Chapter 14: Christmas Confessions

December 24, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"It just seems wrong to not have Jessica here," Kara said.

"I know," I sighed. "But the sooner she went into the facility, the sooner she'll get out. And then she starts the long process of getting reinstated at UofC."

"Do you think she'll work when she gets out?"

"Maybe. It all depends on her. If we assume she's there for six to eight weeks, which Al said was pretty typical, she won't get out of there until February. The next year for her Residency would start in June. That doesn't leave a lot of time to work. We'll just have to see."

"Are we OK financially?"

"It'll be a bit tight because I'm making payments on Jessica's loans and whatever payments we need to make for her treatment, but we'll be fine. The biggest expense is the mortgage payment to my dad, and you know that the rent everyone pays covers that. I don't have a car payment. I have sufficient savings to tide us over if need be. Jess was saving some money as well, though that appears to be mostly depleted. We didn't need her income, so losing it isn't a big deal. Don't forget that NIKA is going to buy some of my stock for the ESOP as well."

"Yes, but we had that money planned for the kids' college fund."

"True, but if we need to use it for expenses, we'll have to bite the bullet and do that."

"Should we put up the year ornament?" Kara asked.

"Yes. Jess is here in spirit and in our hearts. I think she'd be unhappy if we didn't do it. We're all still married, and that is a major accomplishment given everything that's happened in the past three months."

"Very true," Kara said.

She got the ornament from a box and hung it on the tree.

"There!" she said with a smirk. "Now, come make love to me under our tree!"

"What about the Pumpkin?" I asked.

"She's snoozed. Next year we'll probably need to foist her off on someone, but even if she wakes up, she's too little to know what we're doing!"

"She is my daughter, you know!" I chuckled.

"And mine!" Kara giggled. "So she's going to be sex-crazed. We'll deal with that in about thirteen or fourteen years! Now, get over here!"

I took off my clothes as Kara did the same, and I went over to where she was by the small tree in our room.

"Thanks for not being upset about the lack of Christmas presents," I said.

"You were totally preoccupied, Snuggle Bear. And the girls took care of everything for us — the tree, gifts for the kids, planning the meals. I'm just happy to have you here with me. You know that's all I need! Now, shut up and make love to me!"

December 25, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Thanks for buying Matthew's gifts," I said quietly to Elyse as he ripped open his presents.

"You had other things on your mind. Between Leila, Alejandra, Stephanie, and Jennifer, we have everything covered. Jorge is helping cook today. All you need to do is enjoy your family when we go downstairs after our private Christmas."

"You know, he'd be happy with empty boxes, right?" I chuckled as Matthew put an empty box on his head.

"Right?" Elyse laughed. "Are we going to intermix the BRIO track with Jesse's?"

"I think you should mark Matthew's pieces so that they can be reclaimed from HRH if Matthew wants to play alone. Otherwise, it'll just be added to Prince Jesse the First's royal treasures."

"He's a real brat at times, isn't he?" Elyse smirked. "Just like his dad!"

"Wait 'til he starts collecting women like his dad!" I grinned.

"Collecting?" she said in mock outrage. "Is THAT what I am? A part of your collection?"

"If the shoe fits..." I chuckled as Elyse smacked me.

"Mama hit Dada! Bad!" Matthew scolded. "We don't hit!"

Elyse and I both broke up laughing.

"Sounds like Veronica talking," Elyse said.

"She's had quite the influence on all the kids," I said, "though she and Jesse are in a constant battle of the wills and wits."

"You've been remarkably well behaved with a cute young redhead with small tits in the house!" Elyse teased. "And don't give me the employer/employee bullshit. That went out the window with Kimmy!"

"Kimmy is a special circumstance," I said. "I'm not going to make a habit of it."

"Tasha," Elyse said.

"Over and done with. And never to be repeated. She's with Zeke and I'd say that's likely to turn permanent at some point, just like Penny and Terry. I'm sure you've seen those four together."

"I have. They're inseparable. Speaking of Penny, how is she dealing with you spending so much time with Jeri?"

"Jealous as hell," I chuckled. "Do you know that she actually asked me if I was fucking Jeri? I mean, I get why Penny would ask that, but of all the people on this planet that I could never see having sex, it's Jeri. She'd vapor lock at even the THOUGHT of being naked in front of someone. She's going to be the proverbial 'cat lady' with 100 cats living in her house and never even have had a boyfriend."

