Chapter 49: I Hope You’re Right

January 6, 1997, Chicago, Illinois

“DAD!” Birgit squealed when I walked into the house late Monday afternoon.

She ran to me and I scooped her into my arms, hugged her tightly, then kissed her forehead.

“I missed you, Pumpkin!”

“I missed you, too! Mom and Mom are still at work.”

“I know. How was your weekend?”

“Good. Aunt Kathy was here with her kids, and so were Aunt Jackie and Aunt Melanie.”

“Sounds like you guys had fun.”

“Tiffany and Rachel were here, too.”

“Matthew and Michael were with Eduardo, right?”

“Yes. They came home yesterday. Where’s Aunt Elyse?”

“On a different flight. She’ll be home in about an hour. Let’s go see your brothers and sisters.”

We went into the sunroom where we found her sisters who squealed just as Birgit had, and each received a hug and kiss, and then I went to the study where Matthew was using the computer to say ‘hi’ to him, then upstairs to see Albert and Michael. Finally, I went to the coach house and said ‘hello’ to Jesse.

“Good trip?” Winter asked when I came back into the main house.

“It was. How were things here?”

“The usual, I guess. The kids had friends over on the weekend, Doctor Jessica worked, and Kara hung out with Kathy, Jackie, Melanie, and Bethany. Maria Cristina had her study group on Saturday. Otherwise? No excitement!”

“How was your weekend?”

“Still exploring, but it’s a bit cold out! When Spring arrives, the parks will be awesome!”

“Check out Oak Street Beach while you’re at it.”

“Someone mentioned Indiana Dunes.”

“Definitely a place to check out once it’s warm. Did Kara or Jessica tell you about our Summer trip to Iron Mountain?”

“Yes. That’s when I plan to take a week’s vacation and go visit my sisters, Vickie, and some friends.”

“Cool. I’m going to unpack, then I’ll be back down. Need help with dinner?”

“No. I have it under control. Just hang out with your kids.”

I nodded and went upstairs. unpacked my bags, then took the laundry down to the basement. I loaded the washing machine, added soap, started it, then went back upstairs to hang out with the girls, all of whom wanted cuddles which I gladly provided.

Kara and Jessica arrived home just after 5:00pm, having come from the University where they both had their first day of teaching for the year.

“Wives!” I exclaimed, carefully disentangling myself from three daughters and getting up.

“I see the girls got their cuddle time!”

“I don’t think they ever get enough!” I chuckled. “Like certain wives!”

“Tiger,” Jessica growled.

“I like it when you growl,” I grinned.

We hugged, kissed, and to the dismay of the girls, I went upstairs with my wives so they could change into comfortable clothes.

“How did things go in Boca?” Kara asked.

“Quite well, actually. Obviously, people aren’t thrilled with the changes, but everyone understands why it has to be this way. We had some good talks, discussed how we’ll adapt to the major changes, and otherwise enjoyed our time. Oh,” I added offhandedly, “and I bagged my first lawyer.”

“Tiger!” Jessica laughed. “I thought you were just going to stay at the house!”

I smirked, “I did.”

“No way! You violated the policy?”

I nodded, “Yes, but it makes perfect sense. Deborah was the only member of the inner sanctum, what I call the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’, who hadn’t been baptized into the ‘Church of Steve’.”

“The WHAT?!” Kara asked, laughing hard.

“I can explain,” I said.

The three of us sat down on the couch and cuddled while I explained the conversation I’d had, and how it had led Deborah to make her request.

“Is that going to be ongoing?” Kara asked.

“That’s up to her, but I doubt it. It might be an occasional thing, but don’t forget she’s a lesbian. I wasn’t her first guy, either.”

“Would you compare her to Katy?” Jessica asked.

“You mean in terms of liking it with guys but needing to be with a girl as a partner? Maybe. Deborah’s experience with guys was a long time ago. Anyway, I felt it was important to honor her request. And just so you know, it wasn’t spur of the moment - we’ve been dancing around it for months.”

“I suppose that means Cindi gets her wish if she stays sober,” Kara said.

