Chapter 68: A Relationship Which Transcends Sexuality

July 23, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

On Monday morning, Stephanie held a strategy meeting to discuss the situation with EB Systems which included the executive team, Sam, and me.

“I can access the encryption keys in ‘Simply Legal’,” Sam said in response to a question from my sister, “but based on advice from Liz, Megan Burch, and Deborah, I’ve turned the keys and code I used to extract them over to Liz.”

“I can’t believe it’s illegal to extract your own data!” Cindi groused.

“In my honest opinion, it’s not,” Liz replied. “But clearly at least one US Attorney thinks the DMCA applies globally and broadly, and it’s simply not worth the risk. That’s why we’re ceasing our efforts with extracting data from ‘Simply Legal’ and we’ll wait on EB to do the extractions. That should moot the lawsuits.”

“Robert S. Mueller is a menace,” I said. “The notion he can arrest someone for activities which were legal where they were performed, outside US jurisdiction, is flat-out nuts! And the Association of American Publishers supporting the arrest is frightening. But I have to agree with Liz’s analysis that we simply can’t take the risk.”

“Cindi,” Stephanie said, “what kind of timeframe is EB giving their clients for data extraction?”

“One I spoke to late on Friday reported that they’re giving dates that are three to four weeks out. That really isn’t a problem at the moment given we have to do site surveys, install our software, and do training.”

“When would it become a problem?”

“If it slipped past six weeks or so. The real problem is the fees they charge, which are in the contract, and can run close to five figures. A couple of clients have mentioned suing EB once the data is extracted.”

“Make sure we do NOT encourage that,” Liz interjected. “Simply have your people say it’s between EB and the client, and decline to discuss it further.”

“Is there any chance the clients could win those suits?” Julia asked.

“Only if the contracts were found to be unconscionable,” Liz replied, “and that would likely involve expert testimony to prove the charges were so far out of line as to be legally unconscionable. I doubt you could win that kind of case if you could even get to court. Remember, EB uses forced arbitration for ALL contract disputes. We only use arbitration for billing disputes, and the client has the right to appeal to the courts if they don’t like the arbitrator’s decision, but we’re bound by it. We use voluntary arbitration for everything else, and that’s the client’s option. We accept their choice.”

“Cindi, what does your workload look like?” Stephanie asked.

“So far we’re OK. Charlie is lending us consultants to help with site surveys and installations, but because EB is the bottleneck, we’re able to handle things.”

“What’s your take on EB’s situation?”

“If I knew how deep their pockets were, I’d have a better idea. They were already losing money in their effort to buy business from us. My rough guess is they’ll lose about a quarter of their installed base. They spun Nathan Edwards leaving as a planned exit strategy and he’s been mum.”

“He has to,” I said. “There were mutual non-disparagement clauses and a complete NDA included in his buyout by Braun the Lesser.”

Everyone laughed.

“Kind of like ‘Bush the Lesser’?” Cindi asked.

“Either that or ‘Shrub’, being a younger Bush!” I replied with a grin.

More laughter.

“Steve’s intense dislike of that family knows no bounds!” Elyse declared.

“And all justified!” I replied.

“Cindi, is there any negative impact on our existing clients?”

“No. That’s why I’m borrowing people from Charlie. It’s costing us a bit in T&E, which we’re having to eat because of the credits we’re giving towards paid-up support, but in the end, we’ll add ongoing support revenue which is the key to staying profitable.”

“Elyse?”

“Expenses are up, as Cindi says, but it’s manageable. It’s eating into our margins on the legal software, but it’s costing us less than losing deals to EB, or, worse, losing ongoing revenue by losing existing clients. We’re seeing the usual small churn where we lose some clients to Chickasaw or Hastings Mill and they lose some to us. There’s nothing I see to worry about unless Cindi sees changes in her pipeline or we have some kind of mass cancellation event.”

“On that note,” Cindi said, “I think we should highlight that all of our founders still work for NIKA.”

“What about Dave’s absence?” Julia asked.

“A long sabbatical,” I replied quickly. “Cindi can play up the importance of ensuring proper education for the next generation of IT professionals and giving back to the institution that trained all of us, blah ... blah ... blah.”

“Is THAT what you think of my press releases and our quarterly newsletter?” Cindi asked, her eyes narrow.

“You said it, not me!” I chuckled. “But in all seriousness, the same goes for Barbara, Zeke, and Mario. It really drives home our stability.”

“The counter to that is that we’re getting old and stodgy,” Stephanie said.

“Speak for yourself!” Cindi exclaimed. “But we do bring in new blood when we hire, and we’re giving students the opportunity, and so on. That kind of thing plays really well with lawyers and doctors because they’re used to bringing in new graduates and training and mentoring them.”

“Do that, Cindi,” Stephanie said. “And if there’s nothing more on EB, Steve can bail.”

“Thank you!” I declared.

I got up, left the conference room, and went back to my office.

“Everything good?” Penny asked.

“So it appears. EB can try to make it difficult or costly for their customers, but they can’t prevent any of them from coming to us, and several of their biggest clients are suing them. We can just focus on competing with Chickasaw and Hastings Mill.”

