Chapter 76: Relationships

May 9, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Hi Tiger!” Jessica called out from the great room.

I went in and saw my wives, Bethany, Abbie, Matthew, Michael, and Birgit watching TV.

“I’ll take the kids,” Abbie said. “It’s close to bedtime, anyway.”

I hugged them and then my wives and I went to the ‘Indian’ room.

“So?” Kara asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“She’ll be here for dinner tomorrow.”

“That’s not an answer, Tiger,” Jessica laughed.

“That is an answer! I suppose if you want to know, we had a very nice horseback ride and I remembered all my horsemanship. She was impressed.”

“Snuggle Bear...” Kara said, trying to sound menacing, but betrayed by her giggling.

“What? That is completely true! She also let me drive her Corvette on the way home.”

“I think he’s avoiding the question, Kara,” Jessica said.

“Perhaps he’s embarrassed because he struck out!” Kara smirked.

“No, look! He’s trying to suppress a smirk himself!”

“She offered a deal, we negotiated, and came to an agreement.”

“Without consulting us?” Jessica asked.

“Your conditions were included in the negotiations I conducted as CEO of the family.”

“And you negotiated what?” she asked, sternly.

“In exchange for her virginity, and a long-term relationship, I agreed to not have any other girls, with an exception for the ones who live here.”

“No way! Seriously?”

“You know how my sister always says I am the luckiest dumb boy in the long and storied history of dumb boys? Well, Samantha had exactly two kisses before today. The ones she offered at the fundraiser.”

“Did you know this before or after you made this deal?” Jessica asked.

“After,” I chuckled. “Well, I knew the virginity part beforehand, obviously, because that was part of the negotiations.”

“You agreed, before you even kissed her seriously, to give up all your other girls, and future girls, in exchange for her virginity?” Kara asked incredulously.

“And to have her as a long-term mistress,” I said.

“I don’t believe it!” Kara said.

“It makes sense if you think about it, Kara,” Jessica said. “First of all, Steve likes the younger, virginal ones, because he can teach them what he likes. Second, Doctor Mercer, and more importantly, Michelle, have been pushing him to limit himself to us. He’s not going to cut off Elyse, so that was off the table, at least until she moves out. Abbie is off limits because of Jason. This comes about as close to what they asked as he can get at this point.”

“But what about Bethany?” Kara protested.

I waited to see what Jessica would say, and was rewarded in the way I hoped I’d be.

“He said he had to give up all the women who didn’t live here,” Jessica said with a laugh. “Not the women he was currently sleeping with!”

I nodded, “Exactly. Abbie’s new situation isn’t public, and Jeri knew I had a thing with her, which means that Samantha most likely knew it, or at least had suspicions. But she doesn’t know the full set of relationships here.”

“What about Jennifer?” Kara asked. “She doesn’t really live here?”

“And it’s my opinion that no matter what happens with Josie’s pregnancy, Josie isn’t going to give consent. If she does, we’ll worry about it at that time.”

“So what was the rest of the deal?” Jessica asked.

“Smart girl!” I grinned. “See her once a week, be available to escort her to events, and be her regular date for Foundation functions if you can’t attend. All of that will take into account work and family.”

“And cements you firmly into Jeri’s little circle.”

“Yes, but this wasn’t Jeri’s doing. I asked that question directly, and Samantha explained their relationships. She’s not Jeri’s creature. In fact, I don’t think she’s anybody’s creature but her own. As she put it, she can buy anything she wants, do anything she wants, and have anything she wants. And she refuses to be ashamed of it.”

“Wow,” Kara said. “How much money does she have?”

“Personally? Only what Daddy gives her, but it seems effectively limitless. She’ll be running her father’s investment firm in ten years, just as Lisa will be running her father’s real estate empire. And those two things will happen just before Jeri takes over the foundation. Samantha did say that in the future, there will be a business part of the deal, but that’s down the road a piece.”

“So she traded her virginity, and promised to be a long-term sex partner, for business purposes?”

I chuckled, “That seems to be the case. But she’s mixing business and pleasure, and she gets all the pleasure up front! At some point, she’ll decide to make a different alliance to have kids, but for now, I can provide what she needs.”

“And she, without realizing it, helps you along your own path,” Jessica said.

“Yes. And gives the two of you what you wanted as well. You can talk to her after dinner tomorrow. She knows you two could call a stop to it, but I told her I didn’t think you would, because it fulfilled something the two of you wanted.”

“So eventually, she’ll move on, Elyse will move out, and you’ll have the two of us. And then what?” Kara asked.

“That depends,” Jessica said. “It could be just you and me. Well, until a certain redhead’s daughter hits fifteen or so!”

I chuckled, “That needs to go into the same ‘cone of silence’ as our knowledge about Al Barton. We shouldn’t speak of either of those things.”

“I agree. So? Wifely privilege...” Jessica smirked.

