Chapter 3: Crash and Burn, Part II

November 25, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

Hope and I were lying on the bed, the comforter covering only our legs, leaving everything from our thighs up exposed.

"I asked you a goddamned question!" Jolene spat.

Hope squeezed my arm just as I was about to speak.

"We're screwing!" Hope declared fearlessly. "I asked him to do it! You did it with him! Why can't I?"

"I didn't ask you, I asked him!" Jolene shrieked.

"I saw you, you know," Hope said calmly. "I saw him screw you and then put it in your mouth! You didn't know, but when you said that you liked how it tasted, I knew you were talking about Steve! When you said it was exciting to swallow his stuff, I knew it was Steve!"

Jolene's face went ashen, and she turned from the room. I heard the door to the other bedroom slam and then heard loud sobs.

"Hope," I said gently, "that wasn't necessary."

"Why? She had sex when she was thirteen! I can do it if I want to! She said so!"

I sighed, "Yes, but doing it with me wasn't what she had in mind!"

"But I saw you two. I wanted to do it. But I'm glad you didn't put it in my mouth!"

"We need to get dressed and talk to her," I said.

"No. Stay with me. She'll come back when she calms down."

"And kill me!" I said.

"No, she won't. I told her I was going to do this and that she couldn't stop me."

"You what?" I gasped.

"Last week. When she and I were talking, and she told me that stuff I said before, I told her I was going to have you be my first. She said you would never do it."

I sighed, "Because I promised her that I wouldn't. She knew you wanted to do it with me. She told me."

"I know. We talk about everything! After I saw you two, I kept pushing her to talk to me. She finally did. Did you really tell her that you wanted both of us at the same time?"

"That was a FANTASY," I said. "One I told her had no chance of happening."

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell her?"

"What?"

"She said thinking about it excited her!" Hope whispered.

"Me too, but that doesn't mean we should do it!"

"Do girls really like it when guys shoot in their mouths?"

"Some do, some don't. I would only do it if the girl said it was OK. Come on, we should get dressed."

"Why? She's seen you naked. She knows we did it. I like lying here naked with you. It feels nice and I want you to stay here! And I want to do it again!"

I sighed, "Your mom is really upset."

"Just wait. She'll come talk to us."

Hope turned out to be right. About ten minutes later, Jolene came to the door.

"Get dressed and we'll talk," she said, then walked away.

"See," Hope said.

We got out of bed and Hope grabbed me and pulled me to her. She hugged me tightly, and we kissed again.

"I HAVE to do this again," she giggled, then gave me a saucy look, "And maybe you can shoot in my mouth!"

The thought of those lips wrapped around my shaft caused it to twitch. I quickly grabbed my underwear and pulled them on before things got out of control again. When we finished dressing, Hope grabbed me, gave me a sexy kiss, and then took my hand.

"Just let me talk to my mom," she said.

We went out to the living room where Jolene was waiting for us. Hope got two Cokes from the fridge and asked her mom what she wanted. Jolene asked for a Tab and Hope handed out the drinks, then sat next to me on the couch. Jolene was sitting in the chair that Hope had been sitting in before, and stared at us.

"Don't be mad at him, Mom. I had to talk him into it. And he didn't hurt me. He made me feel really, really good."

"That's what scares me," Jolene sighed.

"You're afraid because I really liked it?"

"Yes. That's what got me into trouble. I liked it so much that I didn't even think about what could happen."

"You got me!" Hope said.

"Yes, I did," Jolene said. "And I love you so much. I just don't want you to get hurt or get into trouble."

"You check every morning that I take my pill! We talked about what I wanted and I told you what I was going to do."

"No, YOU talked about what you wanted and what you were going to do. What did I tell you?"

"That it was a bad idea," Hope said.

"Yes. And you, Mister Adams, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Do you want to hear the whole sordid story," I asked with a sigh.

"What?" she asked.

"When I heard that you had called the house, I decided to come over and talk to you. I decided that I was finally going to tell you why I've been moody and why Jessica hasn't been to karate. She wasn't working, Jolene. She left me."

"What?! Why?! And why didn't you tell me?"

"As I said, it's a long and sordid story. But I didn't tell you because I was afraid of what you would do. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I'll just say I was afraid that you would want to have sex, and keep having sex. And I knew I couldn't resist. Just as I couldn't resist your daughter. I came here to talk to you. Hope invited me in, but I didn't know you weren't here when she first let me in. I just didn't have the willpower to get up and leave, and Hope convinced me to go to bed with her."

"How hard did she have to work at it? She's fourteen for Pete's sake! I could call the police and have you arrested!"

"You could. And I'll confess and take my lumps," I said.

"Mo-om!" Hope protested. "Don't do that! YOU were thirteen!"

"And Kenny was sixteen. It was different back then, too. Steve, would you leave so Hope and I can talk this through? I'm not going to call the cops, but you and I are going to have a serious talk."

"Whenever you want," I said.

"I'm sorry to hear about Jessica," she said.

"Thanks. I'll explain everything when we talk. Sunday?"

"Sure. Now, go, please."

