Chapter 47: Taking Care of Business

March 30, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"What time will you be home?" I asked Jessica at 4:00am as we finished breakfast.

"Well, I was assigned to a service that does scheduled surgeries and procedures, so unless something goes wrong, I'll be home by 6:00pm. It's quite a drive up to Northwestern and back."

"There should be almost no traffic now, but coming home will be during Rush Hour."

"After the first few days, we'll know better, then."

Jessica finished her juice, and I walked her out to her Camaro. We hugged and kissed and she was off to her first day of her rotation. The end was in sight, and the three of us were quite happy about that. Jessica had a four-week outpatient rotation in Indianapolis in May, and then she would graduate and would be 'Doctor Adams' for real.

I went back into the house, filled my travel mug with coffee, and walked to the office. It was early, but I liked being in the office alone, when it was completely quiet. Today I'd get about three hours of pure, uninterrupted work done before everyone showed up and we had our staff meeting.

Just after 8:00am Kaitlin came to the door of my office.

"Steve, there's a call for you from someone named Ivan Voronin," she said. "Line 1."

I pressed the button on the phone and lifted the handset.

"Vanya? It's Stepa. Good morning!"

He laughed, "Good evening! It's much later in Moscow! How are you?"

"Very good! What can I do for you?"

"Do you remember the company I helped start in Wisconsin? Belarus Tractors?"

"I do," I said.

"They have need of some assistance with their computer systems. They have a programmer that they hired, but she needs help from someone who is more experienced. Could your company provide this assistance?"

"Possibly, depending on what system they are using," I said.

"I am not sure. I have the contact information. The programmer's name is Chris Gibson, and of course, you should remember Viktor Bykov, who is still the managing director."

"I'll call them today, Vanya Konstantinovich. How are things in Moscow?"

"Very good. I have other news for you!"

"Tanya and Dmitry?" I asked.

"Yes. Dmitry Sergeyevich has formally asked Tanya to marry him. She has said 'yes', which I do not think will surprise you."

I chuckled, "No. Her birthday gift to Jesse was from the two of them. That was pretty clear!"

"They will marry on August 1st in Moscow. I am hoping that you and your family will come for the wedding and a visit!"

"It may be a bit tricky because of Jessica's Residency, but I can speak to Doctor Barton, the Head of Emergency Medicine at the hospital, and try to arrange it."

"And Kara?" he asked.

"School starts about two weeks after that, so it shouldn't be a problem. What about getting permission?"

"I will arrange everything. I assume that all of you have passports?"

"I'll need to get an endorsement on mine for Jesse if Jennifer allows me to bring him along."

"The mother of your son may come as well, if you wish. Just let me know in the next week. I will arrange for all the necessary visas. You will need to send your passports to the Soviet Embassy, but not until you hear from me or someone in Washington."

"Of course, Vanya! I'm looking forward to it! What about hotel reservations?"

"I would like to put you at the Metropol, but it is being renovated and I am not sure that it can accommodate you. If not, then the Russia Hotel or the Moscow Hotel. I will let you know. The most practical way to fly to Moscow is KLM to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, and then Aeroflot from Schiphol to Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. You cannot book Aeroflot direct, because President Reagan revoked our permission to fly from the US after the incident with the Korean plane. If you have any trouble booking the flights, please call the Embassy in Washington. Aleksey Nikolay'ich is aware of the invitation and will assist with any problems. When you have the flight information, relay it to me through him."

"Thank you, Vanya! I will speak to everyone and let you know who will be coming."

"You're welcome, Stepa! It will be good to see you again."

"I feel the same way. And thank you for the business referral!"

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I immediately dialed Doctor Barton's office and was lucky to catch him before his Monday morning staff meeting.

"Steve? What can I do for you?" he asked after his secretary put me through.

"I need a favor. My Russian friend Tatyana is getting married in Moscow on August 1st. Do you think that you could arrange for Jessica to have some time off at the end of July and beginning of August?"

"It's a bit irregular, as I said, but I should be able to arrange a leave of absence for her. Can you limit it to no more than ten days?"

"I'm sure we can do that," I said. "If we left on the 28th of July and came back on the 3rd of August, would that work?"

"Let me get everything ready. I can't actually submit it until after she starts in June, but I'll clear it with the powers that be. Let me know the exact dates once you have your reservations."

"I will. Thanks for your help!" I said.