“Have you ever thought about buying them out?”

“Yes, but not in a serious way. It’s simply not worth the aggravation. Cindi is all over it and we’ll get plenty of new business from the implosion. It’ll actually be fun watching them collapse.”

“We never see this on the medical side.”

“We have a much smaller piece of a much larger pie, and we play in the small practice space. According to Cindi, all the sales reps know each other and everyone basically plays nice. If someone comes in and tries to disrupt the space it might get even crazier than the legal side.”

“So you can get back to programming again?”

“Yes. The only things on my calendar are a couple of days at Mayo and a week in Saint Martin.”

“We had planned those days for a trip to the Dells, but Terry really can’t get away given everything going on at Spurgeon. I’m just going to take the time off and relax.”

“Good! Shall we get to work?”

“Yes!”

Penny and I had a productive day, and at 5:00pm, I left the office and headed to Bucktown Bistro for a meal with our Swedish friends. Jessica was coming from home with the kids, except for Matthew who was in Cincinnati. Elyse walked to Eduardo’s office in the building near Ogilvie station, and they were driving together.

As always, Alex did a fantastic job and the service in the private dining room was perfect. After the wonderful meal, we went to a Blues club which had recently opened near Alex’s place, and which served food, so the kids could join us. While we listened to the music, I had a chance to talk quietly with Tina who sat next to me.

“Twenty-one years,” I said. “And we haven’t missed a month, even when I was in Japan. All because Magda Bolin asked me to speak to your school about being an exchange student.”

Tina smiled, “I followed you around like a puppy dog! I had such a crush on you, and, well, you know where that led! But, you weren’t going to move to Sweden and I wasn’t going to move here.”

“And yet, we found a way to play very important roles in each other’s lives. I’d say, because of the letters, you know me better than almost anyone because I used our letters the way I’ve used my journals - to help find myself. I owe you a serious debt of gratitude.”

“You’ve turned into a very good man, Steve. I never saw most of the drama, though you certainly wrote about it!”

“And you were a very good sounding board who never judged me, and who always gave me good advice.”

“Is it OK to say I’m jealous of Katt?” Tina asked with a soft laugh.

“It is.”

“Is she the only one who’s ever benefitted from your encounter with that Italian designer?”

“Yes.”

“And even though I say I’m jealous, I don’t think we could recapture the magic of that first night. There’s no going back.”

“No, there isn’t. The funny thing about that is that my conversation with Katt was very much like the first one we had twenty-one years ago!”

Tina laughed, “I am SO glad you didn’t fight me the way you fought her!”

“With Katt, it was like with so many girls - wrong place, wrong time, wrong circumstances.”

“You were so concerned about her age, but she was thirteen when you met. I was twelve and I told you what I would have done had you asked! I know you know I thought about it, but I judged correctly that you would have said ‘no’.”

“And for us, right time, right place, right circumstances for a lifelong relationship.”

“I’ve loved you from the first second I laid eyes upon you; I still do.”

“I love you too!” I exclaimed. “I hope we continue to love each other and write until we’re old and gray!”

“Me, too!”

🎤 Jesse

Marta came home with me from the Blues club, and after getting permission from Dad, she and I went to the sauna. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, so I wrapped a towel around my waist. When Marta joined me with a towel wrapped around her body and another around her long, blonde hair, I knew I’d made the correct decision.

“When do you think we’ll see each other again?” Marta asked.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Dad is talking about visiting Sweden next year while Aunt Bethany is there, and I’m sure he’d bring me.”

“Where is she going?”

“Stockholm, but I’m sure he’ll want to see your mom. You know, we can use the internet instead of sending letters! Do you have AIM and email?”

“Mom does, I think. I’ll check.”

“If you get it, you can contact me as MightyDuck on AIM. I’ll write it down for you along with my email address.”

“Can I ask why you don’t have a girlfriend?”

“I think you remember Francesca from when you visited before, right?”

“Yes.”

“We were a couple and then they moved to Iowa, so we broke up. Since then I’ve basically hung out with Libby, though I asked Kelly to a school dance and I invited a girl I know from Minnesota to a hockey tournament.”

“I wondered what happened to Francesca, but I wasn’t sure I should ask.”

I didn’t want to get into all the problems, so I decided simply to say truthful things, but leave out the craziness.

“We wanted to be together but her mom didn’t like it, and once they moved, her mom easily got her way because it’s so far away.”

“Not as far as Sweden!”

I chuckled, “It might as well be. I’d have to take a train and a bus and it would take most of the day to get to where she lives. It wouldn’t take much longer on a plane to get to Göteborg! Well, I’d have to get to the airport, but that’s easy - just walk to the L. And now that I’m fifteen, I just need to show my passport. Well, and buy a ticket.”

“Do you talk to her?”

“No. Her mom won’t let her call me. She didn’t want us together, as I said, and when they moved it made it easier for her mom to keep us apart.”

“Why would her mom want to keep you apart? You guys were together from the time you were babies!”

“I know, and her mom became very worried once we hit puberty.”

