Chapter 19: Through the Looking-Glass

October 28, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“So?” Kara asked with a smirk when I finally came upstairs from the basement.

I took her hand and led her up to the bedroom so I could dress for the party. I’d decided, finally, not to bother with costumes. The kids would, of course, but I’d run out of ideas. Fortunately, my wives had agreed. Melissa had decided against a costume as well, and was dressing in one of the guest rooms.

“We exchanged very good shoulder rubs and I held her in my arms in the Jacuzzi.”

“She still can’t get past the ‘married man’ thing?” Kara asked as we walked into the bedroom.

“No.”

“Melissa?” Jessica asked.

“Correct,” I replied. “Did you sleep OK?”

“Yes. I pretty much have it down now. The blackout curtains and soft music work pretty well. So, you two still haven’t...”

“No. And I don’t think this is her working her way towards it, either. Even when she leaned against me in the whirlpool, I didn’t get a sense that it was sexual. It was more her needing a close friend than anything.”

“Only you, Tiger!” Jessica laughed. “A pretty naked girl in your arms and all you do is talk to her!”

“It’s happened a lot, Jess,” Kara said. “It’s very intimate, without being intimate, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I do. I remember the first time I experienced ‘Snuggle Bear’!”

“It’s his best quality!” Kara teased.

“So only cuddling from now on, then?” I asked with a smirk.

“Only if you want to DIE!” Kara said menacingly, but then laughed.

“I don’t know, Kara,” Jessica said softly. “If I had to choose between cuddles and sex, permanently, I think I’d choose cuddles.”

Which said more about just how far Jessica had come than anything else she might have said.

“I’m available for either after the party!” I offered.

“You don’t think Melissa will ask you to spend the night with her?”

“No. I’m positive she won’t. I’m all yours!”

“Are you going to see Molly tomorrow?” Kara asked.

“No. It’s not an ‘every Sunday’ thing. I do have my early-morning session with Dyani.”

“She’s interested, you know.”

“I do. But not only is it against my rules, very soon it’ll be against the dojo rules. I can work alone with her because she’s over eighteen, but relationships between instructors and students will be strictly forbidden.”

“I’M your student, Tiger!”

“There will be an exception for pre-existing relationships. That covers situations where couples advance at different paces, or a girlfriend or boyfriend of a black belt decides to take up karate.”

“Not just 3rd Dan and up?”

“No. I think it has to apply to all black belts because we all teach, and the State of Illinois won’t care about a teaching license conferred in Japan as some kind of distinction.”

“That makes sense. What other rules?”

“As I mentioned before, adults not being alone with underage students, but I’m going to set eighteen rather than seventeen, because that’s the law for anyone having any kind of position of authority over someone. It’s not completely clear if it would apply in the dojo, but we’re not going to risk it. That was Melanie’s advice, by the way.”

“So all that work you did with Jacqui?”

“Would be against the new rules. And for obvious reasons.”

“But you didn’t initiate anything with her!” Kara protested.

“That’s true, but we don’t need that kind of trouble. And putting it in writing protects Sensei Jim AND the LLC which owns the building.”

“The LLC?” Jessica asked. “How could that be affected?”

“It’s all parents or black belts who are part of the dojo. Trust me, if there’s a lawsuit, it would seek to take the building and everything else.”

“What about insurance?”

“All that does is get the insurance company to try to negotiate a lower settlement. If someone won’t take it, everything could be at risk.”

“Our personal finances?”

“No. That’s why we set up the LLC. Its assets could be attacked, but not our personal assets, so long as we aren’t the perpetrators!”

“Will is kind of cute,” Kara teased.

“Want to make his head explode?” I chuckled. “Tell him that!”

Both Kara and Jessica laughed hard. I finished dressing, and the three of us went downstairs to find Melissa and await our friends to arrive and the party to start.

October 29, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

Joyce called just after 10:00am on Sunday morning.

“They agreed to meet, but they’re quite adamant about us bringing their money to the meeting.”

“Don’t promise anything, Joyce,” I said. “Just tell them we’ll settle things at the meeting. When?”

“When can you come to Ohio?”