"I'll walk you out," Hope said brightly.

"No, you WILL NOT!" Jolene said. "Steve, it's time to go!"

I nodded and stood up. I put on my shoes and jacket, grabbed my fedora, and left the apartment. I decided that I'd head home, but I needed a shower because I didn't want to advertise what I'd just done. I walked back to the office and went to the restroom and used wet paper towels and soap to wash up as best I could. I kept a toothbrush and toothpaste in my office, along with deodorant. I brushed my teeth and reapplied my deodorant and hoped I could pass muster. It wasn't that Kara would be upset; it was that I just didn't want to talk about it any more than I wanted to talk about the situation with Jessica.

When I arrived home, I found Kara in our room with Birgit and told her that I wanted to take a sauna. She took Birgit to Elyse, who was watching TV, and then we went to the sauna.

"Did you get a lot of work done?"

"Not really," I sighed. "I couldn't concentrate on work. I tried everything I could think up. I ended up wandering around the office and eventually took a walk."

"Did you see Jolene?"

"Eventually," I said. "We're going to talk on Sunday morning. I assume that's OK."

"Yes, of course. Did you tell her?"

"Only the barest of details, but I will tell her the whole story. The cat's out of the bag at this point, thanks to my sister!"

"She's really sorry, and she's also very upset that she made you angry. You should talk to her."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," I said. "Not about Jessica. Not about the baby."

"You need a good night's sleep," Kara said. "Tomorrow you can relax and play with the kids, then take Jacquelyn for dinner and the movie. You need to be able to convince her you're having a good time for her sake."

"I know," I said. "She's a sweet kid. I promise I'll do my best to be nice and try to have a good time. And I'll pretend to enjoy the chick flick!"

"Just make her feel like you WANT to be there with her, Snuggle Bear."

"I will. Did Al Barton call?"

"No," Kara said.

I sighed and leaned back against the wall. I wanted to hear from him in the worst possible way, and yet, I dreaded what he would say. Jessica had crashed and burned, and there wasn't anything I could think of that could fix it.

November 26, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"How are you feeling?" Kara asked as we showered together on Saturday morning.

"I don't know," I said. "It'll be good to get out of the house when we go to the Upper Peninsula."

"Do you need some time away before then?" Kara asked.

"I don't know what I need," I sighed. "No, that's not true. I need Jessica to not kill my baby!"

"What about her coming back?"

"At this point, I don't care," I said. "I only care about the baby."

"You've totally given up?" Kara said, her voice full of sadness.

"I don't know what else to do given everything that's happened. This isn't like it was with you. You wouldn't talk to me, but you would never, ever have contemplated having an abortion if you had been pregnant. That's a dagger in my heart, Kara. Jessica certainly knows that. I think she's TRYING to hurt me. She could have done it without telling me, and I would never have known. She told me to hurt me. Purposefully. Well, the hell with her."

"Do you really mean that? Or are you just so angry that you can't see past your anger?"

"See past it? How? Why? She's going to break perhaps the only rule that she could break to ensure I would NEVER want to see her again. She knows that. Well, the hell with it. The hell with her. The hell with all her rules."

"I don't think she's done it yet. She could change her mind."

"She could also have talked to me anytime in the past five weeks! Or to you! Or to Kathy. Or to Al. She could even have talked to Alicia. Or spoken at her disciplinary hearing. Or accepted counseling. Fuck!"

"I didn't mean to get you riled up," Kara said. "I don't want you snapping at the kids or at Jacquelyn, so I'll leave it alone for now. We are going to have to talk about it and decide what to do, and we'll have to do it soon."

"I know. The ball's in her court. It has been since the beginning."

We finished in the shower and went down to breakfast.

"Good morning, Veronica," Kara said. "How was your Thanksgiving?"

"Good, thanks. My boyfriend and I went to my parents' house in Sugar Grove for dinner. That's out west near Aurora. I heard there was a bit of commotion on Thanksgiving here."

I sighed and went to the fridge to get ingredients for breakfast and let Kara answer.

"Jessica was here for dinner, but left right afterwards. I can't really go into details, but you probably shouldn't expect her back."

"I'm sorry to hear that. The kids all seem to be OK."

"They are. Only Jesse has really asked about her, and with her crazy schedule, he hasn't quite figured out that there's a problem."

"OK. Well, I'm off. I'll be home late tonight. Thanks for the two extra days off!"

"You're welcome!" Kara said. "See you tonight."

Veronica left, and we had our breakfast. Afterwards, we spent the day relaxing and playing with the kids. At 3:30pm, I went upstairs to shower, shave, and dress for my dinner date with Jacquelyn. Trattoria No. 10 wasn't a high-end restaurant, but it was upscale enough that I put on slacks, a button-down shirt which I left open at the collar, and a sports coat. When I was dressed, I went downstairs to kiss Kara goodbye, grabbed my fedora and headed out. The temperature was in the mid 50s, and supposed to stay there until I'd have Jacquelyn home, so I didn't bother with an overcoat.

