Chapter 29: Past, Present, and Future

February 27, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

Annita was quiet for about a minute before she spoke again.

“I was thinking that I should follow your basic path, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Go on,” I replied.

“One path is mentorship and teaching; the other is pure, unguided self-discovery. Both are valid.”

“Yes, they are,” I agreed.

“If you believe that, why did you follow the path of mentorship and teaching, rather than going on your own?”

“I had a strong tendency to be as dumb as a box of rocks growing up, and to have a skull so thick that even being hit repeatedly with a two-by-four wouldn’t have helped. The Hindu woman taught me all of this. It took me over ten years and a trip to Japan to actually learn what she was trying to teach me. You, on the other hand, don’t appear to have the baggage I had when I discovered her.”

“Are you still friends with her?”

“Yes, though I don’t see her as often as I should. And obviously, I can’t easily see the monk in Japan. But I’m at a point where I need gentle nudges rather than two-by-fours. You, on the other hand, have quite a bit more freedom. When I figured it out, I was a husband, father, businessman, and karate instructor. All of those things imposed some level of restrictions. You, at nineteen, and in your second year of nursing school, don’t have those.”

“This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

“How so?”

“I have so many ideas running around in my head and they make no sense, yet they make perfect sense!”

“Welcome to my world!” I chuckled. “The people closest to me know that I often have absolutely crazy ideas that make sense for ME and in my perception of the world. It’s what people would call counter-culture or counterintuitive or a paradox, depending. Or call it marching to the beat of a different drummer.”

Annita shook her head, and laughed softly, “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think we should go to bed, and then I think you should disappear from my life. But I have this image of us meeting again, at some point, and comparing notes, so to speak. And of being, well, not just friends, but kindred spirits.”

Unlike Kellie Linden or Carla Rizzi, being sent away, as it were, was the right thing. Annita needed to discover the world on her own, not as I showed it to her. I’d removed her blinders, but the rest was up to her.

“If that’s what you want, and you’ve had the tests they give to nurses and med students before starting their clinical rotations, I think that actually makes complete sense.”

“You mean TB, HIV, and other STIs?”

“Yes. A mandatory requirement in my life, as it should be in yours. I think it’s going to be important.”

Annita laughed softly, “Did you just imply I’m going to have an active sex life?”

I shrugged, “If you do, it will be on YOUR terms, not your parents’, your friends’, the church’s, or society’s.”

“I had a full set at the beginning of the month when I started a clinical rotation at Elmhurst Hospital. Clean. I assume you’ve had yours, then.”

I nodded and smirked, “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours!”

Annita laughed, “The first REAL innuendo for the entire day!”

“With regard to birth control, I had a vasectomy about ten years ago, but I can use a condom if you prefer. Well, assuming you have some on hand, otherwise I need to run out to the Osco down the street.”

“Strangely, I trust you more than anyone I’ve ever met, despite only really knowing you for about seven hours.”

She walked to a desk in her living room, opened the drawer, and pulled out a paper. I took out my wallet and extracted the card, and we proved our clean tests. Annita put the paper away and I put my card back in my wallet, then she took my hand and led me to her bedroom. She turned on a soft light, shut the door, and began undressing. I followed suit, watching as she exposed small, firm breasts, a flat stomach, and a cleanly shaved mons. When we were both naked, she turned down the bed and we got in, lying on our sides.

After a few soft kisses, our lips parted, and our tongues met. We scooted closer to each other, her nipples pressing lightly against my chest and my erection lightly touching her mons and stomach. I ran my hand over Annita’s back and her firm butt, and she ran her hand through my hair and over my back. We kissed for several minutes before I gently pushed Annita onto her back, then moved so I could suckle her breasts. She gasped at the first contact of my tongue, then moaned softly as I teased her nipple with my tongue while I gently sucked. After a couple of minutes, I moved to her other breast, licking and sucking gently.

After I’d enjoyed Annita’s breasts, I kissed my way down her stomach, then moved between her legs. I planted several kisses on Annita’s mons, then slowly ran my tongue along her labia. She moaned softly, then groaned when I ran the tip of my tongue over her clit. I closed my lips around her and teased her with the tip of my tongue while she ran her hands through my hair. Annita began gently rocking her hips in response to the pleasure I was giving her, and I used my lips and tongue to bring her to the place we both sought. When she had her orgasm, Annita groaned deeply, shuddered, and pressed my head against her pussy, increasing the pressure and I was sure her pleasure.

When her orgasm passed, I released her clit and carefully pressed my tongue between her plump, dripping labia, coating it with her musky juices. She groaned again when I had my tongue as deeply into her as I could and began sucking while I swirled my tongue around inside her smooth, slippery tunnel. I drank in her juices for several minutes, then moved on top of her, lodging my glans against her slick labia. I leaned down to kiss her, and as our tongues touched, I pushed my hips forward, my glans spreading her open as I entered her slick, silky tunnel. Annita moaned softly as I moved deeper, and groaned when I was fully embedded in her wonderful depths, my pubic bone creating pressure on her clit.

