Chapter 30: The User Group

September 26, 1990, Los Angeles, California

“What are you guys doing while I’m out with Ben?” I asked Elyse after we’d checked into our rooms at the InterContinental Hotel.

“Barbara is taking us to the Pacific Dining Car. She said you thought it was pretty good.”

“It is. I’m just sorry I’m missing it!”

“Do you know what time you’ll be back?”

“I’m guessing around 10:00pm or so.”

“Go easy on the liquor!” Elyse said with a smirk.

“I promise!” I replied. Then, matching her smirk, I added, “You do realize that we do have a couple of hours before I have to meet Ben?”

Elyse smiled, and I pulled her into my arms. About ninety minutes later, we were in the shower, washing away the evidence of our coupling.

“Do you have your travel plans set for Miami?” I asked.

“Yes. It’ll be good to see him. As friends.”

“Friends?” I asked.

“I don’t want to start something which will only frustrate me. If he ever comes to the States, then we’ll see if we can pick up where we left off six years ago.”

“Are you waiting for him?” I asked as I washed her hair.

“You mean, am I not looking for a boyfriend because of him?”

“Yes.”

“I have no idea,” she sighed. “I suppose everything is about as good as I could want it to be right now, though I could use this kind of attention more often. I know it’s not really possible, but that’s all it would take to make things perfect.”

I wondered if she was thinking about her impromptu proposal to me nearly nine years ago. At first, I hadn’t really taken it seriously, and even the second time, I’d not given it the consideration that I probably should have. In a sense, I’d taken for granted that Elyse would always be there. And she had. But at what price to herself?

“Sometimes I feel like I took you for granted in the past, and that doesn’t make me feel very good.”

“You mean my proposal?” Elyse asked.

“Yes. I don’t know that I took it as seriously as I should have.”

“You needed something different from what I was offering. That became abundantly clear when Jess had her meltdown. I didn’t offer enough control at that point. Or even later. If you remember, I was actively encouraging you to do things which I now think were foolish for you to have done.”

“Callie?” I asked.

“Among other things.”

“The thing is, with these ‘What if?’ games, we have no idea what would have happened. Our lives would have been dramatically different. And remember, even slight timing differences would mean different kids. Not to mention everything else.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t saying that I was unhappy or that we made a mistake, so to speak. I’m happy with everything about our life together except the amount of time you can spend in my bed. And you know these days it’s not even about sex, but about the closeness. I don’t know that anyone else could provide that, except maybe Eduardo. And that remains to be seen after so much time has passed, and more will pass before he can move here if he ever does.”

“So you ARE waiting on him,” I said as I began washing her body.

“I suppose I am. Though not forever. I guess I’ll decide what I think after I see him in Miami.”

“Which is why your intent is to see him as a friend and only a friend.”

“Yes.”

Elyse rinsed off, and we switched positions so she could wash me.

“Is there anything you need me to do for you?” I asked.

“You’re doing it! These three nights are just what I need right now.”

“You know you can talk to Jessica and Kara about more time,” I said.

“That wouldn’t be right. They’d agree, even if it made them feel diminished. Honestly, they let me take the lead in watching over you far more than I expected they would.”

“They trust you. I trust you. I’m glad you’re part of my life.”

“It’s been an interesting ride, that’s for sure! I remember Aunt Jennie coming to my room and telling me you were watching the Reds and suggesting that I watch with you!”

“That was a watershed night, though I knew you were very disappointed when you found out I had a date for the wedding.”

“My own fault! I should have asked. But it all worked out OK in the end. You ended up with both of us after a fashion.”

“And you’re both key to me becoming the man I wanted to be. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there.”

“Your responses to the things that happened have been pretty good. You aren’t freaking out over little things, and your responses are much more considered and thoughtful.”

We finished in the shower and dried off. We both dressed, and Elyse headed to the Pacific Dining Car while I headed to the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

“Steve Adams to see Benjamin Jackson,” I said to the concierge when I entered the building.

“Go on through to the elevator and to the fourth floor,” he said. “Mr. Jackson just arrived and is in the Blue Room.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Steve!” Ben called out when I stepped off the elevator, waving me over to the bar.

“Hi, Ben. Thanks for inviting me,” I said as I walked up to him.

“What can I get for you?”

“Bourbon, please,” I said.

He ordered Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve for each of us, and we took our drinks to a table and sat down.

“We’ll go to the Invention dining room for dinner in about an hour.”