I shrugged, “If she wants it. I’m not so sure she does. And, honestly, I think it would be very different from what we’d planned fifteen years ago! Any plans for tonight?”

“A nice relaxing sauna with our husband and Maria Cristina,” Jessica said. “We all missed you while you were gone! Though I suppose you want to spend some time with the kids after dinner.”

“I do.”

And that’s what I did, and after the kids were in bed, the four of us went to the sauna. For the first few minutes, everyone was quiet, relaxing in the steam-filled room.

“How was the first day of school, Maria Cristina?”

“I’m 6.25% of the way through school!”

“I heard you hung out with your study group over the weekend.”

“We decided to get together and hang out, and have dinner together on Saturday. During each quarter, we’re busy with homework and studying.”

“You really should make time for other things,” Jessica said. “I kept my nose in my books all the time, and I think that was wrong. I think you’re intelligent enough to get perfect grades even if you have some fun.”

“I spend time with Steve,” Maria Cristina said happily.

“I wish I had had him when I started school,” Jessica replied, “but I think he was only sixteen and living in Ohio.”

“Actually, that’s when I was in Sweden,” I replied.

“You’d met Pia by the end of the Summer, right?” she asked.

“I met Pia in July, less than two weeks after I’d arrived in Sweden. Her brother Putte was the boyfriend of one of the girls in the family I stayed with temporarily because of my mom’s interference. I was invited to a party at his place, and he invited Pia to keep the guy-girl balance. It worked out.”

“It always does!” Kara teased.

“Have you met her?” Maria Cristina asked.

“Yes,” Kara replied. “Pia has been to visit a few times, and we’ve seen her in Sweden as well. Jesse is enamored with Marta.”

“Who ISN’T Jesse enamored with?” I chuckled.

“So, like his dad?” Maria Cristina asked with a smirk.

“You seem to have come to terms with our husband’s behavior.”

Maria Cristina smiled, “We’re both holding up our ends of the bargain. And the sex is awesome, too! It just took some time to understand Steve, at least at a basic level. I know he’s way more complex.”

“And discovering that is part of the enjoyment of being around him,” Jessica said.

I chuckled, “You might want to run that statement by Bethany, Jennifer, Melanie, Kathy, Joyce, and my sister! Not to mention Kara!”

“OK, so perhaps before I met him he had a few issues,” Jessica smirked.

“A FEW?” Kara said, ruefully. “Not that I was much better, but talk about an understatement!”

“Compared to ME?” Jessica asked.

“I think we can safely say all three of us had quite a few issues,” I replied. “And so did all the girls you mentioned. I’d say, given how bad things were, we’ve all turned out pretty well.”

“My life was difficult because of lack of money,” Maria Cristina said, “but I didn’t have any real problems.”

“Money can buy nice things, and solve some problems,” I said, “but not the important ones, once you get past food, a place to live, and clothes.”

“Clothes seem optional at the moment!” Kara teased.

“Clothes are ALWAYS optional for you, Kara!” Jessica teased.

“She has such a beautiful body, I’m not surprised!” Maria Cristina sighed.

“You have NOTHING to be ashamed about,” I said. “And I think Kara will be happy to tell you the key feature.”

Kara giggled softly, “He prefers your A-cups, and Jessica’s, to my C-cups!”

“He said that, but I never met a guy who agreed with him! They all like girls like Samantha’s friend Liz with her giant boobs! Or the woman who works for him, Cindi! Hers are just huge!”

“He’s weird that way!” Jessica laughed.

“He’s weird in LOTS of ways!” Kara teased.

“Do you see what I’ve had to put up with for the past decade?” I asked.

“YOU?” Maria Cristina smirked. “Them!”

“Hey!” I objected.

“She’s part of the family for sure,” Kara declared.

All I could do was smile and shake my head. Kara was right about that.

January 7, 1997, Chicago, Illinois

“Any idea why?” Eve asked on Tuesday morning.

I shook my head, “No. He just sent word that he didn’t need the meeting.”

“OK. I’ll cancel my flight and hotel. Just an FYI, everything is on track for the move February 1st and 2nd.”

“When will Sam and Brenda certify the network?”

