Chapter 42: Sparring

April 15, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"So you have a new friend?" Jessica asked as we walked home from the ER on Friday morning.

"I suppose so. I took her to dinner, we had dessert, and then I joined her club, 'Penguins Anonymous'. I also spent thirty minutes explaining my complicated life!"

"And?" Jessica smirked.

"And nothing. She flirted and gave some strong hints about being interested, but I didn't realize it at first. Then, when I did, I had to explain things."

"And she really has all that penguin stuff?" Jessica asked.

"Yes," I laughed. "It was a bit weird, even for me!"

"Will you see her again?"

"Probably. I'm going to suggest to Dave that he let me handle this client. It's for the Russians, and the last thing I want to do is upset them. We're so constrained by our resources that we have to let some things languish for a time. This one can't."

"How did you leave it with her?"

"I didn't, really. Not even a goodbye kiss. I think she was disappointed when she found out that I was married, and then confused when she found out I was married to two women, and maybe a bit scandalized when she found out I had kids with Elyse and Jennifer. Honestly, it's the kind of reaction that I expect at this point. Girls like Leila and Tasha, who are at opposite extremes, if you will, are going to be few and far between."

"The blushing virgin looking for a perfect first time and the confident mistress who makes no demands other than good sex?" Jessica asked.

"Pretty much. I suppose there's also the 'thrill seeker', but the delay while they get tested for STDs kind of rules out the pickup at a bar or party. Even if Chris, that's her name by the way, had wanted to fool around anyway, she'd have been disappointed. And that's NOT a complaint, Babe, just acknowledging the reality of the situation."

"Are you up for a movie tonight?" Jessica asked.

"Sure. What did you want to see?"

"One of the nurses recommended Bright Lights, Big City with Michael J. Fox and Phoebe Cates."

"Sounds good. Kara, don't forget we're invited to Bethany's birthday party tomorrow evening," I said. "I'm sorry you have to work, Jess."

"It's OK. Her birthday was Tuesday, right?"

"Yes. But Nick decided to have the dinner party tomorrow night. It's at their house near RTC Great Lakes."

"With a picket fence?" Kara asked.

"No; normal base housing doesn't have those, though some senior officers do. She'll have to wait until they buy their own house in the future."

We arrived home and, after I fixed breakfast for the three of us, Jessica went up to bed and I went to the office. I made some coffee and got to work, needing to make up for missing more than half of Thursday because of my trip to Milwaukee. When Dave arrived, I waved him over.

"I took care of everything in Milwaukee yesterday afternoon, so you won't need to send Charlie up next week. Chris, the programmer, complained about how slow we are to respond, so I just spent the afternoon with her, taking care of all her requests."

"You know how things are with our resources. And it's going to get worse before it gets better because we're losing Heather and Bobby, and hiring two brand new graduates who will have to come up to speed."

I nodded, "I know. I wasn't blaming you, Dave. You're juggling chainsaws right now. If you're OK with it, I'd like to handle Belarus personally from now on. Mr. Bykov didn't complain, but I don't want it to get to that point. You know that I'll get my other assignments done."

"OK. While I'm here, we have interviews set up for Tuesday at IIT, Friday at Loyola, and the following Monday at UofC. You, me, and Alonzo, as we discussed."

"And the interns for the Fall?"

"I talked to all three candidates on the phone. I think you know one of them — Jody Pancook."

I chuckled, "One of the girls that my sister called my groupies. Her friend Courtney was doing the full-court press, but I hear she dropped out of school, or at least took a semester off. Who are the other two?"

"Narassima Murthy and Tim Cabot. Do you know either of them?"

"I'm pretty sure Murthy was in Scott's class. Indian guy, very soft-spoken and deferential?"

Dave laughed, "Yeah. He called me 'Sir' at the end of just about every sentence!"

"That's him. I don't think I know the other guy. Make your choice and then bring the final candidate to see me."

"When I was speaking to the UofC recruitment office, they said they have some work-study candidates. OK to consider them?"

"It's your call," I said. "We have Tasha as an IIT intern, so Doctor Bauer can't really complain. He will, but he can't, If you get my meaning."

"OK. I'll call them back and check into it. It might be beneficial because they would work full time in the Fall, then go back to school full-time in the Spring. We could either take another work-study student then, or if finances are tight, just wait for the Fall."

"Work it out with Julia and Elyse if you decide to go that route," I said.

"How are we billing for your time yesterday?" Dave asked.

"I'll fill out the usual timesheet, but I want my time billed at Charlie's rate, plus an additional 10% discount."

"It's a bit tricky to change your billing rate for just the one time for one customer, but I'll have Elyse discount it in such a way that the invoice works out to what you just said."

"Thanks. I'll submit my timesheet at the end of the day."

