Chapter 24: Safe at Home

January 21, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

Elyse and I were cuddling in bed after making love and Matthew was sleeping in the nursery.

"How would I find out about a foundation in Chicago?" I asked.

"Foundation?"

"The Lundgren Family Foundation," I said.

"Wait! Lundgren? Is Jeri from THAT Lundgren family? They're worth like $250 million! There was an article in Chicago magazine that mentioned them, though no picture of anyone except the scions."

"I'm pretty sure she is. She said that her parents ran a foundation and that her mom sat on a bunch of charity boards."

"Then what the heck is she doing working at NIKA for what amounts to a pittance?" Elyse asked.

"She said her parents wanted her to go to college and take a job," I said, not revealing the details that they had more or less forced it on her. "I think she's ultimately being groomed to run the Foundation, but she needs something to do until then."

"Well, that changes the entire picture now, doesn't it? She could buy NIKA 250 times over! She probably has a piggy bank in her room with more money in it than our household bank account!"

"So?" I said. "Do you see her acting like a 'rich bitch'? Throwing her weight around? Acting like she doesn't give a damn about the job? I sure don't!"

"No, but Jesus, Steve. It's really strange!"

"I'll add it to the list," I chuckled.

Elyse laughed, "Good point. Is she involved at all?"

"Socially, only. She goes to functions with dates arranged by her parents for how they look in public, that kind of thing."

"No wonder she's so quiet! If people knew who she was, they'd be after her for money for everything under the Sun!"

"That might be part of it," I said. "But it's more likely her parents' doing than hers. But forget about that now. You answered my question. And keep this to yourself, please."

"I will. But somebody will recognize her, eventually. Then what?"

"We'll deal with that if and when it happens. And we do not treat her differently. She's Jeri Lundgren, programmer extraordinaire, and that's all. Anything outside of work is her business, not ours. Just as it is for everyone else, just as our business outside of work is ours, and nobody else's."

"It is better that way, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"What are you going to do with Kimmy in three weeks when Jessica comes home?"

"I won't know until I talk to Jessica," I said. "Kimmy and I talked about it. She knows the score. You know how Leila is, right?"

"Yes, of course. But Leila is much older and a VERY different person."

"All true, but Kimmy understood the limits when it started."

"What do you see in her? Tell me honestly."

"Simplicity. A simplicity that you and I had in August 1981. A simplicity I need. Someone who has no demands of me and provides comfort. The same as Debbie V did back in High School."

Elyse nodded, "Every time your life is in serious turmoil, that's where you turn. Debbie was after Jen moved to Seattle. I was after Jen decided to go to Stanford. Now Kimmy comes after Jessica left you. There's a pattern there. Once I had your son, I couldn't be that person for you to turn to. It was no longer simple. Things make more sense now. When did you end things with Debbie V?"

"Right before I took up with Kara in a serious way," I said.

"Which tells me that you'll probably end it with Kimmy once Jessica comes back."

"I have no idea right now. I'm going to tell Jessica everything and let her decide what the next step is."

"Do you want to keep seeing Kimmy? And if so, why?"

"I can't give you an honest answer to either part of that question until I can talk to Jessica about where we are in our relationship and where it's going. She, Kara, and I will talk it all out. All of it. And then I'll go to Kimmy and talk to her. And she'll accept whatever my wives and I decide."

"I think your judgment about her is sound. Even if you broke your rule about being with someone at work. And company policy, I'll point out again. But for you, I know that the rule is more important."

"True. But given the circumstances, I followed Jennifer's thinking in that sometimes rules need exceptions. They aren't straitjackets."

"True. And being too much of a stickler for the rules makes you inflexible."

"I'm glad you see it my way," I chuckled.

"Are you going to tell me what really happened in California?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. What REALLY happened between you and Jeri?"

"God damn you, Elyse!" I swore. "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how you discover all my secrets."

"Good luck with that," she answered calmly. "But something happened."

"How do you know?"

"I know everything, you know that."

"Come on, Elyse. This time, give me a clue. I know I didn't do or say anything."

