Chapter 33: Missing Person

October 18, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Thanks for having lunch with me today,” Father Basil said after I received his blessing.

“I enjoy these lunches,” I said. “I was just surprised that you called because I’m usually the one who arranges them.”

“I enjoy them also, Stephen. But I have a question for you,” he said. “How would someone who is not in school in Chicago have a chance to compete for an open position at your company?”

I started laughing, “You, too?”

“I’m sorry? What?” he replied, taken aback.

“I just had a conversation about hiring with one of the professors at IIT. He and the department chairman, whom I’ve known for nearly ten years, are pressuring me because I’ve moved away from mostly hiring IIT grads.”

“If I overstepped my bounds, I apologize,” he said.

I shook my head, “You didn’t. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. Tell me about this person, and we’ll see what we can do about an interview.”

“One of my parishioners is studying at Penn State, and he wants to work in Chicago. I heard through Andrei, who heard from Tasha that you always hire new programmers from one of the Chicago-area colleges.”

“That’s usually true for our entry-level positions, yes. But right now, I’m not sure that we’ll have any openings. Will this student be home on Christmas break?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t we set up a lunch with Dave and me. That way, we can meet him, and if we do have a position, we can complete the interviews over the phone. What’s his name?”

“Will Andrews, but he goes by Irenaeus.”

“A convert?” I asked.

Father Basil smiled, “Yes. What do you need from him?”

“A résumé that lists any work he’s done, projects he’s completed, courses he’s taken, his current GPA, that kind of thing. And a cover letter describing why he’s interested in the job and what he thinks he can contribute.”

“I’ll let him know. Should he send it to your attention?”

“Have him send it to Kimmy Bradford. She’s our office manager.”

“Thanks.”

“I do have something to talk to you about,” I said. “I might be out of line, and if I am, please let me know.”

“What’s that?”

“I read the latest financial reports from the parish. The stockbroker, Bill Morrison, is making a huge mistake with your retirement investments and your building fund. He’s not diversifying enough. Putting everything into four companies in a single industry, even if he knows it well, is a very, very bad idea.”

“I’m not really up on the stock market or financial matters. He said we’d get big gains from these investments.”

“Maybe. Or you could lose everything if those small companies don’t make it or conditions change. I’d strongly suggest you talk to a competent financial planner about that.”

“He’s integral to our parish and one of our earliest members.”

‘Integral’. Given what I knew about the parish, that surely meant he was one of the biggest givers and that Father Basil had to tread carefully with him. Given that they were a poor parish, that meant the giving was likely a significant portion of their budget. They wanted to buy a new building to replace the very small building they were in, and I’d heard this guy talking about how he could hold the note, which I thought was a bad idea as well. But it wasn’t really my business.

The waitress took our orders and handed them in to the kitchen.

“I understand that. I’d suggest you get an outside opinion, Father. That’s all.”

“Do you have a name to suggest?” he asked. “At least I can talk to someone and get educated.”

“You should start with the CPA that NIKA uses, Bruce Grady. I think he’s in a better position to give basic advice and then suggest an appropriate financial planner for you. I’ll give him a call and ask him to talk to you as a favor to me. That way, there won’t be any cost.”

And if Bruce did need to charge something, I’d work it out with him and cover it myself.

“Thanks. It was good to see you a few weeks ago at church. How did your other kids like it?”

“Not as much as Jesse, but they do want to come back. Birgit thought the church was pretty but that it smelled funny.”

“I can believe that. It’s one of the things that newcomers mention all the time. Kids who are born into the Church are used to it by the time they notice if you know what I mean.”

“I think it’s cool because the church smells like a church, if you know what I mean. It’s special. I barely remember the incense being used in the Roman Catholic churches I attended with my mom. If it was used, it was just a swing or two and that was it. You really work the censer!”

He laughed, “Fastest censer in the West! You see what I wear with my cassock and vestments.”

“Cowboy boots! I always thought those would be uncomfortable standing for as long as you have to stand during the services.”

“They’re properly broken in, and they are VERY comfortable!” he chuckled. “Have you made any progress with Jesse’s moms?”

“I haven’t discussed it with them because I know their opinion. When Jesse is older, they’ll let him make up his own mind. For now, though, well, you know why they object.”

He nodded, “And that is something the Church is never going to modify, any more than it’s going to modify its opinion of your relationships. At least you’re bringing the kids and exposing them to the faith, which is more than I can say for even some Orthodox parents. Everything is OK with you and your wives?”

“Yes. It’s been a struggle, too, but so far, so good. It’ll be hard work for the rest of our lives. Right now, we’re in a fairly calm stretch. I’m sure that’s going to change at some point if my personal history is anything to go by.”

