Chapter 32: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold

November 22, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Are you sure that’s OK?” Abbie asked.

“I think this is one of those special occasions which allow it. Samantha showed good judgment.”

“Thanks! I’ll tell Jason when he gets here this afternoon!”

Samantha had offered to fly Jason and Abbie to New York for the Winston Cup Banquet so that they didn’t have to mess with commercial schedules and worry about logistics with the Hooters team. That meant Jason would arrive today as planned, rather than wait until after the Winston Cup Awards Banquet.

“It’s time to go to work,” Jessica said, coming into my study. “But it’s raining.”

“We’ll drive you over,” I said. “If it’s still raining later, we’ll bring the car to get you as well.”

The three of us went out to the car and as usual, the girls got into the back seat.

“Work! And step on it, James!” Jessica said, laughing.

“Yes, ma’am!” I chuckled.

“What’s your plan for today?” Jessica asked.

“We didn’t really have one,” I said. “Jason will be here around 4:00pm, but otherwise, just a lazy Sunday.”

“No visit from any of your little friends?” she teased.

“No. I haven’t heard from Wanda or Lena, and I told you last night that except for the sundae with three cherries, Ellie didn’t say anything or make any moves at all. And I’m sticking to my agreement. I know Kara thinks the cherries were an invitation, but I’m erring on the side of caution. I’m sure Samantha will let me know if I misread the situation. I have to keep my word to her.”

“No Gina and Bo tonight, right?” Kara asked.

“Correct,” Jessica said. “They left for their week at Niagara Falls yesterday. I’d say it’s serious now that she went away with him for a week.”

“I have inside information!” I teased.

“From Gina? Or from Samantha?”

“Yes!” I chuckled. “I was sworn to complete secrecy.”

“If I know Gina, she’s going to propose to him!” Jessica laughed. “Just as I did you!”

“Perhaps. And perhaps someone might beat her to the punch!” I laughed. “But you didn’t hear it from me!”

“Another successful ‘Operation Cupid’ for you!” Kara said. “How many is that?”

“Who knows?” I said. “I just put them together. The rest is up to them!”

We dropped Jessica at the hospital, and then, as planned, had a lazy day at the house until Jason arrived. As I expected, he and Abbie disappeared as soon as he’d greeted us.

“Did they go to kiss?” Matthew asked, clearly annoyed.

“Yes!” Birgit said. “Abbie loves Jason! She likes to kiss him!”

“But I wanted to talk to him!” Matthew protested. “He can kiss later!”

Kara, Samantha, Bethany, Elyse, and I all laughed softly. We all knew he’d eventually change his mind. But at the moment, his two friends weren’t with him and he wasn’t happy. They eventually came up for air and Matthew got his wish to spend some time with them before dinner. After dinner, we had our usual Sunday-night sauna, though without Gina and Bo. That meant we could dispense with towels.

“Come home with me?” Bethany asked quietly after the sauna.

“I’d prefer to come by after I get Jessica, if that’s OK with you.”

“Sure. If she objects, just call.”

“I don’t think she will,” I said.

“Good!” Bethany said with a big grin.

November 24, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Thanks for bringing me to the store to get Sonic the Hedgehog 2!” Matthew said.

“You’re welcome! But remember, we agreed you couldn’t play it until after dinner.”

“Yes, I remember!”

We headed home for dinner, and when Kara and I went to karate, Matthew played his new game.

November 26, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“How does this work today?” Samantha asked.

“I do the cooking and get help from whoever wants to help. That’s usually Jesse, and Birgit likes to help too.”

“Those two are more competitive than pro athletes!”

“No kidding. Anyway, the recruits from RTC Great Lakes will be here around 3:00pm, we’ll eat about 4:00pm, and they’ll leave around 7:00pm. Jorge, Trish, Henry, and Gaby will be here, too. I think you know Bethany, Nicholas, Ed, and my sister all went to Ohio.”

“Yes. What can I do to help?”

“You could supervise Jesse and Birgit. I give them tasks which they can do, but which need some supervision. That will let Abbie spend time with Jason.”

“And Matthew!” Samantha laughed.

“You missed his huge ‘girl’ drama this summer. Elyse’s aunt’s daughter told Matthew she wanted to marry him. Actually she announced she was GOING to marry him and kissed him on the lips. He freaked out and ran upstairs. Elyse and I thought we’d find him packing his bags to run away!”

“That’s hilarious! She was serious?”

“As a heart attack!”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Always. You know that!”

“When Ellie ordered her sundae, why didn’t you say or do anything?”

“Because that would break my promise to you. Being suggestive doesn’t give me license to flirt or tease or anything. I take that commitment I made to you seriously. And I’m not going to do anything to disappoint you.”

