Chapter 25: Confrontations and Conversations

August 21, 1986, Chicago, Illinois

"Joyce, I said that I'm not going to put up with this!" I declared for the third time.

"Steve, don't do anything rash or stupid. Threatening Connie was NOT smart."

"Oh, that wasn't a threat; that was a promise!" I snarled. "I told her so, too. If Anthony or Connie, or anyone associated with them so much as THINKS about Becky, I will put a stop to this in whatever way and by whatever means I deem appropriate at the time. You know me well enough to know that isn't an idle threat."

"I know. That's what concerns me. Look, it's not worth life in prison or a lifetime debt to the Outfit. Let me see if I can do something about it. I have one card that I've yet to play."

"What's that?"

"Grandmother," Joyce said.

"Don Joseph's wife? What can she do?"

"Rein in my sister. Connie can control Anthony if she wants to."

"I'm sorry, but I don't see that working," I said. "Connie is drunk on the illusion of power. She's the one driving Anthony, and she's not going to back off when she thinks that she can win. She's wrong, but nobody will convince her of that short of putting that toy against her temple."

"Steve! Grandfather would NOT approve. You know that. You gave him your word and he and I both expect you to keep it."

"It's not up to me, Joyce. If Becky so much as THINKS she's in danger, I will make absolutely sure that she is not. Do you hear me?"

"What is it with that girl?" Joyce asked, sounding exasperated.

"I got her involved in something I never should have. And I did it for my own selfish reasons. And now I'm going to make damned sure it doesn't come back to haunt her. I'm responsible."

Joyce sighed, "Let me try. Please. Give me until Monday. I'll see them at Grandmother's house on Sunday."

"Good luck," I sighed. "I see this only ending one way. It's either me or someone from the Outfit. I'd call the FBI, but that would lead them back to you and all the legitimate businesses."

"Just wait, please," she begged.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you Monday," I said.

I hung up and blew out a long breath. Anthony and Connie were escalating as they'd promised they would. And I was pushing back exactly I'd promised. And all that was doing was setting up the next round of escalation. The problem was, I didn't see any way to de-escalate if Joyce couldn't find a way to rein in her sister.

Connie hadn't threatened Becky, but she didn't need to. All she had to do was make contact and get Becky to call me. I'd played it down with Becky, but a second call or some other action would make Becky nervous and suspicious, and she was unlikely to let me pass it off as someone trying to find me that knew me from Milford. Fortunately, she'd never known Joyce's last name.

I had no idea what was up with Anthony and Connie, so I decided to get my gun from the safe deposit box and lock it in my desk drawer with my journal. I grabbed a gym bag and walked out of the house and towards Hyde Park Boulevard. When I arrived at the bank, I signed in, and eventually was led to the safety deposit boxes. The bank manager and I both turned our keys, and I removed the box and went to the small private room. I transferred the gun, holster, and the two boxes of ammunition to my gym bag and zipped it up. I replaced my safe deposit box, and both the manager and I turned our keys to lock it, and then I headed home.

At the house, I went to my study and closed and locked the door. I loaded a magazine with rounds and put it into the gun. I didn't chamber a round and double-checked that the safety was on. I put the gun into the holster, and put it, and the two boxes of ammunition in the back of the drawer with my journals and locked it. I put the chain with the key on it around my neck, then got up and went upstairs to finish my work for the day.

August 24, 1986, Chicago, Illinois

Joyce called late in the afternoon on Sunday, and I took the call in my study.

"Grandmother reamed Connie. We'll see what happens."

"What does she know?" I asked.

"That Connie was trying to force you to do something that Grandfather forbade. She didn't ask for details. Think about who she lived with for more than fifty years."

"Good point. She had to know things. So?"

"Connie didn't say anything to me, but she was obviously upset that I went to Grandmother. All we can do now is wait."

"OK. I won't say anything to Becky or do anything. BUT, if they say or do anything to Becky, then all bets are off, Joyce."

She sighed, "I know. I wish Grandfather had realized what a hothead Anthony was and how easily my sister uses her body to control him. I only wish I had that kind of control over Jake!"

"How is that going?" I asked.

"We're trying to figure out logistics. He wants to get engaged and I want him to ask me, but he still owes the Navy a minimum of three years, and he really doesn't want to resign his commission that soon."

"What about Nancy Blanchard?" I asked.

"She's learning. It'll be a couple of years before I could turn over all the day-to-day stuff to her."

"So work towards that," I said. "If she can do that and you're available by phone, you could be anywhere. And when Jake disappears for four to six months on his boomer, you can be in Cincinnati."