“I’m not sure I’ve had a better time with a seventeen-year-old virgin. She gave me a slow, sexy blowjob, I returned the favor, and then we made love. She had more orgasms than I can count. I have the bite marks on my shoulder to prove that. Then she asked me about a joke Jeri played.”

“I thought Jeri wasn’t involved?”

I smirked, “She had told Samantha in broad strokes what had happened in California, but not in detail. You remember the whole ‘Wonder Woman’ thing?”

“Sure.”

“Well, Jeri gave Samantha a jar of Vaseline with a Wonder Woman sticker on the cap and told her to show it to me after we’d had sex.”

Both of my wives laughed.

“Your sister is right!” Kara giggled. “You got her ass, too? Unbelievable.”

“And don’t forget I got to drive a brand-new Corvette!” I grinned.

“Tiger, what about Siobhán?”

“I’ll talk to her before Thursday and let her know I can’t keep that date. It was going to be our last, anyway. It would be pretty sleazy of me to violate my agreement like that, and pretty scummy to ask Samantha for an exception.”

“You’re learning,” Kara said. “When I asked you for that kind of commitment, you asked for permission for exceptions in nearly the same breath.”

“Stupidly, as it turns out. That was my real chance to avoid the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

“There’s nobody else who will be upset by this?”

“I can’t imagine who would be. Crystal will most likely find a boyfriend. I got strong hints she is seeing someone. The only other person I can think of is Grace, Melanie’s paralegal, and that was for New Year’s, and telling her ‘no’ won’t be a big deal. Not to mention that Elyse is hosting that party because we’ll be at Alex’s place.”

“You should get a fourth spot,” Jessica said. “If Samantha is going to be that close to us, she should go, too.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Let us talk to her tomorrow. Do you have enough strength to love your wives tonight?”

“I have plenty in reserve!” I grinned. “But can it wait until the hockey game is over?”

“What do you think, Kara?”

“So long as he cuddles us!”

I did, and we watched the Penguins tie the series at two games apiece with a 5-4 overtime win. I was also VERY happy to hear that Adam Graves had been suspended for four games by the league. Given that Lemieux was still out, I felt that was warranted, but felt the suspension should be tied directly to how many games Super Mario would miss. If he missed five, then Graves should be suspended for five games PLUS the four for punishment. But the league didn’t do suspensions that way.

The Hawks were looking good, having closed out the Red Wings the night before, completing a four-game sweep. I was afraid that if the Penguins faced the Blackhawks, I was going to end up very disappointed.

May 10, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I’ve taken your advice, at least to a point,” I said to Michelle as we sat in the sauna on Sunday afternoon.

“Oh?”

“I’m ending all my outside relationships, save one. And not seeking any new ones.”

“Wow! Because of me?”

“Because of you, my therapist, my wives, and the request of the outside girl.”

“I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’ll eventually stick to just your wives?”

“It might work out that way,” I said. “Abbie and I are done, and I think Elyse will, eventually, work things out with her former boyfriend who’s in Spain. And the outside girl will, in the long run, want to marry and have kids.”

“And if that were to end?”

“I’ll worry about it when the time comes. But I’m making a serious effort to rein in the craziness.”

“Good.”

“So what’s the topic for today?” I asked.

“No topic,” she said. “Just some time with a friend.”

I leaned back against the wood and closed my eyes. A moment later, I felt a soft hand on top of mine. I turned mine over and held Michelle’s hand for the remainder of our time in the sauna. When we’d showered and dressed, I made tea and we went to the ‘Indian’ room.

“What’s bothering you?” I asked.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes.”

“A guy.”

I nodded, “OK. Go on.”

I’d been having quite a few of these conversations with Gina. I’d wondered when the topic would come up with Michelle.

“I met him at church. He’s a student at UofC. A Junior. He seems like a nice enough guy. He asked me out. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“Go out with him?” I chuckled, but ensuring it sounded like a question.

“Well, yes, but should I?”

“Isn’t dating a precursor to engagement, and engagement to marriage? You kind of have to move along the path unless you plan to have an arranged marriage or decide to get married the moment you meet the guy!”

“I suppose. But how do I know if he’s the right guy?”

“By dating him,” I said. “Start off simple. Go for coffee or have lunch. Make it more of a meet-up than a date. Have you ever dated?”

“No. I think I told you I’ve never been on a date.”

“Because of your pledge of purity,” I said as a statement, not a question.

“Yes. I never met a guy I considered as someone I’d like to get to know better with an eye to the future, if you know what I mean.”

“I do. But now, guys who are almost in their last year of college are thinking the same thing - marriage and family.”

“Yes,” she smiled. “At least I hope so. I’m just worried about what he might expect.”

“Well, if a guy EXPECTS that, he’s not the guy for you. In fact, no guy should expect even a good night kiss at the end of a date. That’s completely up to the girl to decide if she wants to or not. Well, the guy too, obviously, but usually we’re always willing to kiss. And stuff.”

Michelle laughed, “And stuff?! Good one. So how do I handle it?”

