Chapter 61: Preparations

March 6, 1997, Apple Orchard Bed-and-Breakfast near Montpelier, Vermont

“KATY!” Birgit squealed.

“BIRGIT!” Katy squealed back at her.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as the two of them did their usual greeting ritual - mutual squeals, hugs, kisses on the cheek, and then taking each other’s hands to walk into the converted farmhouse. Kara, Jessica, and I grabbed our bags, and Birgit’s, from the trunk, and followed them into the house. Kathy and Kurt were waiting for us inside, but Bethany and Tom wouldn’t arrive for another hour.

“Hi,” Amy said. “I see you were dropped like a hot potato as well!”

I nodded, “The one time my daughter ignores me for someone else.”

“Boys?”

“Dime-a-dozen for her at this point!” Kara replied. “They all do her bidding.”

“Of COURSE they do!” Amy replied, shaking her head. “That child is a category 5 hurricane!”

“I was thinking F5 tornado myself,” I said with a grin.

“And it’s not just for her that boys will do her bidding,” Jessica said. “I don’t think Kathy’s girls are going to have a problem, either!”

“I may need to buy a shotgun!” Kurt grinned. “Hi guys!”

“Hi!” I replied.

My wives and I exchanged hugs with Kurt and Kathy, and then Kurt helped me take our bags upstairs. When we came back down, we found the women all sitting in the living room.

“I’d say we’re seriously outnumbered,” Kurt said quietly.

“I never objected to this kind of ratio!” I chuckled.

“No sane man would! Well, at least until he marries! I was completely outnumbered until Keith came along. He’s just getting to the point where we can do things together. It was about three with Jesse, right?”

“It depends on how you mean that. He would sit with me and watch Jeopardy from the time he was one.”

“OK, maybe I should say Matthew, then! Jesse is as much a force of nature as Birgit is!”

“Around three or four, yes. Before that it’s kind of tough because they can’t walk or run too far, and hand-eye coordination is a bit lacking. We tried to get Jesse on skates when he was very little, and it was a serious challenge. Five is the age they recommend, and I totally understand why.”

“Matthew called Kathy to let her know about the performance dates for the musical. We’ll probably come to the matinée on Saturday.”

“He’s called just about everyone he can think of! The kid is turning into a serious actor and singer.”

“Does he know what he might want to do?”

“No clue. He’s a good student, but he hasn’t latched onto anything specifically except acting. I don’t think he wants that for a career, though. He reads voraciously, something I did as a kid and still do, though a bit less because of demands on my time.”

“No computers for him?”

“None of the kids are interested in them except as tools or for playing games. Michael is the closest, with his expressed interest in robots. Once he gets to sixth grade, there’s a robotics club he can join. I showed him an old Lego Logo set I had from right after we graduated that ran on the Apple II. I still have it and it works. We’ve found some erector sets that have a more robotic theme, but not what I really want. Lego has some prototypes, but they don’t have a system for sale.”

“What are you playing these days?”

“Civ II is my ‘go to’ game. On Windows, I just got Diablo. I’ve also played Beyond the Beyond on the PlayStation; the kids love it, but it doesn’t hold my interest. I’ve also messed around with Daggerfall, on Windows. The Mac gaming environment totally sucks at this point.”

“Do you think Steve Jobs coming back will help?”

“I think it depends on what happens with Gil Amelio. My prediction is Amelio leaves and the Board comes hat-in-hand to Jobs and begs him to save the company. I think he can do it. Personally, I think they shafted him when they kicked him out, but I also think his time away has helped. We’ll see. A friend of mine in San Francisco says the whispers are all saying it’s only a matter of time before Jobs runs Apple again.”

“I hear you’re using one of our glucose monitors,” Kurt said, changing the subject.

“Al has me regularly testing myself to look for patterns in my glucose levels. They’re pretty sure abnormally high blood sugar, at least by my norms, is what triggered the manic episode that led to your wife calling and reading me the Riot Act. Deserved, mind you.”

“You’re damned right it was deserved. How does your blood sugar look?”

