Chapter 51: A New Nemesis

May 28, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

Monday, which was Memorial Day, was a rare day off work and school for everyone. And to put the cherry on top of the sundae, Jessica wasn’t on call. That meant barring a ‘Level 1’ mass-casualty event, we wouldn’t be bothered at all.

“Extra cuddles because there’s no school or work?” Birgit asked when I joined her in the sunroom.

“I suppose,” I replied. “You won’t be able to have extra birthday cuddles tomorrow because of school.”

“I’ll be a teenager!” Birgit declared giddily. “Finally!”

I got in the chaise and Birgit got in and snuggled close.

“Mom said your Swedish friends are going to visit in July.”

While I’d been out on Sunday morning, Katt had called to say that she, Mikhail, and Kristina, along with Pia, George, and Marta; Karin, Kristian, and Kjell; and Nils, Tina, and Anna, were planning a trip to the US and would visit Chicago in July.

“Yes, but it’s after you come home from Vermont, so you won’t miss them.”

“I think it’s time for you to teach me some Swedish! The book Karin gave me is OK, but it’s hard to learn without someone teaching me. And I’m going to need it when I’m an exchange student!”

“That’s true,” I replied. “Where should we start?”

Birgit giggled, “With how to flirt!”

“I don’t THINK so,” I chuckled. “You’ll have to figure that out yourself! How about we start with numbers, colors, and animals?”

Of course, one of the first phrases I’d learned was from Birgit Andersson - «Skulle du vilja älska med mig?». I’d said that to Pia in Helsingborg soon after I’d arrived in Sweden, and I had no doubt my precocious daughter would have similar opportunities, especially if she stayed with the Anderssons, given how she and Kjell got along.

“Oh, fine,” Birgit replied with a theatrical sigh. “If we HAVE to!”

By the time Kara called us for breakfast, Birgit could count to ten in Swedish and knew the Swedish words for ‘dog’, ‘cat’, and ‘rabbit’, as well as ‘red’, ‘blue’, and ‘green’, all words which were very close to English, except for «kanin», or ‘rabbit’.

“Working on your new secret language?” Kara teased as we walked to the kitchen.

“I remember strenuous objections from Jesse during our trip to Stockholm and Saint Petersburg when he was five,” I replied. “He didn’t like all of us talking in another language he couldn’t understand.”

“And yet he gave up on learning Russian after maybe a year.”

I nodded, “Hockey became all-consuming. And then he chose to learn Spanish.”

“I need to learn, too!” Ashley declared.

“Me first!” Birgit said firmly. “You have a lot longer!”

“Ladies...” Kara warned.

Aimee came into the kitchen a moment later, followed by Jessica.

“Where’s Albert?” Aimee asked.

“He’ll be down in a minute,” Jessica replied. “He was fiddling with his flight simulator.”

“That kid spends more time in a simulator than the Shuttle astronauts!” I chuckled.

“He’s very, very good,” Aimee said. “He’ll easily pass his qualifications for his license when he turns seventeen.”

“Five years,” I replied. “I’ll need a recommendation for a flight school.”

“I’ll ask around. There are several in Chicagoland, but I don’t know their reputations.”

Albert came in a minute later, fixed himself a plate, and sat at the island next to Aimee.

“When will we see you again, Aimee?” I asked.

“Labor Day, most likely. It’s much easier if I have three days rather than two. I’ll probably do the same thing I did this time - fly to Ohio on Friday evening and spend the night at my dad’s house, then fly up very early on Saturday. Then fly straight home on Monday.”

“You should bring Elizabeth next time!” Stephie said.

“I think she’d like that,” Aimee replied.

“And John is welcome, too,” I added.

Aimee laughed, “The one person who flat-out refuses to fly with me! When we visit my dad, we fly commercial.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. John even refused a check-ride in an F-14 several years ago.”

I shook my head, “I’ll never understand!”

“Not everyone gets their thrills the same way, Tiger!”