"It sure seems like that, doesn't it?" Elyse said with a grin. "Maybe the trip to Los Angeles and the presentation will broaden her horizons a bit beyond Kenwood and Hyde Park."

"Don't count on it," I said. "I have a suspicion that she's going to basically freeze up and retreat into her shell at Ford, Jackson, and Finch. But Barbara, Cynthia, and Andy will be there with me. I'll give them a demo the day before so that they're up to speed."

"Did you like your presents, Matthew?" Elyse asked our son.

"Yes! Train! Like Jesse! And hat like Dada!"

"Whose idea was the miniature fedora?" I chuckled.

"Alejandra's!"

"I'll have to thank her for that idea. He loves it!"

"Ready to head downstairs? Family Christmas is in about twenty minutes."

"Let's go," I said.

We gathered up Matthew and went downstairs to wait for everyone to gather in the great room around the tree. Jennifer and Josie had celebrated their Christmas with Jesse, though I didn't know for sure what my sister and Jorge had done. Alejandra was at Trent's house with his family, because she had decided not to fly home, and Leila was a Muslim, so she had no reason to go home for Christmas. I hoped that somebody remembered to get her a gift from me.

As it turned out, between Jennifer, Stephanie, and Elyse, they had it all covered. I did my best not to show surprise at the gift I was 'giving' to everyone, but I was fairly sure that everyone except the kids knew what had happened. When we finished opening presents, Stephanie and Jorge disappeared into the kitchen to start on dinner, and the rest of us traipsed to the basement for a sauna.

Matthew and Birgit could only stay a few minutes, and Jesse only, a few minutes more than them. Jennifer volunteered to take them out. It was nice to relax, but I missed Jessica. Not having her with us for Christmas sucked, but as I'd discussed with Kara, it made sense to handle it the way we were.

"What time are your mom and Paul coming tomorrow?" I asked.

"Around noon," Kara said. "I think Elyse's parents will be here around then as well. Are your mom and dad still coming?"

"Yes. We talked about it, but there's no reason for them not to come see their grandkids. Jennifer told me that her parents are flying in as well, and Josie's parents will drive down on Tuesday."

"We're going to have a full house!" Leila said. "Do you have to work all week?"

"I took last week off, so yes, except tomorrow, which is our company holiday. But the grandparents are coming to see the kids, not me!"

"Where is everyone staying?" she asked.

"Hotels in the city. Mine and Kara's are at the InterContinental. I'm not sure where the others are."

"Sheraton for my folks and Jennifer's," Josie said.

"Same for mine," Elyse said. "They tried for the InterContinental, but it was full."

"Are we going out at all?" Kara asked.

"I suppose that depends on each set of grandparents. Personally, with karate and work, I'd rather we ate at home. You, Stephanie, Leila, Alejandra, and Veronica are here, so I think having dinner in makes sense. We'll just take stock each day of who's here. You can do some shopping if necessary."

"Sounds like a plan, and sounds like we'll be busy!" Kara laughed. "Is the dojo open tomorrow?"

"Yes. And I'll be running with Jacquelyn, though I'm pretty sure they leave for Pennsylvania tomorrow morning. I haven't talked to her, so I'm not sure. She was running at the Y by herself all week."

"She asked about you," Stephanie said. "But I didn't tell her anything other than that you were in Michigan like you planned."

"She doesn't need to know," I said. "Let's keep what's going on here just within the family, so to speak. I'll make sure that the people close to me at work know privately, and Sensei Jim. But it doesn't need to get spread beyond that. I'm sure it'll leak out, but we'll deal with it when it happens."

"I am sorry about that, Big Brother."

"Forget it, Squirt. It's water under the bridge at this point."

"So what happens now that you're cleared?" she asked.

"I'll talk to Gwen on Tuesday. Her best guess was that they would try to challenge the results somehow because even Gwen didn't believe them. If the chain of custody is good, then the best they could do is challenge the lab procedure. They could also ask for a second test, but they'd have to pay for it out of pocket. I paid for this one because I demanded it and I wasn't about to fight over the cost."

"So, if the test is confirmed, you're home free?" Leila asked.

"No. That's the stupid part. The test has 'probative value' and the judge has to weigh all the evidence. Illinois law doesn't make the DNA test conclusive, but it is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla. Gwen says it's pretty tough to overcome because my name isn't on the birth certificate and Carla and I never lived together, nor were we married."