“What does she have to do? Strip and demand you screw her?” Samantha laughed.

“That would work!” I grinned. “But have her talk to me. Seriously. I need to be sure. And honestly, if this is going to bother you in ANY way, any way at all, I won’t do it.”

“I offered, remember? A deal-sweetener?”

“Yes. But you might have changed your mind.”

She smiled, “No. I keep my bargains. And it won’t bother me if it happens. I promise. Besides, once you have her, and Wanda and Lena if they go for it, you’re MINE!”

I chuckled, “You do have to share me with my wives and Elyse. And VERY occasionally with Bethany.”

“And the two ‘free agents’ I allowed! But those are girls you’ve been with.”

“I may have forgotten one important detail when we talked about that,” I said.

I explained about Cindi and what had happened and why I’d turned her down, and the unanimous belief that she’d be knocking on my door once her divorce was final.

Samantha laughed, “I suppose having her kill you then come looking for me is a bad long-term business plan! If you want to use up one of your ‘free agent’ passes on her, go ahead. She’s always been cool at the Rap Sessions. I actually thought you’d had her before!”

“As I said, she thought it was a ‘lock’ but business conditions changed and I had to alter the deal!”

“But you did it unilaterally, which violates how you do business now!”

“Call it a learning experience,” I said. “I won’t make any unilateral changes. No ‘Pray I do not alter it further’ stuff here.”

“Huh?” Samantha said, quizzically.

“Children!” I laughed. “It’s from The Empire Strikes Back!”

“I think I was maybe five when that came out! I was born in 1975! I think I was two when the first one came out. My dad has them on videotape, but I don’t think I’ve seen them all the way through. I’m not a science fiction fan!”

“No, but it’s a meme amongst people my age and older. It’s the whole ‘generation gap’ thing. There are about twelve years between us, remember.”

“You’re not old enough to be my dad!”

“No, but a lot happens in twelve years! In twelve years, Jesse will be eighteen! You’ll be twenty-nine!”

“Whoa! OK, I see your point!”

I spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the kitchen, with help from Samantha, Elyse, and when he arrived, Jorge. Jesse and Birgit did help, and we managed to keep them on task, which made the preparation peaceful, if chaotic. But it was organized chaos that resulted in a wonderful meal on the table at precisely the right time.

“I’m still amazed at the timing,” Josie said. “I can’t get dinner for three ready with everything perfect and you do Thanksgiving for twenty!”

“You cooked all of this?” Bill, one of the recruits asked.

“With some help from Elyse, Jorge, Samantha, and two of my kids, yes.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Jorge said. “We’re all sous-chefs to his master chef. I just did what I was told!”

“Like any smart man!” Jessica teased.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. He was going to get even with her at some point, and it was going to be epic. It would be both amusing AND dangerous. For all of us!

“¡Sí, doctora Yessica!” Jorge said with an evil grin, confirming my thoughts.

Kara’s smirk told me something was afoot, and I had no idea what it might be. My only hope was to stay clear of the shrapnel.

“Where are all the dads?” Nelson, one of the recruits asked. “Deployed?”

“Steve IS ‘all the dads’!” Josie laughed. “One by my wife, Jennifer, two by Elyse, two by Kara, and two by Doctor Jessica!”

“No fuc ... freakin’ way!” he protested.

“Nelson, when you came in, how did he introduce the two women next to him?”

“As his wives, but I thought he was being funny!”

“He wasn’t,” Josie said.

“Does the Navy know about this?” he asked.

“At least a dozen officers at RTC know, and quite a few out in the fleet,” I said with a grin. “Including the Commander who approved you four being here! I even have friends in the JAG Corps!”

“You are one lucky dude,” Calvin, another recruit said. “All these gorgeous women!”

“That I am,” I agreed.

We finished dinner, and after dessert we had a bit of time to talk to the recruits before the van arrived to take them back to the base. Our other guests stayed until about 10:00pm, and when they left, my wives and I headed up to bed.

“Tiger, what’s this?” Jessica asked.

“What?”

“The cover says ‘What if?‘,” she said, picking it up and flipping it open, then gasping, “Oh my God!”

“What is it, Babe?”

“Look!” she said thrusting it at me.

I flipped it open and started laughing, hard. It was quite obvious who had drawn this ‘Adult Comic Book’ that starred ‘Doctor Jasmine’, a dead-ringer for Jessica, and a ‘Latin Lover’ whose face was never shown. I turned the pages and smirked as I saw the VERY steamy encounter in the sauna unfold.

“This is really excellent artwork,” I deadpanned.

“Tiger!” Jessica shrieked. “I’m going to KILL him! And you!”