“Right on target, at least for me. I’m pretty sure the problem was caused by eating a cheeseburger and fries, which threw off my system. Roughly speaking, it looks like it takes a week to ten days to get my system back on track when I eat that many carbs. It was the fries, mostly, but the bun didn’t help. And that tracks with my syncopal episodes in Amsterdam. Mary Whittaker at Mayo is developing a way to test that, which is probably going to involve drinking varying amounts of glucose and watching the fluctuations over a week or two.”

“But otherwise you’re OK?”

“Yep. My mild bipolar disorder is under control so long as my blood sugar stays in the right range. That keeps the manic phases at bay, and I take my vitamin D, which keeps the depression phases at bay.”

“But none of your kids have shown any symptoms?”

“No. And my sister’s issues were different.”

“Your mom was a real piece of work.”

“That is the root cause of many of Stephanie’s and my problems, but in the end, through counseling and behavioral modification, we’ve mostly gotten past it. And you know I’m pretty much tolerant of my mom these days, so long as she keeps her opinions to herself.”

“I know I’m hopping subjects, but it appears you were right about Dave. He seems like a completely different person.”

“I know. He’s more like he was when we were in college now. I think the stress just got to him. And that’s partly my fault for not recognizing it soon enough. He was burned out after ten solid years of hard work. But he misses it, too, which is why he was so quick to jump on the project for my friend Tara in Pittsburgh.”

Birgit was finally done with Katy, and Katy came over to say ‘hello’ and get a hug.

“Her Majesty deigned to permit you to greet me?” I grinned.

Katy laughed and nodded, “You know how she is.”

“Oh, I do!” I agreed. “I take it she’s sleeping in your room?”

“Do you think she’d tolerate any other arrangement?”

“If you told her ‘no’, she would,” I replied. “You know she understands we let her get away with some of this, because it’s about making her own decisions, but she also knows that there are limits.”

“Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt!” Kurt exclaimed.

“He’s right,” Katy said. “Birgit does know there are limits. She just tests them at every opportunity. Usually that happens when they’re teenagers; Steve’s kids are doing that at a much earlier age.”

“And egging on the rest of the cousins!” Kurt replied. “That said, as a group, they’re all very mature and very well adjusted.”

Katy smiled, “Steve’s parenting style seems to work pretty well. We’re using a modified version with Davey.”

“Where is the little tyke?” I asked.

“Asleep. He’ll have a long day tomorrow with Birgit, so we put him to bed. We weren’t sure when you guys would get here with possible flight delays, and so on.”

“In one of those miracles you don’t expect, everything was smooth from Dallas to Midway and then from O’Hare to Logan.”

“How did things go in Dallas?” Kurt asked.

“About what we expected. Dante gets a couple of weeks to reframe his arguments, and then we’ll start discovery. Once that’s done, there will be a mediation conference of some kind, and when he refuses to settle on any terms I’d accept, we’ll go to trial. We think we’ll win; he’s already shot himself in the foot once.”

“How so?”

“His injunction request was based on running out of money before the trial, so we offered to expedite things and move to trial in about six weeks. He refused, which means he won’t get his injunction because he can’t prolong things on purpose.”

“You’re calling the tune again?”

“Playing the man, not the law.”

“Just like when we play poker!”

“Something like that!”

“Hello!” I heard Bethany call out from the foyer.

She and Tom came into the room a few seconds later, and after handshakes and hugs, Tom took their bags up to their room, then all of us sat down in the great room to relax before bedtime.

March 7, 1997, Apple Orchard Bed-and-Breakfast near Montpelier, Vermont

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Amy nodded, “Katy and I talked about it, and you satisfy a very specific need she has without running the risk of messing up our relationship by doing something dumb like falling in love with her!”

“I have news for you - I’ve been in love with her for more than a dozen years!”

“Yes, but not the way I mean. You two love each other, but given her preferences, and your complete respect for them, it’s not a problem. Make it good enough to last her a year!”

I chuckled, “I have good reports, but I’m not THAT good!”

Amy winked, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and I went to find Katy. She was all smiles when I took her hand and we went upstairs, and two hours later, she had an even bigger smile, to go with the contented smile as we cuddled after having made love for the third time.

