Chapter 67: That’s What Friends Are For

March 22, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

That evening, I was in Abbie’s room as I usually was on Sunday nights. We’d made love and were cuddling, which was also the usual for us these days. Our athletic sex had turned more soft and loving, something that had surprised me at first, but then, as I saw the changes in Abbie, made perfect sense.

“I have a request,” she said.

“OK.”

She explained what she wanted and I sat up and looked at her.

“I’m not sure I can do that. It’s not really within the bounds of my understanding with Jessica and Kara.”

“But would you?” she asked.

“I’d have to think about it,” I said. “And, honestly, you need to talk to my wives about it. I can’t go and make that request. Why do you want that? It’s kind of out of character these days.”

“I’d prefer to tell you after you answer. Is that OK?”

“Jessica and Kara are going to want to know why.”

“It’s OK if I ask them?”

“Yes, but no promises,” I said.

“I know. Love me again, please?”

I did and we fell asleep cuddled together.

March 24, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I was wondering when or if I’d ever hear from you again. I’m glad you called.”

“Thanks, Father.”

We were seated by a waiter at a quiet, out-of-the-way table. I’d opted for a place in Greek Town rather than our usual diner.

“How are things?” Father Basil asked.

“Overall, pretty good. If you mean spiritually, well, I believe my friend’s murder ultimately caused a crisis of what little faith I might have had. Jessica, Kara, and I couldn’t overcome that.”

“They’re of the same opinion?”

I nodded, “Yes.”

“And the reason you called?”

“A girl. A sweet, innocent, Roman Catholic girl.”

“Am I going to be happy at the end of this story?” he asked.

I chuckled, “It’s not what you think, though given my lifestyle, it’s not surprising that you would think that. Recently, I’ve made a point of trying to have female friends without being physically intimate with them.”

Father Basil looked surprised, “Go on.”

“I’ve met two, and it’s a very different experience. The young woman I mentioned has really challenged me by her unswerving faith. She’s not ‘in your face’ like evangelicals, but she’s strong, secure, well-educated, and not judgmental.”

“And she has you thinking again?”

“Yes. It’s also true that Jesse has asked a few times about church.”

“I know Vasily has missed him.”

“Me too. I called Vasily yesterday after I spoke to you. He’s going to bring Jesse to church at least twice a month starting this Sunday.”

“Well, now that is good news! And you and your wives? And the others?”

The waiter came to take our order, and once he had, we picked up the conversation.

“We’ll come to church for Pascha. Beyond that, right now, I can’t say. As we’ve said repeatedly, I have an impediment that no amount of faith is going to resolve.”

“That’s probably the case, yes, though we never know what God has in store for us. How are you dealing with your friend’s death? It’s been two years now, or thereabout?”

“Yes. It was two years in December. I suppose I’ve come to terms with the facts and life has gone on. I guess that’s all I can say.”

“How are his widow and young son?”

“Bethany is the new director of a Center focused on counseling sexually abused women at UofC. She does other stuff that’s related to reproductive health as well. Her son and Jesse are bonding even more tightly now that they’ve moved in with us.”

“Moved in?” Father Basil asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Not like that,” I said. “She has her own room. I suspect they’ll live with us for a few years, and then she’ll find a place of her own, or, perhaps a new life partner.”

“She does abortion counseling?”

“Yes,” I said. “And I’m not going to have that debate with you or her. My position is, as I said to my new friend Michelle, that it’s one of the baser things that a person could do; a grave sin, if you want to use that language. That said, when Bethany was raped at thirteen and became pregnant, I can’t imagine forcing her to carry that baby to term against her will.”

“The baby was innocent.”

“Indeed. But it’s not up to you or me to decide. And, if you’re right, Bethany will stand before the Judgment Seat and answer for it. But she’ll also have the best defense attorney in the universe at her side!”

Father Basil chuckled, “You are so funny at times. You know we don’t go for the purely legalistic approach to sin and judgment.”

“I do know that, but you have to admit it was a good way to defuse what had the potential to be a tense debate.”

“True. So this young woman who’s challenged you? Can you tell me more about her?”

I explained how I’d met Michelle, and how our relationship had developed, though I left out the details of the nude Rap Session to avoid what would have been a distraction.

“It sounds as if she, and your therapist, are really challenging you on your behavior. Why put up with that?”

“Have you ever known me to run away from a debate?” I asked. “They make me think. And maybe that strengthens my convictions that I’m right, or maybe it challenges me to change them when I find them wanting. I’ve never been afraid to reexamine my core beliefs and how I relate to the world because of them.”

