Chapter 75: The Old World Died, and a New One Was Born

September 4, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I groused, wanting to throw something at the television.

“What, Tiger?” Jessica asked.

“The guy they just named Director of the FBI? Robert S. Mueller? Well, HIS version of the law is that you can be in Russia, as a Russian citizen, doing something perfectly legal in Russia, and he can arrest and jail you because that thing was theoretically against a vague American law.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. He had a Russian citizen, Dmitry Sklyarov, arrested for violating the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. It’s complete and total BS! It’s like the CPD writing you a ticket for speeding in Moscow or arresting a nineteen-year-old for having a beer in Germany.”

“Is the guy still in jail?”

“No, he’s out on $50,000 bond, but he can’t leave Northern California. I’m willing to bet you anything you care to wager that the case is dismissed before it ever comes to trial. There is no crime to prosecute, and the government won’t risk being slapped on the wrist. And the new US Attorney can do it without losing face because Mueller will no longer be in charge of the case. Unfortunately, he WILL be in charge of the FBI, and if he sticks to his Stasi-style theories of law enforcement, we’re screwed. The guy should never be confirmed and should never be trusted with anything ever again.”

“Wow, Tiger!”

“His idiocy made things with EB much harder for NIKA, so yes, it’s personal!”

“Ah, I didn’t realize that.”

“We tend not to talk about those kinds of details from work at home.”

“Dinner!” Winter called out.

I shut off CNN and we joined the rest of the family at the table for our evening meal. After dinner, we went to karate, and when we got home, we spent time with the kids. After they all went to bed, Jessica turned in for the night, while Kara, Suzanne, and I decided on a sauna.

“I’m not sure this is better,” Kara said when we finally headed up to bed.

“Less sex?” I teased.

“Well, yes, but that’s not it. I don’t like the three of us not going to bed at the same time.”

“And I don’t like not walking Jess to work. But, she’s also here on the weekends and can go to karate with us. It’s a trade-off. But if you aren’t happy, let’s find a solution.”

“What if we just went to bed early every night? Basically the same time the kids do.”

“I don’t mind getting up at 3:30am,” I replied. “You’re the one who isn’t a morning person.”

“I think I could become a morning person.”

“Then let’s talk with Jess tomorrow. I do need to make a quick call before we go to bed. It’s Leigh’s birthday today.”

I made the call, then Kara and I quietly went upstairs to the bedroom, undressed, and climbed into bed. This was the part I hated, and I was sure Kara hated as well - we got into one side of the king-size bed and cuddled close, while Jessica slept soundly on the other side.

September 5, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“It’s what we want to do, Jess,” Kara said as we got ready for karate on Wednesday evening. “I really don’t like getting into bed when you’re asleep, and Steve really misses walking you to work.”

“And Jess,” I continued, “be honest - do you like coming up to bed alone and basically sleeping alone on one side of the bed?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Then I think we have a solution,” I said. “Kara can stay in bed while I walk you to work, and I can run, then do the things I usually do in the evenings before Birgit is up for cuddle time. And I could even go into the office early and be home early, which now that I think about it, would be good. Really, the only adjustments are for Guys’ Night and Girls’ Night Out, but we don’t have to get up early on Sundays.”

“What about Suzanne and Natalie?” Jessica asked.

“Neither of them will say a peep,” I replied. “And you know full well that you and Kara come first.”

“Always!” Kara giggled. “You’re very, very considerate in that regard, Snuggle Bear!”

“That’s part of it, too, Jess,” I continued. “It’s made our sex less regular and less spontaneous.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I thought this would be better.”

“We all did,” I replied. “But going to bed early is a minor change, and if I find I’m not getting enough sleep, I’ll get back in bed with Kara after walking you to work, then get up for my run. We’ll start next week.”

“I love you both so much!” Jessica exclaimed.

“And we love you, too!” I confirmed. “Shall we go to karate?”

“Yes!” they both declared.

🎤 Jesse

“Good evening, General Dmitry! May I please speak with Larisa?”

“Of course, Jesse Stepanovich! One moment!”

He called her to the phone and she was on the line a few seconds later.

“Hi, Jesse!”

“Hi Larisa! Happy birthday!”

“Thank you! I received the card you sent and the gift! Thank you for the very nice bracelet!”

“You’re welcome!”

“Mother said we’re going to vist during the Christmas holidays. I think she spoke to your father.”

