Chapter 69: The Walls Come Tumbling Down

October 29, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"That was probably the best party we've had yet," Elyse said.

All of our housemates, plus Lauren, were sitting in the sauna. It was a smaller group because Jorge wasn't at the house, and my sister had moved out. Veronica was watching the kids, which let the adults have some time together to talk.

"I bet the music was better," Abbie said with a silly smile.

"You guys did a great job on the mix tapes! We have to thank Henry, Jorge, and Trish for that as well," Elyse replied.

"It's too bad more of our guests didn't know about the total transformation that Abbie and Henry made," I said. "Their costumes were as outrageous as Kara's, and maybe more so. But most people didn't see it that way because they didn't know they were 'goth'."

"How was making love to two black-haired women?" Katy teased.

"How was the pussy in your bed," I laughed, sticking out my tongue.

"Just fine, thank you!" Katy giggled. "Some of your sailor friends were quite disappointed that Lauren and I weren't interested in double-teaming them!"

"Oh, I'm sure, though I think Clayton had a good time!"

"He and Charlie disappeared around midnight, and we didn't see them until breakfast!" Kara giggled.

"So, like you two and Steve?" Elyse teased.

"Us two? No, he was with Kayla and Julie last night! Two wanton, insatiable, black-haired sluts!"

"So, just like you two, then?" Elyse laughed.

"Are they always this bad?" Lauren asked Katy.

"You've been here enough," Jessica laughed, interrupting. "You know we are!"

"I've never been around a group of people this, well, forward, I guess. Even my college friends aren't this crazy!"

"Few people are," I said. "But if you can handle it, you'll get all the love and support you need here. I don't just mean from Katy."

Lauren smiled, "Thanks. It was a tremendous party. Have you guys been doing this for a long time?"

"Since 1982," I said. "That year, I dressed as Bill Elliott, the NASCAR champ from last year. Elyse stole the show, though."

"I remember!" Katy giggled.

Elyse had a silly smile on her face.

"I wore a leather skirt, a leather top, black high heels, and carried a small whip!"

"And she was smoking hot!" I grinned. "Eduardo loved it!"

"You knew Steve back then, Katy?" Lauren asked.

"I'd just met him in September, so I'd only known him for about a month. But that party was at his old apartment that he shared with Elyse. Well, and Stephie, too, I guess."

"That's right," I said. "Well, Stephie hadn't moved in at that point; that came later. And Kara was still back in Ohio."

"That was the Fall after my dad died," Kara said. "I decided to take a year between High School and college to help my mom. And then things kind of went downhill. I broke up with Steve on Christmas Eve that year."

"But you're together now," Lauren said.

"Yes, after a year where we both kind of wandered in the wilderness," Kara replied. "Stephie and Elyse took very, very good care of him, and Jackie was also a huge help. And so was his friend Anala."

"I don't think I've met her. And who's Eduardo?"

"Anala was Steve's closest friend for about eighteen months, and she's the one who really taught him how to think differently and set him on the path he's on. She married, and her husband doesn't appreciate the craziness here. Eduardo was my boyfriend back then, but he moved back to Spain after he finished school in the US. I've talked to him a few times since he moved, and we exchange occasional cards and letters. But things were more complicated than Steve lets on."

I nodded, "Bethany and I had agreed to eventually get married right before Kara decided she wanted to come back into my life in some way. Bethany and I worked on that failed project for years, but we both ended up where we belong."

"So Kara came between you two?" Lauren asked.

"No," Kara said with a smile. "It was far more complicated than that. That was before Jennifer decided to be with Josie permanently, and Steve, Bethany, and Jennifer were working out an arrangement similar to what he, Jess, and I have. But a whole lot of other stuff happened along the way."

"Crazy," Lauren said softly.

"Stick around," I chuckled. "It'll probably get crazier!"

Jorge did show up later in the day to hang out for a bit. We went to my study, and he smirked and passed me his sketchpad.

"Holy shit!" I laughed. "You KNOW that didn't happen!"

The first sketch was a VERY realistic drawing of me pounding Cindi in her super-heroine body paint, with her legs over my shoulders.

"No," he grinned. "But that doesn't mean YOU or she didn't THINK about it!"

I shook my head, still chuckling. He HAD taken some liberties with the sketches, I thought, but I was scared to think what I might see as I turned to the next sheet in his 'Halloween 1989' sketchbook!

November 1, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"The East German government reopened the border with Czechoslovakia," Elyse said.

"What choice do they have?" I asked. "Half a million people were demonstrating in Leipzig on Monday. They need some kind of relief valve. But I think it's too little, too late. The next rally will probably finish it off unless somebody decides to send in the tanks."

