Chapter 32: Changes at Home and at Work

October 11, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Your Penguins are 2-1 so far this season,” Dave said.

“Yes, but I’m not thrilled because Lemieux is out at least until January. The new kid, Jágr, is supposed to be tremendous, but he’s a rookie.”

“You should both be happy about the Reds!” Julia said.

“We are!” I chuckled. “And so are Elyse, Kathy, Jennifer, and our other friends from Cincinnati! The Reds are up 3 games to 2 and they play at Riverfront tomorrow. Danny Jackson is on the mound, so I feel pretty good.”

“Me, too!” Dave said. “Now, let’s watch some hockey!”

It wasn’t a good night for the Penguins. Jeremy Roenick scored three goals on Tom Barrasso, and Mike Hudson scored one. The Pens could only muster a single goal by Kevin Stevens against Ed Belfour. It didn’t bode well for the season, especially with Lemieux’s back injury.

“Dad is unhappy,” Jesse said to Elyse.

“Yes, he is!” Elyse said with a laugh.

“I like the Hawks!” Jesse declared.

“Of course you do, you little turkey,” I chuckled. “Just as you like Dale Earnhardt. You root for whoever I don’t like!”

“Yes!” Jesse laughed.

“He’s skating on really thin ice,” Julia laughed.

“I like to skate!” Jesse said. “I want to play ice hockey!”

“We need to get home,” I said. “Jess has to be up early tomorrow for work.”

“I’ll be fine, Tiger,” Jessica said. “Tomorrow is a light day. I’m doing ER consults. And we’re obviously not going out tomorrow night!”

“Obviously!” I chuckled.

“They’ll play the A’s, right?” Julia asked.

“Yes,” I said. “The A’s swept the Red Sox. Katy was disconsolate. The ‘Curse of the Bambino’ and the ‘Curse of the Billy Goat’ live on!”

“You get great joy out of that,” Penny laughed.

“I do. The Cubs are NOT ‘Lovable Losers’. The longer they go without winning anything, the better. Permanently, if it were up to me.”

“Don’t mess with Greeks!” Dave laughed. “Ever!”

“I’ll remember that!” Terry said. “Cindi is Greek, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is!” Dave said.

We left the Chicago Stadium and headed home.

October 12, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“You got Therese to cover for you tonight?” Kara asked.

“Yes. Jolene had a date and I wasn’t going to miss the Reds!”

“What’s this BS with the Pirates starting a middle reliever?” Elyse asked.

“Ted Power is a lefty. He’ll pitch an inning or two, then they’ll bring in the regular starter, Zane Smith, who’s a righty. It keeps the Reds from doing what they usually do with platooning players to get the correct hitting matchups. It’s a slick move by Leyland.”

It didn’t work. The Reds manufactured a run in the bottom of the first when Larkin got a base hit, promptly stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Pirates catcher, Don Slaught. After a ground out to first by Billy Hatcher, Power walked Paul O’Neil and the next batter, Eric Davis, drove Larkin in on a fielder’s choice.

“Up 1-0!” I exclaimed. “That’s a great start!”

The Reds had a very good chance to score in the 3rd when Zane Smith replaced Ted Power on the mound for the Pirates, but Chris Sabo flied out to deep center field with the bases loaded to end the inning.

“Damn! That was a chance to really break things open,” Elyse said.

“I hope we don’t live to regret that inning,” I sighed.

The fourth inning saw four ground outs, a pop fly, and a strikeout as both pitchers were in their grooves, with Jackson never falling behind in the count. The top of the fifth was a different story when Jackson walked Barry Bonds and Carmelo Martinez doubled to deep right-center to drive him home, tying the game. The Reds threatened again in the bottom of the sixth, but despite having the bases loaded with only one out, they didn’t score.

“No!” Elyse groaned as Mariano Duncan struck out. She groaned again when Joe Oliver hit a pop fly that was caught by the second baseman.

“Shit!” I said. “Six runners stranded! Bases loaded TWICE and no runs?”

Things looked bad for the Reds in the top of the seventh when Jackson walked two batters, but he was replaced by Norm Charlton who got three quick outs on nine pitches. The bottom of the seventh was MUCH better when Ron Oester, Billy Hatcher, and pinch hitter Luis Quinones all singled to score the go-ahead run.

“Hot damn!” I said. “They’ll bring in Randy Meyers and this game is OVER!”

