Chapter 36: A Visit From Doctor Whittaker

January 12, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“You have three interviews today,” Kimmy said after I greeted her on Friday morning. “Two of them are by videoconference.”

“Thank you,” I answered. “Would you see if Gwen Meyer is available?”

“Of course! What kind of tea would you like this morning?”

“Green, please.”

“Coming right up!”

Ten minutes later I was sipping green tea and speaking with Gwen Meyer, discussing the situation with Michelle.

“Everything depends on what you want to do. We wrote the agreement so that your only two outs were if she married or if she were to take the baby away and refuse to let you see him or her at reasonable times. Michelle moving out of the house wouldn’t give you the right to annul the agreement. Even moving out of state wouldn’t, as you have the means to travel pretty much anywhere on a regular basis, if that were necessary. All of that said, she has the right to tear up the agreement at any time. Her only obligation to you is reasonable visitation.”

“And your advice?”

“I suggest you send her a simple note which says that you intend to honor your agreement. Then sit tight and wait to see what happens.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks, Gwen.”

“Call me if anything comes up.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up. A minute later I picked up the phone and dialed Father Basil. I hadn’t spoken to him in nearly two years, but I felt he might be able to help Michelle, and I wasn’t sure if she was going to church or not. A quiet word to him which would lead him to reach out to her would probably be the most I could do.

“Stephen!” Father Basil exclaimed happily. “It’s wonderful to hear from you! How are you?”

“I’m doing well. Jessica and Kara are fine, and work is going well.”

“We’ve missed seeing you at church. Perhaps you’ll come for Pascha?”

“Perhaps. The reason I’m calling is because I’m a bit concerned about Michelle. She moved out of the house and moved in with a friend out in Naperville. But she doesn’t seem herself.”

“She hasn’t spoken to me about it. When did this happen?”

“The odd behavior started maybe a month ago. She moved out about three months ago. You didn’t know?”

“No. She’s said nothing. I take it from this call you’re concerned?”

“A bit, yes. But please don’t let her know I called you. That might upset her.”

“Did you two have some sort of falling out?”

“Something like that, yes.”

I wondered what she’d said to him about the baby. She was about five months pregnant and if she hadn’t said anything, it was going to be very obvious very soon, no matter how loose-fitting and oversized her shirts and blouses might be.

“I’ll see if she wants to talk on Sunday.”

“Thanks.”

“Would you like to have lunch sometime in the next few weeks?”

“I would, though nothing has changed at home.”

“I understand.”

We both checked our calendars and agreed on the 23rd, which was a Tuesday, then I hung up and worked until Elyse brought in her first candidate for the support role, working with Keri and Chris.

“Steve, this is Irvin Miller. He’s applying for the accounting clerk role.”

I stood and offered my hand. We shook, Elyse left, and we went to the «washitsu» room.

“Are you OK with the Japanese style chairs? If not, we can go into another room.”

“No, these are fine. Did they come from Japan?”

“Yes.”

“Did you live there?”

“No, I visited for about a month. The most senior karate master of my school is there, and I went to train with him for five weeks. I fell in love with the culture. Have a seat.”

We sat down, and Kimmy came and asked what he wanted to drink. She brought him a Coke and brought me some lemon-ginger tea.

“Did Elyse fill you in on how this would go?”

“She said you meet every person who is interviewed for a position, and that you might only ask a few questions and that I shouldn’t be freaked out by that. And I should be prepared for off-the-wall questions.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind telling me when World War II started.”

“I guess it depends on what you mean. September of 1939 is the usual date, but I know Japan attacked China long before that.”

“OK. Why are manhole covers round?”

Irvin laughed, “My geometry teacher asked us that in eighth grade. It’s the only shape where you can’t rotate the cover so it can fall into the hole. We spent two class periods studying that.”

“You come to a fork in the road. There are two men there. One always lies, and one always tells the truth, and they’re both aware of this. There is no road sign. What one question can you ask to ensure you take the correct fork?”

“Just one?”

“Yes. Just one. And there IS a solution.”