“Sounds good,” I said, taking a sip of the bourbon. “This is really good!”

“It’s one of the best. How have things turned out with that situation we spoke about?”

“It was a bit hairy for a time, but in the end, we managed to find a modus vivendi.”

“That’s good. If you don’t mind my asking, what happened?”

I chuckled, “Did you know that adultery is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a year in jail in Illinois? And so is fornication!”

“You’re joking!”

I shook my head, “Nope. If it’s ‘open and notorious’, it’s a crime. Of course, it hasn’t been prosecuted in decades, but that didn’t stop the State’s Attorney from starting an investigation. Nothing came of it, but I had some detectives basically threaten me with arrest.”

“She used political influence to try to pressure you, knowing the charges could never hold up on appeal. Those charges would never survive a federal civil rights challenge. Not to mention selective prosecution, given we all know there are plenty of people ‘living in sin’ in the State’s Attorney’s Office and Police Department. They’d get laughed out of court.”

“That’s what my attorney said. The investigation was dropped before charges were filed. But that wasn’t all. She tried to have DCFS take away my kids.”

“What?!” he gasped. “On what grounds?”

“That the kids were in a dangerous household. The investigation came to nothing, of course, but the investigator tried to use the ‘immoral’ situation in the house as leverage. My other attorney got a protective order against DCFS, and the mother of one of the kids started legal proceedings to force DCFS to reveal who made the ‘anonymous’ report. We knew, of course. Anyway, that file was closed as well.”

Ben shook his head, “I’ve seen that kind of hardball played before. But usually, it’s in divorce cases. This woman sounds like a real piece of work. What kind of compromise did you work out?”

“Her daughter agreed to sit on the Board and attend a couple of functions a year, though with her own escort. She’s started dating one of my friends who’s a lieutenant in the Navy stationed at Great Lakes.”

“And your employee is OK with that?”

“Yes. It takes the heat off, and it means she has to go to Board meetings, which cost her a few hours every month. She doesn’t like what the Foundation spends its money on or what its goals are.”

Ben chuckled, “She should agree to take it over eventually and then redirect all the funds to causes she cares about.”

“Now that’s downright underhanded!” I chuckled. “I love it.”

“She wouldn’t be the first one to do that. Ray Kroc’s widow basically did that. He was a huge supporter of Republican causes, and she’s a hard-core Democrat. If your friend has the stomach for it, in a few years, she should say that she’ll take over upon her mother’s death and then reshape the Foundation in her own image. She could probably just remove the Board, appoint new members, and hire an administrator.”

I laughed, “I always knew lawyers were sneaky SOB’s.”

“We’re paid to solve problems!” Ben said mirthfully. “Have your employee give me a call, and I’ll discuss it with her.”

“You’ll see her at the meeting. It’s Jeri Lundgren.”

“Wow! I would NEVER have expected that! She doesn’t strike me as the type.”

“Exactly. But she’s really come out of her shell since she started working for us. She’s presenting on version 4.0 tomorrow, and I think you’ll see she’s way more confident in her presentation than when we did the demo of the Windows version for you.”

“And you’re confident about your release schedule?”

“Yes. We were less aggressive with this one than with the initial Windows release because it’s such a significant overhaul, and we’re moving to a more powerful database.”

“And your finances are stable?”

“Yes. Elyse is going to give an abbreviated financial report tomorrow. We don’t disclose exact details, but we’ll give everyone enough information to show that we’re absolutely an ongoing concern. The most important thing is that even with the expansion, we’ve increased our reserves over the last year.”

He nodded, “Very good. It sounds like everything is going well for you at this point.”

“That’s usually when I start worrying!” I said with a laugh.

We had a second bourbon, then went to Invention for a very nice dinner accompanied by a very good bottle of wine. When we finished, I thanked Ben and then left the Club for the twenty-minute walk back to the hotel. I’d had more to drink than I’d wanted to, but not too much. The twenty-minute walk in the warm September night air would give my body a chance to burn off more of the alcohol.

“How was your dinner?” I asked Elyse when I walked into the room.

“Good. We had a lot of fun. How was yours?”

“Just keeping Ben Jackson happy.”

“You like him, right?”

“I do. Having a good relationship with our most important client is vital, and it helps to actually like him.”

“Is Ben van Hoek going to be here?”

“Yes. I don’t look forward to THAT conversation. But I can’t blame Kara for feeling the way she does.”