“To the point where you would do what your therapist suggested? Have just one wife? And be faithful to her?”

“I AM faithful. Fidelity means keeping my word. I’ve done that. The three of us didn’t take traditional vows. And our lifestyle follows our commitment to each other.”

“You are quite pedantic!” Father Basil said with a laugh. “I meant limiting yourself to just her.”

“I know what you meant, but you know how important words are. You wouldn’t have needed the Seven Ecumenical Councils if words weren’t important. Heck, the entire debate at Nicea came down to a single letter! It was «ηομοιουσιος» versus «ηομοουσιος», and I daresay there’s more than an ‘iota’ of difference!”

Father Basil laughed, “Wow! You don’t mind if I steal that line, do you? And yes, that ‘iota’ made all the difference in the world. That iota had the teachings of Arius declared to be heretical.”

“So, precise usage of words?” I grinned.

“Never mind!” he laughed.

Our food arrived, and after Father Basil gave a blessing, we began eating and continued the conversation.

“Anyway, while it’s true that they are both pushing me in that direction, both of them know that it’s very unlikely that something that drastic is going to happen. On the other hand, their arguments against promiscuity, as Michelle calls it, do make me consider my actions.”

“I’d also be concerned about the example you’re setting for your children.”

“I daresay it’s a whole lot better than the one my mother set!”

Father Basil grinned, “Given what you’ve told me, I’m not sure that’s the standard by which you want to measure yourself.”

“It is a pretty low bar,” I agreed. “But I want my children to have a healthy view of intimacy and sex. And I want them to understand that you can have the former without the latter, and that nudity and sex do not go together no matter what society might claim.”

“A worthy goal, I think, but promiscuity doesn’t have to be part of it. Your children could find themselves in very bad situations if they follow your example.”

“Yes, they could. Of course, I didn’t follow my mom’s example and I daresay I’ve found myself in quite a few situations you would describe as bad. In a sense, it’s similar to the situation of my friend Melanie who is very conservative despite, or because of, having two very liberal, hippie parents. Or my friend Jeri who is very conservative despite having a mother who supports every whacky left-wing cause you can imagine. Or the difference between Andrei and Tasha.”

“A reasonable point. How is Tasha?”

“Fine. I expect she’ll be at Pascha again this year. How are Andrei and Svetlana?”

“She’s pregnant, which I know won’t surprise you. She’s due in May.”

Tasha hadn’t mentioned that, but then again, I didn’t spend a lot of time talking to her about anything other than business. Zeke was still a bit uncomfortable with the fact that she and I had been together, though he had mellowed quite a bit.

“That’s great news!” I said. “Tasha didn’t mention it, but then again, she reports to Dave, so there are two layers of management between us.”

We finished our meal and after I paid, we walked outside to Halsted Street.

“I hope we’ll resume our regular lunches,” Father Basil said. “It’ll be doubly important if Jesse is coming to church regularly. What about his moms?”

“They’re tolerant of it, at this point. All we can do is wait and see.”

I asked for, and received his blessing, and after kissing his hand, I made my way to my car and headed back to Hyde Park.

March 25, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Did you see this report about Iraq?” Elyse asked at breakfast on Wednesday.

“You mean the one where the International Atomic Energy Agency ordered them to destroy an industrial complex at Al Atheer that is being used to manufacture nuclear weapons? Yes. But honestly, the fact that we, the Russians, the Chinese, the French, and others all have them, it seems a bit hypocritical.”

“You think they have a right to make them?” Elyse asked, sounding shocked.

“No. I think we’re hypocrites given that we’re still researching, building, and deploying nuclear weapons. I’d like to see the things go away. I know that’s impossible because the science is out there, but if we and the Russians truly started reducing our nuclear capacity, and I don’t mean hand-waving like SALT or START, but real, verifiable reductions to a very small number, THEN we could legitimately complain.”

“So you’d let them do it?”

“No,” I chuckled. “I just said we’re hypocrites. It’s similar to Michelle’s comment about being pure, not ignorant. Same idea.”

“Wow!” she gasped. “Mark this down on your calendars, folks! Steve submits to reality over idealism!”

“Liability insurance? Settling with Kaitlin? Some of the policies in the NIKA employee handbook?”

Elyse laughed, “OK. You do have moments of clarity!”

“Thank you! Now, it’s time to head to the office.”

I kissed Kara, then Abbie, then the kids, and Elyse and I headed to the office. Charlie would let me know at some point during the day which of the candidates we’d interviewed on Monday she’d selected. I had my preference, but it was up to her to decide. Just after 9:00am she came to my office.

