Chapter 5: If You Can’t Say It, You Can’t Do It

January 7, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

Kara had pretended to be annoyed with me until after dinner, but then gave up, realizing there was no way she was going to wheedle the information from me, and she hadn’t even threatened to use the floggers the previous night as I’d expected her to. Instead, we’d simply made love as a trio and gone to sleep. Jessica had driven herself to work on Sunday morning, so Kara and I stayed in bed later than usual, then showered and went downstairs. Birgit got her cuddles, we all ate breakfast, and then we hung out together until lunch. Right after lunch, I left for Jesse’s hockey game, picking up Nicholas Evans on the way.

“Afternoon, Bob,” I said when Nicholas and I walked up into the stands.

“Hi, Steve. How are you?”

“Pretty good, actually. The medication hasn’t had any negative side effects, so hopefully things will get back to normal after my trip to Mayo next month.”

“That would be good. As strange as it sounds, I miss having you in the office! And I didn’t get a chance to thank you for the bonus. It was very much appreciated.”

“Don’t let my annoyance with government and the legal system make you think for a minute you’re not valuable. You have to be the messenger of information that annoys the living fuck out of me!”

“Elyse has done her best to make it clear that it has never been personal.”

“Which was the point of the added bonus! Videotaping again today?”

“Every game! I have a library of tapes you wouldn’t believe!”

“I believe it, actually!”

“Hi, Steve!” Lyudmila called out, coming up the steps.

“Bob, this is Lyudmila Alekseyevna Anisimova, our business partner in Moscow, and her boyfriend Yuri Ilych Filitov. Lyudmila and Yuri, this is Bob Larson, Director of Human Resources for NIKA.”

They all shook hands and then Bob had to set up his video camera, so my Russian friends, Nicholas, and I sat down next to Jennifer, Josie, and Libby.

“How good is opposing team?” Yuri asked.

“They’re in fourth place,” I replied. “We’re in second, but we’re only three points ahead of them.”

“You use the football points? Three for win, one for draw?’

“Yes.”

“Jesse Stepanovich is good goalkeeper. Russian friends still talk about him.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know. I’m sure his ego could use the boost!” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “How are you enjoying Chicago?”

“Is interesting city. Not as cold or as much snow as Moscow! Lyusya misses California. We visit starting Tuesday evening.”

“Scott Bannerman is looking forward to seeing you,” I replied. “Lyusya, be sure to say ‘hello’ for me.”

“You know, even in backwards America,” she said with a faux Russian accent, “is device known as telephone, invented by Russians!”

“It was invented by Alexander Graham Bell!” Nicholas protested.

“She’s teasing,” I chuckled. “During the Cold War, Russia claimed to have invented everything from ice hockey and baseball to rockets and the atomic bomb.”

“Perhaps you have heard Russian epic of Cinderella?” Lyusya continued.

“The better Russian gimmick was in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,” I said. “Sending the only Russian member of the command team to an American military base during the Cold War was genius!”

“I warn you, if you don’t lie on the floor ... I will have to stun you!” she said, once again using her faux Russian accent, though deeper to emulate Commander Chekov.

“I have pictures of you from New York,” I replied with a grin. “Well-tanned; sun-bleached blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, with stray strands hanging down over your ears; no makeup; a colorful, loose-fitting ‘crop-top’; a bikini rather than a bra; a flat, toned stomach; faded hip-hugger jeans with ragged bottoms; and sandals, which showed multi-colored nail varnish, with no two toes the same! You were the epitome of a California surfer chick, and went by ‘Lucy Alexa’!”

And I had memories, which didn’t require pictures, of a few wonderful days and nights of lovemaking with her in New York.

“Well, like, totally, fer sure! I was California to the max!” she laughed, lapsing into ‘Val speak’.

“Are you going to surf?”

“I’d probably kill myself at this point,” she laughed. “We’re going to see Scott and some other friends, and then hang out in Napa Valley for a couple of days before we go to Vancouver, and then back home over the North Pole.”

“Aeroflot is using reindeer?” I asked with a smirk.

“Ha, ha!”

The players skated out so we had to focus our attention on the game. Bob’s son, Christopher, was a forward. I hadn’t seen him play in over a year, so I wasn’t sure how good he was, though I knew Jesse was determined to keep him from scoring under any circumstances. The horn sounded, the puck dropped, and the game was on.

