Chapter 16: Old Acquaintances

September 12, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Did Tasha leave?" Kara asked when I walked into the sunroom.

"Yes, she did," I sighed.

"Uh-oh! What happened?" Kara asked.

I looked over at Sofia, Elyse, and my sister and shook my head. Kara got up and took my hand and we went upstairs to our room and sat on the loveseat.

"She basically ran out after blurting out her fear that I was going to sleep with Courtney," I said.

"You better start at the beginning," Kara said.

"There isn't much to tell, really. We spent a little over an hour talking about Scott's class and work. Out of the blue, she asked me if I was going to sleep with Courtney. I was surprised and asked what was going on. She clammed up, and got up, and walked out of the study. I followed her and pressed her a bit to tell me what the problem was. She told me she wanted to sleep with me and then basically ran out the door. I let her go at that point."

"Well, she finally said out loud what she's been thinking," Kara said. "That part couldn't have been a surprise."

"No, it wasn't what she said, it was the way she went about it. I've known what she's wanted for ages. The reference to Courtney at the end of a totally work-related conversation was just jarring."

"Tasha has been trying to work up her courage to talk to you about it. I guess Courtney being so obvious just finally pushed her into it. I'm curious. Do you WANT to sleep with Courtney?"

I chuckled, "I really hadn't thought about it. With everything that's going on, a dalliance just isn't really on my mind."

"Stephie?"

"Yes, mostly. But also buying the building for NIKA; and Jess and you; and the boys. Not to mention a new baby in eight months or so. And everything else that's going on."

"You think I'm pregnant?" Kara smiled.

"YOU said you thought that you were!"

"We'll see. I'm supposed to start my period on Wednesday. I bet I won't!"

"Boy or girl?"

"I have no idea! I know both Jennifer and Elyse knew, but I can't tell. A healthy baby is all I want."

"Same here," I said. "You picked two names, so I think we're covered."

"Unless we have twins!" Kara giggled.

"Oh HELL, no!" I said with a grin. "I've seen Jen and Elyse with the boys and how much work they are. I have it easy."

"You do! You don't get fat. Your feet don't swell. Your boobs don't hurt because they're full of milk! You don't have to do 2:00am feedings!"

"All true! It sounds like you've talked to Elyse!"

"And Kathy! She's leaving Kristin with Elyse tonight, so we can go out."

"So what do I do about Tasha?" I asked. "It's going to make work a bit uncomfortable."

"She'll come talk to you when she's ready," Kara said. "Just let her know it's OK to talk to you."

"There's still the issue of her working for NIKA," I said.

"You'll do the right thing," she said firmly, then, giving me a coquettish smile, "Got any plans for the next couple of hours?"

"I didn't!" I said, pulling her into my arms. "But I do now!"

September 13, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

On Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the Indian room with Jessica and Kara when I heard the phone ring. I set my cup of tea on the low table and got up to walk to my study to answer it. I dreaded picking up the phone because the voice at the other end would tell me more than anything that was said. When I got to my study, I shut the door and lifted the handset with trepidation and said 'hello'.

"Hi, Steve."

It was Jason. A wave of emotion washed over me. I knew that, barring a miracle, I'd spoken to Peaches for the last time.

"Hi, Jason. How is she?"

"Maxed out on her morphine. They can't give her any more unless they put her on a respirator, and that would mean a hospital, and she flat out refused."

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"As good as I can, I guess. My sister and her boyfriend, Emily and her husband, and Stephie's and my parents all take turns sitting with Stephie and me."

"Can I help?" I asked.

"You already have. The last thing she said before she drifted off was that she loved me. But right before that, she said to remind you that she loved you, too. And that she knows that you love her. But otherwise, no."

"I guess all I can ask is for you to let me know," I said.

"I will. It won't be long."

"Shit," I said.

"Yeah," he sighed.

There was silence on the line for a bit, so I said 'goodbye' and we hung up. I replaced the handset, knowing that the next call from Georgia would be the one telling me that my Peaches was gone.

September 18, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Steve, Mr. Wyatt is on line two," Kimmy said on Friday afternoon.

"Thanks, Kimmy," I said, and picked up the phone.