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up. I had a few minutes before the staff meeting would start, so I called the travel agent and asked him to provide me with flight options around the dates I'd given Doctor Barton. I told him what Vanya said, and he agreed that was most likely the best option, though he said he'd also price it through London, Paris, and Helsinki as well.

The staff meeting was mercifully short, with the only really important item being welcoming Terry Penfield, the new programmer. When the meeting finished, I called Dave and Julia in to let them know about my planned trip, as well as the lead that Vanya had given me. We decided to call the programmer using my speakerphone and see if we could help.

When the call was transferred, it was answered by a young woman with a very friendly voice.

"Hello, Chris speaking!"

"Hi, this is Steve Adams from NIKA Consulting. I have with me Dave and Julia Kallas as well. I understand from Ivan Voronin that you need programming help?"

"Yes. Mr. Bykov told me that you would be calling."

"What system are you using?"

"It's an NCR Unix system running Business Basic Plus. It's like MAI Basic Four's software."

"We should be able to provide help with that," I said. "We do a lot of programming in Basic, as well as Prime Information and Advanced Revelation. What does the software do?"

"Inventory, ordering, and invoicing. I'm only a part-time programmer. I'm responsible for accounting, and do some programming, but I'm not that experienced."

"What are you looking for?"

"Programming help when we need it. Right now, I have a list of changes that we need to make, as well as a couple of problems that I haven't been able to solve."

"We should probably have someone come up and look at your system and get an idea of what it is you need so we can make a proper proposal," Julia said. "When could we come up?"

"Anytime. I'm in the office every day."

"Let me consult our schedule and I'll call you back," Julia said. "It probably won't be more than an hour."

She thanked us and we hung up.

"Is this something you have to do personally to keep your Russian friends happy?" Dave asked. "It'll play havoc with our schedules if that's the case."

"No. I think if I go up for the initial meeting and see Mr. Bykov, that will be sufficient. Vanya specifically said 'your company' to me, not 'you'. So he knows. I think you and I should go up, Julia. It's your show to run, obviously, I'll just be along for the relationship-building part."

"Could I assign Charlie to this?" Dave asked. "She's nearly done with the work for Ashe Construction, and this seems like it'll be an on-again, off-again kind of thing, once we get the initial stuff out of the way."

"Assign whomever you want, Dave!" I chuckled. "It's your team, though I'd strongly suggest that it not be me."

"Do you have any days that are out?" Julia asked.

"No. I have no plans for the next couple of weeks. I do have a time off request for the end of July and early August. Tanya is getting married!"

"You're going to Moscow?" Dave asked.

"Yes. And hopefully, so are Jessica, Kara, and Jesse. Jennifer is invited as well."

"I think I can see my way clear to approve your vacation request," Dave grinned.

"I'll call Chris Gibson back and make the arrangements for us to go up," Julia said.

"Thanks. Now I need to get to work. Does Terry need any help from me?"

"Not at this point. Zeke is in the office today and is taking him through the software. I'm sure that if he has questions, he'll ask. And Tasha will be in this afternoon as well."

Julia and Dave left my office, though Julia was back in ten minutes saying that she's set our meeting at Belarus for Wednesday morning at 10:00am. I made a note on my desk calendar and got to work.

That evening at dinner, I announced Tanya's upcoming wedding.

"That's going to be difficult for me, Tiger," Jessica said.

"I already talked to Doctor Barton about a leave of absence. He's doing the paperwork and will put it in once you start. I asked the travel agent to arrange a flight to Moscow on or about the 28th of July and we'd come home on or about the 3rd of August."

"You talked to him before you told me?!" she said with a surprised frown.

"Yes, Babe, because I needed to make sure that you could go. Kara won't have started school, so I knew it wasn't an issue for her. Jennifer and Jesse were specifically invited, which means Josie could go as well, though our Russian friends are a bit uptight about same-sex relationships."

"I'm so excited!" Kara said.

"I'm so jealous!" Bethany said.

"Me, too!" my sister added.

"Have you asked Jennifer?" Kara asked.

"Not yet. I'll talk to her after dinner. Jess, are you OK with this plan?"

"Yes," she said. "I just wish you had told me before, Doctor Barton."

"Sorry, Babe. I was so hyped about it and you were working. I'll remember for next time."

After dinner, I went to the coach house to talk to Jennifer and Josie.

"You want to take our son to the Soviet Union?" Josie asked warily.

"I do. You guys are invited."