Meyers walked one but had two strikeouts in the 8th, and things looked good until Elyse and I both nearly had heart attacks. After Barry Bonds walked, Carmelo Martinez hit a fly ball to deep right that had Glen Braggs leaping at the fence to catch the ball OVER the wall, saving the game. Meyers then struck out Don Slaught to end the game.

“You can breathe now, Tiger,” Jessica laughed. “I was worried that you and Elyse both might need CPR after that fly ball!”

“No kidding!” Elyse said. “My heart nearly stopped!”

“When does the World Series start?” Jessica asked.

“Next Tuesday,” I said. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“How about a movie? You have breakfast, then karate. The Jaegers are available.”

“What’s playing?”

“Goodfellas is the only thing I think we could all agree on,” Jessica said.

“Dinner?” I asked.

“Yes. Italian Village? Then Italian mobsters?”

“Sounds like a plan!” I said.

October 13, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“That was an, uhm, interesting conversation last Sunday,” Claire said when we sat down in my study.

“My sister hadn’t clued you in to my alternative lifestyle?” I asked with a grin.

“No. She said you had a bunch of kids and that you were married to a doctor at UofC.”

I nodded. It seemed my sister had learned something recently - to be more circumspect about my situation. In the past, she’d have quickly told Claire about my family and made all sorts of implications and innuendos. It was good to see that change.

“She’s being circumspect,” I said. “Some people don’t deal well with it. You saw Marie’s surprised reaction. And we’ve had some people try to cause trouble because of our unique arrangement.”

“Could I ask a question before we start? You don’t have to answer.”

“Sure. What?”

“You can really have sex with anyone? And your wife doesn’t care?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” I said. “There are limits and rules, as we talked about on Sunday. And saying that she doesn’t care isn’t quite right. She accepts it as part of who I am.”

“And you’re really OK with her sleeping with other guys?”

“Actually, both she and Kara choose not to. But it would be within our agreement if they wished.”

“Weird.”

“Most people think so at first. They usually get used to it, but some people never do. Now, what do you need my help with today?”

“We’re working on optimizing the sort programs. I did what I could with the bubble sort, but I don’t think there’s much room to improve it. I sort of got stuck on the insertion sort.”

“Show me what you have and we’ll take it from there.”

We spent about ninety minutes with me asking questions and gently leading Claire to possible solutions to the problems. When we finished, she said she’d call me at the end of the week to let me know if she needed to meet.

I said goodbye and then went to hang out with my family until it was time to meet the Jaegers at Italian Village for dinner. Unbeknownst to me, someone had invited Sofia and Stavros. We exchanged hugs and handshakes and I got a quick peck from Sofia and a slightly longer peck from Kathy.

“Hey! It’s good to see you guys!” I said. “How are things? And how is Alexa?”

“My clinical rotations are keeping me busy,” Sofia said. “And so is Alexa. She’s been to the house a few times recently, but you weren’t around.”

“You guys should come visit. It’s an open invitation, just as it is with Kurt and Kathy. Anytime. Just show up!”

“You know how busy a 3rd year medical student is! And you know it only gets worse from here.”

“True,” I admitted. “Are you still planning on pediatrics as your specialty?”

“I am! And in about four years, you can bring your kids to me!”

“Count on it!” I chuckled. “Your practice will get off to a roaring start!”

“I hear that Bethany and her family are coming up to Chicago for Thanksgiving,” Kathy said.

“They are. Are you guys going to your mom’s house in Milford?”

“Yes.”

“And we’re going up to Racine,” Sofia added.

“I assume you’re coming to the Halloween Party?”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” she added. “Are you providing babysitting as you have in the past?”

“Yep. April and Fawn are going to watch the kids. That lets Abbie join the party.”

We had a nice meal, and then headed to Water Tower Place to see Goodfellas. We all thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I thought it did a great job of portraying the view of the mob from the ‘bottom up’ as opposed to The Godfather which had portrayed it from the ‘top down’, and had painted a very idealized picture of the top echelons.

When the movie finished, we went for ice cream, and then everyone headed home.

October 15, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

I awoke to the news that Mikhail Gorbachev had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and reform his nation. I felt it was a direct slap across the face of Reagan, Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II, all of whom had played a major part in ending the Cold War. To give Gorbachev the prize alone was crass politics, pure and simple, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee lost any remaining respect that I had for them. Fortunately, the science prizes were awarded by the Swedish Committee, and I had always felt that they had done a good job.

After walking Jessica to work, my usual run on the treadmill, and breakfast with Kara, I headed to the office.

