Chapter 41: You’ve Been Served

December 20, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“Just let him leave, Alex,” I said, taking the envelope from the process server.

“Get out of here kid,” Alex spat. “And if I ever see you in here again, I’ll call the cops!”

The young man, rightfully in my mind, rolled his eyes, turned and left. He was doing a job that, at best, was terrible, and often, probably downright shitty. I opened the envelope and quickly scanned the documents, seeing what I more or less had expected to see.

“What’s wrong?” Elyse asked from behind me.

“Nothing to worry about tonight. We’ll deal with this on Monday. Somebody was just trying to ruin our night and I’m not going to let that happen.”

“Who?”

“Later, Belgium!” I replied.

I folded the documents and returned them to the envelope, then put the envelope in the inside breast pocket of my sports coat. Elyse glared at me, but if I told her, it would start a long conversation which I wasn’t ready to have. The development had been expected, and I wasn’t worried about it. In fact, I wasn’t going to worry about it at all before Monday. I went back into the banquet room and sat down.

“What was that, Tiger?” Jessica asked.

“Nothing to worry about. Alex told the guy to get out and never come back. Let’s just enjoy the evening, please.”

When everyone had finished their salads, the main courses were brought in, depending on what people had requested, including a pair of vegetarian meals and my no-carb meal. Everything was awesome, as always, and having avoided all carbs, I had a full piece of double-chocolate fudge cake with hot fudge drizzled over it.

“Don’t say it, Babe,” I said in a silly tone.

“I was just going to say we’d need to find a way to work off all that extra sugar!”

“I’m sure Winter will be happy to help!” I smirked.

“And it will be a very long, very cold Winter if that’s where you go!”

“Well, between Summer and Winter I should be able to find a way to stay warm!”

“Forget it, Jess,” Kara said, shaking her head. “He’s gotten even better at verbal jousting.”

“I’m MUCH more interested in oral than verbal!” Jessica declared.

“Do you three talk about ANYTHING other than sex?” Elyse asked.

“NO!” the three of us responded in chorus.

We finished our dessert, then drinks were served and we mingled. I did my best to talk with everyone, but there were simply too many people for me to do that. Around 10:30pm the party began to break up, as parents needed to get home to relieve babysitters. We had the room until 1:00am, and a number of the singles were still there when Kara, Jessica, Maria Cristina, Winter, and I headed out to the limo to take us home.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” I asked Winter and Maria Cristina.

“I did,” Winter said. “It was cool to meet all the people who work for you.”

“Maybe half of them, not all,” I replied. “The rest work in the other regions. Just the Chicago and Dallas folks were at the party. Maria Cristina?”

“I enjoyed talking with Charlie, Tasha, and Claire. I guess you’ve known them a long time?”

“Charlie and Tasha since college, and Claire not long after I graduated.”

“I talked with a few others and I’m impressed by how smart everyone is!”

“We only hire the best,” I replied. “And I think you’ve heard me say the only things I discriminate against are stupidity and bigotry, which often go together.”

“Pretty much everyone who is a manager or above is female,” Winter said. “That’s not very common, especially in a company owned by a guy.”

“Because so many technology companies don’t hire very many women, and because we offer the best possible benefit package, including extended maternity leave, we get to pick the cream of the crop. And it’s not ALL women - Terry is a Vice President and Zeke and Alonzo are directors. And Mario in Pittsburgh is a Regional Director and Vice President. And for the next year, I’m still CEO.”

“And you built this all from nothing?”

“I suppose you could say that, but I think it’s better to say all of us built it. Dave, Julia, Elyse, Cindi, Penny, and I started working out of the house, and from there we moved to rented space, then our first building. Now we’re in our second building. And we couldn’t have done it without help from my dad and from my mentor, Don Joseph, who died about ten years ago.”

“Enough NIKA talk!” Kara said. “How about a sauna when we get home?”

“I’m game!” Jessica said.

“And I’m the Tiger!” I growled.

“AFTER the sauna!” Jessica said sexily.

“What would Penny say? That you’re just no fun?”

“I think the young ladies might object to THAT kind of sauna, Tiger.”