"That's going to suck," she said.

"Yeah, but the reunions should be explosive!" I chuckled.

She laughed, "Bad Joyce would be tame compared to what THAT will be like!"

"I'll warn the National Geological Survey to turn off their seismographs!" I chuckled. "Including ones in Hawaiߴi!"

"Exactly! Just play it cool, Steve. Promise?"

"I promise, Joyce."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I went to find Jessica so that Kara and I could walk her to work. She was back on the overnight shifts, which meant another week of a very tired, very cranky Jessica.

"How does this work with your Residency?" Kara asked.

"Between ninety and a hundred hours a week is pretty common," Jessica said. "If you think about it, there are only 168 hours total, so that's less than ten hours off per day. But it's often thirty-six-hour shifts separated by time off."

"So we'll hardly see you?"

"Actually, I get breaks for lunch and dinner and the house is close enough that I can come home and eat and shower and get back. Assuming I get the breaks. It all depends on the flow of cases."

"That's what Doctor Barton told me," I said. "He also said that it calms down in your second year and that after your third year, you'll be treated a lot better as a surgeon."

"That's true. After three years, I'll work with limited supervision on cases, they feel I'm qualified to handle. On stuff I'm not qualified, I'll work with a senior surgeon until I am qualified. Of course, in a mass-casualty trauma, that whole plan can go out the window and I could have to start procedures that I'm not proficient with before someone gets there to take over, or even doesn't, and I have to try my best."

"I told Doctor Barton this whole setup was nuts. I think I was happier when I didn't know what went on behind the scenes."

"Most people don't want to see how the sausage is made," Jessica laughed as we walked up to the doors to the ER.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 6:00am," I said.

"Have fun with Elyse!" Jessica teased. "Or is it all just businesslike?"

"You're kidding, right Jess?" Kara laughed. "Steve is not going to approach sex with Elyse as a 'business proposition' no matter what the goal is! He slept with her before he or I even knew the other person existed!"

"Thanks for being a good sport about this," I said, kissing her softly.

"It's all part of the package deal," Jessica said. "I walked into this with my eyes wide open and I'm not objecting."

Jessica and Kara exchanged a soft kiss, and then Jessica walked into the hospital. As Kara and I started our walk home, our arms went around each other.

"Are you worried about Jess?" Kara asked.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. It's just hard to tell how she feels about things when she's cranky. I have to make allowances for that. She wasn't tonight, but the last time she had the overnight shift, she about bit my head off over nothing."

"She's stressed by hard work and lack of sleep. We just need to handle her with kid gloves. Her other senior Clerkships and Sub-Internships won't be like this."

"No, but her Residency will, at least for the first year. Doctor Barton basically gave me the same advice."

"You know what Jess said? That she signed up for this? Well, so did you. Are you sorry that you did?"

"No!" I said vehemently. "I guess her crankiness is frustrating me. And that's exactly what Doctor Barton was talking about when he asked me if I understand now why so many doctors end up divorced."

"Remember what we talked about? That my role is to help you both through this? Well, that's what I'm doing. Go see Elyse when we get home, and then you and I will sit in the sauna so you can relax."

"Thanks, Honey," I said, kissing her on the cheek.

We followed her plan and after Elyse and I spent an hour working on our baby, Kara and I sat in the sauna to relax. In a role-reversal, when we got into the tub to soak, Kara sat behind me and held me. It was comforting and reassuring. I'd never really done it before and I started to understand how the girls felt when I held them this way.

"I think I'm starting to understand why you like this so much," I said with a deep sigh. "You did something like this when Bethany dropped her bombshell — you cuddled me to you instead of the other way around."

"You're very good at the giving comfort part, Snuggle Bear. Now you need to learn how to receive it. You like to be strong, but sometimes you need to admit your weakness and ask for help, as you did today."

"You are an amazing woman, Kara Adams. A bit Machiavellian, but amazing nonetheless."

"I simply saw the solution and presented it to you. You had to do all the work to make it happen."

"Bullshit," I laughed. "You led Jess and me like lambs to the slaughter! My sister only wishes she had that kind of control over me! Ever!"

"Oh, she did. It resulted in a shredded hymen. But we dealt with that last Fall."

"True. Kara Anne Adams, puppet master," I chuckled.

"Oh, you poor baby. You have sex with two beautiful women who are married to you and love you dearly. You have a free pass to have sex with Elyse and get her pregnant. Twice! And you're being commanded to eventually take Bethany to Kohler and finally resolve your issues. You had Lyudmila and you'll have other girls in the future, even if it's a long time from now. Tell me ONE guy who would object to an arrangement like this! Just one!"

