Chapter 47: Out With the Old; In With the New, Part II

December 31, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

I chuckled, “I’m glad you didn’t ask for that ‘up against the wall’, because I don’t have any Galliano!”

“I’m impressed,” Leslie said. “Most people don’t know that one!”

I mixed her drink, handed it to her, and then poured myself a couple of ounces of Maker’s Mark bourbon. We clinked our glasses together and each sipped from our glass.

“Damn, this is good!” she said.

“Top shelf vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice are a necessity. I can’t do much about the Southern Comfort; it is what it is.”

“Do you throw parties like this often?”

“Only for the Fourth of July and New Year’s do we have this many people, and this is more than we’ve ever had.”

“How does a guy your age have a house like this? I heard you’ve lived here seven years! Did you inherit it?”

“No, my dad and I bought it together, and I rented rooms to some friends to help cover my half of the mortgage. I was doing computer consulting work, and I also had money left from a business I ran during High School.”

“Wow! And now you have your own company?”

“Yes.”

“Rich, funny, smart, successful, and handsome!”

“I wouldn’t call myself ‘rich’,” I countered. “But I’m certainly comfortable.”

“And all those kids? And all those women?”

“You’ve been to the Rap Sessions and you’ve heard what I’ve had to say about it. You know that I don’t hold to traditional notions of monogamy and neither do my wives or the other women I live with.”

“So we could just go somewhere and do it?” she asked with a smile. “Right now?”

“It’s not quite THAT simple,” I said. “There are rules.”

“And those are?”

“A clean STD test is the primary concern,” I said.

“A what? STD?”

“Sorry, Sexually Transmitted Disease. You might know it as a VD test.”

“Why? I never did it before.”

“You’ve heard of AIDS?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well, you can get that other ways than by having sex. It’s nonnegotiable. If you want to be with me, you’ll have to get it done. You can get them done for free or very low cost at any walk-in clinic. Most colleges have them.”

“Bummer,” she said. “After that dance I thought maybe we could.”

“We can,” I said. “Just not tonight.”

“You really want to? With me?”

“I think you’ll be fun,” I said with a big grin.

“You really think so?” she asked, suddenly a bit more reserved than she’d been.

“Yes. Mostly it’s about attitude and I think you have a good one!”

“But I’m not pretty like the girls you live with,” she said.

“Which has exactly zero to do with anything,” I said. “And besides, I think you’re cute!”

“Abbie was right. You ARE a really nice guy. Are you as good as she says?”

I laughed, “Abbie talks a bit too much.”

“She said you made her feel better than anyone ever had.”

“As I said! Should we go upstairs and dance again?”

“After my sloe, comfortable screw,” Leslie smirked.

“Get your test, and you can have a very long, slow, comfortable screw. Or two. Or three.”

“I’m going to hold you to that!” she said firmly. “Would you kiss me?”

I put down my glass and held out my arms. She put her glass on the bar, melted into my arms and we exchanged a smoking-hot French kiss. She held me tightly and moaned softly into my mouth. Her nipples hardened again and she seemed to be trying to shove her tongue down my throat. One thing I was sure of, was that there was no doubt in her mind what she wanted. And there was no doubt in my mind that she’d be a lot of fun. We broke the kiss, and she was panting.

“Wow!” she gasped.

“Yeah!” I said. “A preview of coming attractions! And you can guess where I want to kiss you!”

She moaned softly, “Take me now! Please! Oh God, please!”

“I have to follow the rules,” I said, though right at that moment I wanted her as badly as she wanted me.

She gulped down the rest of her drink and I finished my bourbon. We went back to the attic room and danced to a moderately fast song that I didn’t recognize, and then she went back to stand by Abbie while I went back to stand with my wives.

“She looks hot and bothered,” Kara observed.

“She wasn’t prepared for the STD test requirement. And that’s a good thing, because it means Abbie didn’t say too much to her, though she did talk up my skills.”

“Which are considerable!” Jessica said.

“Compared to... ?” I grinned.

“You know I have no interest in making a direct comparison, Tiger. And neither does Kara. But some of the girls who have had other guys are pretty impressed with you. And I have ZERO complaints!”

“You ALL talk too much!” I chuckled.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jennifer laughed. “He loves it! That’s how he got laid so much in High School. The girls talked up his skills.”

“And by ‘girls’ she means herself and Melanie, for the most part,” I said.

“There were others,” Jennifer said. “Remember Cassie Schneider? She was telling every girl in school to try you out!”

“I think that was the only time I screwed in a car,” I chuckled. “I made out a bit with another girl later, but my Trans Am wasn’t big enough for that!”

