Chapter 38: Good News All Around

March 12, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Great seats, Boss!" Terry said as we moved into our assigned row at Chicago Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

We were at the lowest part of the upper deck, just off center ice. Dave, Julia, Penny, Terry, Jessica, Kara, Elyse, and I all filed into our seats.

"Anybody want anything from the snack bar?" I asked.

Terry laughed, "I want a hamburger. No, cheeseburger. I want a hot dog. I want a milkshake. I want potato chips..."

I knew the reference and gave the correct answer, "You'll get nothing, and like it!"

"What did I miss?" Jessica asked.

"It's from Caddyshack," Julia laughed. "A whiney rich kid is talking to his dad about what he wants from the snack bar. Just a Coke for me, Dave."

Terry, Dave, and I got everyone's request and went to the snack bar and came back ten minutes later with paper trays full of food and drinks.

"Your Pens look a lot better now, Steve," Dave said.

"They do. Tom Barrasso is playing well in goal, and with Coffey and Stevens, they finally have real support for Super Mario. Give them a year or two and one or two players, and they'll win the Cup. They could conceivably do it this year, because it looks like they'll make the playoffs."

"Less than a month to go? I think they'll be in the post-season. Same with the Black Hawks."

"Now this would be the perfect matchup for the finals," I said. "But I don't think the Pens have the team to go all the way just yet."

They did have the team to take it to the Hawks, though, beating them 6-5.

"Dinner at Star of Siam?" Julia suggested.

"We're game," Terry said.

"Same here," I agreed.

The eight of us headed to Star of Siam and were seated relatively speedily.

"Pad Thai again, Julia?" I teased.

"Not yet! Working on it, though. Religiously!" she laughed.

"What am I missing?" Terry asked.

"Julia had a craving for Pad Thai the last time she was pregnant," I said, "She and Dave are working on a brother or sister for Peter!"

"There has to be something in the water at your house and at NIKA," Terry laughed. "Jessica, Elyse, Penny, and Bethany. And you already have three!"

"Your baby is going to have a lot of company," Kara said.

"Did Steve tell you?" Penny asked. "We're getting married the same day as Zeke and Tasha. Actually, at the same time!"

"No!" Kara gasped. "He didn't!"

"I didn't feel it was my place," I said.

"You four pretty much do everything together," Julia said.

"Yes, we do!" Penny declared.

Terry and I exchanged a look, confirming the implication the other day. We had a great meal, and Terry and Penny headed home in her Daytona, and Julia and Dave headed home in his car, and lastly, my wives and I drove home in my BMW.

When we arrived home, Katy was cuddled on the couch with a cute, young blonde.

"Steve, this is Lauren," she said.

"Hi, Lauren," I said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Thanks for helping Katy in her time of need."

"She's a good friend and I'm happy to help. I'm sure she told you that she lived here for a few years."

"She told me all about you," Lauren laughed. "And I mean ALL!"

I shook my head, "Lauren, this is my wife, Jessica. And this is my wife, Kara."

"Welcome, Lauren!" Jessica said.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"How was the game?" Katy asked.

"Good," I said. "The Pens won. I figure they'll contest seriously for the Stanley Cup in a year or two and have a real chance at a championship. Unlike a certain Boston baseball team!"

"Don't even start," Katy sighed. "But it could be worse. I could be a Cubs fan."

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!" I chuckled. "What about the Celtics?"

"They'll make the playoffs, but I don't think they're good enough to win it all. The Bulls have a decent shot, though."

"We had dinner out," I said. "We're probably just going to hang out in the Indian room," I said.

"Nice meeting you all!" Lauren said.

The three of us went to the kitchen to get something to drink, then went to the Indian room.

"She's cute," Kara said. "And she was giving you the eye!"

"Perhaps she was scoping out the competition?" Jessica smirked, to giggles from both.

"Oh stop!" I chuckled. "She's a lesbian! Katy told me that guys didn't excite Lauren, and that's why she switched to girls. Besides, I want Katy to have the space to figure things out. I've turned her down three times now."

"You pursued her for years before you finally caught her."

"Actually, she caught me," I said. "But right now, what Katy needs is our love and support."

"You've been very, very calm the last three weeks," Kara said.

"And by that, you mean I haven't been with anyone except you, Jess, and Elyse?"

