Chapter 26: The Eastern Front

November 19, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

When I finished my workout with Dyani at the dojo on Sunday morning, I headed home for a shower.

“Hi, beautiful wives!” I said, coming into the bedroom.

As usual for a Sunday morning, Jess had joined Kara in bed. She’d eat breakfast with us, spend a bit of time with the kids, then sleep. Keeping the odd schedule was the only way for her to not be completely wiped out by the night shifts. They got out of bed and followed me into the bathroom. I stripped off my clothes and got into the shower.

“Did you work things out with Lyudmila?” Jessica asked.

“Yes. We have the outline of a plan. It’s probably going to take two years to put everything into motion.”

“You were VERY circumspect about your time with her,” Jessica observed.

Kara laughed, “Of course he was! He would NEVER do anything which might offend Tatyana!”

“Why?”

“Why? Because she would never permit it! Think about how he wrote about her in his journal. What’s the ONE thing that’s different about Tanya?”

Jessica thought for a second, “He never once described sex with her. Not just not in detail, but not at all! That’s weird, Tiger!”

I laughed, “If there is one person on this planet who is more proper and correct than Tatyana Ivanovna, I have no idea who it might be!”

“But you implied she was fun!”

“Proper and correct does not imply prudishness! Look at the girl next to you!”

Kara laughed, “I was a real bitch. ‘Proper’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

“Was?” I smirked.

“Careful, Snuggle Bear, or you’ll find out just how much of a bitch I can be!”

“Promises, promises!”

“Just ask her Freshmen chemistry students!” Jessica laughed. “They come into class and see this beautiful female professor who starts off all nice and friendly, and then, suddenly, she’s demanding they actually know the material and do their homework!”

“Then there’s Jess,” Kara teased. “She doesn’t waste time being nice to medical students; she just turns into a bitch right off the bat!”

“If I was THAT bad when I was a medical student, I have no idea how I got this far.”

I smirked, “Ask Al. I bet you were worse!”

“Worse?”

“Worse. Because you THOUGHT you were God’s gift to medicine and you were just a lowly med student! But, at least you had the ego. You learned the rest!”

“Perhaps,” she laughed. “Do you EVER act like an asshole to anyone at work?”

“Dante. And occasionally to Jamie. But ask Penny - I decided to kill Dante with kindness and be pleasant.”

“Only because you know that would unhinge him even more!” Jessica declared.

“Perhaps!” I allowed.

I got out of the shower and accepted a towel from Kara and quickly dried off. I dressed, the girls put on robes, and the three of us went down to have breakfast. When we finished eating, Jessica went up to bed, and Kara and I spent time with our guests and the kids.

That evening, after our family dinner, Dima, Ed, Brian, Bo, Tom, and I went to the sunroom to drink vodka and smoke cigars.

“Stepa, should we teach these men about vodka?” Dima asked, puffing his Cuban cigar.

“I’m not sure I’d try to drink a fireman under the table,” I chuckled. “Though his choice of libation is usually whisky, just as mine is.”

“I need to be up for work tomorrow,” Ed replied. “One. Glass, that is, not bottle!”

“What are you teaching, General?” Tom asked.

“Call me Dima, please! Military history. Stepa’s friend Joshua invited me to meet the University Chancellor, and as they say, the rest is history!”

“Who’s the best tank commander ever?” Bo asked.

“Besides me?” Dima replied with a hearty laugh.

“Yes, of course. Present company excepted!” Bo said, joining in the laugh.

“It depends, really. I must say Zhukov, or I would do a great disservice to the men who died defeating the fascists in the Great Patriotic War. But depending on what you wanted, Guderian or Patton could also be a first choice.”

“Not Rommel?”

“The Desert Fox could not show off his true abilities because he was saddled with Italian troops. That said, the fact that he accomplished what he did with mostly Italian troops does say something!”

“Why place Patton third?” Tom asked.

“He was reckless. A brilliant tactician, but too much a, what do you call it? A loose cannon?”

“Yes,” I said.

“But,” Dima said, waving his cigar for effect, “sometimes, recklessness is necessary. No other commander could have relieved Bastogne. Patton did not have the temperament to be a general officer, but one cannot argue with tactical success on the battlefield. One thing about Patton you must remember, is that in France he was fighting ‘stripped’ divisions. The fascists put their best units, and most men, to fight our soldiers. This is not to diminish Patton’s accomplishments, but only to say his situation was very different from what Zhukov and Guderian faced.

“As for Guderian, he was taken from field command because the fascists needed his expertise in trying to reorganize their forces after we stopped them and began to push back. But he must receive credit for developing the idea of ‘panzers’, as well as the concept of ‘schwerpunkt‘, or focal point, and then exploitation of the breakthrough. I suppose, it is safe to say that Zhukov, Patton, and Rommel all owe to Guderian much of what they knew.”

“Wasn’t Zhukov really a staff officer?” I asked.

“Do you mean, not in the field with his troops? Yes, as was true of Rommel and Guderian, and even Patton, to an extent. There is good reason for this - the fascists showed us that planning is the key. To move men and matériel to the correct place, you know, logistics, and to develop a battle plan and see it through. And, generals do not usually lead from the front! I believe your experience in your Civil War taught your military that lesson.”

