Chapter 23: So Now You Turn Back Into Diana Prince?

January 19, 1989, En route from LAX to ORD

When the engines of the plane started, Jeri reached over and took my hand. She held it while we pushed back from the gate and taxied for takeoff. Her grip tightened a bit as we hurtled down the runway, but nothing like the death grip she'd had on my arm for the flight out. The plane roared its way into the air and once we leveled out, Jeri's grip loosened, but she didn't let go of my hand.

"How are you doing?" I asked with a touch of trepidation.

"Fine. What are you worried about?"

"You. How you feel. What you're thinking. Wondering if I did the right thing."

"You did the right thing," she said. "Do you know when I read the first of those stupid romance novels?"

"No."

"When I was thirteen! I've probably read a hundred of them in secret. And you know what? It was WAY better than I imagined it could ever be! I'd imagine one of those hunky guys from the book covers on top of me, doing it with me. My insides would feel all squishy and I'd get wet, but I was afraid to even rub myself! Well, now I know what I was missing!"

"Maybe you should start at the beginning," I said.

She sighed, "My parents were born in Kenwood and lived next door to each other. Neither of them ever did anything except maybe go to Wisconsin a couple of times. They got married when they were nineteen and lived with my mom's parents until my grandparents died. Basically, both sides of the family were loaded, and my parents were only children. My mom runs the Foundation that her parents started and my dad sits on a bunch of charity boards in Chicago.

"My entire life was managed to make them look good and prepare me to take over the Foundation. I went to every stupid party and event, dressed as a showpiece in dresses that cost more than you could possibly imagine. I had to be perfectly behaved, prim, proper, and ladylike. Even my dates were stage managed. I was allowed to kiss them on their cheeks, and that was it. Pretty much other than when I was in school, either my mom or dad were with me, watching me like hawks. I went to Maria High School, which is all girls, so you can imagine that I didn't meet any guys without my parents around."

"Penny went to Maria," I said.

"I know," she said. "But we didn't know each other there because I was a Senior and she was a Freshman. Anyway, I graduated, and they sent me to UofC. I met a few guys, but I didn't have much experience in relationships, and I knew my parents wouldn't approve, so I just concentrated on classes. You know what happened — straight A's, double-major in computers and math, with a minor in business, glowing recommendations, and no social life except for what my parents arranged to support the Foundation and the charities.

"I think you know that I interviewed with SPSS and a company in Oak Brook, but my parents told me to take the job with NIKA. My professors wanted me to go on interviews with Apple and Microsoft, but my parents forbade it. So I came to work for you. At first, I was totally intimidated, especially by Greg. But Terry and Zeke were really nice, and Alonzo was a peach. Dave was so supportive, and then I had the chance to work with you.

"I know Penny was jealous that I was working with you, but it wasn't as if I was trying to step between you two. I know you have some kind of history, with the way she kisses your cheek, but that wasn't my business. Anyway, you treated me as an equal, even though you own the company. And you helped me learn and helped me make that first presentation to the Archbishop.

"When Dave told me that I had to travel to California, I almost quit. But he assured me that you would help me every step of the way and that I'd do fine. I wasn't sure, but I trusted him. And it turned out that he was right about everything. The trip, the hotel, and the presentation. Of course he didn't know about that last bit!"

She giggled softly as a stewardess came by and offered us a soft drink before lunch. We both asked for Sprite and when we had our glasses, the stewardess moved past our row.

"Anyway," Jeri continued, "that first night, when they didn't have our reservations correct, I thought I was going to lose it. I'd have done anything, said anything, to get you to stay there. I'd never slept anywhere except at home in my entire life! When you agreed to stay, I was so relieved. It was kind of strange taking off my clothes in the same room as a guy, even though there was a door between us, but I was kind of, well, turned on, I guess. I had this strange vision of one of the dumb 'romance novels' where a traveling salesman has to stay in a house because his car broke down and the virginal daughter seduces him.