“I had NOTHING to do with this,” I said.

“Then how did it get here?” she demanded.

I laughed and pointed at a now smirking Kara, who obviously had placed the book on Jorge’s behalf. Before that smirk, her visage had been the picture of angelic innocence.

“I do believe you brought this on yourself, Babe. Remember Halloween? And look. It says ‘Volume I, Number 1!”

“He wouldn’t!” she gasped.

“I think he would,” I chuckled. “In fact, I’m sure of it! Shall we go to bed?”

“Tiger!” she demanded, outraged. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Tell him he does VERY good work,” I said. “And see if I can get Volume I, Number 2!”

She shrieked and lunged at me. I sidestepped and used her momentum to direct her to the bed, then pounced on her. Kara joined me and we calmed Jessica down. Well, first we got her even MORE excited, then we calmed her down.

November 27, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I can’t believe you thought that was funny,” Jessica huffed as we walked to the hospital at 3:45am on Friday morning.

“I didn’t think it was funny,” I protested. “I thought it was downright fucking hilarious!”

“And you, Kara, you traitor!”

“I don’t think I’ve pushed Kurt THAT far, Jess!” Kara teased.

“You’ve come close,” I chuckled, “but he has always had a very direct source of relief when he’s needed it! And it gives Kathy an outlet for her frustration at not being able to get to me that way!”

“You enjoy frustrating her!” Kara giggled. “And Jess, remember what Steve pointed out. It’s Volume I, Number 1!”

Jessica growled, “He wouldn’t dare!”

I laughed, “Oh he would dare, and I don’t think ANY of us is safe at this point! Just be glad he exacted his revenge completely in private!”

“You don’t think he’d...” Jessica asked, suddenly worried.

I shook my head, “No, he’ll keep this between the four of us, unless YOU escalate. I’d strongly advise against doing that!”

“You’re enjoying this!” Jessica said accusingly.

“Of COURSE I am!” I chuckled.

She made a sour face and didn’t say anything. When we arrived at the hospital we hugged, kissed, and she went inside. Kara and I turned and walked home hand-in-hand. When we arrived, she went back to bed and I made some coffee and went to my study to write in my journal. A young girl appeared at my door about 5:00am, but surprisingly, it was Samantha, not Birgit.

“Morning!” I said.

“Morning!” she replied. “I know you’re going to be at your karate thingy today. Is it OK to go ride my horse then spend the rest of the day at Ellie’s?”

“It’s pretty cold out,” I said.

“Sunflower needs to get out. If I don’t go, the groom will take her out. I’d rather do it. I’ll bundle up.”

“What time will you be home?”

“By my non-school-night curfew,” she said.

I smiled, “See you tonight!”

“Do you think I could have a sleepover? Ellie, Mary, and Liz?”

“I thought in the Bible it was two Marys and one Elizabeth!” I chuckled.

“Ha ha! Can I?”

“Sure. When?”

“Tomorrow night, if it’s cool. If not, maybe over Christmas break.”

“Tomorrow is fine with me,” I said. “There’s no family dinner and no Guys’ or Girls’ night. Put your sleepover on the calendar and write what you’re doing today on the whiteboard.”

We’d recently replaced the chalkboard with a whiteboard once the cost of the board and the pens had come down significantly. Eliminating the chalk dust had been a major plus as well.

“Yes, Dad,” she giggled as she usually did when we had this kind of conversation.

“Just remember our agreement,” I said.

She nodded, “I know. Even being silly saying that in other situations would bother you.”

“Yes, it would. Birgit and I will have breakfast in an hour or so. You’re welcome to join us.”

“I think I want to get dressed and be on my way out to Plainfield so I have more time with Ellie.”

“OK! Make sure you eat something and I’ll see you tonight.”

She came over and kissed me, and then left my study. I got up and went to the kitchen to refill my coffee cup, then got the Chicago Tribune from the porch and went to the sunroom to read and wait for my OTHER young female companion.

“Hi Daddy!” Birgit squealed when she came into the sunroom about 5:30am.

“Hi Pumpkin! Cuddles, then breakfast? Daddy has to go out today.”

“Yes! Cuddles!” she exclaimed, and hurried over to climb into the chaise with me.

There wasn’t much going on in the world, though there was a follow-up article about a serious fire at Windsor Castle in England that caused an estimated £50 million in damages. The Penguins were 16-5-3 and were rolling along, looking for a three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, though they’d suffered a serious embarrassment Wednesday night, losing 11-3 to the Rangers. I folded my paper and over Birgit’s objections, we went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

“I thought I smelled coffee,” Jason said, coming into the kitchen from Abbie’s room.