“You had a field command, according to Steve,” Ed said.

Dima nodded, “As a Colonel, yes. As Stepa likes to point out, I would have been leading my tanks through the Fulda Gap. I am very pleased this did not happen.”

“And that day where your tanks defended Boris Yeltsin?” Bo asked.

“The one truly frightening day of my life!” But then his eyes twinkled, and he smiled, “Well, no. My most frightening day was the day I asked Tanya Ivanovna to marry me!”

November 20, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Before we begin, I’d like to welcome Eve Falvey to our leadership meeting. As you all know, Michelle York resigned to go to work for Melissa Mascioli at M&M, in a position very similar to the one Kimmy has under me.”

Kimmy and Elyse both smirked at my comment, and Cindi just rolled her eyes.

“Eve starts her new position as office manager today, and you should go to her with anything which Michelle would have handled in the past. Please cut her a bit of slack for the next few weeks while she gets her sea legs. I’ve asked Kimmy to serve as her mentor, as Kimmy held the position before Michelle. Please go to Eve. If she needs help, she’ll go to Kimmy, Elyse, or ultimately, me.”

“Kimmy started a manual for the Office Manager role,” Eve said. “And Michelle updated and revised it. Basically, it has step-by-step instructions for nearly every task, as well as a complete set of contact information, and an emergency plan for each office. I think we should do this for all the administrative roles.”

“Then you have your first major new task!” Elyse said with a smile. “Start with Chris and Keri, please.”

“Will do!”

“Then with that, I’ll turn the meeting over to Kimmy.”

Just under an hour later, Kimmy and I were walking back to my office.

“Mental image,” she whispered.

“Which one?”

“Melissa being under Michelle the way I was under you!”

“See, and I was thinking of Michelle being under me the way you were!”

“Or both of us? At the same time?” she said impishly.

“Stop it!” I commanded, but I was laughing.

“You’re the one who made the smart ass remark!”

“And you took it the wrong way!”

Kimmy shook her head, squeezed my arm, “I took it exactly how you meant it.”

I nodded, acknowledging what she’d said, then went to my desk. I sat down, kissed Penny on the cheek, causing her to smile, and got to work.

“I need to see Steve, please,” Eve said to Kimmy.

“If his door is open, just go in,” Kimmy replied. “If he’s on the phone or in a meeting, I’ll stop you, or the glass doors or the Japanese-style sliding doors will be closed. It doesn’t happen very often.”

“What’s up, Eve?” I called out.

“I’m working through the ‘To Do’ list Michelle left me, and there’s an item that says, ‘Go to Durham with Mario’. I called the travel agency, per the manual, but I’m not authorized on the account.”

“Kimmy can take care of that for you. And that’s something we need to add to the checklist for hiring or promotion! Also, please see Keri about changing the security level on your card so you have access to everything in the building. And get cards for the other offices issued. You’ll need to call Mario and Barbara. And just so you know, Kimmy can sign off on just about anything for me except permanent hires. She’ll tell you if she isn’t authorized to do something.”

“That was in the manual!” Eve laughed. “Michelle added that when she took over. I’ll see Kimmy and Keri now.”

“Thanks, Eve!”

She walked out to Kimmy’s desk and made the request.

Penny leaned close and asked, conspiratorially, “I wonder who wrote ‘fuck the boss’ in the manual?”

“Penelope!” I spat, but I was laughing.

“What?” she asked, playing innocent. “The two previous office managers both did! And we all know how well you and Eve get along! And how much Kimmy loves to yank your...”

“Chain!” I said quickly and firmly.

“I wonder if the instructions are detailed?” Penny teased.

“Penelope!” I laughed. “You are on thin ice!”

“Ha!” she said smugly. “You love me too much to REALLY get angry with me!”

“Very true, which is very fortunate for you! Now, get back to work!”

“You’re just no fun anymore!” she laughed, as her fingers danced over the keys.

November 23, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Rosemary West?” I said to Jon at breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.

“Nasty business, that,” Jon said, shaking his head. “Life imprisonment almost seems too simple.”

“Could she get out at some point?”

“Not bloody likely. I suspect the sentence will be a ‘whole life tariff’. She’d only be the second female to receive one. The first was another serial killer, Myra Hindley. If you get that, you generally don’t get out of one of Her Majesty’s prisons except via the morgue.”

“Did anyone fill you in on the usual Thanksgiving Day routine here?”

“I was suitably lectured by the master and mistress of the house!”

I laughed, “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“Well, according to your eldest daughter, I’m to stay out of the way and sit with the boys and watch something she alleges to be football with them.”

“And Jesse?”

“I’m to do what I’m asked, and be polite to the sailors. He did voice an objection to the fact that you’re getting three female sailors and only one male!”

“One for each of us,” I grinned. “Who gets the third one?”

“I’ll take her off your hands! Though I got the idea they’re heavily chaperoned and controlled?”

“Dropped off about 3:00pm and picked up about 7:00pm. No alcohol, smoking, drugs, or fraternization.”