“I heard you had a bit of an episode,” Katy said.

“Word gets around,” I sighed. “I’ve already been taken to task plenty.”

“That’s not me, Steve. I took you to task for plenty before we first made love. After that, it was different.”

“True.”

“How can I help you?”

“Turning the tables?”

“You’ve helped me so much, I want to help you.”

“And I appreciate that, but fundamentally the problem stems from when I obsess over something, and my blood sugar is even slightly out of whack. It’s already strange compared to most people, and it appears I’m super-sensitive to changes that would be no big deal for most people. You know my issues - syncope and mild bipolar disorder - both of which seem to be controlled so long as I keep my blood sugar in check, exercise, and get proper sleep. But the thing is, nobody is sure if it’s blood sugar alone, because my endocrine system seems to be abnormal. The doctors are chasing symptoms, but have no idea about the actual cause.”

“So that’s what led you to react the way you did with Bethany?”

“I had a manic episode, but nobody is completely sure what triggered it. Because I was in a manic phase, I let myself get completely carried away and went off on Bethany. For now, because nobody really knows for sure, I’m monitoring my blood sugar, and I’ve asked people to watch for signs I’m obsessing and setting up a feedback loop which makes it worse. I think when you were in Chicago, the only thing which really did that to me was the situation with my mom.”

“You eventually got over that.”

“It took a long time, but I finally got to a point where I wasn’t trying to prove anything to her. But that entire thing also set up my complete and utter contempt for anyone who wants to control my life. Combine that with my disgust for how Willow is being treated, and I got myself upset and took it out on Bethany. I’ve asked everyone to watch out for that kind of thing, and I’m also being very strict about my carb intake.”

“You already were.”

“Yes, but now it’s no birthday cake or French fries, or anything, even on occasion.”

“Is there ANY way I can help?”

“At the moment, I don’t think so, other than being my friend. But I promise if there is anything, I’ll let you know. How are things with you?”

“Very good. Amy and I are doing great, Davey is a lot of fun, and business is going well. Of more immediate concern, I just had an exquisite two-hour lovemaking session with a man I love very much and who is very tender and caring, and who cuddles better than anyone I know!”

“You’ve always been special, Katy. And I think Amy and Davey are lucky to have you full-time, minus the two or three hours we get every year!”

“And I’m lucky to have them. I hear about difficulties lesbians have adopting all over the country.”

“I’m glad things worked out the way they did for you.”

“Me, too. Got one more in you before we shower?”

“I think you mean one more in YOU before we shower!” I chuckled.

“I think you might be right!”

March 8, 1997, Apple Orchard Bed-and-Breakfast near Montpelier, Vermont

On Saturday, I split and carried wood with help from Kurt, while Tom performed ‘handyman’ tasks around the bed-and-breakfast, and my wives and Birgit helped Amy and Katy with cleaning, laundry and other daily chores, as well as baking apple pies and making maple ice cream. We all gathered for lunch with the other guests who were at the bed-and-breakfast, and then afterwards, the Jaegers and Quinns joined my wives and me for a walk, while Birgit stayed behind to play with Davey.

“Can you imagine Birgit with her own kid?” Kara asked.

“Most fathers would recoil at the thought of an eight-year-old with a baby, but I’ll wager anything you want she doesn’t get married before she’s twenty-five, and doesn’t consider having a kid until she’s at least twenty-eight.”

“I think you’re right,” Bethany observed. “Matthew will want to have kids pretty much right away, and so will Jesse, for that matter. And we know Stephie already has plans!”

“But does Nicholas agree?” Kurt asked with a grin.

“Does Nicholas have a choice?” Tom asked. “I think his future has been carved in stone for YEARS!”

“He’s the one who agreed to marry her!” Kathy responded.

“Are you sure he understood what he was getting into?” Kurt asked.

“When he understands what he will GET into, he won’t object!” Kara smirked.

“It’s always sex with you, isn’t it Kara?” I asked.

“And as I asked the LAST time you said that, are you objecting?”