“I have to do it without letting on why I’m coming. Let me schedule something with Doctor Mercer. I’ll use that as cover.”

“A follow-up from your last visit?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you bringing?”

“Don’t worry about that. All you need to do is be home. I’ll use the guest house so we have some privacy and don’t involve your grandmother directly.”

“OK. Call me with a time.”

“I’ll call Doctor Mercer first thing in the morning and set it up.”

“Are you SURE this is a good idea?”

“Positive. They’ll leave with the fear of God in them, Joyce. Trust me.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do. They haven’t out-thought me or out-fought me yet.”

“Don’t get cocky, Steve. It’s a sure way to get in trouble.”

“It’s not cockiness, it’s confidence. I have a plan. Just trust me, please.”

“OK,” she said apprehensively. “Are you staying a night?”

“It depends on what I can arrange with Doctor Mercer. In order to keep things hush-hush, I’ll try for a Saturday appointment, or late Friday, if necessary.”

“OK.”

We hung up and I went back to the sunroom to play with the kids.

That afternoon, Matthew, Kara, and I watched the NASCAR race from Phoenix. Bill had won the pole, and I had high hopes that he might win the race in his #94 McDonalds car, but he faded and ended up fourteenth. Jeff Gordon basically locked up the Winston Cup, finishing the race with a lead of 147 points over Dale Earnhardt. Bill was in ninth, over 900 points behind, losing ground to Ricky Rudd, who was in eighth after winning the race.

October 30, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“I’d like to come see you.”

“Is something wrong?” Doctor Mercer asked.

“No. Call this a 50,000-mile check-up. Or a 125-girl check-up, if you prefer.”

“You do realize just how offensive that might be to some people.”

“Some people need to mind their own business,” I replied. “And if you mean you, well, at this point, I think we’re way past you being offended by my behavior. I think we’re at appalled or disgusted.”

Doctor Mercer laughed, “Believe it or not, I think at this point I understand you. Remember what I gave you as an alternative prescription.”

“True. Would you be able to accommodate a Saturday morning appointment?”

“For you? Of course! How is 10:00am?”

“I can manage 10:00am. I’ll meet with you, then visit some friends in the afternoon. I’ll probably have dinner with my dad.”

“Sounds good. See you Saturday.”

“Thanks, Doctor Mercer.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and hung up. I called Joyce and asked her to set the meeting with Anthony and Connie for 3:00pm on Saturday. After Joyce, I called my dad and asked if he’d meet Joyce and me for dinner, and he quickly agreed. I made two more calls to make special arrangements. I knew I had to tell Elyse I’d be away, because she’d certainly hear it from Jessica or Kara.

“You’re meeting them, aren’t you?” Elyse asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

“I’m seeing Doctor Mercer on Saturday morning, and having dinner with Joyce and my dad that evening. I’ll be back after lunch on Sunday.”

“The story for anyone who asks.”

“The truth. Both of those things are happening.”

“You will tell me what happens, right?”

“Insofar as whether it’s resolved or not, yes.”

“If I don’t get details, Mistress Elyse is going to pay you a visit!” she said fiercely.

“That is strictly against company policy, Ms. Clarke,” I said with a sly smile. “A policy which you insisted, quite recently in fact, that I enforce!”

“Since when did YOU become a stickler for the rules?”

“Since I got tired of listening to Jamie bitch and moan. He actually had the gall to tell me to end things with Michelle.”

“That’s crossing the line,” Elyse said.

“Jamie doesn’t see it that way. But we pay him to be that way. And he hasn’t said anything to me when he’s not on the clock.”

Elyse laughed, “Of course not! No lawyer is going to give free advice!”

“He knows how to divide professional from personal. I think he goes a bit too far in that split, obviously, but he’s a lawyer, so I’m not surprised, really. It’s like Bethany not analyzing everyone.”

“She does too!”

“Me? Yes. Anyone else? No. She does deny it about me, but we all know that’s bull! But anyone else? No. She’d go nuts if she did that. I’m a special project for her.”

“You’re ‘special’ alright!” Elyse laughed.

“You picked me, so what does that say about you?”