"These DNA tests are better than 99.99% conclusive!" Leila protested.

"Which is not 100%. I didn't see the full test results, but Gwen said that there were no markers that the baby has that match me that Carla doesn't also have. Somebody provided that other DNA, and it wasn't me. Well, supposedly there are some real anomalous cases, but it would be a stretch for her to get child support. The science is pretty conclusive, though not perfect."

"Wait, so if she had put your name on the birth certificate, that would override the test?" Josie asked.

"The way Gwen explained it, that's actually a conclusive fact according to Illinois law. There's a procedure which allows the named father to challenge it. A DNA test would help, but being named by the mother has heavy probative value, though not as much as a child being born when you're married, which is considered conclusive proof of parenthood. That would put the onus on me to prove I'm not the father. Again, the DNA test would help with that."

"Wow," Josie said.

"Imagine how it was back before DNA tests," I said. "Then it was blood-typing. And that only knocks out about 30% of possible fathers unless you have a rare blood type."

"So what next?" Stephanie asked.

"We wait. Mostly nothing will happen until after New Year's. Gwen will file a motion for adjudication in my favor. They'll likely file their challenge to the test. Then we'll fight it out. What's strange, and what still bothers me, is that Carla has to know if there is another possible father. If there was, then she could go after him. If there isn't, then what? The Virgin Mary? Something just doesn't add up."

"She's lying. It has to be."

"OK. That worked until the DNA test results come back. If she drops the suit or doesn't fight a ruling in my favor, I'd say you were right. If she fights, why?"

Nobody had an answer to that question, and I sure didn't know. As far as I was concerned, the only person who knew for sure was Carla. We all got out of the sauna and after showers, Stephanie and Jorge went back to the kitchen while the rest of us watched the kids play with their new toys. Just after 3:00pm, the phone rang.

"Hi, Tiger," Jessica said. "Can you get Kara on the phone, too?"

"Hi!" I said. "Sure!"

I called Kara to my study and put the phone on speaker. I had her close the door when she came in.

"She's here," I said.

"Merry Christmas, you two! I love you both!"

"We love you, too!" Kara and I said together, as we'd planned.

"How was Christmas?" Jessica asked.

"Chaotic as usual," I said. "With all the kids around, it's just going to get worse. How are you?"

"OK, I guess. I miss you two. I wish I could have been there with you."

"We do, too, Babe. But we want you to get healthy."

"I had a complete physical and saw an OB, too. They don't normally have pregnant women here, but Doctor Barton convinced them to take me. Both the staff physician and the consulting OB say they think everything is OK, but obviously, we won't know for sure for a while. I did gain a pound already."

"Just listen to your doctors," I said. "All of them."

"I know," she sighed. "We have a lot to talk about. And when I get home, too."

"You worry about completing the program there," Kara said. "We have the rest of our lives together."

"I'm going to run out of time. I love you guys. I'll write you a letter!"

"I love you so much, Jess," I said.

"I love you," Kara said.

"Bye, Tiger. Bye, Kara."

"Bye," Kara and I both said.

The phone clicked, and the line went dead. I pressed the button on the phone to turn off the speaker, and Kara came and sat in my lap. We held each other for a good fifteen minutes before we rejoined the others.

December 26, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

My alarm went off at ten minutes before 5:00am, which gave me time to dress and make it over to Jacquelyn's house. Kara got out of bed and checked on Birgit, who was fast asleep.

"Snuggle Bear, will you answer a question for me, honestly?"

"Don't I always?" I asked.

"I think I asked the wrong question. Will you tell me what you've been doing?"

"Doing?"

"We had an agreement. I don't think you've kept it."

I sat down on the loveseat and patted it. She came and sat down next to me.

"You're talking about dalliances?"

"Yes. I'm not angry with you. You've been under a lot of stress, and I think you were looking for a way to alleviate it."

"Please don't make excuses for me, Kara."

"Sorry. But that is why you were out messing around. All you had to do was tell me. That was our agreement. Of course, I didn't specify when you had to tell me, just that you had to tell me."

"Kara, come on. Please don't justify my bad behavior. One of them is simple. I gave Jody Pancook her tumble. That seems to have been a one-off. Two others are a bit more difficult. Hope Baxter."