“I’m sure she did. Are you doing anything special?”

“I have some friends over.”

“Then I won’t keep you! I’ll speak to you soon!”

“Bye, Jesse!”

“Bye, Larisa!”

September 6, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Those fucking ASSHOLES!” Cindi groused when she, Liz, and Elyse came to my office on Thursday afternoon.

She’d just heard the same thing that I’d read on CNN’s website - that the US Justice Department had announced that it was no longer seeking to break up Microsoft, but was instead going to seek a lesser penalty.

“I’d say Microsoft won and everyone else is screwed,” Liz observed. “There is no remedy which can fix this short of breaking them up. But I also told you so.”

“You did, and while I’m no big fan of serious regulatory schemes, it’s pretty clear Microsoft was behaving in a predatory manner. More problematic is that they’ve managed to institute what amounts to a tax on every PC, and create a stranglehold on business such that competition is impossible. I don’t know what the right solution is, but I do know that if you are going to have antitrust law, you actually have to enforce it. This isn’t enforcement, it’s the opposite - regulatory capture.”

“Well,” Cindi replied, “then we’re going to push even harder on using Linux and MySQL on servers. For the medium to large law firms, it’s cheaper to buy an extra server than to license Microsoft SQL. Steve, unless you object, all our new proposals are going to list ‘Database Server’ as a line item with the cost of a correctly configured Dell system running Linux and MySQL. We can get them without Windows Server licenses, build them and test them in the offices, and then ship them to the customer, all for less than the the cost of the Microsoft CALS.”

“No objection. If Stephanie gives you the green light, go for it!”

“What do you say to putting our logo on the machine right next to the Dell logo?”

“I like it, so long as there aren’t any legal concerns.”

“None I can think of,” Liz said. “So long as we’re not representing the hardware as something we built, without permission from Dell to do that, adding our logo is no problem. That said, Cindi, if you show images in ad copy, I wouldn’t display any logos.”

“Got it.”

“No issues with warranty or support?” Elyse asked.

“No,” Cindi replied. “This is no different from anything else we source from Dell for customers under our master reseller agreement.”

“Then I have no objections, either,” Elyse replied. “You can tell Stephanie that when you propose it.”

“Will do. Fucking government assholes!”

Cindi, Elyse, and Liz left my office and I turned back to my workstation.

September 7, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“What are we seeing tonight?” Libby asked as we walked to the cafeteria for lunch on Friday.

“If it’s OK with you, The Musketeer,” I replied. “It’s a retelling of the Dumas story.”

“I heard it had a love story to go with all the fights, so sure! Who else?”

“Rachel and a couple of guys from the hockey team.”

“Cool. Dinner first?”

“Yes.”

“Sex after?”

“Yes!”

We bought our lunches and went to sit with Rachel, Vickie, Shandra, Tim, and Walt who shared our lunch period. Rachel asked if it was OK for Vickie and Shandra to join us, and I was cool with that. Tim and Walt were the two guys from the hockey team who were going, so they were already invited.

“Did anyone not make the team?” Vickie asked.

“One guy from the private school, and one new Freshman here,” I said. “He was pretty bad. I played against him a couple of times in the Summer league and I’m positive Coach made the right decision.”

“Is there a second goalie?”

“A kid from the private school,” I said. “He’s a Sophomore like me, and played travel leagues, so I’ve never seen him play. At tryouts, we were close, but I have the starting position because of last year. I just have to step up my game!”

“Man, it would suck if he got the starting job,” Tim said.

“More than not having a team?” I asked.

“Well, no, not when you put it that way.”

“It’s going to be strange playing without Mia and Kenny,” I said, “and tough without having Jerry as my goalie coach.”

“Did he make the team at UW?”

“Yes. He’s the backup goalie. Mia is playing with a girls ‘club’ team. There’s no official school team for girls.”

“That stinks!” Vickie replied.

“Maybe your dad should get involved in college hockey,” Rachel suggested. “His company is run by women!”

“Not much chance of that,” I replied. “They are going to sponsor a computer club here, for anyone interested. My Aunt Julia is coordinating. They also have an internship program for girls.”

“Why just girls?” Walt asked.

“Dad says when they started out, there were almost no girls in the computer science program. When he was at IIT, there were almost no girls at all - eight or nine guys for every girl.”

