Chapter 52: Lifestyle Choices

June 11, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

It was just after 3:00am when I kissed Trish goodbye. She'd been an enthusiastic, energetic, and adventurous lover. We'd done just about anything either of us could think of, though her breasts weren't large enough for a tit-fuck. The last time had been in the shower where we'd ostensibly gone to clean up afterwards, but instead I ended up taking her from behind as she leaned against the wall of the shower.

"I think I'll have you again, Steve Adams," she said in her lilting Irish accent.

"Thank you for a lovely time, Patricia. Call me whenever you want to grind!"

She laughed, "Now Prince I can get into. I didn't hear any at your house."

"I listen to him, but none of his songs are on any of our mix tapes."

"You need better mix tapes! Next time you invite me to a party, I'll come over a day or two beforehand and we can make some GOOD mix tapes!"

"Deal!" I said.

I kissed her again and headed down to my car for the twenty-minute drive home. I didn't want to disturb Jessica or Kara, so I went down to the empty guest room and got into bed. I chuckled, hearing what were fairly obvious sounds from the next room. I turned on the clock radio by the bed just loud enough to drown it out and fell asleep.

There was a knock at the door and I heard Kara's voice calling my name. I rubbed my eyes and looked over at the clock and saw that it was about 9:00am.

"Come in, Honey," I called out.

She opened the door and came in just as I sat up.

"You're alone?!" she asked.

"Yes. I wouldn't spend the night with anyone without permission, and I most definitely did not have permission!"

"I knocked next door because I figured you were with Abbie. Imagine my surprise when you weren't!"

"Henry and Abbie met earlier in the week. She asked if he could stay. I took Trish home last night. When I arrived home, I didn't want to disturb you."

"Took her home?" Kara smirked.

"Yes, with all that implies. And yes, I followed Jessica's rules."

"Good. Then come have some breakfast! I cooked."

I got out of bed and pulled on my underwear, slacks, and shirt, and went up to the bedroom to change into fresh clothes. I was back down in the kitchen five minutes later. I kissed Jessica and Kara and then sat down to eat.

"Kara says that Abbie has a new friend," Jessica said.

"Yes, she does. And she's thinking about staying in Chicago for a while. She applied for a job at the record store where her new friend, Henry, works."

"Interesting. I thought she had her heart set on New York?"

"She did. But she came here for a reason, even though I'm not sure even she knows what it is."

I used my eyes to tell Jessica that Abbie and Henry had come into the kitchen, and the conversation stopped. I wished them good morning, and because there were too many people to sit at the table and the island in the kitchen, we moved to the dining room.

"Where's Trish?" Abbie asked.

"She asked me to take her home after you guys went to bed. She wanted to be able to go to church with her parents this morning."

"I don't think she's missed a Sunday since I've known her," Henry said.

"That girl is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma," I said.

Henry laughed, "Oh so true!"

"Oh?" Jorge said. "She seemed to me quite a well-balanced girl, someone who knows what she wants, what she likes, and how to get it. She does a very good balancing act, going between her worlds, keeping the peace between her personas. She's going to be a lawyer, keeps her family happy, has friends who support her, and knows what she has to do to reach her goals. Honestly, I envy her. Maybe I don't know her well enough, but from what little I talked with her, she sure seems to be baking the cake and eating it!"

"I see you had a chance to talk to her," I chuckled. "But I have some more detailed information."

"Of COURSE you do," my sister laughed.

"Henry, you should stick around for the afternoon," I said. "I'm having a group of college kids over for what they used to call a Rap Session. I think some alternative viewpoints would be very helpful!"

"I think I will," Henry said, looking over at Abbie and smiling.

"Tiger, can we go to a movie after dinner?"

"What did you want to see?"

"Either the new Indiana Jones movie, Road House, or the new Star Trek movie."

"Any of those are fine," I said. "Pick one."

"I want to see Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," Jessica replied. "Is that OK, Kara?"

"Fine with me!"

We finished breakfast, and I set things up for the 1:00pm Sunday Rap Session as I decided to call it. My sister helped me, then asked if we could talk. I nodded, and we went to my study.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Did you have to go off on Becka like that?"

"Yes, in fact, I did. I make NO apologies," I said.

"Len is pissed. Becka is upset."

"I daresay that Melody, Jenna, Peggy, and Lisa agreed with me. So did Laura and Gayle. Not to mention my new friends. Heck, I bet you anything you care to wager that your boyfriend agrees with me. And you should be VERY glad that Jennifer wasn't at your party! In fact, I know you well enough to know that YOU agree with me. So what's the issue?"

