Chapter 71: Birthday Surprise

April 21, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I’m sorry I have to work today and tomorrow,” Jessica said as we ate breakfast on Tuesday morning.

“It’s OK, Babe. We agreed to do the joint party on Saturday at lunch. That lets the ‘Gang of Four’ celebrate Penny’s birthday tomorrow. Abbie and I are both cool with having our party on Saturday.”

“But I’ll miss Abbie’s surprise!” she protested.

“Shh! I don’t want her to know there even IS a surprise!”

“Sorry. Are you and the girls doing anything tomorrow night?”

“No,” I said. “I expressly told them we are not celebrating without you. We can’t do something like that if we’re truly a trio.”

Jessica smiled, “I’m happy, but sad. Does that make sense?”

“Babe, Kara and I signed up for this with you when we all agreed to marry. All three of us knew what we were getting into. We knew it would be like this. The day doesn’t matter!”

“I assume Elyse is throwing you a surprise party at work tomorrow?”

“Yes, but she knows I know. I just won’t let on to anyone else! It’s time for me to go. I’ll be home to walk you to work, and then I’ll run my errand.”

We kissed and hugged, and I went to find the kids to say goodbye to them and headed to the office. I needed to talk to Jeri about the previous evening, so I called her into the small conference room.

“What exactly did you say to Samantha?” I asked.

“I just answered her questions!”

“A truthful answer with no substance. Try again.”

“She asked about your family, so I told her about it,” Jeri said.

“And what else?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“She didn’t kiss me on the lips and ask me to go horseback riding based just on those answers and me being her date last night.”

“She what?!” Jeri gasped.

“You heard me. And don’t act surprised.”

“This isn’t an act! I AM surprised! The ‘Ice Princess’ really kissed you?”

“No, I was hallucinating. And imagined the piece of paper with her name and phone number on it.”

“Sorry, but I really didn’t expect that.”

“You implied that I could have more if I wanted!” I protested.

“I was TEASING! The kiss on the cheek was shocking enough. But on the lips? That just blows me away.”

“There’s more to this. What else did you tell her?”

Jeri didn’t answer, and I gave her a hard look. She looked down before answering me.

“She knows we were together,” Jeri said quietly.

“And just how the heck does she know THAT?”

“She figured it out from things I said back when it happened. She was one of the few girls there I could talk to, besides Lisa.”

“And Lisa knows, too?”

“Maybe. But they both had enough clues to put things together now that you’re involved with the Foundation.”

“Wait a minute. Take a step back, please. If you were close enough to Samantha, who is about ten years younger than you are, you have to know that the ‘Ice Princess’ has a ‘warm’ side.”

“I do! But she’s never, ever displayed it at any Foundation functions or with any Foundation people. Well, except me and Lisa. But never at the functions. It was only when we got together outside of the functions.”

“What’s the age gap?”

“Samantha turned 17 a week ago. Lisa is 23. I’m 26. Lisa and I have been friends since we were eleven and eight. Samantha discovered us about three years ago when she was seeking refuge from the guys on the prowl.”

“And you told them about me because you confided in your best friends about having sex.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I never foresaw the events that occurred. I never thought you would help submit a proposal. I never thought Doctor Jessica would give money. I never thought my mother would put you on the Board.”

“Why DID your mother put me on the Board?”

“You love Sun Tzu,” Jeri grinned.

“You mean ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer’?” I laughed. “That’s Michael Corleone, not Sun Tzu!”

“What?”

“It’s from The Godfather: Part II,” I said. “I never found it in The Art of War. Or in any of the books I read on Sun Tzu.”

“Actually, Michael Corleone is probably more appropriate! She knew you would influence me, as would Howard. She put you on the board so she could control you.”

“And things now become clearer. I need to seem to be under her control for you to win in the long run.”

“Yes. The same as Alec Glass. Three of Eleven.”

“And the girls?”

“Lisa is working for her dad and will eventually take over the family real estate empire. But Alec is young. She was born when he was 19, and he wants to retire when he’s 55. She’s a friend, and an ally. Samantha is also part of the long game. She wants to take over her dad’s business. He’s in his early 50s, and once she finishes college, she’ll go to work for him. He plans to retire in about nine years and she’ll be 25 and running an investment firm managing $4 billion.”

“Wow.”

“I told you, it’s the long game. Think about the date I gave you for taking over the Foundation.”

“January 1, 2005. Both of them will be in control of their family fortunes. And each worth a couple of hundred million in their own right. Nice. You know, if you had told me all of THIS, I might not have made the mistake at the Board meeting.”

Jeri smiled, “I know. I’m STILL learning about you. I really am sorry about Samantha. Do you want me to talk to her?”

