Chapter 35: That Was Fast

December 11, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“I can’t believe that Diana and Charles are splitting up!” Samantha said at dinner on Friday.

“I can’t believe she married him in the first place!” Elyse laughed. “What a toad! Not to mention a total loser!”

“He’s the Crown Prince,” Jessica replied.

“Which does NOT contradict what Elyse said,” I laughed. “Royalty aren’t exactly known for being super intelligent! He’s more like the ‘Clown Prince’! The best thing that could happen for England would be for Elizabeth to live long enough that one of Charles’ kids could take the throne instead of him. That way he can go play polo and fall off his horses. Bloom County has made fun of him in that regard. I wish Berke Breathed was still drawing the strip! It would be epic, I’m sure!”

“Are we going to the movies tonight?” Jessica asked.

“And tomorrow,” I said. “Tonight we’re going to see A Few Good Men. Tomorrow is The Muppet Christmas Carol with the kids. And Gina and Bo are babysitting tonight!”

“How did you manage THAT?” Jessica asked.

“I asked! How can she say ‘no’ to her best girlfriend?”

Everyone laughed.

“Besides,” I continued. “It’s good practice for when they have one or two of their own!”

“Are Kurt and Kathy meeting us at the theater?” Kara asked.

“Yes. And so are Sofia and Stavros, Karl and Ginny, and Jeri and Howard.”

I hadn’t invited the Pointes, but Karl had, and there was no way I could say ‘no’ to that. I’d explain later if anyone asked.

We finished dinner, cleaned up, and then, when Gina and Bo arrived, we took the van and one of the BMWs and headed to the theater on North Michigan Avenue. One minor issue arose, and that was that Samantha couldn’t sit next to me, despite it being ‘her’ night with me, but other than pouting a bit, she didn’t make a big deal out of it, so it quickly passed. We all enjoyed the movie, though Karl did have more than a bit to say about it when it was over.

“Want to hear it or not?” Karl asked with a laugh.

“Oh sure,” I chuckled. “Go for it!”

“Bullshit! From start to finish! First of all, there is no such offense as ‘Conduct Unbecoming a Marine’. Second, even if the Colonel ordered it, they were guilty of all charges. Third, any JAG officer who behaved like Tom Cruise’s character would have been kicked out of JAG long before he saw a case like that one. It wouldn’t matter who his dad was! I could go on and on, but Steve sat through a REAL court martial and I guarantee you it was nothing like that!”

“True,” I said. “Not even close! And I noticed they were saluting when they weren’t wearing cover!”

Howard laughed, “Not bad for a civilian!”

“I’ve been hanging around sailors for better than ten years! I have picked up a few things along the way!”

“It was a good movie, despite all of that,” Jessica said. “Don’t you think?”

We all agreed that it was a good movie, and headed out of the theater for ice cream, then headed home. I kissed my wives goodnight, then joined Samantha in her room. She was sitting on the loveseat, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

“Sorry about behaving like a little kid at the theater,” she said.

“It’s OK,” I said. “Tomorrow, when we take the kids to the movies, you can sit on my other side. Birgit has one side permanently reserved!”

Samantha laughed softly, “She loves her daddy, that’s for sure. Come sit with me?”

I walked over to the loveseat and sat next to her. I put my arm around her and she drew her legs up and cuddled close.

“What’s bothering you?” I asked.

“That you all love me so much and I don’t do anything for you,” she sighed.

“That’s not how love works,” I said. “It’s not given to get something back. It’s given with no expectation that it will even be returned. I love you because of who you are, not because you sleep with me or spend time with me or anything else.”

“Really? You aren’t going to stop loving me someday? And send me away?”

“Never! What brought this on?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I’m just scared. I’ve never been scared in my entire life and I’m scared that you’ll stop loving me and make me leave!”

I totally understood where she was coming from, and why she’d feel that way. She’d had no experience like this, ever, in her life. In her world, it was all about what someone could do for you or you could do for them. I experienced that in business, and it was true that I did favors for friends and they did favors for me, but there was no expectation of any specific response, except to ‘be there’ for each other. I was, though, at a loss to TRULY explain it. It had to be experienced. Maybe drawing a parallel might help.

“Do you think I love Birgit or Jesse or Ashley or any of the kids because they do something for me?” I asked.

“No,” she said in her ‘little girl’ voice.