“What kind of car did she have?” Jessica asked.

“A monstrous, four-door Plymouth Fury. One of those V8 models from the late 60s, it was so big you could probably put two of my BMWs inside that car!”

“Where’s the most outrageous place you had sex, Tiger?”

“Well, I’m not too crazy in that regard, so either the 747 on the way home from my year as an exchange student or the front porch swing.”

Jessica laughed hard, “That had to be Stephie, right?”

I nodded, “She’s still the only person I’ve had sex with in every room, plus the back yard, the shed, and on the front porch!”

“Pool table?”

“Yes,” I grinned. “Before Kara.”

“We have to come up with something interesting!”

“You think about it and let me know. It’s time to get the kids back to the coach house.”

Jennifer, Elyse, and I rounded up the kids, though Jesse protested as he usually did.

“I want to stay up until New Year!” he insisted.

“No sir,” Jennifer said. “We talked about this. It’s for adults. You and your friends will have some Sprite and your own little celebration right now, and then it’s off to bed with you.”

“I don’t WANT to!” he protested, sounding downright nasty.

“Jesse Stephen,” I said firmly. “Would you like to go straight to bed without having your party with your friends?”

“No fair!” he muttered under his breath.

“I heard that,” I said sternly. “You know we don’t say that in this house.”

“One day,” Jennifer said, sotto voce, “he’s going to be ready to tell you to ‘fuck off’.”

“And I won’t complain if it’s warranted!” I whispered back. “That ‘F word’ doesn’t bother me nearly as much as ‘fair’.”

“You used to have such a fit about me and the other girls saying ‘fuck’. You would almost never say it.”

“Times change,” I grinned.

We delivered the kids to April and Sarah, and after another invitation to me from April, we headed back to the party.

“Dance with me!” Kathy said when we came into the attic room again.

She pulled me out onto the dance floor to dance to Every Woman in the World by Air Supply. I held her tight and we swayed together. I saw Kara dancing sexily with Kurt and turned so Kathy could see them.

“You know, Kurt would go for the trade,” Kathy said saucily.

“Yes, but Kara won’t. You know that.”

“She’s never, ever had the idea?”

“The idea? I suppose she has, but it’s not something she’d ever do. It’s the same for Jessica. And, for you and Kurt, with the exception of what you just suggested. And you know as much as I want you, I think it would be a bad idea.”

“You’re still worried about Kurt.”

“Yes. I don’t think he’s cut out for that kind of thing. I was sure of that when I first met him almost nine years ago.”

“You’re probably right, and I’m not sure you and I could stop if we started again.”

I laughed, “I’m sure! Sure that we couldn’t and wouldn’t. And that’s another good reason not to do it!”

She nodded and pressed her cheek to mine.

“Has Bethany danced much? I only saw her dance once with Howard,” I asked.

“Yes, with all the sailors, and very chastely. But nobody else.”

“Think I should ask her?”

“Of course you should, you idiot!” Kathy laughed.

We finished our dance and I walked over to Abbie and asked her to put on Open Arms by Journey. She rolled her eyes, but did as I asked. I walked over to where Bethany was standing with Karl and Ginny.

“Dance with me, Sweetheart?” I asked.

She smiled and took my hand. We danced close, but not sexily. Bethany was careful not to rub too much against me, but she did rest her head on my shoulder.

“You and Kathy and Kurt and Kara sure love to put on your show!” she whispered in my ear.

“And that’s all it is,” I said. “You know Kara well enough. Are you having a good time?”

“The sailors are making sure I have enough to drink, eat, and they’re dancing with me. It’s like I have a personal escort!”

“They consider it their duty,” I said. “And it doesn’t hurt that you’re looking pretty hot!”

She laughed, “I’ll be ninety years old and you’ll still say that!”

“I promise! If we live that long. Life just seems fleeting at times.”

“I know,” she said, inching a bit closer to me. “I helped you through a few of them. Now you’re helping me.”

“Whatever is within my power to do, I will,” I said.

“You’re doing it now. You’ve been doing it since the day I came back from Guam.”

Bethany and I finished our dance and she kissed me on the cheek. She went back to stand with the Navy guys, while I decided to go to the basement and play some pool with Terry, Zeke, and Dave. I stayed there until about 11:30pm, and then excused myself to go upstairs to help Sofia, Elyse, and Kimmy pour the champagne and set up the computer with the timer. Everyone began gathering in the great room and as she had the previous years, Sofia read «Nyårsklockan», and then we had our countdown.

January 1, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Happy New Year!” everyone shouted, and kisses were exchanged amongst couples.