“Aunt Jennie told me you were very good!” she laughed.

“Did she, now?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.

“No, of course not, you dope! But she sure implied I’d find what I was looking for in that room at the hotel.”

“And what were you looking for?”

“You. I just didn’t know it before I walked in.”

I smiled and held out my arms. She stood up and we exchanged a loving hug. We held it for several minutes, and when she released me, I left her office. I had one more person to talk to about the trip, but it had to be completely secret - not even Elyse could know. I picked up the phone and dialed an internal extension.

“I need to see you. I’ll call you around 12:35 and ask you to come up.”

“OK.”

I hung up and pulled a stack of paperwork from my ‘In’ box. Kimmy brought in my lunch just after noon, and then took her lunch break. Penny left at 12:25pm, and I waited five minutes before I picked up the phone and dialed.

“Come up, please.”

“Be right there.”

A minute later, Eve Falvey walked into my office and I led her to the «yōshitsu» room. I put a CD in the player and pressed play.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“Do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“No. Why?”

“Do you remember the conversation where you said you’d help me when I needed you?”

She nodded, warily.

“I need you.”

“For?”

“The answer to that question will have to wait,” I said. “But if you’re willing to help, I’ll pick you up on Friday evening. You’ll need an overnight bag with two changes of clothes.”

“I take it from recent events that I need to come armed?”

“Yes. Say nothing to anyone about this, please. I’ll tell you everything you need to know when I pick you up.”

“This has to do with that jerk who showed up here?”

“Eve, I trusted you with my home and my family, please just trust me until Friday night. I’ll tell you everything you need to know then.”

“Of course I trust you! Everyone here does. We’d all follow you into hell if you asked us to!”

I smiled, “Do you know the quote attributed to Winston Churchill?”

Eve nodded, “If you’re going through hell, keep going!”

“That’s the one. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful he actually said that. On the other hand, he did say ‘If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons‘.”

“I love it!” Eve laughed. “That’s perfect! Where will we meet on Friday?”

“It’s silly for you to take the train home and for me to drive out to get you. But I want to keep this completely quiet, so I think the best bet is for you to take the South Shore and I’ll pick you up at the Hyde Park stop about 5:45pm.”

“OK. I’ll see you there.”

“Thanks.”

She left, and I went back to my desk to finish my lunch.

That evening, when Kara and I walked Jess to work, I broached the subject.

“I’m going to drive down to Cincinnati on Friday night,” I said. “I want to see Doctor Mercer, and I have a Saturday morning appointment. I’ll have dinner with Joyce and my dad while I’m there. I’ll be back before Michelle gets home on Sunday.”

“Is anything wrong, Tiger?” Jessica asked.

“No. I haven’t talked to Doctor Mercer in a while. I joked with her it was my 50,000-mile check-up. Or a 125-girl check-up!”

Both my wives laughed.

“The number is a bit higher than that isn’t it?” Kara asked.

“Probably. Elyse was the one who memorized the list from reading my journals. I’m considering not giving her access to them in the future.”

“What changed?” Jessica asked.

“Me,” I said. “After the twins, I’m reconsidering who should be able to read them. You two may, of course, but that’s probably it.”

“You don’t trust her the way you used to, do you?”

“Sure I do,” I countered. “But I don’t need the same kind of advice from her I used to. And our thinking has diverged. You remember me telling you I told her I didn’t need a babysitter, right?”

“Sure.”

“She still handles the household finances, plus you know what she does for me at work. It’s just that on the dalliance issue I don’t believe she’s been providing good advice recently. Her advice on finances and business is spot on. And we see eye-to-eye on the boys.”

“How long will you be gone?” Kara asked.

“I’ll drive down Friday evening and come back on Sunday afternoon. I’ll clear it with Sensei Jim and let Dyani know I can’t work with her on Sunday.”

“I’ll fill in if you want,” she offered.

“Sure. But remember, it’s against the rules to hit on the students!”

Kara smacked my arm, “As if I need that rule?!”

“I thought girls just wanted to have fun!” I smirked.

“We do!” she laughed. “With YOU!”

“Me?” I gasped in feigned surprise. “Really?”