"What do you think about having an open house for all the students we interview?" Dave asked.

"I think it's a good idea. Do you want to do it here? Or at my place?"

"Here, I think. We can have food brought in. I want them to come in and hang out and get a feel for NIKA."

"OK. Set it up and let me know."

"I'll shoot for Tuesday, May 2nd. We'll make it all day so that they can come when they're able to."

"As your wife likes to say, 'Make it so!'," I chuckled.

Dave nodded and went back to his desk and I got to work.

April 16, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"When you see Nurse Cranston today, tell her that her movie recommendation SUCKED!" I said to Jessica as we stood outside the ER.

"It was pretty bad, wasn't it?" Jessica said.

"Michael J. Fox was the WRONG actor to cast as a coke-snorting, disillusioned writer. Honestly, he's 'Alex P. Keaton' and it's hard to see him in another role. Even in The Secret of My Succe$s he was basically the 'Alex' character, even though they named him Brantley and he was from Kansas instead of Ohio. He was good in Back to the Future, and the character was close enough that it worked. This? No way!"

"I have to agree," Kara laughed. "Tell that nurse she owes us $18 for movie tickets and $12 for popcorn and Cokes!"

"We'll chalk it up to bad advice and leave it at that," Jessica said. "I need the nurses. I'll just be careful with movie reviews from her in the future! I need to get inside. Be sure to send my love to Bethany tonight. Tell her I'm sorry that I couldn't be there."

"She understands. Her schedule is almost as bad as yours, though not quite. She's going to class, doing her supervised counseling, studying for her license, and doing volunteer rape counseling at Loyola. What little time she has left, she spends with Nick, which is why we don't see much of them except for Saturday nights."

"OK. Have a good breakfast with the boys, and I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

The three of us kissed, and Kara and I headed home. We drank tea and relaxed until I needed to leave for breakfast at Alex Saunders' bistro. After I returned home, we joined my sister and Sofia to go to karate. Kara did some very light exercises while the rest of us did our warm-ups, and then she watched the rest of the practice session, which was mostly sparring.

"Adams! Baxter!" Sensei Jim barked.

"Yes, Sensei!" Jolene and I answered.

"Take your places. First to seven points wins!"

"Yes, Sensei!" we answered.

We took our places in the middle of the sparring mat and then bowed to each other and Sensei Jim.

"I'm taking you down this time!" she said quietly.

"No chance!" I smirked.

"Ready? Begin!" Sensei Jim barked.

"How about a wager?" she smirked as we slowly circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move or give an opening.

"What did you have in mind?" I said, striking quickly with a jab that connected, scoring a point.

"Point! Adams!" Sensei Jim barked.

"If I win, you recommend me for 2nd Dan!" she said, attempting a roundhouse kick that I blocked.

"If you win, you SHOULD get 2nd Dan!" I chuckled, scoring again with a reverse roundhouse kick after a fake side kick.

"Point! Adams!" Sensei Jim barked.

Jolene scored a point when I failed to block the last strike of a triple combination.

"Point! Baxter!" Sensei Jim barked.

"And if I win?" I asked, blocking a different triple combination and scoring with a counter-punch.

"Point! Adams!" Sensei Jim barked.

"You get me!" she smirked.

She wasn't what I would call pretty, but she had that freshly scrubbed girl-next-door look, and was fit from karate training. She'd teased me that way a bit in the past, but nothing had ever come of it. I'd teased her back on rare occasions, and I got the clear idea that it was all just for fun. I decided to play along, but not the way she expected.

"Some prize!" I chuckled. "I need something better than THAT!"

She got a fierce look on her face; one that I hadn't seen since Stephie nearly beat me when I had to spar against her before I received my black belt. I fended off a flurry of blows, but she managed to connect three times while I only managed a single counter-strike. That made it 4-4. She was breathing hard and looked determined to destroy me. I had to be careful, because she was good, and my Smart Aleck comment had made her even more determined to win.

We traded points, making it 5-5 when she stepped forward to attempt a grapple and throw. These were black-belt-only moves that we couldn't use when sparring with lower belts and were akin to jiu-jitsu throws. Sensei Jim didn't emphasize them, either. She took me by surprise, and I barely evaded what would have been a winning move on her part. I grinned and nodded my approval of the attempt. She wasted no time in trying again, but I was ready, reversed on her, and was rewarded with her back hitting the mat and me landing on top of her.

"Two points! Adams!" Sensei Jim barked. "Victor!"

I didn't get up right away, enjoying the fact that I'd pinned Jolene to the mat. She roughly shoved me off, and we both got up and bowed to each other, and then to Sensei Jim. We moved to the side and sat on the benches while two brown belts took their places.

"You should have stuck with combination strikes," I said quietly. "Or at least not tried the same exact grapple twice in a row."