"Would that be Dmitry?" Kara asked.

"If they're stupid about it, then yes, it would be his unit that would do it. The 'Guards' are the most reliable, best-trained units in the Soviet Military. The headquarters for the 1st Guards is in Dresden, though not all of their units are in Germany."

"I thought Dmitry was based in Moscow!" Kara said.

"He spends a lot of time in Germany but has regular meetings in Moscow. He might even be in Moscow right now because the postmark from his letter that arrived on Friday was Moscow, and it was mailed through a civilian Post Office if I understand the postmarks correctly."

"Let's hope he doesn't get involved in this," she said.

"All we can do is wait and see what happens."

November 5, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Behave today, please," I said.

"I promised I would," Abbie said. "But that train already left the station! It's like an avalanche rolling downhill!"

"You're mixing your metaphors, and people die in avalanches all the time," I said. "Changing the subject, how are Jorge and Trish doing?"

"Pretty good, I think. I take it he didn't say anything at breakfast yesterday?"

"No. He's pretty circumspect about it."

"They're dating, I guess you would call it. Not exclusively, but I think they're a bit more than the 'good friends' they claim to be."

"I suspect you're right, but he was so beaten down after things went to Hell with my sister that I think it'll take some time before he commits seriously to anyone. That was only two months ago."

"True, but I could tell on Friday night that it's more than just simple friendship."

"How's Henry taking it?" I asked.

"He's fine. He's been dealing with this since she was a Freshman and he was a Junior."

"I thought they were in the same grade," I said.

"No, he's a couple of years older than she is."

"Ah, OK. Anyway, our guests are arriving."

It was funny. I'd actually started the Rap Sessions with the intent of meeting girls, but it hadn't worked out that way at all. And I was OK with that. It wasn't that there were no girls. There were a couple who were cute and seemed like they'd be fun, but I had no desire. Part of that was Abbie, but part of it was that my time with Kimmy had helped me get my head screwed on straight. Things were also very, very good with Jessica, Kara, and Elyse.

In fact, the only real stress in my life revolved around my little sister. And even that was muted compared to what it might have been. It had taken her a month or so to snap out of her funk, but she was having fun living on campus, attending parties, and hanging out with college kids. She visited often, but only for short times, mainly to see her niece and nephews. And that was a good thing.

I watched Jorge and Trish during the Rap Session, and I saw small touches, smiles, and a few whispers that told me that Abbie was onto something. They were becoming closer, and I wondered if he might be the person Trish was looking for. Henry had brought a girl with him, though she seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but that didn't surprise me, given that it was her first time at the house.

Becka spent the entire time looking either at Abbie, at me, or at the floor. She was quieter than usual, though she did speak up a couple of times. She was clearly uncomfortable, and I wasn't happy that Abbie had put her even more off-kilter than she already had been. I'd talked to my sister and found out that Len had indeed continued to go to church, even though he and Becka weren't dating. That confirmed my suspicion about what was going on with him.

Jessica had joined us again, sitting close to me but not on my lap. She was enjoying these sessions. Kara preferred to spend time with Birgit and Albert in the sunroom, where the kids usually played. Veronica, Elyse, and Jennifer were with them, with the rest of the kids. I wasn't sure where Josie was, but she and Jennifer did do things separately from time to time.

When the Rap Session ended and everyone had left, Abbie came over to me. Jessica had gone to be with Kara and the kids, so we had a bit of privacy.

"Did you see her?" she said quietly. "She spent the entire time thinking about having sex with us!"

"Abbie," I sighed. "Just give it a rest."

Abbie smirked, "I didn't do a THIING! Not even lick my lips!"

"Do you plan to cause this much trouble for the next fifteen to twenty years?" I asked.

"Absolutely!" she said with a sly smile. "Now, let's go play with the kids!"

"Actually, we'll bring them in here; I want to watch the tape I made of the race."

We got the kids and brought them into the great room, where Jessica, Kara, and Elyse joined us. We played with the kids while the tape ran, and when it finished, I was quite happy. Bill had won the race, beating Terry Labonte and Mark Martin back to the start-finish line.

"It's about time!" I exclaimed. "He's had a string of poor showings."

"How do the points look?" Kara asked.

"It's over for Bill," I said. "It was over a couple of weeks ago. He's around 400 points back with one race to go. Not exactly the best way to follow up on your championship season."

November 7, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Well, that's the end, isn't it?" I said. "I think the next move has to be free elections. Not a peep from Moscow and not a single action by the East German Army or the Red Army."

"I can't believe the entire government resigned!" Elyse said.