"No, you didn't. Jeri came into the office yesterday with her hair down. She's NEVER come in except with her hair pulled back in a severe ponytail or a tight bun. Then, in the meeting, she was confident, firm, and not even the tiniest bit nervous."

"And from that, you deduce what?"

"Bluntly? You fucked her. I don't know the circumstances, the reasons, or who initiated it, but you fucked her."

"She changed in that meeting at Ford, Jackson, and Finch. She started nervous as hell and finished with serious self-confidence. Ask Barbara. She watched the same thing I did."

"I'm sure that's true. But that's not all of it. Her hair was a dead giveaway."

Her hair? Once again, I'd been discovered by the girl's hair! Just as Kara's mom had had her suspicions confirmed by Kara's hair, so had Elyse figured it out. Once again, Elyse had showed just how well she knew me, and watched out for me. And watched me.

"She changed her hairstyle, and THAT tells you that I fucked her?"

"She hasn't changed her hairstyle or the way she dresses or the way she behaves one iota since May last year. Now, you take her to California and she comes back a changed woman."

"I did not TAKE her to California. Dave SENT her to California. Just as he did me. HE assigned us to the project for the Archdiocese and then to the project to create the Windows version of our software."

"Sorry, poor choice of words. But that doesn't change the fact that you two went to California together."

"So?" I said.

"We had this conversation. And you promised me something. Do you remember what it was?"

I sighed, "Yes. That I would accept your counsel on any new girl I wanted to be with."

"I believe that you broke your promise to me."

"Can I tell you something funny?" I asked.

"Sure."

"During my Senior year in High School, when Kara and I were dating, her mom figured out we were sexually active because Kara came home with damp hair and smelling of a different soap. There are two funny things, actually, now that I think about it. First, I've been outed by hair for a second time. But the second funny thing is, that Kimmy asked me, right when we started, what soap, shampoo, and toothpaste I used."

Elyse laughed, "I believe I've misjudged that girl! If she thought of that by herself, then she's pretty darn smart. We may need to find a more important role for her! Are you admitting that you fucked Jeri?"

"I couldn't admit that without violating my word to her," I said.

"Nice equivocation. You should have been a lawyer with the way you parse your answers. But that's a pretty damned clear answer, nonetheless. What were you thinking?"

"Elyse, let it go, please. Seriously. This is between Jeri and me. I spoke to Kara about it Thursday night. I should have known you would figure it out eventually. I'm sorry about my promise to you, but there just was no time to discuss it with you."

"I was hard on you about Kimmy because you broke your own rule. Now you've broken it again. Are you going to treat NIKA as your personal harem?"

"Hell no," I said. "I did NOT plan this and honestly, it wasn't even a thought until it actually happened, and yes, it was talked through and thought through. Just let it go, please."

"This isn't going to be an ongoing thing?"

"No."

"So you opened her eyes, and that was it?"

I chuckled, "You keep pushing! Let's just say that her eyes were wide open a long time ago, but her personal circumstances were such that she couldn't move forward until this past week. And that has to be all I say, Elyse. I can't discuss this anymore, even with you. I admit it happened and I admit I failed to keep my promise to you. Will you leave it at that?"

"Yes. On the condition that you keep your promise to me in the future. I understand you, and your needs, and I get it. So does Kara. So does Jennifer. I'm not completely sure if Jessica understands, but she did at least accept the terms of your relationship before. Remember what I told you last time? About being safe?"

"Yes, I remember."

"People who work for NIKA are not safe. Neither is anyone at your karate dojo, with the possible exception of Jolene. That creates a problem for you because you don't really have a way of meeting the kind of girl who you like best. You also can't really take a chance with any customers. You're lucky nothing bad came of your thing with that girl in Milwaukee. Your Russian friends might cut you a bit of slack, but she could still cause trouble. Figure out a polite way to end that.

"Beyond that, if you ever started teaching at IIT, you can't take the risk of screwing anyone in a class you teach or even anyone in a class you ever taught. Your friend, the pastor, was lucky in that IIT's policies didn't specifically ban his relationship. UofC's policy specifically prohibited that kind of thing.

