Chapter 66: Bon Voyage

September 18, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"I have the hiring forms for Jody Pancook and Park Sung-ha," Dave said.

I scanned them, scribbled my name at the bottom, initialed the salary line, and then passed the papers back to Dave.

"Next problem," he said. "Computers."

"I don't see that we have any choice but to buy '386 systems. We keep hearing rumors of '486 computers, but I wouldn't want to buy one of the first ones."

Dave nodded, "We still have some '286 systems that we need to replace, plus we need computers for the new staff. The '286 systems are fine for running the DOS version of our software, and we should keep a couple of them for testing, but nobody can really work on them because everyone needs to run our Windows version, which needs a '386."

"How many PCs do we need?"

"Seven. Four for new staff, three to replace old machines. Elyse talked to Dell, and we can get a decent price on the new machines."

"That includes Charlie's two positions for which we haven't interviewed?"

"Yes," he said. "But Dell offered a slightly bigger discount if we bought seven rather than five. And we'll need them before too long."

"Put together the capital expenditure request, and I'll sign it. It's not like we have a real choice."

"No, we don't. I'll take care of the paperwork with Elyse."

"When will your new people start?" I asked.

"Jody, two weeks from today because you gave me the verbal go-ahead last week. Because we were busy Friday, I didn't get a chance to call Sung-ha. I plan to call him later this morning. He's not working, so I strongly suspect he can start right away. I want to give Elyse and Kimmy time to get his badge, add him to the payroll system, and get a computer for him, so I'm thinking of having him start the same day as Jody."

"That works for me. As your wife likes to say, 'Make it so'," I chuckled.

"I suggested we get company shirts. She'd get a gold command shirt, the others blue, and my team red."

"Wonderful. I'm usually the first one in the office, and we know what happens to redshirts who beam down before the credits!"

"According to Julia, something like 75% of the deaths in the original Trek were redshirts!"

"Beautiful image, Dave!" I chuckled.

"Just don't close the pod bay doors on me!" Dave smirked.

"If I start singing Daisy just shoot me, please!"

Dave laughed, gathered his papers, and left my office. Kimmy brought me a refill of my coffee, and I got back to work.

September 19, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

My wives and I were watching CNN with Elyse and Jorge just before bed. A strong Hurricane was sitting off the east coast of Florida, and predictions were that it would strengthen again and make landfall somewhere along the Florida and Carolina coasts. Hurricane Hugo had already wreaked havoc on the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Jorge had managed to get in touch with his parents, and they were safe, but there was severe damage, and about a dozen people had died.

"They're estimating over a billion dollars in damage," Jorge said, shaking his head. "That's a lot of money for Puerto Rico!"

"That's a lot of money for ANYONE," I countered.

"Yes, but Puerto Rico is so much smaller than the mainland, so the damage numbers are smaller in total but much greater as part of the overall economy!"

"I hadn't thought about that," I said by way of apology. "I guess I don't think too much about Puerto Rico, really."

"Not too many people on the mainland do," Jorge said with a small sigh."Well, except when nationalists shoot up the US Capitol building."

"When was that?" Jessica asked.

"March 1954," I said. "It was part of the radical independence movement."

Jorge nodded, "Yes, which basically arose after the Puerto Rican police under the control of the US colonial administration violently put down protests in the '30s."

"Don't forget the attempt to assassinate Harry Truman in 1950," I said.

"Also, in response to the US colonial administrations putting down protests. It was an ugly time."

"Yes, it was," I said. "Much like what's going on in Central America these days, or, to a point, in Argentina. Alejandra may well stay here for her Residency because of that."

The second major news story of the day was another plane crash. A French plane, UTA Flight 772, had disintegrated in midair over northern Niger, killing 170 people. Nobody had claimed responsibility, but it seemed evident from the news reports that it had been destroyed by a bomb.

"Here we go again," Elyse said. "Just when it seemed like the number of plane crashes was going down, and the terrorists were sticking to guns and car bombs."

"As if those are better?" Jorge asked.

"Well, no, but they kill fewer people than blowing up an airplane! How many innocent people died on that plane and on Pan Am Flight 103?"

"I see your point, but to each individual, being dead is being dead, no matter how it happens."

Elyse nodded, "True. I guess it just depends on how you look at it."

