Chapter 26: Confession is Good For the Soul

January 23, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"So, about April?" Elyse asked at breakfast after my run with Jacquelyn.

"You do not have the same privileges as Kara in that regard!" I chuckled. "But yes, of course I did! You know me."

"Good! That's the kind of girl you need to find. Young, cute, fun, and willing. And without notions of a romantic relationship. Someone who doesn't work for you, study karate with you, and is at least seventeen."

"I got it, Elyse. You and Kara made your points!"

"Yes, we did, but you tend to forget things when you get out of sorts."

"I know," I sighed.

"So our job, Elyse," Kara said, "is to keep him from getting out of sorts. Especially with regard to Jessica."

"That is where his stress is really going to come from, isn't it?" Elyse said.

"Yes," Kara said.

I sighed, "Sadly, I think you're both right on that account. Doctor Barton has warned me about it time and again. I thought I was prepared for anything. Obviously I wasn't."

"Well, to be fair, nobody expected this thing with Carla to happen," Elyse said.

"I am still curious about that whole thing," I said.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Steve!" Elyse warned. "All your lawyer friends AND your two girls here are telling you to just let it go. Rachel isn't your daughter. DNA doesn't lie. Your doctor and lawyer friends have all confirmed that."

"I know, I know. But you know me!"

"Yes, we do, Snuggle Bear," Kara said. "That's why we're telling you to drop it! The judge is hearing arguments on the motions this week, right?"

"Yes, tomorrow," I said. "Gwen said it's all lawyer stuff, so I'm not going. I think she wants to keep me away from the lawyers, and Carla and Rachel, too."

"Smart," Elyse confirmed.

"Walk with me to the office?" I asked.

"Sure. Let me make sure Matthew is settled with Veronica and then we'll go."

She left the kitchen while Kara and I cleared the breakfast things from the table and put the dishes in the sink. One very nice thing about having Veronica around was that she quite willingly washed dishes from breakfast, saving the rest of us that much more time in the morning. Kara and I went to get Birgit, and after I kissed my girls goodbye, Elyse and I walked to the office.

"Do you remember me talking about hiring an accounting clerk?" she asked.

"Yes, it was going to be after the first of the year, so I'm not surprised that you're raising that issue now."

"I'm offering the position to Kimmy," Elyse said. "It'll be a nice raise for her and she can do the job, I'm sure."

I laughed, "Because she bought Irish Spring soap, Brut deodorant, and Crest toothpaste?"

Elyse nodded, "As silly as that sounds, it shows that she's thinking things through, paying attention to detail, and understands what she's doing. Can I ask a totally inappropriate question?"

"Always, but I reserve the right to not answer."

"Sure. Is she any good? I mean, in bed."

"Why do you ask that question? Does it really matter?"

"I'm curious if she's only meeting an emotional need, or if the sex is good enough to be interesting without the emotional part. It's not like you're lacking for available sex partners who know how to please you!"

"True. I think I see where you're going with this. I'll allow the question. The answer is yes, she is very good. She has no hang-ups, no inhibitions, and she's totally into pleasing me, however I need to be pleasured, with no specific regard for her own pleasure."

"A female version of you, then," Elyse said. "She's giving you comfort fucks the same way you used to give comfort fucks."

"Used to?" I asked.

"Sorry, the way you have in the past. It's not the same between you and me at this point because of Matthew and the soon-to-arrive Michael. That's what it was with Becky, wasn't it?"

"Well, after we nearly killed each other the first time, yes, it was. Very much so. It's what Stephie and I had after we officially broke up. And other girls from time to time, too."

"I'm starting to get a good picture of you and Kimmy and why you need her. It's my considered opinion that once you and Jessica settle all the bullshit from when she left you, that you respectfully ask to continue with Kimmy, at least for the near term. I think you need her."

"Interesting," I said. "But I'm not sure asking Jess for that is a good thing."

"Tell her about it and see how she responds. But separate it from your other idiocy. Speaking of which, are you telling Jessica about Becky?"

I sighed, "I don't know. If I do, I have to tell Kara, and that creates its own problems that I don't want to contemplate. It would be like telling Jess about Stephanie, though the explosion wouldn't be the same order of magnitude. That said, a small nuke or a big nuke both kill you just the same if you're close when they go off."