“I think you’re right,” I replied.

Maria Cristina looked a bit uncomfortable, but the twinkle in Winter’s eye spoke volumes.

December 21, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“What time will everyone arrive?” Birgit asked as we ate breakfast on Saturday morning.

“They’ll join us for lunch,” I said. “We have karate this morning. And Jesse has hockey practice.”

“Where is Larisa sleeping?”

“At the hotel with her parents,” I replied. “Because we have Maria Cristina and Winter here, we don’t really have enough room for them. Lyusya is sleeping in one of the guest rooms.”

“How long will they be here?”

“Lyusya just until Monday; she’s flying to New York to see her parents. Dmitry, Tanya, and Larisa will be here until Tuesday.”

“Did Mom tell you I’m sleeping over at Tiffany’s house tonight?”

“No, but I saw it on the calendar. Is Rachel going to be there?”

“Yes, and Amber, Kristin, and Katherine.”

And on Sunday, Tiffany’s dad would be seeking asylum in a house with only men! Those six girls were holy terrors when they got together, and no male could retain his sanity without significant support!

“That sounds like fun,” I replied.

“Good morning,” Winter said, coming out of her room.

“Good morning; there are bacon, eggs, and waffles in the oven. Help yourself, please.

She did so as Kara, Ashley, and Stephie came into the kitchen, quickly followed by Matthew and Michael. Elyse had decided to spend the night at Eduardo’s townhouse because it was much closer than our house to the restaurant. That helped, because it meant she couldn’t bug me about the papers which were still in the inside pocket of my sports jacket.

We finished breakfast, then had a bit of time to relax before heading to the dojo. After karate practice, we headed home for showers, and then Birgit, Kara, and I began preparing lunch. We were almost done when the doorbell rang and I went to answer it.

“Like, I’m totally here!” Lyusya announced.

“«Добрый день, Люся Алексеевна! Войдите!» I replied. (“Good afternoon, Lyusya Alekseyevna. Come in!”)

She rolled her eyes and I kissed her Russian style. She made a face, then kissed me on the lips.

“You do realize you’re more of a Russophile than most people living in Moscow these days, right?” she asked.

I chuckled, “I have no doubt. Lunch is almost ready and Tanya and her family will be here anytime now. We have you in the guest room downstairs.”

“Cool. I’ll go put my bag downstairs, then come back up.”

She went into the house and I was just about to shut the door when I saw Tanya, Dmitry, and Larisa coming up the street. I waited and greeted them, but in English.

“Stepa!” Tanya exclaimed. “It’s good to see you!”

“And you, Tanya Ivanovna!”

We exchanged a chaste hug, I shook hands with Dmitry who laughed, then greeted me properly Russian style.

“I am still Russian, despite my daughter’s best attempts to turn me into an American!”

I chuckled, “That sounds like Lyusya Alekseyevna and her mom! She’s here. Come on in!”

“Hello, Steve!” Larisa said impishly.

“Hi, Laura!” I grinned.

“Yuck!” she replied.

“Not quite THAT American?”

“No. I am Larisa Dmitriyevna!” she said emphatically.

“Then please call me Stepa!”

We exchanged a Russian style greeting, and I brought them to the sunroom where everyone was gathered. I excused myself to finish making lunch, and ten minutes later we were all at the table. Jesse arrived two minutes later, his hair still wet from what I suspected was the world’s fastest shower. He and Lara hugged tightly and held each other for a minute, then exchanged Russian-style kisses and a quick peck before he sat down next to her.

“How was practice, Jesse?” I asked.

“Good. We’re getting ready for the tournament. How was it seeing the Penguins lose twice in a row?”

“Watch it, little Duck!” I said menacingly, then softened my voice. “John, who works for me in Pittsburgh, might come to some of the games in Minneapolis with his wife, Sheryl.”

“Cool! Is Doctor Mary still planning to be there?”

“Yes. And both your moms, of course. Are you rooming with Mikey Sarcu?”

“Always! He’s the best defenseman we have!”

“Where’s the tournament, Stepa?” Dmitry asked.

“Minneapolis.”