"You pissed me off with what you said!" she answered, her voice just above a whisper.

"I found an advantage and used it," I chuckled.

"I want a rematch," she said.

"You'll have to ask Sensei about that," I said. "But you know he usually doesn't honor requests like that."

"Then meet me here tomorrow when the dojo is closed. We both have keys."

"I'm not sure Sensei would approve!" I said.

"Afraid that you'll lose?"

"No! Afraid we'll get in trouble."

"Adams! Baxter!" Sensei Jim barked from across the dojo. "My office when class is over!"

"As I said," I sighed.

After class, we went to his office, and after bowing, sat down.

"Verbal sparring is not part of our training. I didn't hear what you said, but it was clear that you were trying to rile each other up. I can overlook that on occasion, but when both my black belts disrespect the entire class by talking when they should be watching the others spar, I can't overlook it. I expect better from both of you, and especially you, Steve. You are the second highest ranked member of this dojo; only I am ranked higher. Every single thing you do is watched by every other student, and reflects on me and the dojo. You set a very bad example today."

"I'm sorry, Sensei."

"I'm sure that you are. Don't let it happen again, or you'll find yourself sparring against me, and if you try that simple reverse you used on Jolene, it will land you flat on your back!"

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Now, whatever problem the two of you have, if there is a problem, I want it solved. Immediately. Got it?"

"There is no problem, Sensei," Jolene said. "I was hoping that Steve would recommend me for 2nd Dan."

"And after that little display of disrespect, do you think you deserve it? Or that his recommendation would carry any weight right now?"

"No, Sensei," she said.

"Let's not have a repeat of this!" he said, which was a clear dismissal.

We stood, bowed to him, and then left his office.

"Gee, that was fun," I whispered to her.

"Sorry. How about the rematch?"

"IF you get Sensei Jim to approve us coming to the dojo, sure. Tell him that we're working out our problem or whatever. But if he doesn't approve, then forget it. I just disappointed him and I won't do that again."

"I am sorry. I'm going back to talk to him and take responsibility for it."

"He won't see it that way," I said. "I'm 2nd Dan. It was MY responsibility, and I failed."

"OK. I'll just ask for permission."

"I'm going to win," I said.

"We'll see!" she said.

She went back into the office and I went to where Stephanie, Kara, and Sofia were waiting, and the four of us left the dojo for the walk home.

"What was that about?" my sister asked.

"We got chewed out. Mostly for being disrespectful by talking when the others were sparring, but also for taunting each other during our match."

"I couldn't hear what you were saying."

I smiled, "That was the point. She wanted to make a wager. If she won, I'd recommend her for 2nd Dan."

"And if you won?" Kara smirked, correctly guessing what Jolene had offered.

"I'd get her. I told her that wasn't a very good prize to get her off-balance. It worked."

"«Elak»" Sofia laughed.

"Huh?" Kara asked.

"It means 'nasty' and 'rude'." Sofia said. "But I love it! That's why she looked like she was going to kill him!"

"Yes, and she was overly aggressive, which is how I managed to throw and pin her. After we went to the benches, I told her that she'd made a mistake trying to grapple, and she asked for a rematch. That's the conversation that really got us in trouble."

"Sensei Jim is all about respect, isn't he?" my sister asked.

"Yes. Very much so. I got heat because I'm 2nd Dan and need to set a good example for everyone, including Jolene."

"Will she get her rematch?" Kara smirked.

"You know Sensei Jim doesn't accept requests for sparring partners. He uses that as a training device and isn't interested in people settling scores or gaining bragging rights. Jolene went back to ask him if we could use the dojo tomorrow morning for a rematch."

Kara giggled, "Same bet?"

"No bet. Well, I don't think so, anyway. I think she just wants a chance to win. I've never really thought about being with Jolene. We've teased each other a bit, but it's always been silly, never serious. I'm not sure if she was serious this morning, or just trying to put me off-kilter. If I had to guess, I'd say it was just a ploy."

"I guess you'll find out tomorrow!" Kara laughed.

At home, Kara and I took a loving joint shower and then had lunch before her study group and my ROTC students arrived. I only needed an hour with them and then went to my study to wait for Kara's study group to finish. My sister came in about twenty minutes later while I was writing in my journal.

"I'm having an end-of-the-semester party," she said. "Are there any days that aren't good?"

"Not that I can think of," I said. "Just make sure it's on the calendar in the kitchen so we know when you'll be here. Just remember the rules."

"No drugs, no loud partying in the back yard, nobody gets drunk," she said. "I know!"

"How many people are you planning to invite?" I asked.

"Around twenty-five."

"OK. Let me know if you need any help with anything."

"Thanks, Big Brother. Naturally, you're invited."

"Naturally," I grinned.