“If he appears to want a kiss, usually a shake of the head or gentle ‘no’ is sufficient. But no teasing, either. If you don’t want any kind of physical attention, don’t pretend that you might. I don’t think you would do that consciously, but be aware. You certainly weren’t aware in the sauna.”

“Huh?”

“When you put your hand on mine, I could easily have taken that as an invitation to do more than hold your hand. I didn’t, because I know you very, very well. I’m not sure the guy at church does.”

“I didn’t even think about that!” she said. “I just wanted to hold your hand.”

“See, I know that. But only because we’ve spent so much time together. With someone else, that would have been a huge risk. You need to be careful. Go out with him, but as I said, just for coffee or lunch. And make sure you have a defined time to leave to be at class.”

“And then what?”

“Decide if you want a second date or not. If you do, follow the same general guidelines. At some point, you’ll let him know, if he doesn’t already, that your first kiss will be at the altar.”

“How did you know?”

I smiled, “Because it’s who you are. Holding my hand was the closest you’re going to come to physical affection until your wedding day. I consider myself extremely privileged.”

“Because I trust you completely. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” I grinned. “So what are you going to do?”

“Ask him to have coffee and see what happens. I’ll set it up between classes at the student center on campus.”

“Good plan!” I said. “Just take it slow and easy. You’ll be going home for the summer in four weeks, so you’ll have two months to think about it and figure out if you want to continue any relationship that might start.”

“It sounds like you’ve done this before.”

“You have no idea,” I sighed. “I can give you all the bad relationship advice you could ever want simply from experience. And from that bad experience, I might, if you’re lucky, glean a tiny bit of good advice to give you. I can tell you what NOT to do much easier than I can tell you what TO do.”

“That will have to do!” Michelle said with a smile.

She reached over from her basket chair and took my hand in hers; she squeezed it, then let it go.

“Will you be here next week for the Rap Session?” I asked.

“Yes. But I’ll miss the one in June because I’ll be studying for finals. I’ll come here on the other two Sundays this month.”

“You’re welcome here any time,” I said.

We got up and I walked her to the door. We hugged, she flashed a smile, and I watched as she headed south towards the campus. There was no race, so I spent the afternoon playing with the kids. Samantha arrived at 5:30pm as planned, knocking on the back door. Abbie let her in and brought her to the kitchen where I was preparing dinner.

“You cook, too?” Samantha asked from the doorway.

I smiled, wiped my hands on a towel, and walked over to her. We exchanged a soft kiss and she sat on one of the stools at the island while I continued working on dinner.

“I used to do almost all the cooking, but now it’s mostly on weekends because I’m so busy. Abbie, who let you in, and who is our nanny, does most of the cooking during the week, though Kara helps.”

At that point, my wives came into the kitchen and I introduced them to Samantha. Jessica had seen her at the gala event, but hadn’t talked to her.

“Tiger, do you mind if we borrow Samantha while you finish making dinner?”

“Go on,” I chuckled. “Tell her all the terrible things about me!”

“I don’t think there’s enough time for that, Tiger!” Jessica teased.

All three girls laughed and I joined them, then they left the kitchen. Jesse came in a minute later.

“My moms said to come have dinner here,” Jesse said. “They needed to talk.”

“I think we can find enough food to feed you. Are they OK?”

“They aren’t happy. They didn’t say why.”

I had a hundred dollars in my pocket that said Josie’s period had started, meaning she wasn’t pregnant. The timing was right, and if they hadn’t told Jesse, that was the most likely reason.

“I think they’ll work it out. How are you?”

“Good! Who was that girl?”

“A new friend. Aunt Jess and Aunt Kara are talking to her.”

“She’s pretty!”

“Yes, she is! Did your moms say when you should go back to your house?”

“After dinner,” Jesse said.

“OK. Would you ask Aunt Bethany to make sure there’s a place for you at the table?”

“I can do it! One for Nicholas, too! He came over with me!”

He pushed the step stool over to the cabinet, folded down the step, climbed up, and got down two plates. Then he did the same to get two glasses. He got silverware from the drawer, then took all the items to the dining room. He was back a minute later.

“You’re getting big!” I said.

“Yes! I can reach things now! Birgit can’t!”

I chuckled, “It’s always a competition with you two, isn’t it?”

“Yes!” he laughed. “And I’m bigger!”

“Please go tell Aunt Bethany that I need her help to carry things to the dining room.”

“I can help!”

“Yes, with some things, but please get Aunt Bethany.”

He left the kitchen and was back with Bethany a minute later. The three of us carried everything to the table, and then Bethany went to help Abbie bring all the kids to the table. I went to find my wives and Samantha and located them in the ‘Indian’ room. When everyone was gathered, I introduced Samantha to the others. The kids took to her immediately and chattered on throughout the meal. When we finished eating, Bethany and Abbie offered to clean up, and my wives, Samantha and I went back to the ‘Indian’ room.

“Samantha had only good things to say about you,” Jessica said. “I believe you chose very wisely!”