Chapter 14: The End of the Line

August 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Cindi and Chris are heading for a divorce,” Dave said as we sat drinking coffee at a coffee shop on Hyde Park Boulevard.

“Well, shit. Have they gone for counseling?”

“For over a year,” he said.

“Fucking hell. And they got pregnant? Dumb!”

“Yeah, not exactly the smart move when you’re having relationship troubles, is it?”

“Let me guess, they thought it might help?”

“It sure seems like it. Obviously, it only made things worse. She was holding it all together before the baby.”

“So now what?”

“I suggested she take some time off. She got really angry with me at that point, so I asked Julia to speak to her. Cindi calmed down a bit and I think she’s going to do what I suggested. I talked to Elyse and we don’t really have a policy to cover this kind of situation.”

“No, we don’t. We’ll need to talk to Jamie, and the broker for our insurance and see if there’s something we can do to help her. If there isn’t something in our health benefits, then we probably need to reevaluate what we offer. This won’t be the last time we have issues like that, I’m sure.”

“I hate to say it, but I think you’re right. You and your wives have been in marriage counseling for three years now!”

“And probably for at least that many more,” I said. “But it’s an off-and-on thing. We meet about once a month. We only meet more often if there are big issues. It’s not like we have a normal situation!”

“True. It’s hard enough to keep a relationship on track when it’s just the two of you. Add in kids and the entire dynamic changes.”

“Is Cindi going to be in today?”

“Yes. She said she couldn’t make a final decision until she talked to you.”

“Kayla and Zeke can handle things in her absence. The real onus will be on Mario, because he’ll need to pick up the national clients which she normally handles. That’s going to create a vacuum in the Eastern Region that we can’t afford. But I really don’t want to hire someone without Cindi’s input.”

“So give her a veto. Let Kayla and Mario find the person if we decide we need them, and Cindi can do what you usually do. Julia can handle hiring the QA person the same way.”

“It sounds like there’s been some pillow talk!” I chuckled.

“There has. If you want to take the rest of the week, Julia, Elyse, Kimmy, and I have things under control.”

“Nah, it’ll just cause stuff to pile up for next Monday. Jess is sleeping a lot as you can imagine. And she has Kara there with her full time.”

“Don’t burn yourself out.”

“This is the opposite,” I said. “Four hours a day so that next week isn’t completely insane.”

We finished our coffee and walked back to the office. Cindi was sitting on my couch waiting for me. Because Penny was at her workstation, Cindi and I went to her office to talk.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“For what?”

“Talking to you the way I did.”

“Whatever! You know me. I don’t take that stuff personally unless I think it’s meant personally. You were upset. Of all the people on the planet who could object to someone saying something inappropriate when they were upset, I’m the last!”

“You do have that reputation. Or did. You’ve gotten a lot better.”

“So what’s up?”

“Chris and I have been having problems for more than a year. There were always little things, you know how that is, right?”

“In spades!”

She smiled, “I can’t even begin to imagine. Anyway, we had disagreements, but always seemed to get past them. But it turns out we were just sort of pushing them below the surface and never really dealing with them. We had a huge blowup right before your Halloween Party eighteen months ago.”

“He objected to your extreme costume? Or lack thereof?”

“Yes. He’s always been a bit uncomfortable with my freedom, if you will, and he took real exception to what he called my penchant for more and more extreme exhibitionism.”

“I did notice you guys avoiding the sauna for the most part.”

“It’s weird. He was OK with me being naked in there with other guys before we got married, but then things slowly started to change. It was like he was jealous or something. And it only got worse once I got pregnant.”

“Cindi, you know me well enough that I have to say this, but it takes two to tango. It’s not all Chris. I know you well enough that you could moderate your behavior if you chose. Why didn’t you?”

“You are a real bastard, do you know that?”

I chuckled, “I suppose, though I do know who my father is and he was married to my mom when I was born!”

That got the laugh that I’d hoped it would.

“You are a real piece of work, Mr. Adams! I suppose I pushed back against what I thought was stifling. When he objected, I became more determined to be as extreme as I could.”

“But why?”

“I prefer your lifestyle. I’m way more comfortable in that milieu than at the stuffy parties that his firm holds, or his friends from work. He’d rather be with them than come to your place.”

“But he’s been a regular at Guys’ Night and breakfast! And nary a word!”

“He wouldn’t. That’s not his style, if you remember from the old Sunday stuff at your apartment and then at the house when you first moved in.”

“But he always seemed pretty open-minded,” I said.

“He is, except when it comes to me, I guess.”