"They countered at the midpoint between their ask and our offer," he said after we said 'hello'.

"What's your take?" I asked.

"It's still a good deal, and it is about 6% less than the listing price."

"OK. Let's do it. I'll have Elyse get things started with the bank."

"Great! I'll call them and accept the counter, and get you copies of all the paperwork."

"From this point, Julia and Elyse will handle everything," I said. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

We hung up, and I got up and went to Julia's office.

"We're buying the building. Bill Wyatt will be sending the paperwork over. I told him that you and Elyse would be handling everything from here on."

"OK. Elyse already talked to the bank and did some preliminary paperwork."

"I'm not surprised! You should probably let Joyce and my dad know," I said.

"I'll call them. In fact, I'll call all the Board members. Karl needs to be brought up to speed, and this is a good reason to call him and do that. Are you going to have to co-sign the loan?"

"Joyce thought so. Basically, it keeps me from draining all the cash from the company and stiffing the bank on the property. It makes sense, if you think about it."

"And you're OK with that?"

"After my talk with my dad two weeks ago, I'm OK with it. I'm still not keen on the idea of borrowing that much money, but I'm OK with it."

"What about Mr. King?"

"I need to talk to him because this space was a personal arrangement. It won't be a problem because I already let him know that we had more or less run out of space, and he acknowledged that he really couldn't offer any options. I just need to tell him that the process has started. I plan to offer to continue to provide support for them as we are now. It doesn't take a lot of effort and it'll keep the relationship going. That is, if you approve."

Julia laughed, "You're the majority stockholder and President. I think we can let you make that decision."

"Thanks!" I said with a grin, and headed back to my office.

September 19, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"I'm three days late!" Kara giggled when we got up early on Saturday morning so that we could have breakfast with Jessica before she went to work.

"You were due Wednesday?" Jessica said.

"Yes, and I don't vary more than a day or two. I've never been three days late since I was thirteen."

I pulled Kara and Jessica into my arms and the three of us hugged, and then Jessica went to shower while Kara and I went to make breakfast. After breakfast, the three of us walked to the hospital.

"If you're pregnant, the baby should come sometime in June, I think," Jessica said.

"That would be perfect!" Kara gushed. "I'm so happy!"

"Are you going to tell everyone once you take a pregnancy test?"

"Probably," Kara said. "I'm not worried about anything. How soon can I take a pregnancy test?"

"I'd wait a couple more days; the home tests which use urine aren't as sensitive as the blood tests done in a lab," Jessica said. "And we don't do blood tests unless there's a medical need or in emergent cases."

"I suppose I should call Doctor Robertson on Monday!" Kara said.

"Pre-natal care is super-important! There are new studies coming out every week about that. You should quit drinking right away and start taking pre-natal vitamins and folic acid."

"I actually stopped drinking a few weeks ago. And I don't smoke."

"I wish Tiger would quit, but for the sake of marital bliss, I'll cut him a bit of slack for his pipe and cigars because he limits it to once or twice a week at most."

"Marital bliss?" I chuckled. "Is THAT what this is? Walking you to work at 4:50am on a Saturday morning?"

"YOU signed up for this, Tiger. You didn't have to propose to me!"

"Personally, I blame Kara," I said with a grin.

"You better not be complaining, Snuggle Bear!" Kara teased.

"No complaints here at all!" I said as we walked up to the doors that led to the ER.

"That's good to hear, Tiger! Kiss me so I can get to work, please!"

Kara and I kissed Jessica and watched her walk through the doors and disappear into the building.

"She seems to be doing better," Kara observed.

"I agree," I said. "I think part of it was the stress of the new role. But now that she's had a few months of experience, she's relaxed a bit. Of course, she'll stress again when she has to apply for the surgical Residency slot."

"What if she doesn't get it?" Kara asked.

"She could stay a trauma doctor, or try for a different specialty, or simply become a GP."

"She'd positively hate that!"

"Hence the stress," I said. "I just wish she had Saturday nights off so she could hang out with the girls. I think she needs some time like that to just kick back and relax."

"Instead of being with us?" Kara asked.

I thought about it for a moment.