“Steve, there’s an Ed Krajick on the phone for you,” Keri announced over the intercom just before lunch.

“Thanks, Keri. Put him through.”

A few seconds later the phone rang and I picked up the handset.

“Hi, Ed!”

“Hi, Steve! I got the job! I start December 1st!”

“That’s great! You’ll need a place to stay for a bit, right?”

“Yes. And some advice on where to rent.”

“If you liked my old apartment, those aren’t crazy expensive and you could be close to my sister and take your time to decide where you actually wanted to live. I can have Kimmy do all the legwork for you.”

“Sure! That would be great. Just a one bedroom. Heck, a studio would be OK, too. I expect we’ll hang out at your place quite a bit.”

I chuckled, “I wouldn’t have it any other way! Congratulations. Have you talked to my sister?”

“She wasn’t in. I think she’s in class right now. I’ll call her tonight. Keep it to yourself for now, please.”

“Will do. Kimmy will keep it quiet. OK to tell her so she can get started?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Thanks a boatload!”

“You’re welcome! See you at Thanksgiving!”

“I plan to move up that weekend, if it’s cool. That way I have about 10 days off between the old and new jobs.”

“That works for me! See you then, if not before!”

“I’m coming for the Halloween party,” he said.

“I’m not surprised. See you then!”

I hung up the phone and walked to Kimmy’s small office and asked her to look into an apartment for Ed. She promised to do so, and to keep things quiet. Unsurprisingly, she was at my desk about twenty minutes later. She’d found a one-bedroom in my old building and reserved it in NIKA’s name. I asked her to call Ed and confirm, and then take out the lease. We’d work out the details with him later. An hour later, Kimmy had everything arranged.

“Fast and efficient as always!” I said when I thanked her.

“So he and your sister are that serious?” Kimmy asked.

“They dated a couple of different times. He was her first boyfriend, but there were issues. Now that they’re both older, they’re trying again. I think it’s going to work, but then again, I thought she and Jorge would work out.”

“Jorge is a nice guy, for sure,” Kimmy said. “I guess they just didn’t click.”

“It’s hard to know exactly what went wrong, but at this point it really doesn’t matter. Thanks again for taking care of things for Ed.”

“You’re welcome,” she said with a big smile.

She left my office and I got back to work.

October 16, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

Dave, Julia, Kathy, and Kurt joined us to watch the first game of the World Series. My sister was there as well, and all of us were sitting in the great room with Elyse, Kara, Jessica, and Jennifer.

“You really freaked out Marie,” Stephanie said as we waited for the National Anthem to be sung.

“That was obvious,” I said. “Claire, too. Though she seemed OK after a brief chat on Saturday. I was a bit surprised that all you’d told her was that I was married to Jessica.”

“I learned my lesson, big brother. Claire is really grateful for your help and she’s impressed by your technical skills.”

I chuckled, “Not the usual way I’ve impressed girls in the past.”

“True. Though she does think you’re hot.”

Jessica and Kara both laughed.

“And how do you know THAT?” I asked.

“She told me. I bet you anything she flirts with you the next time you talk to her.”

“Squirt, are you encouraging her?”

“No way, big brother! I know better. You heard what I told her - you were married to Jessica. I’m just telling you what she said and what I observed!”

“Keep it that way, Squirt.”

The anthem finished and the Reds took the field. José Rijo set the tone by striking out two of the three A’s in the first inning. In the bottom of the first, the Reds got out to a 2-0 lead after Billy Hatcher walked and one out later Eric Davis hit a home run to deep center field.

“Now THAT’S the way to start!” Elyse said, excitedly.

The Reds never looked back, scoring two more runs in the second, and three in the fifth. Rijo cruised through the seventh inning, spreading out seven hits and two walks such that the A’s never scored. Rob Dibble and Randy Meyers closed out the game, and the Reds won the first game of the World Series 7-0.

“One down, three to go!” Dave said. “That was masterful!”

“Danny Jackson pitches against Bob Welch tomorrow! We need to win that one before the Reds head to Oakland,” I said. “Jess, I’m going to walk Stephanie home, if that’s OK.”

“Yes, that’s fine,” Jessica replied. “We’re going to head up to bed. You’re staying with Elyse tonight, right?”

“Yes.”

I kissed my wife, and then my sister and I left so that I could walk her to the dorms.

“Ed called me last night,” she said.

“I figured.”

“I gave him grief for telling you first, but he said he wanted your help finding a place to live so I let him off the hook.”