Chapter 59: Kara’s Birthday

March 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“This day belongs to you, Kara!” I said when the three of us woke on Thursday morning.

“Happy birthday!” Jessica said.

“Thanks,” Kara replied happily. “I think I’d like an amazing birthday fuck from our husband, and then a nice loving shower with my wife!” Kara said.

“Do we have enough time?” I asked.

Jessica giggled, “I set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier!”

“Then let’s not waste any of it!” I said pulling Kara to me.

Kara’s squeals as I plunged my tongue into her dripping pussy were muffled by what I assumed were kisses from Jessica. Using my lips and tongue, I brought Kara to her first orgasm, then moved on top of her and gently slid deeply inside her. She wrapped her legs around me and we began the dance we’d been doing for ten years.

“Happy birthday, Honey!” I said.

“Six!” she gasped. “I want six!”

She’d already had one, so I needed to provide her with five more before we finished. We’d always been good at this, and to my surprise, had gotten better since she’d had her two daughters. Kara’s sex drive hadn’t diminished one iota, and, in fact, seemed to be increasing. With our impeccable timing, I exploded into her just as she had her sixth orgasm.

“Happy birthday!” I whispered.

“Can I have seconds?” Kara giggled through her heavy breathing.

“Tonight, you hussy!” Jessica laughed. “I need to get to work!”

“Sounds like a personal problem to me!” Kara teased.

“Well, at least come shower with me, like you asked!” Jessica said with a grin.

The two had begun to tease each other mercilessly during the past few weeks, which to me said they were becoming even closer. I kissed Kara one last time, and moved from on top of her so she could get out of bed. I followed the girls into the bathroom and leaned against the sink as they got into the shower. I chuckled when Jessica pulled Kara tightly against her and French kissed her, then proceeded to Kara’s breasts, and eventually pressed her tongue between Kara’s labia. Kara had her seventh orgasm of the morning, and then the girls lovingly washed each other.

“I didn’t expect that!” Kara giggled as they dried each other.

“No, and I see it certainly got our husband’s attention!” Jessica giggled. “I think I have enough time to take care of him if you don’t mind!”

“Go for it!” Kara smirked.

Jessica dropped to her knees and quickly engulfed my raging erection. Given the time, I didn’t try to hold back or delay, and just a few minutes later, she swallowed every drop of cum. She released me, licked her lips, and exchanged a deep kiss with Kara as I got into the shower. Fifteen minutes later, the three of us were walking towards UofC, with Jessica munching on a bagel.

“Sorry you missed a solid breakfast,” Kara giggled.

“It’s OK. I have my bagel and I grabbed a container of yogurt from the fridge. I’ll be fine. Any changes in plans for tonight?”

“No,” I said. “Dinner at home so the kids can celebrate with us. Tomorrow night we’re having dinner at Alex’s place with Kathy and Kurt for the adult celebration.”

“I thought that’s what we just did!” Jessica smirked.

“That was just a warm up!” Kara giggled. “Tonight Steve is going to cum in my sexy mouth, fuck my tight little pussy, and then fuck my cute little ass!”

“Whose birthday is this?” Jessica laughed. “Yours or Steve’s?”

“On his birthday, he gets to do that to BOTH of us!” Kara said with a saucy grin. “You won’t be too far along for that at the end of next month.”

“Stop it!” Jessica protested. “I have to work and you’re making me wet!”

“Don’t worry, Jess, I’ll take care of Steve when we get home!”

“Now that’s just not fair!” Jessica pouted.

“Jessica!” I said sharply. “You KNOW we don’t allow that f-word in our house!”

We all burst out laughing.

When we arrived at the hospital, both Kara and I gave Jessica sexy kisses, which only frustrated her more. She huffed and turned and walked quickly inside.

“She’s going to need a cold shower,” Kara giggled.

“That was mean, Honey!”

“You know we’re just teasing. She’ll be fine!”

“Just remember, payback is a bitch!” I chuckled.

March 29, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Happy birthday, Kara!” Alex Saunders said as we walked into the Bucktown Bistro.

“Thanks, Alex!” she said, giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Happy birthday!” Sam offered, and she and Kara exchanged a hug and kisses on the cheek.

“Kurt and Kathy are already at the table,” Alex said. “Let me get you seated and we’ll get started!”

He led us to a table in the quietest part of the bistro, one that had plants and a small half-wall separating it from the rest of the large dining area.

“Happy birthday!” Kurt and Kathy said, as they greeted Kara with hugs and kisses.

“I see you’re still alive,” Kathy teased as she came to hug me.

“I can still keep up with her,” I grinned. “But only just!”

“It must suck to get old!” Kathy teased.

“If I hear ONE WORD of you complaining, Mr. Adams, I’m going to smack you!” Kurt laughed as we shook hands.

“My lips are sealed!” I said as we all sat down.