"But I pushed that thought out of my mind and managed to sleep. I was so glad when you went to exercise so that I could shower and get dressed without you in the room. When we ate breakfast, you did everything you could to make me comfortable. I nearly lost it at the beginning of the meeting, but I thought about how you believed in me. And then suddenly, I believed in me. And as the presentation went on, I realized that I COULD do all those things that I saw other people do. After that, well, I already told you."

"So, what will you do now?" I asked.

"What I told you. Be the prim, very proper lady that my parents want me to be. Go to their stupid parties; go out on boring dates with stupid rich boys to boring, stupid events for the boring, stupid charities. Do my job. Make some money."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that's who I am. Doing that presentation and then having my brains fucked out didn't change me completely. Not yet. But it showed me the possibilities. It showed me what I can do if I set my mind to it."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense to me," I said.

"Probably not. Your entire life seems to have been built around freedom and choice. Mine around limits and control. I need to learn to live in this new world that I've discovered. I have to take baby steps now. Not leaps. Baby steps. And I need you to support me in that. Don't push me too hard, please. I need to go at my own pace."

"I'll support you in any way you need," I said. "I'll do whatever you need."

She smiled, leaned over and gave me a quick kiss, "Take me to California again when I'm ready."

"And you're not going to do that again until I do that?" I asked.

"I'm certainly not going to do it with any of those society jerks, that's for sure. They'd count me as a conquest and move on to some other girl in the circle. No thanks."

"Why am I different?"

She smiled, "I wasn't a conquest for you. In fact, unless I miss my guess, I don't think you've ever had a conquest."

"Just one," I said. "But I fell in love with her before I got her."

"Kara?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "How did you know?"

"Because Jessica doesn't strike me as the kind of girl you would go after for a conquest. Kara does. She could be Miss America! That's the fantasy girl any guy would want. Will you tell me about it?"

"Sure," I said.

I spent the next twenty minutes telling her our story. Just as I was finishing, the stewardess served our lunches.

"You two make a really cute couple," she said.

"Thanks," I chuckled while Jeri beamed.

The stewardess moved on, and Jeri leaned over to me.

"There are the Rocky Mountains. Give me a really nice kiss, because now I turn back into Jeri Lundgren, socialite."

I didn't agree with her, but I understood why she felt she had to do it.

"So you turn back into Diana Prince now?" I grinned.

She nodded, and we moved our lips towards each other. We exchanged a soft French kiss that lasted for several minutes. I let Jeri decide when to end it, and she sighed deeply as she moved to the aisle seat and shifted back to sit up straight in her seat. She let go of my hand, which she'd held almost continuously since we'd pushed back from the gate in LA. Her visage changed from a young, happy girl who'd had a life-changing experience into her serious, quiet, reserved self.

January 19, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Good night," I said to Jeri when she got out of my car at her house.

"Good night," she said, taking her bag from the back seat.

We'd agreed that I'd simply drop her in front of the house and not even get out of the car. I watched her walk up the steps and go into the house without so much as a wave. I shook my head and put the car into gear, and pulled away. Less than five minutes later, I parked in the driveway by the coach house and got out.

"Dada!" Jesse shrieked from the back yard.

"Hi, Jesse! What are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for you!" he said. "It's not cold! Mama One said it was OK!"

He ran over to me and I dropped my bag and picked him up and kissed his forehead.

"I'm here, Steve," Jennifer called from the steps that led up to the back door of the coach house.

I walked over to her with my son in my arms.

"Hey, Jen. How were things while I was away?"

"The same as always," she said.

"Are you liking the new job?" I asked.

"Yes. It's a bit further to drive, but it's not terrible. The money is better, and there are lots of opportunities in the company."

"Cool! I need to get inside to see Kara, Birgit, Elyse, and Matthew. Jesse, let me give you to Mama One. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You have to kiss Aunt Kara! I know!" he giggled.

"Yes, you turkey, I'm going to kiss Aunt Kara. And Aunt Elyse!"

"I kiss Francesca!"

"I'm sure you do!"

I handed Jesse to Jennifer, picked up my bag, and headed for the main house.

"Night Dada!"

"Night Jesse!"