"I'd actually prefer not to use my vacation to go to Moscow," Josie said. "I never really knew any of your Russian friends, and I'm not particularly interested in Russia. I guess I don't have a problem with you taking Jesse if Jenny is OK with it."

"I don't want to go without Jos," Jennifer said. "But I suppose I could see my way clear to let Jesse Stepanovich go with you!"

I laughed, "Now you see why I wanted him to have my first name as his middle name. He'll fit right in."

"And marry one of Tanya's daughters some day?"

"Maybe," I said. "But I think Francesca might have something to say about that!"

"Jesse love Francesca!" he giggled.

We all laughed.

"Did you teach him that, Jen?" I asked.

"Not directly, but he's heard me tell Jos that I love her and he sees us kiss. I think he just put two and two together."

"Mama One love Mama Two!" Jesse said.

"He's sticking to that one?" Jessica smirked.

"Doctor Seuss has no idea how influential he is! So, is it OK if I take Jesse with us to Moscow?"

"Sure, why not? He'll probably come back speaking Russian with a blonde on each arm!"

"Thanks. You two are the best!" I said.

April 1, 1987, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

"Good morning, Viktor Vladimirovich," I said when we walked into Belarus Tractor on Wednesday morning.

"Good morning, Stephen Rayevich," Viktor Bykov answered.

"This is Julia Kallas, who manages my company for me."

"And this is Chris Gibson, our financial controller, accountant, and programmer."

"Hi," Chris, a very cute blonde, said.

She was about our age and had a healthy Midwestern glow about her. Her long, straight blonde hair hung down nearly to her waist.

I caught Julia's very discreet smirk, unseen by the others.

"Stephen Rayevich, please, have coffee with me while Julia and Chris look at the software."

I nodded and followed him to his office while Julia followed Chris through a door that appeared to open to a warehouse. Viktor poured two mugs of thick, black coffee and we sat on a couch in his office.

"It has been what, six years since we first met in Chicago?" he said.

"Yes, the first time was at the reception to which I escorted Tatyana Ivanovna. How is business?"

"Very good. We are able to sell quite a few tractors to Americans. This has greatly pleased Ivan Konstantinovich because he did all the work to set this up. We have an assembly and repair plant set up in Slidell, Louisiana, as well. Tractors are shipped there for delivery in the south, and here for delivery in the north."

We talked for about thirty minutes, with most of the conversation being about our two businesses, but some about our respective families. His sons were attending a private school in Washington, DC, and he expected to be recalled to Russia within a year or so. I told him about my upcoming trip to Moscow and he made some suggestions about what to do and see in the city, though he said that he was sure that Ivan Voronin would see that we had a good time.

"I think I have enough information to make our proposal," Julia said, coming into the office with Chris.

"I'm sure your proposal would be fine. When could you have it to me and when could I expect someone here to work?"

"I can have the proposal to you by tomorrow," Julia said. "We can have someone here the day after you sign it."

"Fortunately, I do not have to clear this through Washington, so I will be able to sign it as soon as I receive it. Please plan to have your programmer here on Monday."

"Of course," Julia said.

We shook hands and then walked out to my car for the 90-minute drive back to Hyde Park.

"Did he just imply that he'd sign anything we put in front of him?" Julia asked.

"Of course," I said. "The Russians know that I'll be completely fair with them. I'm sure Vanya told him to just sign the proposal."

"So just our straight hourly rates, plus travel time?"

"Yes," I said. "How much work is there initially?"

"I'd say five days, given we don't know the software and Charlie will have to spend some time figuring it out. I hate to say it, but it's serious spaghetti code. Chris didn't write it, and she's having real trouble trying to maintain it. Rewriting it top-to-bottom would be best, but that would be a very expensive project for them."

"OK. Just quote the hourly rate and your estimate for fixing the bugs and implementing the changes."

"Will do," she said.

When we arrived back at the office, Kaitlin handed me a phone message from the travel agent. I went to my office and called him back. The absolute best plan from his perspective was to leave very late on the 27th, arriving in Amsterdam on the morning of the 28th and then in Moscow late in the afternoon. On the way back, we'd leave Moscow on the morning of the 3rd, arrive in Amsterdam late in the morning, then in Chicago late in the evening. I asked him to reserve seats for three adults plus Jesse, who would be in a child seat of some kind. Once I had the details, I called Washington and relayed the information to Aleksey Anisimov, who instructed me to send our passports to his attention as soon as possible.

April 7, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Who are you voting for this morning?" Jessica asked as I walked her to her car at 4:00am on Tuesday morning.