"It's the number of simultaneous deaths that affects us," I said. "A car crash that kills one person on Woodlawn would get our attention. A car crash in rural Montana wouldn't mean much to us. But make it a bus or a plane, and then it's news. Anyway, is everything set for Sunday?"

"Yes," Elyse replied. "The Navy families are doing something for Nick and Bethany up at Great Lakes on the 30th, so the 'Bon Voyage' party will just be our close friends. Besides everyone living here and your sister, I invited Kathy and Kurt, Cindi and Chris, Jackie and Jamie, Sofia and Stavros, and Julia and Dave. Jorge, is Trish coming?"

"Yes," he said.

"I don't think anyone's missing, really. Lauren will be here, too."

"It doesn't sound like you missed anyone," I said. "Nick's 'Wetting Down' party is on the 29th. Supposedly, the tradition requires him to spend the difference between his old pay grade and his new one on food and drinks. That's going to be a heck of a bar bill!"

"For sailors? That'll barely get them started," Katy laughed.

We all laughed, and a few minutes later, my wives and I went up to bed.

September 24, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"What's your flight going to be like?" I asked Nick while we were standing at the grill.

"Chicago to San Francisco to Japan to Guam. It'll take forever! But I have a week to settle into base housing before I start duty."

"And you're coming back in January?"

"If everything goes according to plan. The Lieutenant Commander I'm replacing is having shoulder surgery in Japan and won't fly back until he's completed his initial rehab."

"How is little Nicholas going to handle that flight? He's only two months old!"

"He'll sleep most of the way, I hope. But I couldn't really leave Bethany and my son here alone for three months."

"What about her practice?"

"She changed her start date to January 8th once I received my orders. They're cool with it because they want her pretty badly."

"She had six different offers to select from, so I'm not surprised. She's going to make a difference in quite a few lives."

"She's already made a big one in mine!"

"Mine, too," I agreed. "You're a lucky man, Nick. She's a wonderful girl."

"I know," he said with a smile.

"Did you order this Fall weather?" Kurt asked, walking up to the grill.

"Hell no!" Nick laughed. "53°F in September during the middle of the afternoon? It's supposed to be at least ten degrees warmer!"

"It'll be a heck of a lot warmer where you're going! Mid 80s during the day and mid 70s during the night all year round!"

"It gets hotter here in the Summer," Nick said. "The record highs in Guam are only in the mid-90s. The only problem is that it's still the rainy season. We'll get about ten inches of rain in both October and November, and it'll rain at least twenty days each month."

"Bummer," I said.

"December should be really nice, though. It'll be a bit strange having temperatures around 80°F on Christmas Day."

"Poor baby," Kurt chuckled. "With our luck, it'll be below zero with a foot of snow here!"

"I like snow," I said. "And cold temps. It's heat and humidity that do me in. Guam wouldn't be the place for me."

"We'll send you to Antarctica, and you can hang out with the damned penguins!" Kurt laughed.

"Dada?" Jesse called out.

"Yes?"

"Hamburger, please!"

"In two minutes! Get a plate and then get a bun and put catsup on it."

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Matthew! Hamburgers!"

"Help him, please, Jesse."

"Yes, Dada!"

My two boys went over to the table and, with a bit of help from Abbie, put catsup on buns, got some chips, and then carried their plates to the grill. I put a freshly cooked burger on each bun and then began serving everyone else. When everyone was served, I fixed my own plate and went to sit with Nick, Bethany, Kathy, Kurt, and my wives.

"What are you going to do in Guam besides work on your tan?" I teased Bethany.

"I can actually take referrals from the base for the time I'm there. Obviously, it would be short-term, but there are always spouses and teens who need some counseling. I'm also going to work on a book about my recovery."

"That should be interesting reading," I said, bemused at the thought of what she'd write.

"The counseling part, Buster!" she laughed. "But obviously, friends and family figure into it. It's like your journals, I guess, only for publication."

"You've read them?" Jessica asked.

Bethany looked at me, and I just nodded.

"Yes," Bethany said. "All of them up until I married Nick. After that, I didn't think it was appropriate. You know how involved I was in Steve's life."

"Yes," Jessica said. "I've kept a diary since I was six, but I'd never let anyone read it."

"Steve's unique in that way. He's so open that nothing there came as a surprise, though it gave me excellent insights into his psyche. But he's changed a lot in the last four years. And we can't be close like that at this point. I think Elyse and Jen are filling that role for him now."