Both of my wives laughed and I pulled them into a quick hug before turning up the sidewalk to the doors of the ER. At the doors, Kara and I kissed and hugged Jessica, and after she went inside, I took Kara’s hand and we started home.

“You’re really just going to see Doctor Mercer for a check-up?” Kara asked quietly.

“Yes, Honey. Nothing is wrong. I saw her right after the twins, talked to her a few times, then let things slide with her. I’ve restarted my dalliances, so I figure it’s a good time to check-in.”

“Speaking of which, did you decide what to do about Lyusya?”

“As far as I’m aware, in the history of the world, no Russian woman has EVER let the man decide these things!”

Kara laughed, “They’re all in training to be «бабушки»! Even the atheist ones! You’ve seen those ladies at church!” (‘babushkas’)

I chuckled, “Yes, or as Dave and Julia call them, «Yiayias». They are a force to be reckoned with!”

“You resisted Lyusya before!”

“There was a far greater force to be reckoned with! Do you think Lyusya would have stood a chance going toe-to-toe with Tatyana Ivanovna?”

Kara laughed softly, “No, even the ‘tough as nails’ tank commander shudders!”

“That’s in bed,” I chuckled.

“You never, ever wrote ANY details about her, Snuggle Bear! It’s not fair!”

I laughed at her use of the ‘F’ word, but let it pass.

“It would have been «некультурный»!”

“May I ask?”

“You may,” I smirked.

“Well?” she said, trying to sound annoyed.

“Well, for your ears only, and excluding comparison with my wives for personal safety reasons, top five for sure.”

“I’ll show YOU personal safety!” Kara threatened, but she was laughing. “That good? Seriously?”

“Remember, it’s more about emotional and spiritual connections, than it is about raw pleasure. And yes, it was VERY pleasurable, but you know things might have gone quite differently if the world had been a slightly different place.”

“‘What if?’” Kara asked.

“I allow myself, on occasion, to make comments of that type, but I did qualify it with ‘might’.”

“You would have remained monogamous for her?”

“Would she have tolerated any other arrangement?”

“No! But I think she knew the problem, which is why even had things been different, she would have used her career as a way to prevent disaster, if you know what I mean.”

“I do. It’s the same basic reason Aimee never told me about her dad’s willingness to set me up with a global computer security practice. She knew my issues with monogamy. But there is one person I would have done that for, at a very specific time.”

“Me? When we thought Jess wasn’t going to come back?”

“Yes; Michelle coming home threw a monkey wrench into the works.”

“What’s going to happen with her?”

“I have no clue,” I said, thinking about Melissa’s plan to offer Michelle a job.

“Do you really think she’d leave and have the baby on her own?”

“She’s as stubborn as you are, so who knows,” I replied.

“Says the man who was so single-minded about getting Jessica back he almost wrecked the rest of his life.”

I took a deep breath and let it out.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” she said gently. “I know you love me.”

“I do,” I said.

I stopped, pulled her into my arms, and hugged her tightly.

“Take me home and love me, Snuggle Bear!”

“Race you!” I laughed, and moved swiftly down the street.

November 2, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“I still don’t know if I should be impressed or offended!” Melissa laughed as we sat down for our weekly lunch at Takumi.

“You do realize how long I’ve been doing that, right?”

“But having a naked girl, in the whirlpool, in your arms, ought to generate SOME reaction!”

I shrugged, and replied in a deadpan voice, “I suppose, if I was actually attracted to her.”

“You JERK!” Melissa semi-screeched, doing her best to modulate her voice so as not to offend the other diners.

“I learned nearly two decades ago that nudity and sex do not necessarily go together. I often sit in that sauna with a dozen or more people of mixed sex. Wild orgies do not break out. Some ‘first-timers’ have issues, which they hide with towels, but most people adapt pretty quickly.”

“In the same room, sure, but you were holding me in your arms. Carefully, I might add.”

“Because it wasn’t about sex, Melissa!” I said firmly. “It was about helping you relax and giving you emotional support. And here’s the REALLY interesting part - all you had to do was ask, and my hands would have been other places.”