We continued to kiss and I began slow, gentle thrusts, enjoying the soft ripples of her muscles along my shaft. I felt Annita wrap her legs around my upper thighs and she began meeting my thrusts by raising her hips. I took my cues from her, moving in time with her, slowly increasing our tempo. A short time later, Annita’s arms and legs tightened, her body went stiff and she groaned into my mouth as strong spasms massaged my shaft. I continued moving at the same speed until her orgasm passed, then slowed again, waiting for her to match my motions.

She did, and we began working towards her second orgasm. This time, she continued moving and her orgasm was stronger and more prolonged, which was also true for the third one. I shared her fourth, pumping jets of cum deep into her, pressing against her mons as she ground her clit against me. We were both breathing too hard to kiss at that point, and I just lay still on top of her until I softened and slipped from her warm folds.

I began the next round immediately, the same as the first - kissing, licking, and sucking until I was hard once again, then moved to my back and pulled Annita on top of me. I helped her impale herself on my shaft, and then she put her hands on my chest and began gently riding me, moving up and down and back and forth, seeking her own pleasure, succeeding four times before we shared our final release. As I had done, Annita lay on top of me and I held her until I softened.

“Shall we take a shower?” I asked.

“I’d like that!” she replied.

She got out of bed and I did the same, following her to the bathroom where we enjoyed a warm shower together. When we finished, we dried ourselves and dressed. Annita offered coffee and I accepted, and after she made it we sat down on the couch to drink it.

“What rotation are you doing?”

“Pediatrics,” she said.

“A friend I met in Sweden is my kids’ pediatrician.”

“When were you in Sweden?”

“For my Junior year of High School. I was an exchange student. That was ‘79-’80.”

She laughed, “So before I was born!”

“Yes.”

“Where else have you been?”

“Australia, Singapore, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, and most of the US states.”

“Wow! For business?”

“Some, but some for pleasure, too.”

“Traveling like that would be fun.”

“If you set your priorities properly, and make the necessary effort, there is no reason you can’t do it. Don’t see your limitations, see your possibilities.”

“Have you done something like this before?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” I replied.

Annita laughed softly, “Fucked someone you ‘mind fucked’!”

I nodded, “It’s happened.”

“And they asked the same way I did, right?”

“Yes.”

“Your girlfriend was one, right?”

“Very perceptive!”

“She sounds like someone I’d like to meet at some point in the future.”

“You’re positive you and I will run into each other again?” I asked.

“Weirdly, yes. It’s like I can see that one thing in the future so clearly, even though everything else is shrouded in mist.”

“I look forward to that day,” I replied.

“You realize we’ll have to do this again, right?”

“Go to the zoo and have dinner?” I teased.

“You are a smart ass! I meant sex. It will complete the circle. But it will be different because I’ll be different.”

“Very intuitive,” I replied. “But remember one thing - nobody can commit irrevocably to sex. That said, I think you’re right.”

“Do you want to know the strangest thing that happened today?”

“If you want to tell me.”

“I can’t believe I gave my virginity to a married man!”

For some reason, that didn’t surprise or shock me, nor did it bother me. Something was ‘just right’ about this situation, and it dawned on me it was exactly what Suzanne had been trying to tell me - to basically just relax and go with the flow. To be spontaneous but not reckless. And it had worked. Perfectly.

“And yet, I strongly suspect you’re positive that it was exactly the right thing to do.”

Annita smiled, “It was.”

We finished our coffee and she walked me to the door where we exchanged a soft kiss.

“See you someday,” she said. “When the world brings us back together.”

“Good luck,” I replied. “I’ll leave you with my card, but I don’t believe you’ll need it. That said, if you do, call me.”

I took out a business card, wrote my cell phone number on the back, and handed it to Annita. We kissed once more and I walked out of her apartment and her life, certain that something would bring us together in the future.

February 28, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“So NOW can you tell me what happened?” Birgit asked as we cuddled on Wednesday morning.

“We decided that the government was, as it usually is, full of shit.”

“What did they do THIS time?”

I explained the charges, how they came about, and the evidence.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“And you convinced everyone?”

“A man named Nelson, a woman named Angela, and a young woman named Annita helped. We managed to convince everyone that it was immoral to put him in jail given what the government had done.”

“Doesn’t the Second Amendment mean we can keep guns?”

“Yes, of course. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has let Illinois and Chicago get away with violating the Constitution. Hopefully, someday, the Courts will put a stop to it.”

“You stopped carrying your gun.”