"Krenz is still President, or whatever, as a caretaker. It's one of those situations where, if I weren't seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it. But honestly, after another huge demonstration and with all those refugees crossing through Czechoslovakia and winding up in Hof, West Germany, what choice did the East German government really have? You can't send the army against a half-million people!"

"True," Elyse said. "Before I forget, what's the scoop for Thursday night?"

"We'll leave right after work for the Stadium," I said. "Dave and Julia will drive separately, but they'll drop Peter here before heading downtown."

"Is Jesse going with us?"

"Yes. If you ride with Dave and Julia, that would make less of a tight fit in the BMW. They offered."

"I'll do that. Speaking of cars, did you decide what to get for Kara?"

"We looked on Saturday," Kara said. "I think I'm settled on a Pontiac Trans Sport. It'll seat seven, which is important. That way, we can take all of our kids to places together."

"True," Elyse said. "We'll need a CTA bus to take the whole family! Thirteen, if you count all the adults, fourteen if we need to take the nanny along! Do you plan to finance it?"

"I think a lease makes the most sense right now. That lets us replace the minivan every three years or so, and with this gang, it's going to get beat up!"

"You're learning," Elyse grinned. "When will you get it?"

"Next weekend, most likely," I said.

"Jessica, do I still have him tonight?"

"Yes, of course! Tuesdays are yours."

"Well, then I propose we take Michael up to bed and spend some quality time together!" Elyse said to me.

I kissed Jessica and Kara, and we got Michael from Veronica and headed up to Elyse's room. After we put Michael down in his crib, Elyse and I got into bed. We made love, then cuddled afterwards.

"You seem calm, cool, and collected," Elyse said.

I chuckled, "Waiting for the other shoe to drop?"

"The thought did cross my mind. You handled the situation with your sister quite well, actually."

"I saw so much of myself in her. Actually, I still do. I just felt awful for Jorge."

"He seems to be getting along well with Trish. He's been going to the club with Trish, Henry, and Abbie, right?"

"Yes. I think that's helped him a lot."

"He danced with a bunch of girls at the party," Elyse observed, "but mostly he stuck to Trish."

"I noticed. I was surprised when he danced with Stephanie, but they kind of were at arm's length."

"Those two dance so well together. It's really a shame."

"That it is," I agreed.

"So, what's up with you, Abbie, and Becka?" Elyse asked.

"Not a damned thing!" I said. "Well, that's not true. Abbie decided to be a troublemaker."

"I saw that dance. It was HOT. But I can't imagine that little goody two-shoes doing that."

"Well, apparently, Abbie can. I asked her to back off."

Elyse laughed, "As if THAT is going to stop it."

I sighed, "Forget it. It's not happening."

"Famous last words, Steve. But never mind about Becka! Something needs to happen here!"

I pulled her on top of me, and we once again began to make love.

November 9, 1989, Chicago, Illinois

"Steve!" Kimmy said urgently from the door of my office. "Elyse wants you in the conference room RIGHT NOW!"

"What's up?" I asked, getting up from my desk.

"The East German government just opened the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall!"

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, quickly following her to the conference room where the staff was quickly assembling.

We watched, dumbfounded, as East and West Germans joyfully reunited for the first time in over fifty years. Soon, people were swarming onto the wall itself while East German border guards stood aside, watching and taking no action. Not long after that, West Germans began pounding on the wall with picks, sledgehammers, hammers, and chisels.

"This is totally unbelievable," Greg said. "I can't believe the Stasi are just standing down. And what about the Russian Army?"

"I'd say my friend, Colonel of Tanks in the 1st Guards Army Dmitry Sergeyevich Grigoryev, will be going home soon."

"You have a friend in the Red Army?!" Greg asked, shocked by the revelation.

"Several, actually. But he's the closest one. I used to date his wife, who works for their Foreign Ministry. Her father is a very close friend as well. He used to be Trade Attaché to the US."

"Damn!" he said.

"That's how we got Belarus as a customer," Charlie said. "Through his Russian connections."

"So what happens now?" Jody asked.

"Who knows?" I said. "This is uncharted territory. But I'm guessing we'll see the reunification of Germany in a fairly short order."

"I wonder where the capital will be," Mikela said. "Bonn or Berlin?"

"We are talking about Germany here, so I'd say Paris!" I chuckled.

Everyone laughed.

"I wonder, though, what will happen back home," Mikela said.

"Where's that?" Jeri asked.

"Sarajevo. That's where all of my family is, except my father, who's here. He divorced my mom, and we emigrated to the US about ten years ago via Greece. Things are pretty bad economically, and there are tensions over Kosovo. There was a huge strike in Kosovo earlier this year because they did not appreciate that Slobodan Milošević was replacing local corrupt leaders. And the Kosovars don't like the constitutional changes being made."