"Yes, but not just that. With everything. And Jess has as well."

"We're courting," I chuckled. "That's what this really is. Or maybe a honeymoon."

"We're not having enough sex for it to be a honeymoon!" Jessica smirked.

"Is that a complaint, Babe?" I asked.

"No! I was teasing, really. I honestly think we've found the right balance. I'm actually worried more for you."

"It's not a concern," I said. "Yes, I know in the past I've been more, uhm, active, but right now, where we are, I just need time with both of you, like this. And we need time with Doctor Green, and Jess needs time with her counselor."

"As long as you're sure, Tiger," Jessica said.

I chuckled, "I did have ONE idea, but it's not something that could happen right now."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"I'd like to see Abbie after she has her piercings," I answered with a grin.

"Invite her to visit," Jessica said. "She sounds like a really smart, really sweet girl with some really deep thinking. Is she planning to go to college?"

"No. She said she was planning to move to New York City, but we didn't really get into details of what she wanted to do. I'll give her a call and see if she's interested in visiting."

"What about Kimmy?" Kara asked.

"What about her? She's been totally sweet and checks on me every day. Even though she's not at reception, she still brings me my coffee and gets me my lunch when I need it. She's doing exactly what she said she would."

"Invite her for dinner," Jessica said. "I'd really like to talk to her."

"That's a bad idea, Babe. Bringing her to the house except for a party runs far too many risks."

"Then let's take her to dinner. We can go out to the suburbs to Benihana."

"Why?" I asked.

"To thank her, and so I can get to know her," Jessica said. "I think your 'play dates' with her were very healthy. It might not be a bad idea to do that once in a while."

"Not now, Jess. I need to focus on you and Kara."

"Let's have dinner with her, anyway."

"I suppose dinner is OK. I'll arrange it."

"Is there a problem, Tiger?"

"No, I'm just not in the mood, I guess. And that's not a bad thing. It's time to step back and reassess. That's what we're doing with Doctor Green, and in all of our talks."

"That's true. These seminars you're doing with Jolene were so you could meet 'safe' girls, right?"

"That was the initial motivation, but honestly, I think they'll be good for me, for her, and for anyone who shows up. Right now, meeting someone new isn't high on my agenda. If I were to want to be with someone, it would be Kimmy."

"Not Leila? Or Katy?"

"Leila is always a safe person to go to, but I'm just not interested. I AM interested in Katy, but I am not what she needs at the moment, or maybe ever. I think she's still struggling with her sexuality, and the last thing I need to do is confuse her further. Maybe she's bi, because she can certainly get off with a guy. But right now, it's not fair to her or Lauren to interfere. I've been down this road, remember?"

"I remember. Katy doesn't seem as nearly as confused as how you described Jennifer."

"She isn't. But that doesn't make it any easier. It's like my sister's friend Cheryl. Last I heard, she's more or less trying to convince herself that she's really straight by picking up random guys at parties. Maybe it WAS just an experiment between her and Peggy. Maybe it wasn't. But given how society treats gays and lesbians, it's no surprise that someone might try to suppress their true sexuality and conform. Katy sure tried."

"She knew about it before she married Kenneth?"

"Yes. In fact, it's the reason she came to my bed not long after Bethany's accident. In effect, she wanted to see if she could find what she was looking for from a guy. And she couldn't, not even with me, someone she said that she was deeply in love with. That started the train of thought in her mind that led to her coming to me two months later to talk about her own sexuality. I had Katy talk to Josie, because I thought Katy might be bisexual, not lesbian, given that she enjoyed sex with me, and apparently others.

"Her problem was that she was so afraid of what it might mean to be with a girl in that way, that she denied it so thoroughly that she decided to marry Kenneth. You can see how THAT turned out. She wasn't having her emotional needs met by him, and I'm not talking just about sex, either. In the end, she took the chance because a girl came on to her and she's been trying ever since to sort things out."

"That makes sense," Jessica said. "And you're afraid that sex with you would cause her to regress or have a setback."

"Yes. So as much as I love Katy, and as much as I enjoyed sex with her, it's a bad idea. Maybe forever. We'll see. She'd have to have Lauren's permission, anyway. And that might be a stumbling block. That's the reason Josie isn't seeing guys from time to time as she originally planned. Jennifer won't give permission. But Josie is cool with that. Heck, if there are two more monogamous people than Jennifer and Josie, and I mean strict, I don't know who it might be. Julia and Dave, I guess. Julia doesn't even dance close with other guys."