“Alex has something special arranged, per usual,” Kathy said. “He said he’d start serving ten minutes after you arrived. Your usual drinks are here, as you can see.”

That meant a San Pellegrino for me, a glass of white wine for Kara, and a glass of lemonade for Jessica. As promised, about ten minutes later, Joan, a waitress who worked evenings, brought small bowls of tomato soup to the table.

“Did you guys have fun in Vermont?” Kathy asked. “And how is Katy?”

“We had a great time, and Katy is doing well. She had her first guests last weekend. She called to say it went really well, and they left happy, and promised to come back. She has three couples this weekend. You guys should think about going there. Birgit loved seeing Katy, too.”

“That actually sounds like a great idea,” Kathy said. “Jess, how are YOU feeling?”

“Loose fitting tops hide the bump,” she said with a smile. “But otherwise, no problems! What about you guys?”

“Next year, we think,” Kathy said. “Kristin will be five, and that seems about the right spread for us.”

“That’s the gap from Jesse to Jessica’s new baby!” I said.

“So you’re an idiot!” Kurt laughed. “That doesn’t mean WE have to be!”

“Remind me why I spend time with the four of you?” I sighed.

“Because you love all of us, Tiger!” Jessica interjected.

“I do,” I said.

We finished our soup and Joan brought out small tossed salads with ripe cherry tomatoes and French dressing.

“I see a pattern here,” Kurt said. “Tomatoes in each course so far!”

That continued with the main course, which Alex called ‘tagliatelle al ragù’- long flat noodles in a Bolognese sauce, fresh steamed vegetables, and rice pilaf.

“I’m curious what he’s going to do for dessert!” Kathy said as we ate.

“I don’t expect he’ll have a tomato-based dessert,” I said. “But I bet it’s red, whatever it is!”

“This isn’t exactly in tune with your reduced carbohydrate diet,” Kurt said.

“No, but doing this occasionally isn’t an issue. Please don’t say anything to Alex, because I don’t want him to feel badly about this.”

“You know if you told him, he’d accommodate,” Jessica said.

“And we’d likely miss out on some amazing creations. Have you ever had pasta THIS good?” I asked.

“Not really,” Kurt replied.

“The only person who I know could do this is Donna Grossi. Joyce could come close, I suppose.”

“Don’t let her hear that!” Kathy warned. “Or you’ll be sleeping with the fishes!”

Everyone laughed.

We finished our main course, and, as I’d predicted, dessert was red - cherry cobbler with cherry ice cream.

“Talk about sugar overload,” Jessica said as she tasted her dessert.

“I think I’ll need to spend some time on the treadmill when we get home!” I chuckled. “Running and karate tomorrow won’t be enough!”

“What about yesterday, Snuggle Bear? I think you were all used up when we went to sleep!”

“Only one part, I bet!” Kathy teased.

“Correct!” I chuckled.

We finished our dessert and Alex came to our table.

“Fantastic as always,” I said.

“Wonderful,” Kara said. “Thank you!”

The others all agreed as well. Alex smiled and handed me the usual hand-written bill. He’d made a point of never using computers, and other than the credit card machine, I didn’t think there were any electronics in the place, except the calculator they used to total the bill. I’d talked to him a few times about it, but hadn’t made any headway. He believed that computers would ruin the personal service on which he prided himself. I took my American Express card from my wallet and handed the leather folder back to Alex.

Alex returned a moment later and I added a tip to the credit card receipt, signed it, and handed it back. He thanked us, we thanked him, and then we left the restaurant. After hugs and kisses all around, except for Kurt and me who shook hands, we all headed home.

March 31, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“The game will be Friday,” Mario said when he called me at home early on Sunday afternoon.

The Penguins had won their division, and the game they’d play later in the day against the Rangers wouldn’t change anything.

“OK. I’ll give Barney a call. He’s waiting to hear from me to book my tickets and the hotel.”

“A hotel might be a problem,” Mario said.

“Barney made reservations to cover the necessary nights. The travel agency is big enough that he could do it without any penalty. I’ll fly in on Friday morning and fly home on Saturday morning. That will let me get to the Pascha services.”

“OK. I’ll call Will Kenseth and let him know the interview is Friday afternoon. Everything else is set.”

“Thanks, Mario. I’ll see you on Friday morning.”

After I ended the call, I went to the ‘Indian’ room where we’d been sitting to tell Jessica and Kara about my plans.

“Jesse won’t be happy with you,” Kara said.

“I do not live my life to make Jesse happy!” I protested. “Are you guys going to go to church?”

“I don’t know,” Jessica said. “Kara and I will talk about it.”

“I suspect if we ask Dave and Julia, they’d take Jesse to the Greek Cathedral on Friday. Want me to ask them tomorrow?”

“As a backup, yes,” Kara said. “Are you still planning to go to the Pascha service?”