“Yes, because my doctors were worried that it was dangerous for me to carry it because of my medical condition.”

“I didn’t know being a ‘dumb boy’ was a medical condition!” she giggled.

“YOU are going to have a medical condition if you aren’t careful, Pumpkin!”

Kara called us to breakfast and after we ate and the kids went off to school, I walked my wives to work. When I arrived home, Penny was waiting for me in my study.

“They kicked you loose?” she asked.

“I actually sat on a jury.”

“No fucking way!”

“It’s true!”

I explained to her what had happened, and then we got to work. As usual, Penny left at lunchtime, and after lunch, I called Bethany as I’d discussed with Stephanie. She had some free time, so I walked to the hospital, saw Jessica briefly as she rushed into a trauma room, then went to Bethany’s office.

“You couldn’t talk to me directly, Sweetheart?” I asked after we hugged.

“Things just aren’t the same.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Can we just talk about Ed?”

“If you think that’s more important than figuring out how we fix our relationship?”

“You think I’ve gone off the deep end.”

“We’re each entitled to our opinions and what you do in your practice is your business, and yours alone. It becomes my business when it affects me and my kids. Jesse is the most well-adjusted kid on the planet and you know it. And he’s not doing anything different from what I did at his age, though he’s a lot more controlled than I was. If you want to get on my case, do it, but I think you need to leave Jesse and the cousins alone.”

“Maybe we should just talk about Ed.”

“I’m not sure how I can help,” I replied. “Whatever you think about my superpowers, they don’t extend to the Illinois Combine or the Chicago Machine. If he’s taking payoffs, I don’t know what I can do about it. He’s not likely to speak to me after what happened with the divorce.”

“I figured you were involved in some way.”

“She’s my sister, so of course she came to me when she needed help. She still doesn’t know the real reason Ed wanted a divorce.”

“He said she demanded to divorce over the affairs.”

“Seriously? You really think MY sister would divorce him over banging the babysitter? When Stephanie confronted him, HE threatened her with revealing our relationship if she didn’t give him literally everything, including the kids. If he hadn’t done that, she would have listened, likely extracted some concessions, and they’d have been fine.”

“That is a completely different story from what I heard.”

“She used a private investigator whom I trust implicitly. He works for Aimee’s dad.”

“So you’re saying Ed lied to me?”

“Yes. You don’t know about the incident with Stephanie’s car, do you?”

“What?”

I explained what had happened on the day Stephanie had signed the papers.

“You have no proof!”

“You’re right, but the circumstantial evidence is strong. He’s not who you think he is.”

“What do you mean?”

“He killed that guy in Ohio, Sweetheart.

“But they dropped the charges!” Bethany protested.

“Because of manufactured and doctored evidence and a paid-off witness.”

“Oh my God!” she gasped. “You?”

I shook my head, “No, but I do know who fixed it.”

“Could they still arrest him?”

“There’s no statute of limitations on murder. And whatever his game is, the end is nigh for the Machine and the Combine. Daley may be mayor, but the Feds are boxing him in. They’re after Governor Ryan, too.”

“The US Attorney said he wasn’t a target!”

“Don’t believe everything you read or hear,” I replied.

“How do YOU know?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“But the whole thing makes no sense.”

“None of it does. Neither Stephanie nor I can figure it out. But that’s not the important thing. I want to figure out how to bridge the gulf between you and me.”

“I can’t change my opinion on power disparity,” Bethany said firmly.

“I agreed that there are situations where that is a problem, but it is NOT a problem with teenagers fooling around with each other! Rag on me if you have to, but not the kids. You’re doing the exact thing you and I rebelled against!”

“Times have changed.”

“And now you’re doing the other thing you and I rebelled against! Come on, Sweetheart, what’s gotten into you? Your books were breaths of fresh air and now you’ve signed up for the Junior Anti-Sex League!”

“You don’t see what I see, Steve.”

“You’re right; I don’t. But the way you’re addressing it is only going to make the problem worse as society becomes more and more convinced that sex is bad and that teens having sex, even with each other, is intrinsically evil. What happened to Smart Teens; Smart Choices?”

“It was covered in the book.”

“Yes, but neither stridently nor universally. It was directed to teen girls and explained the dynamics of a relationship with a much older partner at a young age. You know I think your viewpoint is valid in that regard, and it’s why I talk the ear off any girl who is under twenty, and even some who are over twenty!”

“And those girls have no hope of matching your rhetoric or knowledge or life experience!”

“I can say the same for people I’ve met in their fifties! And you know that, with very few exceptions, I only sleep with VERY intelligent women, present company included, until she married Tom Quinn! And you’ve probably noticed a new young woman at the house - that was Jesse’s new girlfriend. She’s about eighteen months older than he is, and is smart as a whip, as my grandmother would say. Is THAT a problem?”