“Mom gets them from Dad!” Birgit giggled.

All the adults laughed.

“Mom has plenty of excitement in the ER,” I said. “And she sees the end result of people trying to get their thrills!”

“Because boys are D-U-M-B dumb!” Birgit declared. “It’s ALWAYS boys. You don’t see girls trying to build a ramp to jump parked cars on their bikes!”

“She has a point, Tiger,” Jessica smirked.

“How is Peter?” I asked.

“Just a broken wrist. I’m sure Dave will tell you all about it at the party this afternoon!”

“Like I said, D-U-M-B!” Birgit declared.

We’d heard from Nicholas what had happened, and I was glad my boys had been otherwise occupied when the stunt was attempted.

“Did you do anything like that when you were a teenager?” Aimee asked me.

“The biggest risks I took would have had to do with dads and shotguns,” I chuckled.

“Shocking,” Jessica said dryly.

“I didn’t even drive my sports cars fast,” I replied. “Penny always gave me grief about that. And so did you!”

“Were you a leadfoot as a teen, Jessica?” Aimee asked.

She had been, and I wondered how she’d answer.

“My friends and I raced cars on long stretches of highway until there was a bad accident. That kind of put an end to it.”

“I wasn’t allowed to do anything even remotely risky,” Kara said. “The most dangerous thing I did was sit next to Steve in chemistry class!”

“Why, Mom?” Stephie asked.

Kara laughed softly, “Because I wasn’t like your dad and his friends.”

“No sex!” Stephie giggled.

“And no dancing, rock music, bowling, or a bunch of other stuff!” I said. “Kara’s dad didn’t approve of those things. Or of me.”

We finished breakfast and went to the great room so Aimee could check The Weather Channel to see if there were any potential issues for her flight home. There weren’t and we checked CNN and learned of a wedding hall that collapsed in Jerusalem, which had killed at least twenty and injured over 350. It didn’t appear to be a terrorist incident, but it would take a few days to know for sure. A few minutes later, everyone bade Aimee goodbye and I walked her to her rental car. We hugged, she kissed my cheek, and after she’d driven off, I went back inside.

We immediately began setting up for the joint birthday party for Kristin, Katherine, and Birgit, one day early for my daughter, and one day late for Kristin and Katherine. The kids would have their party at lunchtime, and once it finished, we’d have our Memorial Day party, which included both the kids and adults. There would be around thirty-five kids at the birthday party, though MC and Suzanne were also invited as part of Birgit’s ‘Girl Gang’.

The kids had a blast at the party, and while they were playing games, Dave and I went into my study.

“So?” I asked.

He shook his head, “The only thing missing was ‘hold my beer’!”

“I remember kids doing that stuff when we were younger and Evel Knievel was in the news all the time.”

“I made the mistake of telling Peter about that jump at King’s Island back in ‘75.”

I nodded, “I remember watching it on TV on Wide World of Sports.”

“I was there with my dad,” Pete said.

“You saw it live?!” I asked in awe.

“I did! Still probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen - he cleanly jumped fourteen Greyhound buses!”

“Do you know that he played semi-pro hockey?” I asked.

“No. For what team?”

“The Butte Bombers, a team he started. They actually played the Czechoslovakian Olympic ice hockey team in a warm-up game for the 1960 Winter Olympics which were in California. There was a huge scandal, though, because the receipts were stolen and the US Olympic Committee had to pay the expenses for the Czechoslovakian team to avoid an international incident. Oh, and Knievel was ejected from the game, though the article I read was light on details.”

“I never knew that. Well, after I talked up how cool it was to watch the jump, we rented Viva Knievel!, and I believe you can work out what happened next!”

I chuckled, “Boys being boys. Who else was involved in this little stunt?”

“Nicholas, Nicky, and some of Peter’s friends from school. He wanted Jesse and Albert to be there, but they were both busy and he didn’t want to wait.”

“How bad is the wrist? I didn’t ask Jess.”