“Why are Americans so hung up about sex? Mom says it’s crazy!”

“I wish I knew! My family isn’t like that, nor are my dad’s friends, but society, in general, is totally nuts. People complained about my moms.”

“What’s wrong with your moms?”

“About half the country, maybe more, thinks gays and lesbians will burn in hell.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. And I’m sure I told you about the problems we had walking to school.”

“Kids in first grade walk to school in Sweden!”

“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “And it’s getting worse here. Just hope the stupidity doesn’t spread.”

“I can’t see my mom or any of my friends’ parents ever thinking like that!”

“I hope it stays that way.”

We finished our sauna, rinsed off in the shower separately, put on clothes, and went to the coach house. We said ‘good night’ to my moms, then went upstairs to brush our teeth and go to bed. As usual, I turned on my nightlight and turned off the main light. I was surprised when Marta simply took off her clothes and got into bed, so I did the same. She snuggled close and I put my arm around her, enjoying the feel of her warm, naked body on mine.

“Jesse,” Marta said timidly about five minutes later. “Do you want to?”

She still sounded nervous, and I considered what do to. The last time we’d slept in the same bed before this visit had been when we were six or seven. She was the one who had asked to sleep with me, without us even discussing it. In addition, she’d gone on the Pill without saying anything to me about it, or us even discussing sex. I’d let her decide the limits of what we’d done, and hadn’t pushed her to do more, so I didn’t feel as if I was pressuring her.

“I do, but only if you’re absolutely sure.”

“I want to,” she whispered, moving on top of me. “I’m sure.”

She kissed me and began moving her hips as she had the previous nights, but this time I felt her slick pussy lips directly on my quickly hardening dick. It didn’t take long for me to be totally hard, and when I was, Marta rubbed her pussy on the head of my dick, then wiggled until she had me lodged between her lower lips, then slowly pushed until I popped inside her.

“«Oj!»” she gasped, breaking our kiss. (“Oh!”)

Marta French kissed me again, then pushed and slowly took my dick into her pussy. When I was fully inside her, she broke our kiss and sighed deeply, then put her head on the pillow next to me, breathing hard. I moved my hand to her butt cheeks and squeezed. She took the hint and began grinding against me and flexing her hips, which felt really, really good.

Marta continued moving and her breathing grew ragged. She took a deep breath, her body shuddered a bit, and she let her breath out quickly. Several minutes later, the same thing happened, but this time I felt her muscles squeeze my dick. As little as she was moving, I could have gone for an hour, but I didn’t think that was a good idea for her first time, so I began pushing my hips up, and in response, Marta began lifting her butt, sliding up and down my shaft. About two minutes later I groaned and cum spurted from my dick, deep into her pussy. Marta sighed deeply, kissed me, lifted off, and moved to snuggle. She fell asleep almost immediately, so I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off.

July 25, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“Is something bothering you, Jesse?” Mom Two asked when I returned home from the airport where we’d said goodbye to our Swedish friends.

There was, though I couldn’t really put my finger on it. I was going to miss Marta, but it was more than that, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

“You mean you don’t know what’s bothering you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Did something happen with Marta? I mean besides her leaving?”

I shrugged, “Something just feels off.”

“Did you just start feeling this way?”

Actually, something had seemed ‘off’ when Marta asked to sleep with me. I’d thought it was just the surprise of her asking, and the implication, but now I wondered if it wasn’t something else.

“I guess maybe I’m worried that I’m starting to think more like Dad than I want to.”

“I don’t know everything you’re doing, but it sure doesn’t seem like it to me. At your age, well, Mom One can tell you first-hand, but I don’t think you’re behaving like him. What’s causing you consternation?”

“I guess it’s my idea of just one girl.”

“Because of your ‘friends with benefits’ situation with Libby?” Mom Two asked.

I nodded, “Yeah, I think so. And I’m supposed to see Joy next month when Dad goes to Mayo.”

“You do realize you are in control of your own body, right?”

I laughed, “If I let my body make my decisions, then I’d probably have more girls than Dad had at my age!”

Mom Two laughed and nodded, “So, like every other teenage boy suffering from testosterone overload, but with an actual chance of fulfilling those teenage fantasies?”

“Exactly!” I replied smugly, but then laughed.

Mom Two laughed and shook her head, “You are a turkey! So what are you thinking.”

“A lot of people assume Libby is my girlfriend, and maybe it just makes sense to say she is.”

“What about her friend?”

I shrugged, “I wouldn’t have a problem with Libby having sex with one female friend. It’s not like it would interfere with our relationship. It doesn’t now. And as Dad says, my rules would be for me, not for anyone else. I could share Libby with one girl.”

“And if you two were to marry?” Mom Two asked.

“I don’t see that happening because of the religion issue.”

“Humor me,” she said with a slight smile.

I shrugged, “In that case, I wouldn’t be OK with it. I think you and Mom One have the right idea, just like Uncle Kurt and Aunt Kathy, and all the others who are parents to cousins.”

“But it wouldn’t bother you if Libby was your girlfriend?”