"Unlike Kathy and Kurt," Kara giggled.

"Jess is right about them," I said. "If the two of you ever changed your mind about it, they'd swing with us in a heartbeat! Back when Stephie was living with me at the apartment, there was a day when Elyse, Walter, Kathy, Kurt, Stephie, and I did some partner swapping. It never got beyond kissing and a bit of light petting, but that was because Walter was, as Elyse called him, a stick in the mud. If it had been Eduardo, I suspect it might have gone a LOT further."

"Stephie?" Jessica asked. "Really?"

I chuckled, "She had her moments. Behind that demure Southern Belle was a real hellion just waiting to come out. She even took part in a couple of threesomes, believe it or not."

"Stephie? Stephie Grant?" Jessica laughed. "Well, if you could corrupt HER, then nobody is safe from you!"

"Jess, I'm only talking about this because she's..." I paused and took a deep breath, "dead. Normally, I don't share stuff like this, though you both do occasionally invoke your wifely privilege."

"That's Kara. I mostly didn't want to know. I'm just shocked that Stephie was that adventurous. Why would you ever let her go?"

"Because she belonged with Jason. She needed Jason. Only Jason could walk with her down the path she was destined to follow. I just didn't know how terrible that path was going to be. But you have to keep all this to yourselves. We can't have an incident like the one with Leila in the sauna."

"That was bad," Jessica agreed.

"It was. Fortunately, it seems to have worked itself out. That's exactly why I'm concerned about Kimmy. If I were to start seeing her again, it can't be for lunch. It's too easy for people to put two-and-two together. Elyse did. Jeri did. And now that I think about it, it does reduce just how 'safe' Leila is in my mind. Yes, she's not going to try to steal me away from you two, nor fall in love with me, but if she let something like THAT out, what else might she say."

"That made Veronica the odd-woman out," Jessica said.

"And she stays that way. I can't risk my children's happiness for a lay, no matter how much I might want a sexy redhead. And honestly, I don't think Veronica is up for those kinds of shenanigans in her life. She has a steady boyfriend, and she's WAY more conventional than the rest of us are. That was a huge step for her in the sauna."

"Back up, Tiger. Jeri knows about you and Kimmy?"

"She's probably the smartest one at NIKA. Even smarter than Greg, though, because she's so quiet, it's not so obvious to everyone. Anyway, she just observed and noticed. It's one of those traits of quiet people. And she told me that she'd figured it out because she was worried about me. Of course, I told HER that she wasn't quite as smart as she thought she was, because she started wearing her hair down in the office, which gave Elyse a clue that I'd slept with Jeri."

"Busted by hair!" Kara giggled. "That's a long-standing Steve Adams tradition! That's how my mom knew that Snuggle Bear and I had gotten things 'out of order', as she put it. I came home with damp hair and smelling of different soap."

"Yes, and Kimmy somehow knew that was a potential issue, and, without being prompted, immediately bought the correct soap, deodorant, shampoo, and toothpaste I use. She had some sort of innate idea about it."

"Tiger, if you think about it, that's the kind of discretion you want in a lover. Someone who will never, ever violate your confidence, and who does everything necessary to keep it from being public."

"I suppose," I said. "It's still a concern. But I agreed to dinner, and we'll do that."

"What are we doing for your sister's birthday tomorrow?"

"Jorge is taking her out. We'll just have cake and ice cream when they get home."

"Is he the one for her?" Kara asked.

"That's an interesting question," I said. "He could be. He totally understands how she thinks, and he's OK with her quirks, including her relationship with me. He's tolerant of her desires to occasionally play around, and I know he avails himself of the same thing. But will she marry him? Who the hell knows? I don't claim to understand her thinking at this point. Not the way I used to. We've drifted apart."

"You had to," Jessica said. "For your own mental health. That incestuous relationship couldn't continue. Not without serious long-term issues. Not to mention increased risk of being caught. And it's still a felony, even if you're both adults. They lock you up for stuff like that."

"Yes, they do. But the bottom line is, I have no idea if she'll marry him or not. For all I know, she could dump him tomorrow and run back to Ed Krajick or Howard Pointe, though I can't see her being a Navy wife."