“Does it have anything to do with Dave?”

“That might be part of it. I know he was always a bit uncomfortable about Dave seeing me naked given that Dave and I had been a couple.”

“Now I’m REALLY glad nothing came of your request,” I said.

“Fuck you, Mr. Adams!” she said, but she was smiling.

“You know what I mean, Cindi. That would have made things even MORE uncomfortable.”

“Only if he’d found out.”

“Yes, but things have a way of getting out. Just one slip of the tongue and everything could come crashing down. Dave said you guys were in counseling.”

“Yes, but it hasn’t really helped. I’m ready to throw in the towel.”

I nodded soberly, “I hear you. What about William?”

“Are you suggesting we stay together for our son? You?”

“No, sorry. I meant how is he affecting you? We only noticed a change in your behavior after he was born.”

She sighed, “Lack of sleep. And I was irritable. And conflicted about work versus motherhood as well as my relationship with Chris. You know how much of a bitch I can be? Well, the stress only made that worse. And you saw the results here.”

“Take some time off. Figure things out.”

“I’m not sure we can afford it.”

“Let me talk with Elyse, Jamie, and the guy who helped us put together our benefits package and see what we can come up with. Something Jess said to me gives me an idea that might just work.”

Cindi nodded and smiled ruefully, “I should have known you’d go to Doctor Jessica for advice on this.”

“Actually it was more to see if she or Kara had a clue as to what was bothering you. They didn’t, but Jess mentioned something called ‘post-partum depression’ and I wonder if that’s an angle for short-term disability. And if not, you do have nearly all the sick time you accrued over the previous five years.”

“True. I didn’t use that up with my maternity leave as I’d originally planned. I was going stir-crazy at home.”

“Take some sick leave. If you don’t want to hang around your house, find stuff to do with William. Come by my place, though that might upset Chris if you do.”

“To be honest, I don’t care. I talked to your friend Gwen Meyer on Friday.”

“Shit,” I said. “I had hoped it wasn’t to that point.”

“Do you know that Illinois law sucks in this regard?”

“I know. Katy told me all about it. You’ll need a two-year separation unless Chris will sign a waiver.”

“Or if I can show adultery,” she said flatly.

“Oh hell,” I sighed. “Seriously?”

“I think so. We had a huge fight a week after William was born. He went out. When he came home, there were pretty obvious signs he’d been with someone. A whiff of perfume, that kind of thing.”

“Does he know you suspect?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t say anything.”

“Now I get why the stress level amped up after William was born. It wasn’t just the baby.”

“No, it wasn’t just the baby. I know you agree with me on fidelity.”

I nodded, “I do. You have to keep your word. I’ve suffered the consequences of doing that twice. Both times with the same girl. And both times shoving a dagger into Kara’s heart.”

“You? But you have pretty much complete freedom!”

“Not with Becky. Never with Becky.”

“Ben van Hoek’s kid? The one you dated briefly in High School?”

“That’s the one. But it wasn’t as brief as has been implied. It’s a long, long story of me being a ‘dumb boy’ as Stephanie always alleged.”

“So why tell me now? Am I supposed to forgive Chris for that?”

“I can’t answer that question for you. Kara forgave me, but I’ve never understood why she would do that. Twice.”

“I’m not in a forgiving mood.”

“I understand. Are you going to make that public claim?”

“Gwen advised that I talk to Chris about it, but once I tell him what I’m thinking, I’ll need to move out.”

“Is that what you want? To move out? To separate?”

“Yes.”

“I can ask Kimmy to find you an apartment near the office. She’s done that for my dad and for Ed. And we’ll cover the security deposit and first three months’ rent. Call it a special performance bonus. I can do that without board approval.”

“Steve Adams, you are the best boss and best friend a girl could have.”

August 29, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Now this is cool,” I said.

“What’s that?” Penny asked.

“Some dude in Finland is creating a full version of MINIX for the IBM PC, and looking for input on what new features. He says he already has the bash shell running and the GNU C compiler working. I’d love to have a full version of Unix running on a PC, rather than have to pay for expensive server equipment. I think I’ll write the guy.”

“Where did you find that announcement? The newsgroups?”

“Yes. In comp.os.minix. But I only saw it because someone sent me an e-mail about it. I don’t usually read that group.”

“What’s that guy’s name?”

“Linus Torvalds.”

“I’ll check it out. It sounds like it would be cool. Hey, aren’t you late for your appointment?”

“No. Five minutes.”

“Scared?” she teased, making snipping motions with her fingers.