"True. You can NOT tell Jessica about your sister. Bethany was dead wrong with that advice. And now it's doubly true. You and Stephanie are still close, but not crazy close, and I can't see either of you going back in that direction under any circumstances. Let sleeping dogs lie."

"Good advice, as always. Back to Kimmy. When are you going to tell her about the promotion?"

"This morning, if you'll sign the papers."

"I will. You'll need to talk to Julia first."

"I'll do that. We'll need another receptionist then. Should I just order you a sleeper sofa for your office so you can interview them?" Elyse teased.

I chuckled, "Run that by Jamie and let me know what he thinks of THAT hiring method. I suspect he'll advise against it!"

Elyse laughed, "You think?"

"No more girls from work. You're right about everything in that regard."

Well, there would very likely be one more time with Jeri, but that was a very special circumstance that I couldn't discuss with Elyse even in a round-about way. Some day in the future, Diana Prince would turn into Wonder Woman for good. And I looked forward to helping with that transition.

Elyse brought me the papers about an hour after the fortnightly staff meeting ended. I chuckled to myself at that thought, given Greg and I had a huge debate over whether 'biweekly' meant every two weeks or twice a week. I'd insisted on the former, and he the latter. I finally gave up and started calling it 'fortnightly', despite having to explain that to many of the rest of the staff who had no clue that meant every two weeks.

"That IS a nice raise," I said.

"We pay a receptionist minimum wage plus a bit, and she's had a couple of raises. An accounting clerk should make more."

"I'm not so sure about that," I said. "The first person from our company who many people interact with is the receptionist, whether they call or show up at the door. And when we have customers here for meetings, that's who they see first. And she handles my calendar, too. Change this form for the new receptionist to pay more."

"How much more?"

"Call it $2.00 an hour more. That's $4400 a year, roughly, and isn't going to break us, and sends the right message. It's still less than what Kimmy will be making."

"You've convinced me. Let me cycle back to Julia."

She was back fifteen minutes later with a new hiring form. I reviewed it and signed it, and then Elyse went to talk to Kimmy. About fifteen minutes later, the intercom buzzed. I chuckled and lifted the handset rather than leaving it on speaker.

"Yes, Kimmy?"

"Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Thank Elyse," I said. "She's the one who decided to promote you."

"Yes, but it's your company! Can I make you lunch today? Please?"

I chuckled, "Yes, of course."

She laughed, "Good. Elyse told me I could take a two-hour lunch today! She was sure I'd want to thank you thoroughly!"

I shook my head, and grinned, even though she couldn't see me, "See you at lunch, Kimmy!"

January 24, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Steve, Gwen Meyer is on the phone for you," Kimmy said over the intercom.

I asked Jeri and Penny to step out for a moment, then asked Kimmy to put the call through.

The phone rang, and I picked up the handset, "Hi, Gwen."

"We made some progress today," she said. "The judge rejected their motion to set aside the DNA test results. That's very good. The new PCR method we used hasn't been fully tested in the courts, but Illinois is open to it. Because of that, the judge also approved a repeat test. Once that's done, he'll hold a formal hearing on the case. You'll probably need to be there, but I don't think you'll need to testify because we expect the test results to be conclusive."

"Just out of curiosity, what happens if her test results show a different result?"

"Well, as you like direct answers, all hell breaks loose. But I expect this result to show the same as the first one."

I knew enough about Brandon Littleton to not trust the man, or any of his 'Associates', as far as I could throw an M1 Abrams tank. I would NOT put any value in anything the man said or did, nor accept his word on anything.

"Gwen, I want to witness the DNA samples being taken from Carla and Rachel."

"That's a bad idea for several reasons. Would you let me witness?"

I thought about it for a moment, "Sure. And I want to select the lab. If it can't be Loyola, then I want the University of Chicago. I do NOT trust Brandon Littleton."

"That's a tough motion to win, but I can try."

"Win it, Gwen. That law firm is about as scummy as they come. I've dealt with them before. I wouldn't put anything past them. And remember, I didn't select Loyola, they did. So I should get to select this time."

"Not an unreasonable argument. Let me see what I can do. I'll call the clerk and file an emergency motion by the end of the day. No guarantees, though if they object to Loyola and UofC, that only leaves Northwestern in Chicago."