“Hmm,” Shandra smirked, “a ‘target rich’ environment!”

I laughed, “Walt doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Do you know what hockey players smell like when they come off the ice?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Yes!” Rachel and Libby exclaimed together, causing all us guys to laugh.

“My sister used to say ‘stinky boys’ all the time,” I chuckled.

“Walt does clean up nice, Shandra,” Rachel said.

“Maybe,” she smirked.

“I promise to take a shower with you if necessary!” he teased.

Everyone laughed, proving my point to Birgit about knowing your audience.

🎤 Steve

“I’ve really been looking forward to this,” Natalie said as we climbed into bed on Friday evening.

We were in the former nanny room, which had been Suzanne’s room, but which was now a guest bedroom, which Natalie would use on weekends.

“I’m all yours until tomorrow morning.”

“I’m SO glad you don’t run on Saturdays!”

I chuckled, “I’m actually impressed that you’re still alive!”

“I’m a good negotiator!” Natalie said, snuggling close. “And really, it just means Birgit gets her cuddles thirty minutes later than she used to.”

“I still want to know how you managed that!”

“Girls have to have SOME secrets!”

“She petulantly refused to discuss it with me, which is a first!”

“Poor baby! Perhaps I can make you feel better!”

“Perhaps!”

Natalie gave me an exquisite blowjob, watched me pleasure her orally in the mirror, then gently rode me to a wonderful mutual release, after which she stretched out on top of me.

“Feel better?” she asked.

“Very much so! Did you have a good time with the girls tonight?”

“I did. Suzanne’s friends, well, my friends now, are totally cool. And Ingrid and Astrid joined us.”

“That’s cool,” I replied.

“Even cooler is that I’ll probably be able to see Tessa and Elsa in Europe once I go to Russia in three years.”

“That’s one of the things I liked most about my travel overseas - meeting people who I could see again.”

“Can I tell you something about Kim and Nickie?” Natalie asked.

“Sure.”

“They discovered they missed out on something really good.”

“Tessa?”

“She appears to have made it VERY clear to all of them that you were, and I’m quoting, ‘the best, most expert, one-off shag’ she’s ever had. I’d say you cum highly recommended!”

I laughed, “Nice play on words!”

“Don’t be shocked if they approach you.”

“I’m hoping you didn’t encourage them.”

“No. Neither did Suzanne from what I could tell. In fact, she was careful not to say much of anything other than she agreed with Tessa and to confirm that your wives are cool with it. Elsa was very, very happy, though she was a bit less effusive.”

“I’m curious about your view.”

Natalie laughed, “I’m having an affair with a married man and you think I have room to talk?”

“Yes, to that married man.”

“Well, first of all, I came into this with my eyes wide open - I knew you were married when I asked you to take me to bed in Saint Petersburg. Second, having spent four years being mentored by you, and the past year or so being your lover again, I’m confident that you are who you are, and that I love you for who you are. And that’s reciprocated because you love me for who I am. I know, with absolute certainty, that we’ll always love each other, and no matter what, I can come to you for help and you’ll give it freely. Short of putting hit contracts on your wives and finding a miracle medical procedure that would allow reversing your vasectomy, this is not only the best I can do, but what I want to do. And besides, if I were to actually put hit contracts on your wives, my life wouldn’t be worth a plugged nickel! Your pint-size Ninja would take me out in a heartbeat!”

I chuckled, “There’s a new one! And that’s a very practical attitude and approach.”

“Something I’ve learned from you! Evaluate the situation, decide what the best possible outcome could be, and if that’s enough, then move forward. If not, then change things you can change without hurting anyone.”

“You’re an amazing young woman, Natalie.”

“OK if I show you just how amazing once more before we go to sleep?”

“Of course!”

September 8, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

“Spill the beans, Pumpkin,” I demanded when Birgit and I were cuddling on Saturday morning.

“Never!” she giggled. “I get to keep ONE secret from you!”

“Uh huh,” I replied flatly.

“Scared?” she teased.

“Of what it took to convince you to delay cuddles for thirty minutes on Saturday mornings? Yes!”

“Mom said it might change during the week because you plan to go to bed early and get up early.”

“I think your time will stay the same, Pumpkin. I’m probably going to run earlier, eat, then cuddle you so I can go to the office earlier and come home earlier.”

“So you can sleep with my moms!”

“Obviously!”