After kissing Jessica and Kara, I exchanged kisses with several of the girls, some on the cheek, but rather more on the lips. After about fifteen minutes, people spread out around the house again, though the Bartons, as well as Jolene and Mickey, said goodnight and headed home. Everyone else was dancing, drinking, playing pool, or just socializing.

“Are you going to visit April?” Jessica asked. “It’s fine if you want to.”

I had thought about it, but I had reservations. First, I didn’t know Sarah at all, and while I trusted April, that trust didn’t extend automatically to her friend. Also, I’d been with April a few times already, and I wasn’t interested in a long-term, on-going thing with her. Not that she wasn’t sexy and fun, but I was already juggling too many balls because of my wives, Elyse, and Abbie. And, if things went as they appeared to be going, an upcoming tryst with Leslie that promised to be a lot of fun.

Given my most important relationships, and my commitments to family, work, and karate, I had to ask myself exactly what kind of pattern for this would be «lagom». Sarah complicated things. If it had just been April, the calculus would be somewhat different, but even then, I didn’t think April was someone I wanted to have an ongoing relationship with. And that made the decision easy.

“No,” I said. “I don’t want to get into a pattern of developing long-term physical relationships. Kimmy was a very special situation.”

“And Abbie?”

“She’s part of the family,” I said. “Not like you, Kara, and Elyse, but she is part of the family.”

“I think you’re making a distinction that doesn’t really exist,” Kara declared. “She has the same privileges as Elyse, minus the business aspects! Well, and no kids.”

“But you intend to be with Leslie,” Jessica said. “How is that different?”

“To be a bit crass, ‘one and done’ is different from an ongoing thing like April seems to want. I thought April had a steady boyfriend and was moving on. It seems as if she wants to have me on an ongoing basis. That violates our rules. And before you say anything, yes, I know we discarded all of them when we reconciled. But I think that’s a very good rule. I broke it with Abbie, after all of you pointed out how foolish I’d been, and what she brought to us. And that turned out to be a great thing, since it led directly to her becoming our nanny.”

“Hmm, maybe he’s just reeling from being shot down so thoroughly earlier,” Jessica teased. “Maybe he thinks he’s lost it!”

“I think Leslie proves otherwise,” I said. “She begged me to take her tonight after just one kiss!”

“In the past you would have taken this as a challenge, rather than being shocked by it,” Kara observed. “You did with me!”

“What challenge?” I smirked. “You were ready to screw the minute I sat down next to you!”

“You JERK!” Jessica shrieked.

“And you’re no better, Miss ‘My panties were dripping in the locker room’!” I said smugly.

“Oh, and you didn’t want either of us? Hmm?” Kara asked, tapping her foot, her arms crossed.

“When I first met you? No. When you asked to change partners in Mrs. Brewer’s class, I was happy! I’d have very gladly accepted one of the stoners in the class, even though I’d have had to do all the work! As for Jess, I didn’t even think about that with her until she approached me after Bethany came out of her coma. And even then, it was only because SHE raised the issue! Actually, she made a phony offer and I didn’t bite.”

“Good thing, too!” Jessica laughed. “That would have been the end of it.”

“Knocking boots?” I smirked. “Or picking that option?”

“Picking that option! We talked about that.”

“Hah! You told me your panties were dripping. I say you would have gone for it and had the time of your life!”

“And then I’d have missed out on the man I was supposed to be with. The one man who could take me as I am.”

“I came close to doing the same thing,” Kara said. “I was ready to just have him screw me six ways from Sunday, but the big oaf fell in love with me instead.”

“Still think I’ve lost it?” I grinned.

“No. But April will be VERY disappointed.”

“Too bad for April,” I said flatly.

“Fawn had fun tonight,” Jessica said.

“Oh?”

“She was dancing VERY close with Ensign Roberts. I thought Doctor Barton was going to have a heart attack! But Belinda didn’t let him interfere.”

“I bet the conversation at home tomorrow will be interesting!” I replied. “What do you two want to do?”

They looked at each other, smirked, and answered together: “Fuck!”

“That’ll have to wait until the party winds down,” I said.

“You know, Tiger, you can be a real party pooper at times!” Jessica said, but she was smiling.

“How about a sauna with some of our friends at 2:00am?” I asked. “Most people will head home or bed down around then.”

“Sure! Are we still going to see The Godfather: Part III this afternoon?”

“The 4:00pm showing,” I said. “That will let us get some sleep and have some time to talk to Mary and Josh. What time do you plan to get up on Wednesday morning, Babe?”

“5:15am,” she said. “Remember, you’ll need to call the ER and make sure I’m done before you come to walk me home.”