“Not too bad. He’ll be in a cast for several weeks, but it’ll heal cleanly and he’ll have a full range of motion.”

“What was Julia’s take?” I asked.

Dave smiled, “She’s not Jessica. She did the mom thing, but she’s not freaked out. Privately she gave me a bit of grief for not telling Peter how dangerous it was.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about Caesar’s Palace?”

“No.”

“Oops.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, a parenting faux pas aside, It’s going to be good to have you back at NIKA starting in July,” I said.

“And how much programming time will I get from you?”

“I’ll be full time. The only trip I have scheduled after June is to Mayo for my usual six-month checkup. I may take a long weekend in Saint Martin, but that’s up in the air. Otherwise, you have me full-time to the end of the year.”

“Good. I’m glad the treatments are working.”

“You and me both!”

“And the shenanigans?”

“None. Liz is dating someone and I’d say they’re on their way to the altar. The rules are firm with no wiggle room.”

“Good.”

We shook hands and left my study, and Kristin came up to me.

“Thanks for the portable music player!” she gushed.

I’d given her a Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300. Birgit had one and had told me Kristin really wanted one. It held about an hour’s worth of music, and she could load it via the parallel port on the PC that Kurt had at home.

“You’re welcome! Birgit really loves hers and she said you wanted one!”

“I did! May I hug you?”

“Yes, of course!”

She gave me a tight hug, pressing her body firmly against mine.

“Do you know what I want for my fifteenth birthday?” she asked quietly as we hugged.

I had a pretty good idea what she was likely to say, but despite my conversations with Kathy and Kurt back in the apartment, I felt extreme caution was advised.

“No,” I replied.

“I want to fill my room with flowers and candles and cover my bed with rose petals. And I want you to make love to me there!”

She released me from the hug and skipped away before I could respond.

May 28, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Birgit

I was thirteen! A teenager! Finally! Of course, that didn’t mean as much as it should have because the dumb government thought I was still a little kid. I wasn’t! I was a WOMAN! I had my period and everything! But NO! Prudish busybodies thought I was still a baby even though I was a brown belt in karate, got good grades, and could take care of myself. Ugh!

I shut off the alarm, got out of bed, and went to the shower. When I finished my shower, I brushed my teeth, checked myself in the full-length mirror, decided I was still gorgeous, then sprayed lavender body spray over my whole body. It was dad’s favorite, and I really liked it, too. I dressed, brushed my hair, put it in a ponytail holder, checked in the mirror again, then went downstairs. Dad had run and showered, and was waiting for me in the sunroom.

“Happy thirteenth birthday, Pumpkin!” he exclaimed, holding out his arms for a hug

I hurried to him and he gave me a nice bear hug.

“Thanks, Dad!”

I held him for a long time, then we got into the chaise to cuddle, which we’d done since I was little.

“Did you enjoy your party yesterday?” Dad asked.

“A lot! Thanks for the bracelet and earrings! They’re gorgeous!”

“You’re welcome!”

“And now I’m a woman!”

“Look out world!” Dad chuckled. “What plans does the young woman have for the day?”

“School. What else? Well, and my party tonight.”

“Party?” Dad asked.

“Oh, please! You know we’re having a family party tonight even if I received my gifts yesterday!”

“It must have slipped my mind!”

“Hah! I’m unforgettable!”

“In more ways than one,” Dad teased.

“When can we do our Swedish lessons?”

“Probably before dinner each night.”

“Just me, please. At least for now.”

“You just want a secret language!” Dad chuckled.

“Yes! And I can practice with Aunt Sofia, too.”

“Breakfast!” Mom said from the door to the sunroom. “Happy birthday, Birgit!”

“Thanks, Mom! Two minutes!”

As usual, I got three because Dad loves me. We went to breakfast with the rest of the family, and after breakfast, I left the house with my sisters and we met up with our friends for the walk to school with Cynthia’s mom and Naomi’s dad walking with us because society was SO dumb. Even the first graders who walked with us knew how to cross the street and there were a bunch of us who were teenagers now, but NOOOOO, we had to be treated like babies.