“Absolutely! We went to Palm Sunday services this morning, and we’re going to the Bridegroom Matins services tonight, tomorrow, and Tuesday. And then Holy Unction on Wednesday, and the morning Liturgy and Twelve Gospels on Thursday. The only things I’ll miss are Holy Friday, and the Vesperal Liturgy on Saturday morning. If we were Orthodox, I’d worry more about it, but given that I plan to stay married to both of you, that’s not going to happen.”

“When you say that,” Jessica said thoughtfully, “I wonder if I should burn any vacation time for church on Friday. I can still undo that.”

“That’s up to you, Babe. You won’t upset me if you decide you don’t want to go to church. I like going, but obviously it’s not my top priority. I do have to worry about Jesse, but as I’ve said, I think we can make arrangements.”

“What about your relationship with Father Basil and the Bishop?”

“My relationships with you girls are no secret to either of them. It won’t change anything, really. The business we do with them isn’t tied to us being Orthodox or becoming Orthodox. Please don’t make that a consideration of your decision.”

“This is something we need to talk through, in depth,” Kara said. “And something we all need to agree on. And it doesn’t just affect the three of us, but Jesse, and potentially the other kids.”

“Jesse is the only one who’s really interested at the moment,” I said. “Matthew could take or leave it, and Birgit is really too little to express an opinion.”

Jessica nodded, “I suppose we should start with the most basic question, and that is whether or not any of us truly believe in God, or any god, for that matter.”

“I have no clue,” I sighed. “That’s part of the problem. If push came to shove, I’d say it’s highly improbable. But improbability and impossibility are not the same things. There’s a chance I could be wrong either way, but I’d say the odds favor there not being any gods, at least not in the way most religions would define them. And that brings us straight to Pascal’s Wager.”

Jessica nodded, “The notion that however improbable God’s existence is, guessing wrong about it has eternal consequences, assuming God does exist.”

“Exactly. If there are no gods, then all we’ve done is waste some time in church and live our lives according to some ancient proscriptions. That’s a finite, measurable loss. But if God does exist, and we guess wrong, we’re damned for eternity. The problem I see with that thinking is that I can’t posit a god that would damn someone to eternity with no hope of redemption, no matter what it is that they did.”

“Which is why you object so vehemently to Calvinism,” Kara said.

“Exactly. There’s a quote from Pascal that I don’t have memorized. Let me get a book.”

I went over to the bookshelf and took down a volume on Pascal’s life and flipped to the proper page, which I had marked.

“That’s the exact problem,” I said, putting the volume back on the shelf. “But then I think about my shared vision with Bethany, and her miraculous survival, and wonder if that was God revealing himself to me. As the Orthodox say, we see God in His energies not his essence. That is, we see what He does, not what He is.”

“So you don’t attribute her survival to Doctor Barton and the anonymous flight surgeon?” Jessica asked.

“I do. They saved her. But even Al says she shouldn’t have made it. Was THAT the unseen hand of God?”

“You could tie yourself in knots if you start thinking that way!” Kara interjected.

“Exactly! The danger we run is assigning to God things which we don’t understand. The ‘God of the Gaps’ idea in philosophy. Let me read another quote.”

I took another volume from the shelf, on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and found the marked page.

“I guess that sums it up nicely,” I said, returning the book to its place. “If I try to use God to explain things I don’t understand, it will destroy my faith when those gaps in my knowledge are filled in. I think, in the end, my struggle is with ultimate meaning. And that’s what’s been challenged so forcefully by the deaths that I’ve had to work through.

“It’s what I talked to Doctor Mercer about, and what led me to create the ‘memory books’ for Nicholas. The Orthodox sum it up as ‘Memory Eternal’ and for the Jews, that G-d may remember their names. And the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that’s where the true meaning if found. The problem is, that if that’s where meaning is, eventually nobody will remember who you are. And then, where’s the meaning?

“To me, it requires an eternal outside observer who is also intimately involved with us. If it’s just the universe itself, or something that exists within the universe, then all memory, all information, dies with the collapse into a singularity or the heat death of the universe, whichever end we’re going to ultimately meet. And that outside observer, one who is completely outside of time and space, is who or what we would call ‘God’.

“And that brings us right back to Pascal’s lament about wanting God to reveal Himself directly to us. Which makes sense, because if God is outside time and space, we’d have no way of detecting Him without revelation. The problem is, as Father Basil tells me the monks say, how do you know if revelation comes from God or Satan? The monks warn that if you think God is speaking to you, you are in severe danger of being controlled by the demons.”

“May I sum this up?” Jessica said with a smile. “You don’t know and don’t have any way to know.”

“Exactly,” I said. “So now what? How do you two feel about it?”

“To be honest,” Kara said. “I like the trappings, but I don’t believe. I think, ultimately, my dad and Kent van der Meer made it difficult for me to believe in God.”