"It was supposed to be a fun party!"

"It was! Look, I'm sorry you're unhappy, but Becka had no business being here. Did you hear what Peggy and Lisa wanted me to do?"

"No."

"You should be able to guess," I grinned.

"Len's been trying for a year. Forget it!"

"Well, first off, I declined because I'm not interested. But you know I could do it."

Stephanie smirked, "I should make you prove that. A bet, Big Brother?"

"Just for entertainment purposes, what would this bet entail?"

She was quiet for a minute, obviously thinking.

"If things were different, I'd be tempted to say that if you got her, you could have me, but that won't work at any level. If I was a smart ass, I'd say $1.00 like in Trading Places, but that's hardly an enticement. I guess I don't have a good bet."

"It really doesn't matter anyway, Squirt. I have ZERO interest in her."

"Even more reason to do it! You don't care. Just fuck her and forget her!"

"Wait a second! Two minutes ago, you were upset with me for calling her out!"

"Because it made me look bad in front of my friends," she sighed. "You're right, though. I do agree with you. I wish she hadn't come, but I also wish you could have just ignored her."

"Even after she told my friends they were going to Hell?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it, Squirt. You're going to be in the Master's program in the Fall. She's still an undergrad. You don't have to see her at all if you don't want to. Just forget her and move on. How are things with Jorge?"

"Fine. Why?"

"I'm just concerned about you, that's all."

"I know," she sighed. "You and I don't talk enough anymore."

"I'm here whenever you want to talk."

"Thanks, Big Brother. And do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Find Becka and fuck her into next week!" she said with a smirk.

I laughed, and we hugged and left the study. I certainly had no intention of doing what my sister had asked and put it out of my mind.

That evening, after the Rap Session and dinner, we went to see Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It was perhaps the worst movie I'd ever seen in my entire life, and that was saying something.

"That was BAD!" Kara said before I could say anything.

"Beyond bad," Jessica said. "I'm sorry I suggested it."

"I'm tempted to ask for my money back," I said.

"Ah, let them keep it," Jessica suggested. "They'll need it to try to make a GOOD Star Trek movie."

"And if they make another stinker like this?" I asked.

"Then we kill them," Jessica laughed. "Slowly and painfully!"

June 12, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

After dinner on Monday, Katy and I were sitting in my study.

"So you finally have time for me?" she asked with a smile.

"I really am sorry. You were out on Saturday when I came home and then yesterday was super busy. What can I do for you?"

"Just talk, for right now."

I nodded, "How are things going?"

"On the divorce front, I have one more month to wait before Kenneth can sign the waiver. Then it's pretty quick, given that there's no contest."

"You've talked to him."

She sighed, "I had lunch with him on Friday. It was super awkward, and I was uncomfortable the whole time. He's pretty upset with me. But at least there isn't a fight over the divorce. The hardest part was when he asked me why I married him."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I had nothing to say. I couldn't tell him the real reason."

"The same basic reason you came to my bed that last time? To try to prove that you weren't attracted to women? And that a guy could fulfill all your needs?"

A tear ran down her cheek, "Yes. You were right. Go on, say 'I told you so'."

"I've made plenty of mistakes when I've failed to heed good advice. I'm in no position to throw rocks; my glass house is far too fragile. How are things at work?"

"Good. I've simply kept the private stuff private. I guess you can't do that, given that some of your closest friends work for you."

"That does create some complications, that's for sure! You know, I never asked how things are with your family."

"An Irish Catholic girl from Boston has a huge church wedding and then tells her parents she's leaving her husband for a girl. How do YOU think that went?"

"Not well. You told them that you left Kenneth for Lauren? I didn't think it was that serious yet."

"It's not. I didn't give a name. I just told them that I was leaving him and that I was having an affair with a woman."

"I can see how that might generate some angst on their part."

"My sister asked if I was a lesbian and I said I didn't know. I still like sex with guys, I think. It just didn't meet my emotional needs. Or my relationship needs. Hence my request to you."

"And why I said for you to think about it. What is it that you want, Katy O'Connor?"

"Hell if I know," she sighed.

"Let's start with Lauren. Have you talked with her about what you both want and need from a relationship?"

"We have. Right now, we both agree we're just dating, though we agreed we wouldn't be with anyone else without discussing it first."

"So you're sort of a couple?"

"Sort of," she smiled. "It's complicated by her family."