“No!”

“Very wise answer, Mr. Adams!” Kathy said.

“Kathy, how did you manage to get yesterday off?” Tom asked.

“We’re allowed two ‘mental health’ days per year.”

“I’d need WAY more than two ‘mental health’ days a year if I had to teach sixth-graders!” I declared.

“I don’t think a year of ‘mental health’ days would help YOUR condition!” Kathy retorted.

“I’ve never denied being crazy!” I insisted.

“Speaking of crazy, how did things go in Dallas?” Tom asked.

“Given the variables, I think things went fairly well. Dante isn’t going to get his injunction, which means everyone at NIKA can simply focus on normal business while Deborah and I tangle with Dante. It’ll drag out for the best part of the next year unless Dante agrees to a quick hearing, which is actually in his best interest financially, but which plays into my hand. In effect, we trapped him.”

“Think he’ll ever learn?”

“No,” I said. “Which is why this time I plan to beat him so soundly he has no chance to recover.”

“Are we still on for this Summer? I heard you’re going to Russia again.”

“Yes. The hockey trip is at the end of July, so it won’t interfere with Iron Mountain.”

“And Dmitry and his friends are covering all the costs?”

“For the kids,” I replied. “They arranged for extremely discounted hotel rooms for the adults, and the kids might be able to stay with Russian families who have kids on the teams they play, if that can be arranged.”

“Now that’s cool!” Tom exclaimed. “I played a bit until I was fifteen, but never had a chance like that!”

“When we were fifteen, it was still the Soviet Union and something like this would have been nearly impossible! That was about the time the Russians invaded Afghanistan.”

“The bad old days! I’m glad we’re friends with Russia.”

“Believe it or not, Russia, even under the Communists, was actually a natural ally for the US. Now that they’ve seen off the Communists, it’s even more true.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Relatively conservative, fairly religious, and science-oriented. Think about the main competitions we had with them - all that science from both countries, directed toward war. Why not combine and direct it toward peace? That’s what we’re doing. And the important thing is, the Russian people were never anti-American - that was their government. It’s similar to the insanity in Iran where the vast majority were pro-Western, but a small, radical segment of society wrested control from the pro-Western factions and repressed the entire country. Tehran was a booming, modern, Western city until the Ayatollahs took over. Heck, Beirut was one as well, until the civil war caused by Muslims who didn’t like the power-sharing arrangements they had with the Christians and Druze. Sure, that’s a bit of a simplification, but that is how it worked out.”

“Who are our enemies, in your mind?”

“Foreign or domestic?” I asked with a grin. “They’re actually the same - religious fanatics and those who want to centralize power.”

“Not Islam?”

“I think that depends on what you mean,” I replied. “If you look at, say, Malaysia or Indonesia, they aren’t a problem. The same is true of Turkey because of Ataturk. Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia are a different story altogether.”

“But the Saudis are our allies!”

“Oil,” I replied. “It’s just business, as Tom Hagen said to Sonny. They need our military to protect them from Iran.”

“Not Iraq?”

“Iraq isn’t going to be able to field a coherent military for a long, long time. It’s Iran everyone should worry about. Remember, to the Iranians, the Saudis are heretics. And worse, heretics who control the most important Islamic holy site.”

“I’m not up on Islam; I take it they’re different sects?”

“Yes. And they like each other about as much as Protestants and Catholics did during the Reformation, or in Northern Ireland, if you want something more current.”

“‘People, I just want to say, you know, can we all JUST get along?‘“ Kurt interjected.

“I wish,” I sighed. “But there is always going to be someone who wants things their way, no matter how much it harms other people and no matter how much those other people don’t want it. And that, my friends, needs to be the end of the political discussion because I’ll only get more frustrated.”

Kara squeezed my hand, which she had been holding while we walked, with Jess holding the other one. I was doing my best not to get frustrated and worked up, but not discussing those things was a way for those who opposed everything I believed in to win. I needed to find a way to bring about the change Doctor Mercer and I had discussed, but in line with my own beliefs. Or I had to ‘grin and bear it’, which was not something I relished.