School was normal, except for friends wishing me ‘Happy birthday’ and Ms. Czerwinski having the class sing Happy Birthday to me, which was totally cool. What was even cooler was that in two weeks, when school was out, she could be my friend, not my teacher, because I wouldn’t be in her class. That meant she could hang out at the house even more than she had in the past. I knew she wanted to join my dad’s philosophy club, as he was calling the Rap Sessions. I wanted to join, but he said I had to wait until I was fifteen. I loved my dad, but he could be a pain just like my mom at times! The only adult who was never a pain was Katy, and I was happy I was going to spend a month with her.

When I arrived home from school I had to do homework, after which I had a snack, then hung out with Jesse, Libby, and Rachel until Dad arrived home and we had a Swedish lesson. So many of the words were close to English which helped, but it was going to take a long time to learn. I had three years before I’d be an exchange student, so there was enough time, but I really wanted to be able to talk to Dad so nobody else could understand!

Dinner was my favorite - homemade pizza, and Dad had saved all his carbs so he could have pizza, cake, and ice cream, though not a lot. We’d just finished with dessert when the doorbell rang. Dad got up to see who it was.

“Birgit,” Dad called. “Please come to the front door.”

I got up and for some reason, my moms got up, too, and followed me to the foyer. Dad stepped aside and, at the bottom of the porch steps, I saw Mr. Felipe and some friends with guitars!

“«¡Feliz cumpleaños!» they all exclaimed, then started playing music and singing in Spanish.

I moved out onto the porch and, after the first song, they gathered close around me and sang for about ten more minutes. When they finished, I got a big hug from Mr. Felipe, then he gave me a small box with a beautiful but simple tennis bracelet! I gave him another big hug and a kiss on the cheek before we said our goodbyes.

“That was cool!” I declared when we went back inside. “I really like Mr. Felipe! This has been the best birthday ever!”

🎤 Steve

“Did either of you know about that?” I asked my wives when we went up to bed.

“He asked me about it,” Kara said. “But he also asked me to keep it secret from everyone except Jess.”

“What?!” I asked. “He thought I’d spill the beans?”

Kara laughed softly, “He knows how close you and Birgit are, and how YOU don’t like surprises.”

I chuckled, “I don’t like being on the receiving end of surprises, but giving them is just fine!”

“Is that a double standard, Tiger?” Jessica asked.

“No! If I know someone doesn’t like it, I don’t do it!”

“You still object to the parties Elyse has for you at NIKA?”

“Sort of. I don’t like them, personally, but they’re good for morale and other people like them, so I don’t tell her not to have them.”

We got into bed and snuggled together with Kara on my right and Jessica on my left.

“Did you decide what to do about Saint Martin?” Kara asked.

“No. I’m still thinking about it and I want to talk to Suzanne about it as well.”

“Your usual caution?”

“Yes, but it’s more than that. I think we’re finally in the near-perfect arrangement, and I want to be very careful about upsetting the equilibrium. All the pieces have finally fallen into place, if you will. We have the long-term third we’ve been searching for, and I have Natalie.”

“It took her some time to figure out how to tell you about her feelings,” Jessica said. “In hindsight it was obvious, but she did a VERY good job masking it as adoration of her mentor. But I think she had to, once Elaine made ending your physical relationship a condition for allowing you to mentor Natalie. Then it was a matter of finding the right time to tell you.”

“In many ways, she’s like Suzanne,” I replied. “The important difference being that Natalie wants to marry and have kids. So, in that way, she’s very much like Liz.”

“But you don’t love her the way you love Liz, do you?” Kara asked.

“No. I do love her, but not like that.”

“You love her like you love Suzanne, right?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, and like Suzanne loves me. Neither Suzanne nor I are ‘in love’ with each other. She described the relationship perfectly when she came up with the «cortigiana onesta» comparison.”