“How’s your friend whose husband was killed?”

“She’s doing OK. It’s been a struggle, but she’s tough. She’s had more real adversity in her life than anyone I know.”

“I’d like to meet her someday. She seems like a remarkable woman.”

“She is, but I have to warn you that she’s adamantly opposed to religion in pretty much any form.”

“Noted,” he said. “That tends to apply to most of your friends, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. And it makes sense that people with relatively similar world views would coälesce around each other.”

“Other than Dave and Julia, do any of your friends attend church regularly?”

“No. Most don’t attend at all,” I said. “And we only attend occasionally, as you know.”

“And spiritually, have you changed your position?”

I shook my head, “No. And my friend’s murder only worked to harden my position. I like coming to church. It speaks to me. And the worldview you teach resonates. But the idea of a benevolent god, any god, just doesn’t fit what I see in the world.”

Father Basil sighed, “I know it’s hard to see past the death that has surrounded you, but don’t lose yourself in despair about death and dying.”

“Like my friend Abbie?” I said with a small smile.

“That is an overreaction to the problem of death and dying, though you indicated that she’s changed her worldview a bit.”

“She has. It’s amazing what a little bit of love and acceptance will do.”

Our food arrived, and we ate and talked about the impending war in Iraq, the weather, the economy, and baseball. When we finished, I received Father Basil’s blessing and headed back to the office. Charlie came into my office as soon as I walked in, a serious frown on her face. I sensed that I wasn’t going to be happy with whatever I was about to hear.

“Tim tendered his resignation,” she said. “He’s going to work at Allstate as a programmer.”

“I assume you tried to talk him out of it?”

“He’s getting married and wants to have a job where he has set hours and a set work location. I asked Dave about a position, and he doesn’t have one and doesn’t expect to have one soon.”

I nodded, “Dave and I had that conversation. Doctors Bauer and Driesson are pressing on the issue of hiring IIT grads, but we don’t know at this point whether we’ll have a spot. I don’t know what else we can do, really. How badly does that hurt you?”

“I’ll need to replace him right away. We have too much work as it is. I already talked to Julia about hiring another person, so now we’ll need two. I’m pretty sure we’ll need to hire out west, too. Pittsburgh is fine because we can back them up from here.”

“If the business is there, then let’s do it. Put your request in to Julia and we’ll take it from there. Did you talk to Elyse about this yet?”

“No. I figured that was for you or Julia to do.”

“I prefer you talk to her and work out the income statement for your team before you make the formal request. Elyse won’t bite!”

Charlie laughed, “TMI!”

“Go!” I chuckled.

I wanted to talk to Tim, but I decided to wait for what I was going to call our ‘exit interview’. Hopefully, he’d tell us the good AND the bad about working at NIKA, and we could make whatever changes were necessary to improve things. I didn’t think there was much we could do, but I was looking at things from the top down. I called Julia and Elyse into my office to talk about Tim.

“Elyse, Charlie just told me that Tim tendered his resignation. I think it came as much of a surprise to her as it did to me.”

“And me,” Julia added. “I sent her to talk to Dave about a programming job for Tim, but there isn’t an open position, and as we’ve discussed, we’re not sure about the Spring.”

“So what can we do?” Elyse asked.

“Nothing, really,” I said. “I don’t want to get into a pattern of making staffing decisions based on this kind of occurrence. Charlie will come to talk to both of you about replacing Tim. What I wanted to talk about was some kind of formal exit interview — to see if he can give us any insight into what we did right and what we did wrong, at least from his perspective.”

“But will he be honest?”

“I would hope so,” I said. “We have to do our best to put him at ease and get him to talk.”

“You should talk to him, Steve,” Julia said. “Everyone is comfortable talking to you.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” I said. “I don’t want it to be formal, you know, like across a conference table or desk. I’ll invite him to lunch before he leaves.”

“That sounds good,” Elyse said. “I’ll expect Charlie to come see me soon.”

“She will,” I said. “She has other requests, too.”

“I figured. Cindi’s consulting pipeline report looks as full as it’s ever been. Our on-site teams are pretty much at full capacity, too.”

“I expect Cindi to raise that issue around the first of the year. Let’s all get back to work.”

October 19, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“I am going to owe Jolene and Therese big time for covering for me again!” I chuckled as we sat down to watch game three of the World Series.

“And Jolene can’t even collect!” Jessica laughed.

“True. She’s very serious with Mickey, and that’s a good thing. Hope really likes the guy, too.”

“He’s the radiology tech at the hospital? Michael Horton?” she asked.