“Then how are you any different?” I asked.

“I’m not your kid,” she said, almost in a whisper.

“No, you aren’t, but that doesn’t deny my point. If we never make love again, I’ll still love you. If you were to decide to leave and go back to your parents’ house, I’d still love you. When you find a boyfriend and eventually marry him and have kids, I’ll still love you. Nothing is going to change that.”

“Why?”

“The only answer I can give is ‘because I do’. Is this why you’re hinting at allowing me to be with other girls?”

“Maybe...” she sighed.

“Please don’t. I don’t need you to do that and I don’t want you to do that. Stick to the agreement, please. That’s what I actually need from you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! Absolutely. And if that means saying ‘no’ to Ellie, I will. I mean that.”

“She’d KILL me!” Samantha laughed. “She wants to spend the night over Christmas break. Maybe the 1st? Or is your party too crazy the night before?”

“It’s not crazy,” I said. “And you’re going with Jessica, Kara, and me to Alex’s place for New Years. It’s the first one here that I’ll miss, but I promised him.”

“You’re including me with your wives?”

“Yes. The only one I can’t include you in is my anniversary, which is the 15th, next Tuesday. But otherwise, we plan to include you in our family celebrations. You’ll be gone during Christmas, but we’d include you if you were here.”

I wasn’t exactly sure how we’d do that given my lovemaking with Jessica and Kara, but we’d sort that out next year.

“I don’t really want to go, but I need to.”

“They are your parents and you do need to keep up your relationship with your dad for business purposes, if for no other reason.”

“I’m sorry I’m acting this way,” she said.

“You don’t need to apologize. I love you. I will always love you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

She snuggled close and I held her for some time before we got into bed. Instead of making love, we simply snuggled and I fell asleep with her tightly in my arms.

December 12, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“You didn’t want to make love last night?” Samantha asked when we climbed out of bed on Saturday morning.

“No. I wanted to hold you. You seemed content.”

We went to the bathroom to shower, and I began washing her long, blonde hair.

“I was. But I would have done it if you wanted to.”

“I know,” I said. “But I really want you to understand that I do love you and sex isn’t required to prove it.”

“How do I show you I love you?”

“By simply being you. Your friendship, your company, your care and concern. Your willingness to alter your lifestyle to be with us.”

“I don’t have to do anything?”

“Nope. Just be you.”

I finished washing her hair and then washed her body, taking care not to put too much pressure on her sensitive areas. When I finished, she washed me in the same loving manner, then we dried each other and I put on my robe to go to my room to dress for breakfast. Samantha stopped me just as I was about to open the door.

“I meant to ask, how was Lena?” Samantha smirked.

“Fun,” I said with a smile.

“Two down? One to go?” she asked.

“Only if she asks, and you agree it’s OK.”

She came over and kissed me, and I went across the hall to my room to dress.

“Morning, wives!” I said when I walked in.

“Morning!” they called from the bed where they were cuddled together.

I went into the closet and got some clothes and began dressing. I kissed both of them, then went downstairs to find Birgit waiting for me.

“Daddy slept late!” she said accusingly.

“Just a little, Pumpkin. Let me get my newspaper and we can cuddle before breakfast!”

“Yes!” she giggled.

The morning was normal, and when my wives and I returned from karate, we had a family lunch and headed for the theater to see The Muppet Christmas Carol with the kids. As promised, I sat between Birgit and Samantha, and because I couldn’t cuddle both of them, I held both their hands. The movie was a very well done version of Dickens’ story and we all enjoyed it. When the movie finished, we headed home for dinner and the last Guys’ Night and Girls’ Night Out of the year.

December 15, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

“Happy Anniversary!” Alex Saunders exclaimed when he greeted us at his place on Tuesday night.

Jessica had managed to safely trade four hours of her shift for four hours on Friday morning, so that we could celebrate on the ‘correct’ day. She wouldn’t be able to join us for the NIKA party this year because we’d agreed she’d trade as few shifts as possible.

“Thanks, Alex! What have you got for us tonight?”

“To use a little kid’s expression, that’s for me to know and for you to find out!” he laughed.

Sam came over and greeted all of us as well, and I got a quick peck on the lips, much to Jessica’s and Kara’s amusement and Alex’s annoyance. My wives made him feel better by each giving him a quick peck which resulted in a very smug look. Which was a mistake, because Sam gave me a VERY nice French kiss and waited to see what would happen. My wives looked at each other, then looked at Alex.