“Perhaps I will come to see Jesse Stepanovich play as well.”

“I’ll get you the details. Jen, has there ever been an issue with tickets?”

“No. They’re playing in a college rink which has more than enough seats. I’ll check with Coach to make sure we have enough tickets reserved, just in case.”

“Thanks. It looks like you’ll have a big cheering section, Jesse. Now all you have to do is win!”

“We will!” he declared.

When we finished lunch, Jesse and Larisa went back to the coach house with his moms, and Tanya, Dmitry, and Lyusya, spent the afternoon with the rest of the family at the house. Eduardo and Elyse arrived and she asked me about what had happened on Friday night, but I put her off, saying it could wait until Monday, receiving another not too subtle glare from her.

That evening, after dinner, we had our final Guys’ Night of the year, and with assistance from Dmitry, Tom, and Kurt, we convinced the women to allow all of our boys who were at least five to join the men. We had a blast, with a mix of poker, pool, and video games entertaining everyone. Quite a bit of vodka was consumed, but I’d made sure I had sufficient black bread, spreadable butter, and pickles available to ensure no hangovers.

When the ladies returned home, and the men had left, Lyusya invited me to join her. With the blessing of my wives, and once Maria Cristina and Winter had gone to bed, I went down to the guest room.

“How are the preparations in Moscow?” I asked as we began undressing.

“Vanya Voronin secured office space for me, and he also gathered résumés for some good support engineers. We’re going to start with four people doing on-site support and build from there. One of Vanya’s contacts already has two contracts secured for us.”

“It’s great to have connections!”

“Once we’re settled and we have revenue, then I’ll look at selling the legal software in Western Europe. What’s the ETA for all the custom screens and reports to fully handle Cyrillic?”

We climbed into bed and cuddled together to continue our talk.

“Skye’s team is almost done. There was some hard-coded stuff that has to be changed to use the language files. It’s mostly on the report-builder screens. That will make the system alternate-language-ready from top to bottom.”

“I could use being kissed from top to bottom!”

“Let’s see if I can manage after drinking vodka with Dmitry.”

December 22, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

I awoke with Lyusya’s firm body pressed tightly against mine, her arm over my chest, and her head resting on my shoulder.

“Nobody cuddles like you do,” she sighed, moving her leg over mine.

“We have about twenty minutes before Birgit is going to come looking for me.”

“You’re not going to believe this, but I just want to stay right like this.”

“I believe it! Despite the vodka and the late hour, we managed three times!”

“Do you think you’ll come to Russia next year?”

“I have a trip to London and Amsterdam in the planning stages, but I don’t think I’ll have time to make it to Moscow. And with Lara here, Jesse’s desire to go to Russia is somewhat limited.”

“He’s as bad as you are!”

“Just remember, if I hadn’t met Tanya and become a Russophile, you would never have met me!”

“At one point I was convinced you two were going to marry, but the communists didn’t lose power soon enough for that to happen.”

“Very true, but that life would have been so very different, I’m not sure I can even begin to imagine. And it’s in the past. Nothing at all against Tanya, but I’m very happy with my decisions and the way things turned out. I think you’re pretty happy with your life as well.”

“Despite needing my head examined for moving back to Russia!”

“I heard from Vanya that he secured a VERY nice condo for you, and you’ll be able to use his dacha on the Black Sea!”

“It’s not California, but it’ll do. My surfing is going to suffer.”

“That was going to happen with age, too. That’s a young person’s game.”

“Did you just call me old?”

“No!” I chuckled. “But it is true. Even if we stay in shape, age takes its toll, and eventually we die.”

“Gee, thanks for THAT cheery thought,” she complained.

“Unfortunately, I need to get up and shower so I can cuddle my daughter. See you at breakfast?”

“Absolutely.”

Lyusya shifted so I could get up, I kissed her, put on a robe I’d brought with me, grabbed my clothes, and went to shower. Once I showered, I put on a clean sweatsuit I kept in the sauna closet, then went up to the sunroom where Birgit appeared ready to send out a search party.

“Good morning, Pumpkin.”

“You’re late!” she said accusingly.

“I know. Come cuddle me, please.”