"Your rule about NIKA should extend to ANY place where you have some kind of authority over the girls in any way, shape or form. That means the dojo. That means if you teach college. That means if you ever get involved in a church. You have to have that rule and keep it.

"Yes, Kimmy is a glaring exception to that, but because I don't expect Jessica to allow it to continue, I'll leave that alone. What's done with Jeri is done, and I'll file it in the 'Penny' file, the same as I have Tasha. And, if we want to be complete, Charlie, Julia, and me. Well, and a name I'm not going to say out loud, for obvious reasons. I guess Cindi is the one left out in the cold, so to speak!"

I chuckled, "So to speak. What are you getting at?"

"That you don't have a source for 'safe' girls. At least not the kind you like — young, thin, small-breasted, and preferably virginal. Or if not virginal, fresh and mostly innocent like Kimmy. I'm making an assumption there, but I think it's accurate from what I know about her. So what I'm getting at is that you have two choices, really. Give up your penchant for younger girls, or find a safe source."

"Where? How? Assuming you're correct, and I suppose you are, what do you propose? You say you know me so well, and I believe you do. You and I both know that I probably don't have the self-control to give up younger girls permanently. But you just wiped out every possible way I could find them. Even Stephanie's going to graduate soon, and her friends are going to graduate and move on."

"I don't have a good answer right now," Elyse said. "I'm not sure there is one. That's especially true, given that you've ruled out girls like Fawn who'll be seventeen soon enough. I give that age because it's Illinois' 'age of consent'."

"I HAVE to rule her out," I said. "I can NOT ruin my friendship with Al Barton any more than I could ruin my friendships with Kurt, Pete, or Nick. Some girls are off limits, no matter how much I might desire them. Although it's not quite the same, Veronica is completely off limits as well, despite her fitting the profile almost perfectly."

"Because she works for you?" Elyse asked.

"No. Because my kids love her. I would never, ever do anything to hurt my kids. You know that. And if I did that with Veronica, I might hurt my kids. So no. Never."

"Interesting," Elyse said. "It fits your world view completely. Anyone who would hurt your kids would have the life expectancy of a mouse at a cat convention. You'd kill them so quickly nobody would be able to stop you. As fierce as your sister is in defending you, you'll be fiercer in defending your kids. And, before you think otherwise, I am grateful for that. And I support it. If someone hurt Matthew, the only question would be who got to that person first."

"So what do I do?" I chuckled. "Troll the student center or library at UofC?"

"They're all eighteen, so that actually wouldn't be totally crazy. I have a couple of ideas. First, talk to Jorge. He dances. I hear tell that there are quite a few eligible girls there, if you get my drift."

I chuckled, "I wondered where Jorge found the girls for his 'hall pass' from my sister. I should have guessed."

"I have another idea, but I haven't fully thought it through. You know those talks you have with Jolene? Why not have a seminar? I'm sure that IIT or UofC would rent you space for something like that. And so long as you aren't charging, and you stay away from underage girls, you'll meet a lot of people. Maybe you don't find someone directly, but you'll be invited to do things."

"A seminar on self-discovery and growth?"

"Can you imagine a group of people who might need that more than college students? Sure, most of them won't listen, but if even one does, you've done some good. And you'll meet girls in the right age range."

"So you're procuring for me now?" I chuckled.

"No. I'm telling you how to go about meeting eligible girls without going to jail or wrecking your company or ruining your friendships. You aren't in High School or college anymore. Or you could just stick to Jessica, Kara, and me."

"I could. And if Jessica requires that, I will."

"Be careful with that. Remember, I know you very well. You've been living this way for eleven years. The chances of you changing in that fundamental way are near zero, and trying to be someone you aren't is a sure way to be tempted by forbidden fruit. And that, Sir, will be the end of it all."

"I hear you, Elyse. You give me good advice, as always. Now, how can I help you?"

"You're doing it. You're here, in bed with me, cuddling me, having just made love, and listening to my advice. What more could I ask for?"

"Orgasms?" I chuckled.

"I'll always take those!" she giggled. "Can I be on top?"