“It’s not happening today! This is the initial meeting with the urologist.”

“Snip! Snip!” she teased.

“Don’t you have work to do?”

Penny laughed and turned back to her workstation. She was right, though. I did need to walk over to the medical building. And I knew I’d get some grief there as well. I let Kimmy and Keri know I was on my way out and walked the few blocks to the doctor’s office. I checked in and sat down to wait. Two minutes later, I was greeted by the office manager.

“Do you know how hard I laughed?” Jolene asked as we sat down in her office.

“I bet! When Al Barton gave me the referral and told me the name of the practice, I seriously considered asking for a different urologist!”

“Because I’d give you a hard time? Well, not like the HARD time you gave me, but it is the same subject! You never said anything at karate!”

“Why would I? My sex life isn’t exactly your business!”

“I wish it was my business!” she smirked. “Though I suppose Mickey might have an objection.”

“Might? He’s a really, really nice guy and I would never do that to him.”

“So, what led you to this point?”

“You aren’t THAT dense, Jolene! Seven kids! Don’t you think that’s enough?”

“Sure. But most guys aren’t willing to let someone near their most prized possession with a scalpel. Although, usually, their opinion of said prized possession is out of proportion to its actual size and performance!”

“Hence the market for sports cars?” I chuckled.

“Penis extenders!”

“Yes, you’ve said that repeatedly. You said that to me when I had my Daytona. Though you stopped saying that after we were together.”

“You know why, too! And you put off the second time so long I ended up with Mickey!”

“And that’s a bad thing? You’re engaged to the man, so I am sure it isn’t!”

She nodded, and quickly changed the subject.

“Hope decided on her three choices for college. Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth.”

“Pre-law, right?”

“Yes. She has the grades for it, and I’m sure her SAT and ACT scores will be excellent as well.”

“Mr. Adams?” a nurse said from the door. “Doctor Carter is ready for you.”

Jolene and I exchanged a quick hug and I followed the nurse to Doctor Carter’s office. We shook hands and I sat down.

“I reviewed your medical history, and I don’t see anything that would give me pause, but I do have a concern about your age. You’re only 28, and that’s young to have an irreversible sterilization procedure.”

“Doctor Barton didn’t tell you?” I asked.

“Tell me what?”

“I have seven children. All planned. I do think that’s enough. Don’t you?”

It took him a few seconds to recover from the shock.

“Seven? How long have you been married?”

“Since December of 1985.”

“Twins or triplets?” he asked.

Seven kids in six years was only possible with at least one multiple birth pregnancy. Assuming, as he was, that I had only one wife.

I shook my head, “All single births.”

I was having fun toying with him. I was truly surprised that Al Barton hadn’t said anything, and I wondered if he’d intended exactly this kind of conversation as some kind of joke or gag. Well, I’d play it for all it was worth.

“So some of them were born before you were married, then?”

I shook my head, “No. My eldest, Jesse, was born in February of 1986.”

“Help me out here. Math may not be my strong suit, but something doesn’t add up. You really have seven kids?”

“I do. Jesse is the oldest at five-and-a-half, and Ashley the youngest at two weeks.”

A light bulb went on, “Two different women.”

“Four,” I said smugly.

“Oh come on! This is some joke that you and Al Barton are playing on me. How many kids do you really have?”

“Two with each of my wives, two with my friend Elyse, and one with Jennifer, my lesbian former High School sweetheart!”

He shook his head, “I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck! Can we please be serious? If you really understand the ramifications, and I feel you’re able to give informed consent, I’ll do the procedure. You don’t need to play any games!”

“Doctor Carter, I am not playing any games. I think Al Barton might be, because he didn’t tell you about me. I’m legally married to one of his ER Residents, Jessica Adams. She and I consider ourselves married to Kara, who is truly a full part of our marriage. Elyse is a very good friend and long-term lover. And Jennifer and I were an item before she discovered her sexuality. I helped her and her partner have a baby. That’s Jesse, my eldest.”

“You’re serious? This isn’t some elaborate joke?”

“Deadly serious, Doctor Carter. I know calling Al won’t help, because he could be in on the joke, but if you want to ask your office manager, she’ll tell you. She’s a black belt at the same karate dojo that I go to.”

He looked at me, then punched a button on his phone.

“Jolene?”

“Yes, Doctor Carter?”

“How many children does Mr. Adams have?”

Jolene laughed hard, “Seven. Jesse, Matthew, Birgit, Michael, Albert, Stephie, and Ashley. And yes, he’s married to two women. And yes those kids are by four women.”