“So much for being truly thankful for this day!” Jon laughed.

“If you boys are done being pigs, the girls want to make the pies!” Kara exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen with Birgit, Stephie, and Ashley.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Jon said quietly.

We refilled our coffee cups and went to hang out in the sunroom until Birgit came to tell me that the pies were in the oven.

“And that’s my cue to start working on dinner,” I said, getting up from my chaise.

Jesse, Birgit, and I gathered in the kitchen and began working on our Thanksgiving dinner. And others pitched in as requested. As usual, the boys watched football while the girls spent time in the sunroom.

“Dad!” Birgit called out after answering the door about 3:00pm. “The sailors are here! And there are girls!”

I laughed, wiped my hands on a towel, and joined Kara and Birgit in greeting the four recruits from RTC, three of whom were, indeed, girls. We ushered them into the house, and all four chose to join the men in the great room to watch the Cowboys play the Chiefs. About an hour later, dinner was ready and we called everyone to the table.

My only real disappointment for the day was that Michelle had decided to join Melissa at Mark’s house, rather than join us, but I fully understood her need. I hoped, in the future, she’d join us, especially given what she had asked me to do regarding the baby she was carrying.

Things weren’t nearly as tight in the dining room, as only Samantha and Brian joined us. On Friday, we’d have our re-Thanksgiving, something I’d forgotten about when I’d agreed to go shooting with Eve. I’d rescheduled that for early morning, so as not to miss the family and friends meal.

“Tiger, I think the renowned barber-surgeon should carve the turkey,” Jess teased.

“If you give ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ a scalpel, we might ALL end up as dinner!” I laughed.

“Mr. Adams?” Jean, a female recruit asked. “What did I miss?”

I grinned, “Doctor Jonathan Todd has a nickname - ‘Sweeney’.”

All four recruits laughed.

“Uhm, yeah,” Jean replied with a twinkle in her eye, “maybe someone else is a better choice!”

“When Steve came to England, I took him to the Old Bank of England Pub, which is on Fleet Street, and is the location where Sweeney Todd’s butcher shop was meant to be. And it’s quite unfortunate you won’t be here tomorrow, as I’m preparing meat pies as part of what Steve is calling ‘re-Thanksgiving’. Though, perhaps you could stay.”

He picked up the carving knife and fork and clicked them together while leering evilly at the recruits.

“Jon, I do NOT think the Navy sent them here for you to eat!” I teased.

He laughed, winked, and began carving the turkey. The male recruit, Marco, smirked, while the other two female recruits, Lenora and Julianne, rolled their eyes. I thought I saw a hint of a smirk from Jean, but wasn’t completely sure. We passed the bowls around the table, ensuring our recruits were served first, then Jesse said grace, and we began to eat.

“How long have you been doing this, Mr. Adams?” Marco asked.

“Since 1986,” I said. “Of course, this is the first year we’ve had young ladies join us.”

“I suspect morale at Great Lakes picked up a bit,” Jennifer teased.

“I wouldn’t know, Ma’am,” he said.

The entire table, kids and adults, erupted in hysterical laughter.

“Ma’am?” Josie chortled, “Wow!”

“They’re just being polite, as they’ve been ordered,” I said, trying to control my laughter. “But I agree with Josie! Wow!”

“It’s safer if you ignore them,” Jennifer said. “Thank you for being polite,”

“You’re welcome, Ma’am,” he responded, which only set us off again.

“I’m sorry,” I said when I stopped laughing. “You’re doing the right thing; but Jennifer is about the last person on earth I’d expect to be addressed that way. We’re all really informal, even the kids, but we know you’re following your orders.”

“Yes, uhm, Sir.”

Jennifer stuck her tongue out at me, and it was all I could do to restrain myself from giving the response I’d given so many years before. I could see in her eyes that she knew exactly what I was thinking, and for a brief moment, I felt that same intense, direct connection we’d always had. It only happened on occasion, but when it did, it was as strong as it ever had been.

Once we got past the silliness with the recruits, we had our usual good conversations; they ate their fill of good, home-cooked food, and thanked us profusely when the van arrived to pick them up promptly at 7:00pm. Everyone pitched in to clean up, and Jennifer and I found ourselves doing the dishes - she washed, and I dried.

“I believe I was supposed to remind you not to do that unless you intended to use it!” I said quietly.

“Get Josie’s permission, and more importantly, Kara’s, and you’ll find out EXACTLY how I intended to use it!”

“Non-starter in both instances,” I sighed, shifting to relieve the discomfort.

Jennifer laughed softly, “I STILL have that effect on you?”

“You’ve always had that effect on me, Jen. You know that. But you also know we’re both in very good places right now, and neither of us wants to mess things up. Not even for that.”

“True.”

“How is Michelle doing?” I asked.

“You haven’t talked to her?”

“Only to invite her to Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t want to push.”

“She’s perfect for the job. You trained her very well. And I mean regarding WORK, Mr. Adams!”

I chuckled softly, “If you experienced the OTHER things I’ve taught her, I might have to seriously reconsider my life!”

Jennifer smacked me on the arm, “She’s as straight as you and Elyse are!”