The first period was even, with each team scoring a goal, though our team had the best of it, controlling the puck and getting more shots. The second period was similar, but Jesse made an amazing save on a tricky shot by Christopher Larson, and Kenny had scored, putting us up 2-1. The other team threw everything at us in the third period, but we held them off, and Mia got an empty-net goal to seal the 3-1 win. One more win and Jesse’s team would be guaranteed second seed in the tournament.

“You guys are still planning to come to dinner tonight, right?” I asked Lyudmila after the final horn sounded.

“Yes. We’ll be there by 5:00pm.”

We hugged, and I shook hands with Yuri, then went to talk to Bob Larson who was not in a good mood, as they now risked finishing as low as sixth. He congratulated me nonetheless, and after we shook hands, Nicholas and I joined Jennifer, Josie, and Libby for the walk to the lobby where Jesse met us about fifteen minutes later.

“Not bad, Little Duck!” I exclaimed.

“I’m as tall as you are!” he replied.

“Whatever! I’ll see you at home!”

He, his moms, and Libby left and as Nicholas and I walked towards the door, Mia caught up with us, lugging her hockey bag, which was slung over her shoulder.

“I, uhm, read the book,” she said quietly, her eyes darting around. “And did ... the other thing.”

I wanted to have a time to talk which had a very specific end-point, so that the ONLY thing which could happen would be talking. I knew the team wouldn’t practice on Monday following a Sunday afternoon game, so if she came right after school, I’d have a hard deadline of 3:15pm to leave for karate, which would mean we’d have about twenty minutes to talk.

“You don’t have practice tomorrow,” I replied. “Come by the house right after school and we can talk.”

She nodded and then hurried towards the car where her parents were waiting, while Nicholas and I got into my BMW.

“Did you enjoy the game?” I asked.

“Yes!” Nicholas declared. “Uncle Steve, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“How do I buy jewelry?”

I laughed so hard it was five minutes before I could answer him.

January 8, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“Good morning, beautiful wives!” I said when we woke on Monday morning.

“Enjoy your ‘good morning’ while it lasts!” Kara teased. “When your daughter finds out you knew about MC’s engagement before she did, you’re going to be in deep trouble!”

“Birgit likes her cuddles FAR too much!” I replied smugly. “And thank you for not ratting me out last night.”

“You’re welcome. I should have! Withholding information like that is a violation!”

“Of WHAT?” I asked.

“The ‘Girl Code’!”

“If I were a girl, that might matter! But last I checked, I was a boy!”

I threw down the duvet exposing myself.

“Yep,” I confirmed. “Still a boy!”

“Jess, may I borrow the scalpel from your bag?” Kara asked sweetly.

“I happen to LIKE the fact that he’s a boy!” Jessica replied. “And I know you do, too!”

“I was only going to take ONE of his balls!” Kara growled.

“What? Because I’m a boy?”

“Your daughter may have a point about ‘dumb boys’.”

“You think?” I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure Katt had good reason to call me a «jävla idiot»! But you, like she does, love me anyway!”

“Don’t push your luck, Snuggle Bear!”

“Let’s get up,” I replied, “I need to use the treadmill and then report for cuddle duty.”

“I suppose,” Kara said, climbing out of bed. “I do have to go back to work today,”

“You academics have it SO easy!” Jessica protested, getting up.

“I wouldn’t say Kara’s research requirement is easy,” I countered as I climbed from the bed. “She’s going to be at Stanford again this Summer. And that’s hard on all of us!”

“Speaking of that,” Kara said as I dressed for my time on the treadmill, “do you know the dates for Miyu’s wedding?”

“June 16th; she told me on Saturday morning. That’s a week before our planned trip to Iron Mountain.”

“You haven’t been cleared to travel except to Mayo,” Jessica replied.

“I know. I’ll talk to Mary about Hawaii, but honestly, there is no way I can miss Miyu’s wedding. If it requires doing the trip in stages, or whatever, I’ll do that.”

“You promised to follow her medical advice!”

I had, though I hadn’t committed to psychoactive drugs. But I couldn’t say that without violating Al’s rule that I not debate something which was only a possibility.

“Yes, of course, and I know we can’t make any firm decisions until after my checkup next month. I’m hoping we can go to Vermont and Iron Mountain, but if I have to trade those for Miyu’s wedding, I will. You two should go, no matter what. Kara, when do you have to be at Stanford?”

“We’re still working out the exact details, but it looks like July 9th through August 10th. I’d have to fly back for MC’s wedding. There is NO WAY that I’m going to miss it!”

