chuckled. "Is that a problem?"

"It could be," Colonel Anisimova said. "A lot will depend on what is happening in Moscow."

"You could always stay in the US!" I said.

"Me? What would I do?"

I thought for a second and remembered a conversation in Chicago.

"You spoke with Patrick Shaughnessy at the party at my house, and he offered you a job!"

"I cannot defect, Stephen Rayevich!"

"Perhaps not, but if Lyudmila decides to stay in the US without permission from your government, that might be problematic. But it's four years, probably more, before you have to worry about that."

"She is very headstrong, my daughter. She is very much like Tatyana Ivanovna, though they have very different ideas of what the future should look like."

"That's for sure! I understand from Tanya that you arranged for her to go to a reception with a Lieutenant Colonel of tanks."

"He is a good man, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Sergeyevich Grigoryev. He has asked Tatyana Ivanovna to see him again."

"That's fantastic!"

"It is unfortunate that you and Tatyana Ivanovna could not find a solution that would have let you be together, but I am quite sure that she would not tolerate the «некультурный» solution that you have chosen."

"No, she wouldn't."

"Things are going well with your two wives?" she said with a smirk.

"Yes, they are! And my son Jesse Stepanovich is getting big!"

"Stepa!" Lyudmila squealed when she came into the apartment.

"Good afternoon, Lyudmila Alekseyevna," I said, standing up.

I greeted her Russian style, and she frowned, but with her mom right there, she knew better than to ask for what she would call a proper greeting, given the scolding that she'd received the previous time. I was sure that her demeanor would change as soon as we were on the airplane heading back to Chicago. Aleksey arrived a few minutes later, and I greeted him Russian-style.

"We'll be going to Smith & Wollensky for dinner," Aleksey said. "I assume this is acceptable?"

"Of course," I agreed.

"Good. Minister Voronin suggested it and arranged for it to be paid by the embassy."

"Please tell him thank you for me when you speak to him," I said.

We left the apartment and rode the elevator to the ground floor where we walked outside to find the Town Car waiting for us. Twenty minutes later, we were sitting at the table perusing menus. The steaks were fantastic, and the conversation was fun. Lyudmila was still on her best behavior, but I continued to suspect that it was the calm before the storm. We completed our meal with some fantastic New York cheesecake.

"Would you come back to the apartment and drink with me?" Aleksey asked when we finished our meal.

"Of course!" I grinned.

"Stepa, tomorrow you should take a cab from your hotel to the United Nations for your tour," Colonel Anisimova said.

"What time should I be there, Katya Sergeyevna?"

"10:00am sharp," she said.

We went back to the Anisimov's apartment near the UN, and I sat with Aleksey at the kitchen table to drink vodka, and eat black bread and pickles. I did my best to pace myself, but I didn't have anything even approaching a Russian tolerance for vodka. When it was time to head back to the hotel, I could just barely walk by myself to the street to hail a cab. I arrived back at the hotel and managed to get up to my room, undress, arrange for a wake-up call, and fall into bed.