“What are you going to say to him?”

“I have no idea. I’m not sure what Becky said to him about why I wasn’t at the wedding. I got word to her by talking to our mutual friend Alyson in Madison.”

“I suppose that’s an issue for tomorrow. Take me to bed?”

“I can’t think of a better idea!” I said.

Elyse and I made love, then cuddled for nearly an hour before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

September 27, 1990, Los Angeles, California

“Hi, Ben,” I said to Ben van Hoek at the coffee and Danish table before the meeting started.

“Hi, Steve. We missed you at the wedding.”

I nodded, “I’m sorry about not being able to attend.”

“Becky explained. Don’t worry about it. She said she totally understood.”

Well, that was easy. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut, and I’d be OK.

“I’m glad you’re here!”

“Have you been following the Reds?” he asked.

“Five games up on the Dodgers with six to go looks pretty good,” I said. “And the games are against the Padres and Astros, so I’d say it’s a lock.”

“How’s the family?”

“Good. Stephie is three months old, and Kara is getting a lot more sleep!”

“She’s teaching?”

“Yes. She has a couple of classes at two different schools. It’s actually a nice schedule that lets her spend a lot of time with the kids.”

“And your other wife?” he said with a wan smile.

“Her Residency is going well, and she’s fully back on track.”

A few other customers came over to where we were standing, and that ended the private conversation. Just before 9:00am, we filed into the ballroom where the main session was being held.

Ben Jackson, as president of the NIKA User Group, opened the meeting with a ten-minute welcoming speech. I spoke next for about five minutes before turning things over to Elyse. When Elyse finished, she introduced Jeri, who gave a carefully scripted demonstration of version 4.0 of the legal software, then spent about fifteen minutes on a demo of the newest version of the medical software, which was about a year behind the legal software technology-wise.

When Jeri finished, there was a coffee break before the breakout sessions started, and I went to a small room we had set aside for us. I called the office in Chicago to see if there were any messages or urgent issues, but Keri assured me that there were not. I called the house to check in with Abbie, and she said everything was fine. Just as I hung up, Kimmy came in and sat down.

“Everything going OK?” I asked.

“All the breakout sessions are running. I resolved a couple of hotel issues for some doctors, and I helped an attorney get a fax from his office. I also checked with the hotel to make sure the lunch is set.”

“And tonight’s entertainment?”

“All the tickets for the jazz club are ready to be handed out at lunch for everyone who bought one, and I have some extras.”

“Elyse put the right person in charge!” I said.

“Actually, the office manager from Ford, Jackson, and Finch did a lot of the work because she was here and I was in Chicago. You saw her this morning, the cute blonde who came in with Mr. Jackson.”

I nodded, “I’ve seen her before, when I’ve visited FJF. They trust her the same way we trust you.”

“And I really appreciate it.”

“How are things with Gary?”

“Good. I’m happy. He’s happy.”

“Then I’m happy!” I said.

Kimmy only stayed for a few minutes, and just after she left, Jeri, Elyse, and Cindi came in to sit down.

“Hiding out, as usual?” Cindi said.

“You know I prefer to spend some quiet time during the breakout sessions. I mingled during coffee, and I’ll be at lunch, dinner, and the jazz club.”

“Ben Jackson did a great job with organizing speakers and presenters,” Cindi said.

“He’s really taken this and run with it. The most interesting session will be the two ‘futures’ sessions tomorrow — one for the medical software, one for the legal software. Julia and Jeri will run those, but I’ll be in both of the sessions as well. It’ll be interesting to see what features everyone is interested in for the future.”

The rest of the day went exactly as Cindi and Kimmy had planned, and just before midnight, Elyse and I arrived back in our room.

“That was a very good day,” Elyse said. “And the turnout for this User Group is pretty good, considering it’s in Los Angeles.”

“I agree,” I responded. “We should have even more in Chicago because I heard from Mario that some of his customers aren’t willing to travel to LA.”

“Take me to bed?” Elyse said with a smile.

“Of course!”

September 29, 1990, Los Angeles, California

Our Airbus 300 was second in line for takeoff. In front of us was a Boeing 747. The 747’s engines screamed, and it rolled down the runway. We taxied onto the runway and turned, prepared for takeoff. I was sitting on the aisle with Jeri next to me and Elyse next to her. About fifteen seconds later, the engines spooled up, and we began rolling down the runway.