I went inside and saw Elyse and Kara sitting in the great room. I walked into the room, dropped my bag, and received Kara into my arms. We kissed softly, and then we went over to the couch so I could kiss Elyse.

"How are my kids?"

"Sleeping," Kara replied with a smile. "Veronica wore them out today!"

"I could use a sauna," I said. "How about you?"

"Both of us? Or just me?" Kara asked.

"Both, if you want," I said.

The three of us headed to the basement, and I set the controls. After stripping off our clothes, we went into the sauna. About ten minutes later, I had steam wafting up from the heated rocks.

"How was California?" Kara asked.

"Successful," I said. "Ford, Jackson, and Finch loved the software."

"I heard from Dave that his confidence in Jeri paid off," Elyse said.

I nodded, "It did. Did Kara tell you about the hotel mix-up?"

Elyse laughed, "Yes. I talked to Barney, and he apologized profusely. He said they comped us the hotel room and cab ride."

Kara laughed, "I guess Barney doesn't know what happened."

"Huh?" Elyse asked.

"Jeri freaked out when I told her I was going to another hotel and I let her talk me into staying in the room with her. It won't surprise you that it had a king-size bed instead of two full-size. I offered to sleep on the floor, but she told me to wrap some pillows in a blanket and put it between us. She'd also be under the covers and I'd be on top of them, and use a spare blanket."

"Jeri asked you to do that?" Elyse said. "Our scared-of-her-own-shadow Jeri? Are you kidding?"

"Different levels of freak out, I guess," I said. "But I think it helped her to do a good job on the presentation the next morning. That went great, like I told Dave. Ford, Jackson, and Finch loves us and wants to buy the Windows version without even knowing the price. They want to beta test, as well. Ben Jackson and the other senior partners took us to dinner at their club. They're super happy about us having three people right across the street from them."

"Very cool! Barney said that they had a room for you the next night."

"Yes, they did. But Jeri insisted I stay in her room again. Same setup."

"I had hoped that the success in the proposal had given her more confidence," Elyse said.

I couldn't tell Elyse about what had really happened. There was no way I could violate Jeri's confidence in that way. I would tell Kara, because I had to.

"I think eventually she'll find herself," I said. "This trip did her a lot of good. She's gained a bit of self-confidence. But give her some time. We had a couple of nice long talks. She's had a pretty sheltered life. Anything interesting happen at work while I was gone?"

"Not really," Elyse said. "We've been working on the pricing for the new software. Also, Dave sent Zeke out to DP Engineering, along with Charlie. They fixed a few problems, and Dante sent us a check for maintenance."

"Remember, one wrong word from that guy, and we cut him off at the knees," I said.

"Don't worry. I didn't agree with taking him back in the first place, but the revenue is nice. We're going to lose the Purina revenue in a few months. But, on the other hand, we'll have a nice payday when we close the sale on the logistics and estimation software."

"You're not sounding too optimistic," I said. "Am I missing something?"

"No, we're doing fine right now. My only concern is the upfront costs for developing the Windows software, but we'll recover those from the upgrade fees."

"If Cynthia closes the deal in California, that's a HUGE number of licenses," I said. "And a very nice maintenance fee. That will make California's numbers for the year," I said.

"How confident is she?" Elyse asked.

"Very. Barbara is as well. And I trust both of them. You seem a bit down. Is something wrong?"

"No, just hormones, I suspect. Four months pregnant. This was about when I got moody the last time, I think."

"But it didn't last long," I said.

"You can borrow him if you need him, Elyse," Kara said.

"Not tonight. He was gone for three days, so he should be with you. Maybe this weekend."

"Saturday night?" Kara suggested.

"Thanks," Elyse said.

We sat quietly in the sauna for another fifteen minutes before we all went upstairs. I stopped in the great room to grab my bag and took it upstairs with us. Kara checked on Birgit and then we went to the shower together.

"I do have something to tell you," I said. "And you have to keep it completely to yourself."

"Don't I always?" she asked.

"Usually. When you do share, it's always in my best interest. But this one, you can't share, no matter what."