“On the 24th. That gives us enough time to fix anything which isn’t working. She told me what happened when you moved into this building.”

“When are they installing the new cards in the phone switch?”

“This weekend. They need four hours, including reprogramming and a reboot.”

“The cards aren’t hot-swappable?”

“They need to upgrade the processor cards and load a complete new version of the operating system because we’re going from Feature Package I to Feature Package II. They can’t really do it hot because all the phones on the card have to be disconnected. So even with hot-swap cards, some phones have to be down no matter what.”

“You sold me,” I chuckled. “The only other concern I have is about the security system.”

“I met with Ted Farley on that, and the contractor who’s doing the installation was thoroughly vetted. And Ted will check the system himself and make sure all the default codes have been removed.”

“Excellent.”

“If that’s all, I have work to do!”

I chuckled, “I’ll go!”

I left Eve’s office and went back to mine.

“You know, you have to be a pretty big jerk to take a guy away from his honeymoon!”

“I told Terry he didn’t have to travel to Boca!” I protested.

Penny laughed, “I know. He and I talked about it. If it had been our first honeymoon, that might have been different.”

I chuckled, “You were pregnant!”

“That did kind of put a crimp in things. Did you guys come up with a master plan to take over the world in Florida?”

“I’ll settle for our little part of it,” I replied.

“What’s the scoop about Dante?”

“Deborah, Jamie, and I are going to take him apart legally and Cindi and her team are going to take his business apart piece by piece.”

“You know, if you lend me that pistol, I’ll end it quickly.”

I chuckled, “No, you wouldn’t. You’d shoot him in his kneecaps and then torture him for days.”

“Perhaps,” she grinned. “But I was thinking of shooting that asshole in a place that would REALLY hurt!”

“9mm vasectomy?”

“It would serve him right!”

“I do think getting shot in the kneecaps would hurt, too.”

“As much as having your balls blown off?”

“Well, no,” I said with a grimace, “and given the way he treated you, Sam, and others, probably deserved.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Pretty Penny. What?”

“How much teasing is OK?”

“Teasing is fine, so long as the intent is ONLY teasing. It’s the sentiment behind the teasing that creates the problem.”

“And the kisses on the cheek?”

“I never stopped that before,” I replied.

“I know. I was just asking. I treasure those, you know.”

“I got that idea. And the sentiment hasn’t changed.”

“You didn’t mess me up, you know. I did that myself. You simply let me be me.”

“Yes, but I did have some responsibility as an adult.”

“Did I make ANY decisions you wouldn’t let Jesse or Birgit make at age fifteen?”

“No, but you weren’t properly prepared to make those decisions.”

“Then it’s my mom’s fault, not yours!”

“How are things with your mom?”

“Tolerable. Bart is going to take the job at Georgetown. They’ll be moving in June, and Terry, the kids, and I will have the house to ourselves.”

“I think that’s a good thing. How are the kids doing?”

“Happy that Daddy is home. They never really understood what was going on, and I think that’s a good thing.”

“So no more drama?” I ask with a grin.

“That’ll be the day!” she said with a grin. “And the same goes for you!”

“Don’t we know it,” I replied, and turned to my keyboard to begin working.

I only spent about two hours before I had to leave the office to head home for my lunch with Al. Jessica had been extremely nervous when she’d left for work in the morning, but at this point, no decisions had been reached and I did my best to reassure her that somehow things would work out OK. The problem was, I wasn’t all that confident myself, but I had to be Jessica’s rock of support, so I said the right things to help her calm down for work.

“Lunch is ready,” Winter said when I walked into the house. “Doctor Barton called and said he’s on his way. I expect him any minute.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “We’ll need complete privacy for our lunch.”

“Understood. Once Doctor Barton arrives I’m going to go do the weekly shopping.”

“I appreciate that.”

Ten minutes later, Al had arrived and Winter had left, and Al and I sat down at the table in the kitchen to eat.

“After thinking about it, I suspect you’re right in that what would be called a cover-up would be worse than the crime, if you can call it that.”