"Thanks," I said. "Between you and me, I'll accept Northwestern, but I want to make a point with those idiots at Littleton and Associates."

"I understand. I'll let you know."

We hung up, and I called Jeri and Penny back into the office and got back to work.

At home that night, there were two lively discussions at the dinner table. The first was started by Alejandra because a left-wing terrorist group in Argentina, Movimiento Todos por la Patria, or "All for the Fatherland Movement", had attacked an army base named La Tablada near Buenos Aires. According to Alejandra's father, they claimed it was to prevent a right-wing coup against the Alfonsín government. The Army and the police had put down the assault, though there were quite a few casualties.

"Now, do you see exactly why my father thinks I should study in the United States?" she asked.

"I do," I agreed. "What will you do if these troubles continue?"

"Then I may accept the Match and stay here for my Residency. But that is still more than three years away. There will be an election in May. A lot will depend on who wins, and how the people receive it. I think the former Peronista Carlos Menem will win. I am not sure what that means for Argentina, though. As I said, we shall see."

"What about you Leila?" Elyse asked.

"The situation in Turkey is actually good. The ruling Anavatan Partisi, or Motherland Party, wants global coöperation and conservative values at home. This is exactly what my father believes is a recipe for a peaceful nation. The government even wants to be part of the EEC, but there are serious disagreements about the customs union being proposed, and so Turkey probably won't join. But, at least the Muslims are not in power, which is key to keeping Turkey a part of the West, as it should be."

The second issue was that Ted Bundy, the serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist, who was accused of necrophilia, had been executed in the electric chair just before we'd sat down to dinner.

"Going to object to THAT execution, Big Brother?" my sister asked.

"Not on the grounds that he might be innocent, that's for sure!" I said. "But on the general principle that the government shouldn't have the power to kill citizens under any circumstances except during an outright armed rebellion, yes."

"My God, Steve," Leila said. "Think about what the guy did!"

I nodded, "I have. And I still don't think the government should have the power to judicially murder someone. I don't have the right to perform a revenge killing, so I can't vote to give someone else the right!"

"At some point, though, isn't a crime bad enough to warrant the death penalty? Especially if it's confessed?" Kara asked.

"I'll stick with Martin Luther King Jr. on that one, as I do with many other issues. He said 'The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind'. I concur."

"Or Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof," Jorge added. "He said the same."

"Exactly," I said. "Where does it stop? What crime is worthy of death? And who decides? A majority vote? God help us! Our rights then exist only until a demagogue can convince the people to remove them by popular vote. The Constitution was written with that failing in mind. And yes, I know it contemplates the death penalty. It also made the loser of the Presidential election the Vice President until the 12th Amendment was passed. The Founders weren't perfect, but they did know that pure democracy was a bad thing.

"Fundamentally, if we are to have rights, there are some things that must be off limits to majorities, and sometimes even to super-majorities. There's a reason why the Constitution requires two-thirds of both the House and Senate and three-fourths of the States to amend. It's not supposed to be easy to change. And even then, we had stupidity like Prohibition passed. So no, it's not perfect, but the republican system envisioned by the Founders is more conducive to liberty than the current mess we've created."

"At least you're consistent," Elyse observed. "You object to both capital punishment AND abortion. Our political system pretty much has those two ideas in opposition to each other. Republicans tend to be pro-death penalty and anti-abortion, and the Democrats vice versa."

"Which is why I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat, and why I voted Libertarian. And yes, before anyone points it out, Libertarians are pro-choice. Well, so am I, on the condition that I don't have to pay for it and I don't have to be a party to it. That means no tax-funded abortions, and no requirement that medical students learn to perform them."

"Did Jessica?" Leila asked.

I nodded, "She did. But she chose to. She wasn't required to participate as a Fourth Year medical student or PGY1. That was her private decision, and I didn't interfere."

"You are VERY strange, Steve," Alejandra said.

"I don't see that," Jorge said. "I may disagree with Steve on some things, but he consistently argues for everyone to be left alone to make their own decisions and to make their own way in the world. He does his best to do as little harm as possible. All of those are admirable, even if we disagree with the odd ideas that might come out of his positions."