“Hmm...” I grinned.

Jessica’s face clouded, but Kara spoke before she did.

“He has a point, Jess,” Kara said.

“Let’s wait to see what Mary says next month!” I said quickly, trying to head off a disagreement.

“Sorry,” Kara said.

“I’m going to hit the treadmill.”

I kissed both wives then went to the basement, turned on the treadmill, checked the speed settings, grabbed my PJB-100 Personal Jukebox, put in the earpieces, then got on the treadmill for my run. The drugs hadn’t affected my endurance, and I covered my usual time and distance without any difficulty. As I usually did, I slowed the machine to a fast walking pace to cool down, and when I finished, I shut off the treadmill, removed my earpieces, stashed the PJB-100 on the small shelf above the treadmill, then went upstairs for my shower.

After I’d showered and dressed, I went down to the sunroom and instantly realized ‘it’ hadn’t lasted long at all. My daughter was standing in the middle of the sunroom, arms crossed, glaring when I walked in.

“YOU KNEW!” she said accusingly.

“Knew what, Pumpkin?” I asked innocently.

“MC! Ashley told me that Lieutenant Mike talked to you yesterday! You knew and didn’t tell!”

“I wasn’t allowed to tell,” I replied. “Lieutenant Knox asked me not to say anything.”

“I’m your daughter! I should have known! Just like with karate!”

“We discussed that. And may I point out something?”

“What?!” she snapped, narrowing her eyes.

“That Maria Cristina is YOUR friend and SHE didn’t tell you.”

I struggled mightily to not laugh as a flash of realization crossed Birgit’s face, briefly disrupting her ‘death stare’.

“Do you want cuddles?” I asked when she didn’t say anything. “If not, I’ll go see if your moms need help with breakfast.”

“I suppose I could cuddle you,” she allowed, trying to sound as if she didn’t want them, but failing miserably.

I went to the chaise, sat down, held out my arms, and my daughter came to cuddle me.

“You broke the rules,” she said.

“I broke some ‘girl rule’ I didn’t even know about,” I replied. “But those aren’t my rules. I follow ‘boy rules’.”

“Dumb!”

“Me? Or the rules?”

“Yes!” she giggled, snuggling close.

“You know that all Lieutenant Knox did was ask me if I was OK with him marrying Maria Cristina. He actually asked her when she was with you and her friends.”

“Why did he ask you?”

“Because he’s very traditional, and Maria Cristina’s dad isn’t really part of her life. Someday I expect Nicholas to ask me if it’s OK to marry Stephie.”

“Duh! That was decided a long time ago!”

“But he’ll do it. Tom is very traditional, and Nicholas’ dad was, too.”

“But not Aunt Bethany?”

“Sometimes, but she’s very modern and doesn’t worry too much about those old traditions.”

“Do you like them?”

“Sometimes,” I replied. “It depends on the circumstances. I was OK with Lieutenant Knox asking for my blessing, but I wouldn’t be upset if your future husband doesn’t.”

“Husband? Not for a LONG time! I don’t want to be tied down!”

I chuckled, “I’m sure you don’t. But someday you’ll meet the right boy who’s not quite as dumb as the rest, and you’ll marry and have kids.”

“And if I want TWO husbands?”

“That’s between you and them! But you have lots of time to figure out what you want. Are there any boys you like?”

“Maybe...” she giggled.

“Breakfast!” Jessica called from the door to the sunroom.

Birgit and I got up and went to the kitchen to have breakfast with the rest of the family, Maria Cristina, and Suzanne. It was a bit crowded, but we managed, and when we finished eating, the kids put on their Winter gear, got their bookbags and lunches, and headed off to school. A few minutes later, Kara and Jessica left for work, and Maria Cristina left for class. Just after she’d left, Penny arrived to start our day.

“What time is your first class?” I asked Suzanne.

“10:00am. The other one is at 1:00pm.”

“OK. I’ll be in my study working with Penny if you need anything.”

I gave her a quick kiss, then went to my study to begin work for the day.

“You know,” Penny said quietly, “She does look a lot like I did at eighteen.”

Penny had a point, and she was also well-aware that the ‘perfect Steve type’ tended to be blonde, blue-eyed, small-breasted and firm bodied, though with special exceptions for certain red-haired, green-eyed women. Penny had also been a bit envious of the girls who got close to me after we’d ended our physical relationship, and I suspected that Suzanne, because she actually did look a lot like Penny at eighteen, made that feeling a bit stronger.