I got into my BMW, backed out of the driveway, and turned south to head for Jacquelyn's house. I knew I'd have trouble finding a parking spot, so I planned to double-park and hope she was ready when I arrived. If she wasn't, I'd get back in the car and move it. I felt that I could probably get away with that.

When I pulled up in front of her house, I stopped at a place where I'd be able to open the passenger door for Jacquelyn, set the emergency flashers, then quickly got out of the car and took the steps two at a time. I rang the bell, hoping that she or her parents would answer right away. Fortunately, Jacquelyn opened the door just a few seconds after I rang the bell.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said, smiling and stepping outside.

She was dressed in a black knee-length skirt and a lavender sweater, and looked very nice, and was carrying a shawl in one hand. Her black hair reached to her shoulders, with curls hanging down either side of her face. Just a touch of makeup completed the picture. I'd never seen her dressed up, and she looked remarkably good.

"Should I say 'hello' to your parents?" I asked.

"No, it's OK. You're parked in the middle of the street!"

"OK! Then let's go!"

I held the door for her and once she was seated, I shut it, then hurried around to the driver's side and got in. I turned off the emergency flashers and put the car into gear.

"You look really nice," she said.

"Thanks, so do you! You told your parents that I would bring you home right after the movie, right?"

"Yes, but I'm allowed to stop for ice cream if it's OK with you!"

I chuckled, "I think we can manage. You're going for the full experience!"

"Yes! It's my first real date, well, you know what I mean."

"I do. How are things at school?"

"Great! My grades are good, I have six friends that I see at school and hang out with, and I've been asked out on dates by nice guys."

"But you've said 'no'? Why?"

"Because you're my first date, silly! You asked me first! There's one guy who I'll say 'yes' to a date with. I just told him that we'd go out after Christmas break. He wasn't upset about that."

"I suppose that makes sense. Do you have plans for Christmas break?"

"We visit my grandparents in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. That's my mom's parents. My dad's parents died a few years back. I think I told you about my grandma and the icon, right?"

"Yes, when Jessica and I were at your house for dinner."

"Is she OK? I haven't seen her in a long time."

"It's a difficult situation. She and I are having some problems. Don't worry about it, though. Tonight is your night and you don't want to listen to my troubles! It's all about you and I just want you to have a good time!"

"Thanks! This is fun! And you have a really nice car! I like it!"

"Thanks."

We chatted amiably about school, Chicago, making friends, and moving until we arrived at the restaurant on Dearborn Street. The valets opened the doors for us, and I handed over my key. I held out my arm and Jacquelyn looped hers through it, and we went through the doors and down the stairs to the basement-level restaurant. We were about ten minutes early, but our table was ready. The hostess led us to a small table in a quiet corner of the restaurant.

"Would you like to order drinks? Perhaps a bottle of wine?"

Jacquelyn giggled softly, but there was no way on this, or any other planet, that I was going to let her drink alcohol. Her parents didn't strike me as the type who would understand that, and because she was seriously underage, the restaurant could get into significant trouble as well. But soft drinks were out as well, because I didn't want to contribute to that habit.

"Sparkling water," I said. "San Pellegrino and limes, please."

The waiter tapped his pen a few times and then turned to get the drinks.

"No Cokes?" she asked.

"I'd sooner you had wine!" I chuckled. "No extra sugar for you when you're with me. I have to set a good example!"

"I want a SPECIAL evening!" she whined.

"And you'll have it! A wonderful dinner, a movie, and even ice cream! You don't need the soda!"

"Fine," she said flatly, but I could tell she wasn't really angry. "But what about the movie?"

"You can have a small Coke, I suppose. But then we're going to have to run more on Monday to get rid of it!"

"You sound like my mom!"

"Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to."

"Treat me like you would a girl on a date! I have two parents already and that's WAY MORE than enough!"

She sounded like I did when I was a teenager, though I felt that her parents were a bit more relaxed and open-minded than my mom was.

"OK! OK!" I chuckled.

We perused the menus, and when the waiter returned with our sparkling water, we placed our orders. Jacquelyn chose a complex pasta dish with meat, vegetables, and a cream sauce. I decided that it looked good, so I ordered that as well. It turned out to be a great choice, and it was delicious. We didn't talk a lot as we ate, but the conversation we did have ranged over a bunch of topics from karate to friends to pets, which neither of us had.

Once we'd finished dinner, we declined the offered dessert, and I paid the bill with my Amex card. I left the tip in cash on the table as usual, and then Jacquelyn looped her arm through mine and we left the restaurant. When we arrived at the top of the stairs, the valet, cued by the waiter, had already brought my car around. I tipped him, and he helped Jacquelyn into the passenger seat.

"That was really nice!" she said. "Now the movie!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" I chuckled, shifting into first gear and pulling away from the restaurant.

I drove to Water Tower Place, where we parked the car in the attached parking garage and then walked arm-in-arm into the mall that housed the movie theatre. I bought two tickets for the 7:30pm showing, and let Jacquelyn lead me to the concession stand. I bought a medium tub of popcorn and two small Cokes, much to Jacquelyn's delight. Once we had our drinks and the popcorn, we found the correct theatre and I let her pick our seats.

Chapter 4 »