“I’m just trying to figure this out. If she knew I had been with you, then why did she feel safe with me?”

“Because I told her you never once put any moves on me. Ever. I put the moves on you. And that you were willing to sleep in the same bed with me without doing anything or trying anything.”

“OK. That explains why she knew who I was, and why she thought I was safe, and why she tested me at last month’s gala. Then, when she heard Jessica couldn’t make it, she saw me as a way to stay safe and keep the jerks away. My question is, when did she write out her name and phone number on the piece of paper?”

“Do you have it?”

I pulled it from my pocket.

“Hotel stationery. That means it had to be sometime last night. It wasn’t pre-planned. Well, unless she has a pile of hotel stationery at home, but I seriously doubt that.”

“She asked me about horseback riding. And a very short time later we went to use the restroom. And then she proposed horseback riding right before I went out to the car. It had to be when she went to the ladies room. She danced close to me after that, but I kind of treated her like an egg.”

“You are so smooth because you just do these things naturally. You don’t think about what to do to make girls comfortable, you just do it naturally.”

“So what do I do about Samantha?”

“Nothing to mess up my relationship with her. I’d try to avoid upsetting her dad, but he more or less leaves her alone. I doubt you’ll see him unless she wants you to.”

“What would mess things up?”

“Being a jerk. Be nice to her, and it’ll all be cool.”

“And what does THAT mean?” I asked.

“What all girls consider being nice - doing what they want!”

I laughed and shook my head in amazement, and we both went back to our respective desks. The rest of the morning was fairly boring, except for a call with the University of Chicago Computer Science department to finalize our 56K leased line to them for our Internet connection.

Just before lunchtime, I went home to walk Jessica to work, then went to pick up Abbie’s birthday surprise. When I arrived home, I took the surprise to the sunroom where she was with the kids.

“Happy Birthday, Abs,” Jason said softly.

Abbie jumped and squealed and ran to where Jason and I were standing. She launched herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“When did you become a twelve-year-old girl?” I chuckled.

Abbie swatted me on the arm with one hand, but didn’t release her grip on Jason with the other.

“How did you get here?” Abbie asked excitedly.

“Steve arranged it. I’m staying until tomorrow afternoon, then I’m flying to Winston-Salem so I can get to Martinsville on Wednesday night.”

She kissed Jason hard, then released him and hugged me tightly, as a friend. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, then put her arms around Jason again.

“Where’s my buddy?” Jason asked.

“Matthew?” Abbie asked. “He’s upstairs.”

“I’ll get him,” I said. “Jesse is at school and won’t be home until around 4:00pm.”

I went upstairs to the boys’ room. Matthew was playing with his SEGA that we’d moved to their room because Bethany was in what had been the playroom.

“Foo, there’s someone downstairs who wants to see you,” I said.

“Who?” he asked.

“Why don’t you go see!” I grinned.

He put down the controller and I followed him out of the room and down the stairs.

“Jason!” he exclaimed, and ran to where Jason was standing.

Jason released Abbie and scooped Matthew into his arms.

“How’s my buddy?” Jason asked.

“Great! How did you get here?”

“Your dad sent me a ticket! I flew on a plane and he picked me up from the airport.”

“For Abbie’s birthday?”

“Yes. I have to go to work tomorrow. A race in Virginia.”

“Oh,” Matthew said, sounding disappointed. “Dad’s birthday is tomorrow!”

“I know, but I have to work on the race car!”

“Abbie, if you two can keep your hands off each other until Kara gets home in an hour, I’m going back to the office!”

“I think we’ll manage!” Jason laughed.

I headed back to the office, but only worked until 5:00pm so that I could celebrate Abbie’s birthday with the rest of the family, minus Jessica. We had a good time, and Kara and I spent some time together after everyone else went to bed. Just before midnight, we drove to the hospital to pick up Jessica.

April 22, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Happy birthday, Tiger!” Jessica exclaimed when she got into the car.

“Thanks. It would be better if the Pens hadn’t lost to the Caps AGAIN last night,” I sighed. “And this time it was 6-2!”

She leaned forward from the back seat to give me a kiss, and then took Kara’s hand for the short drive back to the house.

“Gina’s not expecting you in the morning,” Jessica said when we got home. “You aren’t going to get much sleep! I think we might improve your mood, too!”

She was right. It did improve my mood. It was a fantastic way to begin my birthday!

Much later in the day which had begun with post-midnight lovemaking, I returned to the office after walking Jessica to work. Everyone was waiting in the large conference room which told me that Elyse had given up any pretense of ‘surprise’ for the office birthday party she organized for Penny and me. She’d made it clear, as she had in previous years, that no gifts were permitted, and I was happy to see that everyone followed her instructions. We had pizza and pasta, and when we finished eating, Kimmy and Keri brought out a large sheet cake and everyone sang to Penny and me.