We spent fifteen minutes cuddling on a chaise, then went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. By the time we had everyone fed and cleaned up the kitchen, it was 9:00am. Tanya, Dmitry, and Larisa had been out to breakfast with Jesse, and arrived a few minutes later. We had a very good day together, and our Russian friends joined us for our family dinner.

After dinner we had our usual group sauna, with the ‘Weekend Rules’, and eventually after our guests had left and Lyudmila had gone to bed, my wives and I went up to the master bedroom.

“How are we handling Wednesday and Thursday?” Kara asked as we began undressing.

“No different from usual,” I said. “We’ll include Maria Cristina in our family celebration; Winter is going home tomorrow and she’ll be back Thursday.”

“It’s SO nice not to be on shift on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day,” Jessica said. “I’m on call, but I can stay home because it’s so close.”

“How does that work?” Kara asked as we climbed into bed.

“If there’s a major trauma, or they get overloaded, then I’m the first one who’s called in. After me, there’s a list, but I’m required to be at the hospital in fifteen minutes or less. And as soon as the trauma is cleared or the workload comes down, I can leave again. So, barring some catastrophe, it won’t take me away too long, if at all.”

“Steve, when do you leave for the tournament?”

“On the 26th. And I have to leave before my parents arrive. And given the tournament, Jesse is going to miss out on the grandparents this year, I guess. I don’t really see any way around it, because he’s going up with the team on Christmas Day. It’ll be after our celebration, of course. And speaking of grandparents, Jess, I guess Troy and Angela decided not to come again?”

“I’m not sure what’s up with them, but, to be honest, it’s better in the long run for Albert and Ashley.”

“But when do we tell them?” Kara asked.

“I’d like it to be soon,” I said, “but I’m guessing it can’t be before Al takes a new position or retires. I just don’t see that we can take the risk.”

“I agree,” Jessica said. “It would cost my dad his job, and I might lose my position as well. And there would probably be an investigation. And I’m not sure how Belinda would react, either. If we could trust the kids to keep it quiet, I might consider telling them, but as much as I trust them, and as good as they are at keeping secrets, the wrong word at the wrong time could bring everything crashing down on us.”

“Unfortunately, I think that’s all true. But I think that’s enough talking, don’t you?”

“Yes!” both my wives agreed.

December 23, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“Kimmy, I need the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ assembled before the Operations Team meets. It’s fairly urgent.”

“Eve is off this week, remember?”

“No, I didn’t remember. She’s supposedly just staying home. Would you see if you can reach her, please?”

“This doesn’t sound good.”

I smiled, “Nothing unexpected; and it’s OK. I just need to talk to the group before the Operations meeting.”

“I’ll take care of it. The water for your tea is ready, what would you like this morning?”

“Green, please.”

“Coming right up!”

I went to my desk and checked my email, and after Kimmy brought my tea, I went to the «zaisu» chairs to wait for the rest of the team. They assembled about five minutes later, and Kimmy conferenced Eve into the meeting via the speakerphone.

“Eve, I’m sorry to disturb your day off,” I said. “But I have something important to talk about, and I needed your counsel, as well as everyone else’s.”

“It’s OK. I’m just chilling on the couch with coffee in my silk pajamas! What’s up?”

“Some of you may have heard a bit of a disturbance in the hallway on Friday night. It was a process server.”

“Suing you personally?” Deborah asked. “Or NIKA?”

“NIKA.”

“Uhm, Illinois doesn’t generally allow service by private process server.”

“This is Federal,” I said.

“Oh. Well, then anyone can serve it so long as they’re eighteen and not a party. But for NIKA, Jamie is our registered agent.”

I nodded, “He is, but Federal Rules of Civil Procedure say any officer can be served. This was meant to annoy me and disrupt the party. Obviously, it didn’t.”

“Fuck,” Elyse spat. “Only one person we know is a big enough asshole to do THAT.”

“Dante,” Charlie said.

“Yup,” I replied.

“What are the claims?” Deborah asked.

“Exactly what I expected - restraint of trade and civil conspiracy. Lone Star is named as the co-conspirator, of course.”