“Don’t mince words, Al,” I replied. “It WOULD be a cover-up and, to be honest, while I haven’t talked to an attorney, there COULD be criminal charges if a patient with a bad outcome decided to sue. And, being the cynical bastard that I am, not to mention being protective of Jessica, I’d seriously consider fixing it that way.”

“I don’t like the implications. Doesn’t that just create a larger cover-up?”

“Which is why I only said I’d seriously consider handling it that way. You can’t, in the end, because if it comes out, then it’s the hospital involved in the cover-up and all hell breaks loose. So, in the end, I’d say your only choice is to go to the hospital leadership and confess the situation. But before you do, YOU ensure that you have the story ready to be told, from start to finish. And that means telling Troy.”

“I think I might rather tell the Hospital Board.”

“I know. But then again, Troy has no room to talk. Granted, I realize that’s moral equivalency, but I’m not using it to justify anything at all, simply saying that he’d be a major hypocrite to criticize Angela for something he himself did. But forget that, because, in the end, I don’t give a flying fuck about Troy Wilton, or his marriage. I have exactly one focus, Al, and it’s the one you wanted and demanded.”

“Trust me, I remember. And I do appreciate it, even if it’s going to make my life uncomfortable.”

“Mine, too. And Jessica’s. So, as I was saying, get her college records, her MCAT results, all the documentation from Indiana University Medical School from her application to her matriculation, including any written evaluations, both yours and every other professor she had. She’ll sign the necessary release. Then get every single piece of information available from both UofC and from Cook County, including her formal reviews and recommendations, plus copies of her offer letters from the other hospitals for Attending positions. Put it all together, write up a narrative of the events, leaving out nothing, and take it with you when you confess.”

“Stacking the deck?”

“Is there anything, other than her time in Maine, that is negative in her record? Anywhere?”

“No.”

“And is there proof of nepotism? I mean, anything that you actually did?”

He shook his head, “No, but they’ll assume.”

I smiled, “Yes, they will. Make them prove it. What do they have? Her getting into medical school? I lay you any odds you want that kids have gone to the same medical school as one, or even both, of their parents. The Match? The vote was unanimous to put her first on your list. I’ll also wager that Residents have matched at hospitals where their parent or parents work before. The Attending offer? That was decided by a committee which you don’t chair.

“That said, that is the ONE thing they can try to use - that you basically ran the medical director out so Jessica could be hired at UofC, but in the end, it wasn’t just you - it was other doctors as well. But that was as much Howard’s doing as anyone’s. He didn’t think the medical director should have the final word, because Howard feels the doctors are the ones who need to make those decisions, not management.”

“I’m management!” Al protested.

“You’re a doctor first, a manager second. It’s the guys who are administrators who happen to have medical degrees Howard doesn’t like. Same here. Worse, are the execs with NO medical training, just degrees in hospital operations. Anyway, since she was hired, she’s had three articles published in refereed journals and made keynote presentations at two trauma conferences and a surgery conference, not to mention she’s been invited to speak at dozens which she had to turn down.

“The bottom line here, is you make the case that she is SO good, and SO well respected, and SO professional, that nothing you did showed favoritism, nor was it nepotism, and there is literally no risk to the hospital in keeping Jessica in her Attending position and keeping her as an Associate Professor of Medicine. Period. End of story.”

“I notice a glaring omission,” Al said.

“You, sir, Doctor Albert Barton, MD, FACS, etc., etc., throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Let Malik, Abe, Gina, and Sally defend you. And Howard, as well. But you only talk to Malik and Howard in advance. Go to Malik first, and seek his advice, then, on his advice, go talk to Howard who’ll have to convene an emergency meeting of the Hospital Board.”

“With my pile of documentation as the evidence, and Malik, Abe, Gina, and Sally there on my behalf. You are a sneaky, underhanded bastard of a son-in-law!”

“Thank you,” I grinned.

“They’ll have to suspend me, and possibly Jessica as well.”

I shook my head, “That’s the entire point of the documentation. Suspending the best trauma surgeon in the country with a near-perfect track record, won’t be possible with the mountain of evidence you provide. What they WILL do, is ask her to take a week’s vacation while they review what you’ve submitted.”