"Yes, I think so. It's a balance. Just like it's good for me to have guy friends, it's good for both of you to have female friends."

"It's just that she doesn't have a lot of time."

"I know. But I still think it's a good idea."

When we arrived home, Kara and I went up to the master bedroom. We stripped off our clothes and got into the shower together as we usually did on Saturday mornings when Jessica was at work. We enjoyed the closeness, and the love expressed, and surprisingly, it usually didn't lead to lovemaking. I'd always enjoyed showers, especially after sex, but even at other times, they helped me feel close to whomever I was with. I recalled the shower with Joyce after Birgit died, and how much it had helped me, and how it hadn't been sexual in any way.

"What are you thinking about?" Kara asked as we dried each other after the shower.

"Just about how close this makes me feel to you."

"And you're worried about you and Jessica?"

"No, not because of this. She gets her turn, if you will, when she comes home from work on Sunday mornings. But sometimes I feel that we're not as close as we should be because she's at work so much. It goes back to her concerns about her career and her marriage that led her to us."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"Some," I said. "But there really isn't much we can do about it for her first year of Residency, given her 96-hour work weeks. It should get better in the future. It's just something we have to deal with for now."

"She seems happy," Kara said. "And if I allow for Stephie's situation, you seem to be as well."

I nodded slowly, "I am. Are you?"

We moved to the bedroom to dress.

"I have exactly what I wanted, so yes, I am very happy. And when this baby is born," she gently patted her stomach, "I'll be even happier!"

"I suppose you should tell Sensei Jim so that you don't have to spar for the next year or so," I said.

"Oh yes! I don't want any risk of getting hit in the stomach!"

I hadn't told her, or anyone, about what Sensei Jim had said to me the previous Saturday about being awarded the 2nd Dan. I felt it was best for them to hear it from Sensei himself, which they did as soon as we had lined up for class.

"Steve, step forward!"

"Yes, Sensei!" I said, taking two steps forward to stand directly in front of him.

He had a folded belt in his hands. I removed my belt that had one stripe and he put the new belt with two stripes on me.

"Steve has earned the 2nd Dan, and the right to be called 'Sensei'. It pleases me greatly to confer this honor on him. It is well deserved. He will lead the class on Tuesday evenings from now on."

There was polite applause, which was the tradition for the dojo. I bowed to Sensei Jim, then turned and everyone bowed to me. I returned the bow, and saw my sister, Sofia, and Kara all wearing broad smiles. I took my place and class began.

"No test?" my sister whispered when class ended.

"We'll talk on the way home," I replied, then went into Sensei Jim's office.

"I talked to Stephie's husband last Sunday. It won't be more than a couple of weeks now, for certain," I said.

He nodded with a grim look on his face.

"I know how hard this is, but stay focused on achieving inner peace. It will carry you through this. You loved her deeply."

"I did. I do. I always will."

"You have my home number as well as the number for the dojo. Call me when she passes."

"I will," I said, holding back my tears.

"Steve, it's OK to cry."

"I know," I said. "And I will. But I can't cry all the time."

"No, you can't. But don't hold it back at the right time. Stoicism doesn't win you any points."

"I know, Sensei. I've been through this before."

"Your girlfriend in High School?"

"Yes," I said.

"OK. Don't forget to call me."

"I won't," I said.

I stood up, bowed, and left his office. I met the girls on the sidewalk and we walked home.

"No test?" my sister asked again.

"Life is a test, according to Sensei Jim. You know he has me demonstrate kata to the lower belts, and I win nearly every sparring match. Now it's about temperament more than perfecting skills and techniques. And, more importantly, developing leadership qualities."

"So no more tests?" she asked.

"I don't know how it works. I haven't asked. I do know that Sensei Jim has a 7th Dan master, and that above that there are very few masters at the 9th Dan and only one at the 10th. I suppose I should ask him at some point."

At home, Kara and I went upstairs to take our second shower of the day.

"Did you talk to Tasha?" Kara asked.

"On Tuesday, when she came into the office, I told her I was ready to talk anytime she was and that there was no need to worry. She said 'OK', but didn't seem like she wanted to talk."