When the singing concluded, Penny leaned over and kissed my cheek and said, “Happy birthday!”

I hugged her and returned the birthday wishes, then got a hug from Elyse as well. That started a series of hugs and kisses on the cheek from Kimmy, Jeri, and Chris Gibson. Penny got hugs from a bunch of the girls, as well as Terry and Zeke.

“Can anyone do that?” Charlie asked me.

“I don’t see any harm,” I chuckled.

She hugged me and then I had strong handshakes from Dave, Terry, Zeke, and Zo.

“Happy Birthday!” Sam said. “I hope you’ll understand if I don’t hug you!”

I nodded, “Completely.”

Kajri was next and gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. I was a bit concerned about the collection of girls who were doing that, but there wasn’t much I could do about it, really. Tasha came up to me and wished me ‘Happy Birthday’ as well, but out of deference to Zeke, didn’t hug or kiss me, which I felt was a very wise move. Cèlia, on the other hand, wasn’t shy about a nice hug and a kiss on the cheek. Cindi was next.

“You know I have to have a serious hug, right?” she asked.

I nodded and took her in my arms and hugged her tightly. She kissed my cheek, but the twinkle in her eye told me she wanted a real kiss. That couldn’t happen, so I kissed her on the cheek. After several more handshakes from Jack, Sung-Hee, and Bruce, Mikela came up to me.

“OK to hug you?” she asked.

She’d never expressed any kind of affection, though we’d talked a bit recently. I nodded.

“Many Years!” she said with a smile, then hugged me.

I was surprised when she kissed my cheek and even more surprised when she put her lips close to my ear.

“You can kiss me anywhere you want,” she whispered, then rubbed briefly against me before she released the hug and quickly stepped away.

THAT was the last thing I needed, and I’d have to talk to Elyse about it as soon as the party was over. I needed to nip that in the bud, and swiftly. I saw Elyse across the room and the look on her face told me that she’d understood what just happened. We finished our cake, and while Kimmy and Keri cleaned up, I asked Elyse to step into her office.

“What was THAT about?” Elyse asked.

“I have no clue. It was totally out of the blue. She and I have talked a bit about work and a bit about Yugoslavia, but nothing that happened gave me ANY idea that she’d do that.”

“What did she whisper?”

“That I could kiss her anywhere I wanted. I think you need to have a gentle talk with her.”

“I’m SURE I have to have a talk with her. Cèlia was one thing, on a technicality, but this would be a clear violation of the rules by both of you. It can NOT happen.”

“That’s why we’re standing in your office, ‘Belgium’,” I grinned.

“Belgium?” Elyse asked, looking confused.

I knew she’d get it so I just waited. She started laughing when she did.

“If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium! You are a nut!”

“I won’t use that unless you’re OK with it, but it just seemed funny. That movie was on last night when Kara and I were waiting up to get Jess from work. And I’m sorry for missing last night with you.”

“Didn’t the girls tell you? They offered me Sunday to make up for stealing you last night!”

I chuckled, “No, that must have slipped their minds. They were thinking about something else last night!”

“I bet!” Elyse smirked. “Let me talk to Mikela. Do you think perhaps some of the other girls have talked to her? Cèlia or Kajri?”

“There is no way Cèlia said a word. And very few people know about most of the other girls, so they won’t put two-and-two together. If you noticed, except for Penny, it was all single girls who hugged me. The married girls, or the ones living with their boyfriends, didn’t. Kimmy is the outlier, I guess, because she’s engaged.”

“It’ll be a bit hectic when she’s on her honeymoon at the end of July. I was thinking of getting a temp to cover reception and having Keri do some of Kimmy’s job.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said. “But back to the question, I can’t imagine who would have talked to Mikela. She pretty much keeps to herself and doesn’t associate with people from work. Zo says she’s a great team player, and she’s had good performance reviews from Zo and Dave. And I don’t think I’m sending off the vibe here at work.”

“You’ve been very careful about how you talk to people and how you act since Chris Gibson came here. Penny is the exception, but everyone knows you two dated when she was in High School, and they see the special relationship. But she’s made it clear that nothing is going on between you two and hasn’t since before she started working for NIKA.”

“Mikela hasn’t been to any parties except the company ones, either,” I said. “Maybe I missed something about her having someone close here at work that she talks to.”

“I don’t think so,” Elyse said. “I think she’s spent time with Sam recently, but that’s it, except for Zo’s team.”