“That’s right,” I said. “He goes by Mickey. I think they’ll move in together at some point in the near future.”

“Who’s pitching tonight?” Dave asked.

“Tom Browning for the Reds,” I responded. “Mike Moore for the A’s. I like our chances with this matchup.”

“And I like being up two games to none!” Elyse said.

Abbie came into the room with Katy and Lauren, carrying popcorn, chips, and soft drinks. I rolled my eyes when Abbie handed me a San Pellegrino. Almost nobody let me cheat these days! I accepted the bottle, grabbed a bowl, and filled it with chips. At least they weren’t limiting my snacks!

The game started out with both good and bad portents. The Reds got three singles off Moore, but the first one was erased by a double-play, and the second two were stranded on base when Hal Morris grounded out.

“Well, THAT sucks,” Elyse groused. “Three singles and nothing to show for it!”

“But they can get to Moore. Let’s hope he stays rocky,” Dave said.

Tom Browning got the A’s out on eight pitches, and the Reds came to bat in the top of the second. Chris Sabo led off and hit a 3–2 pitch to deep left-center for a solo home run.

“There we go!” Jennifer exclaimed as everyone cheered.

Our excitement didn’t last long. In the bottom of the second, Dave Henderson singled, and then Harold Baines hit a home run to right-center, giving the A’s a 2–1 lead. But our dismay didn’t last past the next half-inning. The Reds knocked Moore out of the game and beat up on Scott Sanderson to plate seven runs to take a commanding 8–2 lead.

“Holy shit! We’re going to be World Champs!” Elyse screeched when Barry Larkin hit a triple to drive in that final run of the inning.

The A’s got a run on a lead-off home run by Rickey Henderson in the bottom of the inning, and that was it for the scoring. Tom Browning, Rob Dibble, and Randy Myers held the A’s to just three hits the rest of the way and the Reds won 8–3 to take a commanding three games to none lead in the series.

“Are we watching tomorrow?” Dave asked. “It’s Guys’ Night.”

“Yes,” I said. “Jennifer, Elyse, and Kara agreed we’d do one of our joint guys and girls gatherings. We’ll have the game on for people who want to watch and the dance floor open for others. And there’s the pool table, too.”

“Cool. Rijo against Stewart is going to be a hell of a pitching duel! We’re going to get the kids from the other room and head home. See you tomorrow!”

After Dave, Julia, and the kids left, my wives and I put our kids to bed, then headed up to our room to make love before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

October 20, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“I see you decided to come to the dōjō for once,” Therese said with a smile as I walked in.

“Sorry. But this is the first time the Reds have been in the World Series since 1976. If my friend Elyse had her way, we’d have gone to Cincinnati and Oakland for the games. The only reason we didn’t was the price of the tickets was beyond outrageous!”

“When does the Series end?”

“Hopefully tonight! If not, it’ll be Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“OK. Let me know if I need to cover Wednesday.”

“You’ll know. Just check the sports section! We need to start class. Will you work with the lower belts today?”

“Sure!”

When class was over, Jessica, Kara, and I walked home. After quick showers, we ate lunch, then spent the afternoon playing with the kids. After dinner, we set up for the gathering, and our guests began arriving just before 7:00pm. Most of the Cincinnati folks and their spouses wanted to watch the game, which meant nearly everyone was in the great room.

“Has anyone ever been swept in the World Series after sweeping the League Championship Series?” Kathy asked.

“I don’t think so,” Pete said. “Here’s a cool fact — this would give the Reds a nine-game World Series winning streak. They won the last game against Boston in ‘75...”

“Oh, STOP with the Boston thing already!” Katy whined.

“As I was saying,” Pete laughed. “They won game 7 in ‘75, swept the Yankees in ‘76, and have won three straight this time. A sweep would give them a nine-game winning streak. It’ll also be one of the biggest upsets in baseball history, if the Vegas odds mean anything.”

“Did you put money on the Series, Pete?” Kurt asked.

“Hell no!” Pete laughed. “You know what I do for a living!”

The Reds didn’t score in the top of the first, but the A’s got a run on a double by Willie McGee and a single by Carney Lansford. Rijo got out of the inning with just that run scored, but when the Reds came to bat in the second, Glenn Brags pinch hit for Eric Davis, who was suffering from some unspecified injury.

“That’s not good,” Elyse said apprehensively. “Losing Eric Davis hurts!”

It got worse in the bottom of the second when Billy Hatcher was replaced by Herm Winningham due once again to some unspecified injury.

“Shit! Two of our top batters are out! And we’re down a run!” Jennifer groused.