“Haley Young,” Charlie said without any preliminaries.

“Have Kimmy prepare the paperwork,” I said.

“No comment other than that?”

“How long have you known me?” I grinned.

“Too long!” she laughed.

“If you want to tell me why, that’s fine, if not, that’s fine too. Make it happen.”

“Julia said ‘Make it so’, but it’s not the same now that she’s not in charge. Now that I’ve decided, will you tell me who you would have picked?”

“To what end? To second guess yourself? To try to hire the person I would want?”

“It is your company; you do remember that?” Charlie laughed.

“I remember telling you, and others, to manage your teams. Do you think I’d accept someone I thought was a bad choice?”

“No, but I want the best person.”

“Whom you chose, correct?”

“Well, yes,” she said.

“Charlie, if I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have put you in charge of the team. Go see Kimmy. Don’t second guess yourself. Make your decision and move on.”

“Thanks for taking the chance on hiring me those years ago.”

“Taking a chance? No. It was a sure thing. And I think the past five years have shown me to be correct.”

“You’re amazing,” she grinned, leaning forward and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

She left the office to go find Kimmy.

“She’s right you know,” Penny said. “You are amazing.”

“Thanks. But I’ve made my share of mistakes.”

“Haven’t we all?”

“I suppose so.”

March 26, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“How’s me sham today?” Siobhán said when I walked into the studio.

I chuckled, “And so it begins!”

“What?”

“One of my staff is from London and likes to use British slang to confuse us poor Yanks.”

Siobhán laughed, “A ‘sham’ is a friend where I come from. Now, come upstairs for lunch and I’ll give ye a savage shift!”

“Suddenly you’re even more Irish?” I chuckled.

“I’m just havin’ a wee bit o’ fun! You don’t like it?”

“It depends on what a ‘savage shift’ is,” I chuckled.

She grabbed me and gave me a deep, sexy French kiss, like the one she’d given me after she’d talked to Jackie.

“THAT was a ‘savage shift’! But I’ll have mercy on you. I’ve been in the States since I was twelve, so other than a bit of accent, I mostly talk like an American. Come on, have some lunch.”

We went upstairs and sat down and she served soup for both of us, then set out glasses of very tart lemonade.

“I took the job from Mr. Brown. Starting next week I’ll be working on that house in the mornings, from about 5:00am to 11:00am. It’s going to take weeks to fix everything. The toughest part is matching the faded colors and the texture.”

“I’m guessing they want to maintain the aged look?”

“Yes. The house was built around 1915, and the owner wants it brought up to code, but also wants it to look as if it’s been lived in. Does that make sense?”

“Sure. I imagine the electrical and plumbing are going to have to be ripped out.”

“The wires and lines? Yes, they were replaced. Once I finish painting, the original fixtures, or replicas, will be put back. Then replica carpets and rugs. It will be very natty when it’s done.”

That term I knew!

“And the lofts?”

“I’m working on those here. They provided me the tiles and I can work while I run the shop, then they’ll have them installed. If all of this is any indication, I’m going to like having you as a friend!”

“It’s not something for right away, but in another year, two at the most, we’re going to need new space. I was thinking of commissioning some art for the new place, all from some appropriate theme.”

“How big will your offices be?”

“They’ll have to fit at least sixty to seventy.”

“Seriously? For THAT many pieces I’ll shag you silly!” she laughed.

“I think I’d prefer to pay in greenbacks!” I chuckled. “I don’t think my accountant or the IRS would approve of the other way!”

“Did you just cheekily reject me?”

“I suppose I did!”

“So, just friends then?” she asked.

That was a good question. It was clear she was interested, and I certainly wanted her, but Michelle’s question kept running through my mind. And I kept coming back to the same answers. If both people consented, and were both faithful to their commitments, then I didn’t see a problem with what I was doing. Certainly the Church would object, as I’d heard many times from Father Basil, as well as Michelle and others, but I tended towards Cindi’s attitude that living my life by the precepts of dusty books and the proclamations of old men wasn’t the right way to go.

And why was I worried about what Michelle thought? I did care what my friends thought, and I was happy to discuss things with them, but in the end, I had to be true to myself, and my beliefs. And when it came right down to it, I didn’t have an issue with sex. Others did, but I certainly didn’t. And there was no reason to let Michelle control my life. On the other hand, I couldn’t do it just to prove that Michelle didn’t control my life! And figuring out my motives for something was always a tricky proposition.