"No shit!" I chuckled. "She's living a double life, and that's a tough thing to do."

That was true in the general case, but Trish seemed to have it well in hand, as Jorge had noted. Her dichotomy between Irish-Catholic Patricia and Goth Trish was clear and distinct, and she seemed very well adjusted. Not to mention downright sexy in her Patricia persona, while being 'merely' cute in her Trish persona.

"I thought about offering to help her pay Lauren's tuition," Katy said, "but decided I didn't want to put that kind of pressure on her at this point. It would be just as bad as the pressure she feels from her parents, but in a different way."

"She has to discover herself," I said. "That's the bottom line. And it's important that you allow her to do that. After all, you're discovering who you are. We all do that. It's only a matter of how deep we look into ourselves. Who are YOU, Katy O'Connor?"

"That's a good question. I think I have to figure out my sexuality first."

"I believe you already have," I said. "You aren't exclusively lesbian, but you think you'll find your soulmate in a woman, not a guy."

She nodded, "I think that's right. Without implying anything, I really LIKE having sex with you, it just doesn't fulfill that deep, emotional need. And don't take this the wrong way, but I liked having sex with Margaret more."

"My ego can take it!" I chuckled. "I understand completely. Sex with someone that fulfills both your physical and emotional needs is going to be better than what is, essentially, just a 'shag'."

Katy laughed, "The only place I've ever heard that word used is when I was in London! Where did you pick it up?"

"An Irish friend of mine. She's actually sorted out the whole 'dual-lives' issue for herself. But I'm not sure Lauren wants to do that long-term. In the end, she's going to have to make a choice. Just as you have. Just as I did."

"You?"

"Sure. I had to decide whether or not to conform to social norms. I chose not to. I couldn't deny myself to make society happy. You tried that. How well did it work out for you?"

"Not very well."

"Exactly. Jennifer had similar struggles. Lauren will as well. Ultimately, everyone does. We're only truly healthy when we are happy with our choices in that regard."

"Are you happy with your choices?"

I nodded, "Yes, but that doesn't mean that it's all been a bed of roses. There have been problems with the outside world and problems in my marriage. Jessica, Kara, and I are seeing a marriage counselor and probably will be for some time. I had personal counseling and so did Kara, and now Jessica is doing that. Jennifer did. Bethany did. And you remember those Sunday gatherings from when you lived here. We started those again. You were out on Sunday, but we had one. They'll be alternate weeks. You should come and bring Lauren."

"I loved those sessions. I think it's a good idea to start them up again. Can we talk about the elephant in the room?"

"That's never been a problem for me. Do you remember the discussion we had before the first time? What I told you?"

"That you weren't going to pussyfoot around the issue and that unless I could talk about it, I couldn't do it."

"That's right. Remember, I didn't say 'no' before. I said 'not now' but without a promise that I'd say 'yes' in the end. I told you to think about it. And after this discussion, I think you have to talk in detail with Lauren about it."

Katy nodded, "We actually had a long talk about it yesterday when we were out."

"And?"

"We agreed on something, but obviously you would have to be OK with it."

"Go on," I said.

"You remember I said that I want to fuck you and you want to fuck me? And that Lauren is curious enough to try it? That's what I want. That's what we want. Together."

That didn't really surprise me, given what Katy had said during our last talk.

"You're sure about that? And more importantly, SHE's sure about that? It could go horribly wrong."

"Yes, we're sure. And I don't think so. If she doesn't like it, she doesn't do it again."

"This isn't like coconut sprinkles on ice cream, Katy."

Katy laughed, "You and your hatred for coconut! You'll eat ANYTHING. Except that."

"I just don't like the taste or texture," I said. "Don't ask me why. But I'm serious. With you, I'm not too worried. We've done it before and done it just for fun. But Lauren is a very different story altogether. Why don't you two come talk to me. But it'll need to be after the weddings. You know the rules, right?"

"You can't spend the night and we have to have been tested for AIDS."

"Yes. And there's one more caveat," I said.

"What's that?"

"I have to talk to Elyse about it. It's a long story and has to do with stuff that happened while Jessica was away. If Elyse says 'no', then I have to turn you down."

Which reminded me that I needed to talk to Elyse about Trish.

"Interesting. She's not your wife, but you need her permission?"

"I agreed to oversight from Elyse, and it's a good thing."

"OK, I guess. She'll keep it quiet?"

"Of course."

"OK. We'll talk to you after the weddings. Thanks for listening."