“Penelope,” I said with a smile, “you know there’s never been anyone like you and there never will be!”

“Why do I feel like Miss Moneypenny?” she asked whimsically.

“I don’t believe Moneypenny ever slept with Bond,” I replied. “And I have some VERY good memories of sleeping with you!”

“If you remember the ‘sleeping’ part and not the ‘fucking’ part, I’m going to kill you right now!”

I chuckled, “You know what I meant, Pretty Penny!”

“Of course, you dope! I just like to tease you as much as you like to tease me!”

“Which is what makes you so special.”

Penny beamed.

“Terry agreed to me working mornings here four days a week. I’ll go in to the office after lunch. You’re working in the office on Tuesdays for the rest of the month, right?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. I was surprised to see MC get engaged so quickly.”

“She found the right guy, so why wait?”

“I suppose. I guess I just remember the hell you and Kara went through with Jessica during medical school and Residency.”

“That’s true, but think about what might have happened with Jess if we hadn’t been there for her.”

“Ugly.”

“Yes. It was ugly as it was; it would likely have been far uglier. What’s up for today?”

“Trying to track down the cause of the crashes under the current preview build of Windows XP.”

“I know for sure part of the problem is the new Safer API. There are still bugs in that which we run up against if certain system security policies are set. I also know we crash instantly if the ‘Run As’ option is used to try to elevate privileges. What else?”

“Some IE6 problems for the read-only version, some display issues which I think are related to changes they made for National Language Support, and what’s probably the biggest problem - when someone uses ‘Fast User Switching’ and tries to run a second copy of NIKA Legal.”

“That last one is going to be a bitch!” I sighed. “Our code does not take into account any kind of multi-user scenario on an individual workstation. That’s three solid months of work, at least.”

“Then I guess we better get started!”

“We need a design document from Julia,” I replied.

“She asked for an evaluation of where the problems lie.”

“Fundamentally, it means creating per-user temporary storage instead of using a single folder, along with ensuring that a second signed-on user can’t read anything in the first user’s cache or scratch space. OK. Let’s start by enumerating the modules which are affected.”

“I think the list of modules not affected might be a LOT shorter,” Penny replied.

“Sadly, I suspect you’re right.”

It took us the rest of the morning to review the system, and Penny’s prediction was correct, though not by the margin she’d feared.

“The genesis of this problem is the original design,” I said. “We started under DOS and then Windows, neither of which had the concept of ‘user’ beyond someone’s hands on a keyboard and mouse.”

“True,” Penny agreed. “We never really had to account for this kind of thing. I think our recommendation to Julia should be to move all configuration files and user files out of the application folder structure and move it to a folder somewhere in the user’s private folder hierarchy.”

“I agree. I think we also need to split the configuration file into two - the system level attributes can stay in the application folder or maybe the ‘all users’ folder, but any user changes have to be stored in the user’s private space.”

“I’ll write it up this afternoon and talk with Sam to make sure we’re not missing anything. You can review it tomorrow morning and we can take it to Julia.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” I agreed. “Also make sure you state ‘no support’ for the ‘Home’ edition of XP because it can’t join a domain. We’ll have no end of nightmares if people install that version.”

“Which they will, no matter what we say,” Penny said, shaking her head.

“Of course. And we’ll happily take their money on the consulting and IT support side of the business to fix it. We just need to make sure it’s communicated. I’m sure Cindi will handle it with her usual aplomb.”

“True.”

“I’m positive we’re going to run into other multi-user issues, and that means we need a new test suite.”

“I’ll make sure that’s included in our recommendation,” Penny replied, “but I’m sure Sherry is already on top of it.”

“«Доверяй, но проверяй»!” I declared.

“Trust, but verify! One of your favorite phrases.”

“It’s protected me from no end of trouble in both my public and private lives.”

“I’m going next door to grab some lunch, then I’ll head to the office.”

“Sounds good. I’m supposed to have lunch with my wives and Suzanne today.”

“Have lunch with them, or have them for lunch?” Penny teased.

“Get your mind out of the gutter! You know our trio is sacrosanct in that fashion!”

“You were VERY happy when my fourteen-year-old mind was in the gutter!”

“I can’t argue with that!”

We got up, I kissed her cheek, and when she left my study, I followed her to the front door, where we hugged, and after she went out, I closed the door and went to the kitchen to begin preparing lunch for my wives and Suzanne.