“No!” they giggled.

Alex gave Sam a dirty look and led us to our table. I knew he wouldn’t do anything to me for what Sam did, but he and Sam would likely have words about it. I needed to head that off.

“Alex, cut her some slack, please,” I said quietly. “She did that in response to your smug look after my wives kissed you.”

His jaw was set and I didn’t think I’d had the proper effect. I didn’t know anything else I could say, so I simply let it go. All I could do was enjoy the evening with my wives.

“He looked really pissed,” Kara said quietly.

“That’s because he is,” I said. “Sam should never have done that. That was actually the second time because of the whole ‘James Bond’ thing and, technically, he owes me $1000, though I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me, so I’m not quite sure how that would work. I’m not going to ask, either!”

By the time we finished our excellent meal, Alex seemed to be in a better mood. I verified that everything was set for Thursday’s NIKA holiday party, and then my wives and I headed home. As soon as we arrived, we went up to our room and got into bed.

“What are we doing tonight?” I asked.

“Triangle first!” Kara giggled.

That was where we performed mutual oral sex on each other while formed into a triangle on the bed. We’d go until I came, then switch, so that the other girl could have me in her mouth as well. When I’d cum in both their mouths, we cuddled together so I could recover. When I recovered, they took turns riding me to orgasm, and then we fell asleep spooned together.

December 16, 1992, Chicago, Illinois

The article in the Chicago Tribune unnerved me, and I expected SOMETHING would happen, and probably very soon. The day before, the federal government had formally charged James Marcello, known as ‘Little Jimmy’, with racketeering. According to the paper, Marcello was reputed to be the underboss for Sam Carlisi, something I knew to be true. There was no doubt in my mind something was going to come down. It was only a matter of what and when.

Then again, I thought, perhaps not. Perhaps Little Jimmy being indicted would get me off the hook. I owed HIM the favor. Whoever took over might not know about it, or might not be interested in the services of a non-Italian. Clearly there were leaks and informers all over the place, and I wasn’t one who could properly take an oath of «omertà». But, in the end Theo Lipari knew, and I knew he was still around. And not just ‘around’.

“Steve, there’s a Theo Lipari here to see you,” Lucas said over the intercom just after 9:30am. “He’s not on your calendar.”

“I’ll be right down,” I said.

Well, that was fast, especially given I was on the outside, and hadn’t even spoken to Theo for nearly two years, and the only contact had been through Antonio when the FBI had come to question me. I went downstairs and out into the lobby. I shook hands with Theo, then went to the coat closet and got my coat and hat.

“Lucas, we’re going for coffee,” I said. “I have my cell phone if you need me.”

He acknowledged me and Theo and I walked out of the building into the cold, overcast December day. I’d scouted the neighborhood, and directed Theo to the West Loop Café, an inexpensive, but very good, diner at the corner of W. Adams and S. Jefferson. It was far enough from the office that nobody would accidentally run into us at this hour of the morning.

“I see you found the new office,” I said.

“It’s not like you’re trying to hide. How have you been, Kid?”

I chuckled at the nickname he’d used for me since I’d moved to Chicago. That was nearly twelve years ago now, and I was no longer an eighteen-year-old ‘kid’ fresh out of High School.

“I can’t complain,” I said. “The family is great. Work is great. Actually, everything is great at the moment.”

“I’m sure you read the papers.”

“Front page of the Trib is hard to miss.”

“We have a BIG problem, obviously.”

“I gathered, or you wouldn’t be here. What service can I do for Mr. Marcello?”

“See, that’s why I like you kid. No beating around the bush. No bullshit. Just straight to business. I need you to pay a visit to someone and remind him who pays his bills.”

“Simple enough,” I said.

And then he told me, and things were no longer simple at all. In fact, they were very complex, and could have far larger ramifications than just James Marcello and The Outfit.

“When can you do it?”

“Theo, he can’t testify in open court. He’ll lose his law license! And even if he didn’t, who is ever going to hire him as an attorney ever again? Not to mention what’s going to happen if he continues down this path. He’d need ‘Witness Relocation’ because otherwise...”

“See, again, you know exactly what the score is. He seems to think we can’t get to him. We can. And you’re the proof. You don’t even have to DO anything other than let him know that we know. He’ll get the picture.”