I nodded, "Yes, I'd say that's right, though my male friends are playing an ever-increasing role. Kurt, Jamie, Karl, Jorge, Al Barton, and Father Basil are key people in my life."

"That's a good thing," Bethany said. "You always lacked a strong male influence except for Joyce's grandfather, but he was back in Ohio."

"Steve, what's with Trish?" Jessica asked.

"You mean, why is she Patricia today? Because this is a different circle, she's decided Patricia fits better with the lawyers, doctors, and engineers. In fact, I'll lay you odds that we see less and less Trish and more and more Patricia in the future."

"I'm missing something," Bethany said.

"The girl who's with Jorge has a split personality, but not in a clinical sense," I said. "She's going to law school, but she's also involved in the goth subculture. The problem is that dressing like Abbie and Henry, who are sitting with them, isn't exactly conducive to getting into law school or being taken seriously."

"Are you sure that's not clinical?" Bethany laughed. "It sure sounds like it."

"She's perfectly well-adjusted," Jessica said. "Remember, my undergrad is in psychology, and while I don't have your training or expertise, I'm pretty sure she's functioning perfectly well and moves freely between the two worlds. It works for her. She mostly comes here dressed 'goth', but today she's dressed in her Irish-Catholic proto-lawyer getup."

"Interesting. She's here as Jorge's date? What happened with Stephanie?"

I sighed, "It's a long story, but Stephanie broke up with Jorge and moved out. She's going to live in the dorms while she finishes her Master's degree."

"What?" Bethany gasped. "I am SO out of touch!"

"You've been caring for your baby and spending time with your husband just as you should be!" Kathy said. "The last thing you need is to be around Cirque du Steve!"

Everyone laughed.

"Good point," Bethany said, winking at me. "But your sister keeps looking over at them and looking sad."

Stephanie was sitting with Veronica, Jennifer, and Josie. They were helping the older kids, which included everyone but Michael and Albert. She kept making furtive glances in Jorge's direction. I finished my burger, excused myself, and went over to the table where they were sitting.

"Are you OK, Squirt?" I asked.

She nodded but then shook her head, "I don't know. It's strange seeing him with someone else, but at the same time, I'm glad but ... I don't know. I'm confused!"

I felt that 'confused' was a good thing at this point. My sister needed to get her head screwed on straight and understand that playing with people's emotions was dangerous, not just to them but to her and everyone around her. Her behavior had been unacceptable, and Jessica, Kara, Jennifer, and I all agreed that something had to be done. And that something was her moving out.

"I know. It's tough, but living on campus is a good thing, and you're always welcome here."

"It's strange not having my room. I'm not upset with Abbie, but you know..."

I nodded, "I do. But there will be a place for you here when you graduate. I promise."

"Who's going to move out?"

"Katy, eventually, but when Veronica gets married, Abbie is going to be our new nanny."

"Are you shitting me?" Stephanie asked, suddenly mirthful. "Mom's head will explode! I love it!"

"I figured that news might cheer you up!"

"Did Becka come here last Sunday?" she asked.

"Yes, but without Len. Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious. I guess Len told her not to come here because it was messing with her head, and she decided to come anyway. I heard he refused to come with her."

"Well, he wasn't here. He's kind of odd. Lisa and Peggy implied that he's a partier, but he's been going to church with her and stuff, and at least sounding like he agrees with her on religion."

"Some guys will do anything to get into a girl's panties," Jennifer laughed. "But that seems like a brick wall unless he's going to marry her!"

"I tried to tell him that," Stephanie said. "She's not going to do it with anyone before she gets a wedding ring on her finger."

"That's a lot of work for what I'd suspect would be something mediocre at best," Josie laughed.

"You never know," I said.

Stephanie laughed, "Sandy and Ruth!"

"I was thinking someone just a wee bit closer to me," I chuckled.

Jennifer burst out laughing, "How the heck could you not think of Kara first?"

"Kara was different," my sister said. "She was going through the motions of being a fundamentalist. That girl really is, just like Sandy and Ruth were."

"But if our group was messing with Becka's mind, wouldn't that work in Len's favor?" I asked.

"Yes, it would. Unless ... Wait! Holy crap! Maybe he isn't faking, and he's really becoming an evangelical! And he wasn't trying to get into her pants, per se, but was looking for a long-term relationship!"