"Larry Higgins!" I said, causing both of us to laugh hard.

"OK, I'll give you that one," Kara said through her laughter. "Are you seriously complaining about how this worked out?"

"Not at all. I'm just pointing out that the 'invisible hand of god' isn't so invisible! I'm still curious why you wouldn't just accept my proposal and pushed me into this arrangement."

"I had needs, too, Snuggle Bear. I need Jess just as much as you do. But I had a hard time telling you about it. I kind of had to work you towards it."

"I'm missing something here," I said.

"I needed someone who was close to you like I am, who could be close to me, and who wouldn't come between us, or me between the two of you. Remember what I told Stephanie about not interfering? Well, this is how you can have the girls you need without it interfering."

"Then explain Bethany," I said.

"She won't come between us. You two will fix your friendship, you'll be very close, intimate even, but there will be a line that she won't cross. She knows that, Snuggle Bear. You can get plenty of advice from her, but it won't be about you and Jess, nor you and me. That advice has to come from Doctor Barton, Kurt, or your new friend Karl. It can't be Nick, given he'll be married to Bethany."

"You think so?" I asked.

"I've talked to her, and I've seen them together. Once she has her head screwed on straight, they'll become a couple. But I don't think they'll marry for a few years. She can't take that risk, if you know what I mean."

"I do. I think they're a great couple and Nick's a great guy, so I hope that you're right."

"She told him everything about you, about the rape, about Andrew, and about how things went wrong. Who is the only other person she totally opened up to like that?"

"Me," I said.

"Exactly. She knows. And Nick didn't run away from her, which means he's the man for her. It'll just take some time."

"Damn, Kara. I keep underestimating you and you keep surprising me."

"You unlocked me," she said. "And I very much enjoyed having my lock picked!!"

I chuckled, and turned slightly so that my head rested on Kara's breast. She stroked my hair with one hand and held me tightly with the other one. When we eventually got out of the tub, we put on robes and went up to our room to shower and then cuddle in bed. I was a very lucky man, even if Kara had manipulated things to put me in a position to be this happy.

"I'm grateful," I said.

"Good."

August 30, 1986, Chicago, Illinois

"Hi, Penny," I said as she came into the house with Jesse on Saturday evening.

"Hi! I thought I'd come talk to you for a few minutes before the guys get here. Josie and Jennifer are getting ready to go out with the girls."

"Anything important?"

"No, just saying 'Hi'. I talked to you earlier about Jonathan."

"Did you call Jackie as I suggested?"

"Yes. She was a big help. I'm going to break up with him."

I nodded. That didn't surprise me. He'd pushed her just a bit too far, and when she'd said 'no', he'd tried again. If there was one thing I wouldn't stand for, it was a guy not respecting a girl who said 'no', no matter what point they were at in their relationship.

"I think that's a good idea. 'No' means 'no'."

"He said that because I'd done it before, it wasn't a big deal," Penny said.

"It's ALWAYS a big deal. I hope Jackie told you that."

"She did. It kind of sucks because I don't have a date for the mixer in two weeks."

"Won't there be lots of unattached guys there? Maybe you'll meet someone new. Someone who respects you."

She smiled, "Someone like you?"

"Someone who loves and respects you? Yes. But remember, those boys are teenagers still. Not adults. Of course, I'm not always the best role model for being an adult."

Penny giggled, "That's why you have Jessica! She helps you be an adult!"

"True," I said. "And don't forget Kara."

"I think Kara is WAY more fun than Jessica! You used to be a lot more fun!"

"I have to be responsible. Who are you holding in your arms?"

"Jesse. Your son."

"Exactly. And sometime in the next year, Elyse is going to have my baby. You and I still have fun together, it's just different. You'll see when you get older and have obligations like a house, a husband, and kids."

"Your bed is big enough for four, right?" she smirked.

I chuckled, "Talk to me when you graduate from college. I think you might have a different opinion at that point. Now, run along, I just heard Kurt and Kathy in the foyer."

Penny gave me a quick kiss and took Jesse back to the coach house just as Kathy, Kurt, and Bethany walked in. I shook hands with Kurt and exchanged hugs with the girls, and they quickly left us to go find Kara and Jessica. Jessica had gone to bed as soon as she'd arrived home on Friday night and had slept nearly fourteen hours. The overnight shifts were brutal, but she was more or less her normal, cheery self by late Saturday afternoon.