He was quiet for a bit, clearly trying to work out the logic puzzle. After about two minutes he shook his head.

“I can’t work that out.”

“You ask either man the following question - if I ask the other guy which way to go, what would he say? Then you go take the opposite fork. Can you tell me why?”

Irvin pondered for a few seconds before he replied.

“Well, if you ask the guy who always tells the truth, he’ll tell you truthfully what the other guy says, which is a lie. If you ask the liar, he’ll lie about what the other guy says truthfully. So, no matter what, they tell you to go the wrong way! Wow!”

“Good. Don’t worry about not knowing the answer to the question. Quickly working out WHY it’s the answer is just as difficult. OK. You are in a car and you need to go two miles. You drive 30mph for the first mile. How fast do you have to drive the second mile to average 60mph?”

He was quiet for a moment.

“You can’t do it! You used two minutes to cover the first mile, and to average 60mph, you have to cover two miles in two minutes!”

“Good. Last question. If you have a five-gallon jug and a three-gallon jug, how do you get exactly four gallons in the five-gallon jug? You have to be exact, and the only markings are for each jug to be full.”

Irvin laughed, “I saw Die Hard With a Vengeance!”

“Good. There are TWO solutions!”

“Two?”

I nodded, “Yes.”

“Do you have some paper?”

I reached over to a small shelf and got a piece of paper and a pencil. Irvin scribbled on the paper for a moment then smiled.

“OK. First, you fill the five-gallon jug and pour off three gallons into the empty three-gallon jug. You empty the three-gallon jug and pour the two gallons in. Then you fill the five-gallon jug and pour off one gallon into the three-gallon jug, leaving you with four gallons in the five-gallon jug.

“The other way is to fill the three-gallon jug, then pour it into the five-gallon jug. Refill the three-gallon jug and pour two gallons into the five-gallon jug. Empty the five-gallon jug and pour in the remaining one gallon. Fill the three-gallon jug and pour it into the five-gallon jug.”

“Very good. Who shot J.R.?”

“I have NO idea!” he laughed. “My mom watched that crap, not me!”

“Do you have any questions for me?”

“I’m curious, why those questions? Specifically?”

I shrugged, “I pick random questions AFTER I shake hands with the person. In this case, I decided on mostly logic problems because problem-solving skills and the ability to think logically are important traits.”

“And the World War II question?”

“To see if you actually paid attention in history class AND if you had a decent history class. There are actually quite a few possible answers to that question and it all depends on your perspective. Your answer was traditional, but you also let me know you knew the question was complicated. Knowing THAT is the key.”

“What answer would you give?”

“It would all depend on how much of a Smart Aleck I felt like being. I could say the first world war started in 1618 and the second in 1803.”

“The second has to be Napoleon. What’s the first?”

“The Thirty Years’ War.”

“I’ll have to look that one up.”

“Let me take you back to Elyse.”

Irvin and I shook hands and I walked him back to Elyse’s office. Ten minutes later Elyse was in my office.

“No veto.”

“You didn’t ask any ‘fit’ questions?”

“Did you?”

“Yes, of course.”

I grinned, “Then my work here is done!”

“Nice,” Elyse laughed. “I bet Dave is doing that now, isn’t he?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re a sneaky son of a bitch, that’s what I think!”

“There is more than one way to teach!”

“The two videoconference interviews are confirmed for this afternoon. Barbara and I don’t agree on which of the two is better.”

“You know MY take on acting as tiebreaker.”

“How do I resolve the situation? The person will work for me, but Barbara is the local manager who will also give directions.”

“Welcome to my world!” I chuckled.

“So I just let Barbara decide?”

“No. YOU decide who decides and what to do if you and Barbara don’t agree. Do you plan to make an offer to Irvin?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Just have Kimmy let me know when the video calls are set up.”

“Will do!”

I had my lunch in the office, and then did the back-to-back videoconference interviews. When I finished the second one, I saw the dilemma. Both had strengths and weaknesses, but overall, there was very little to decide between. I was reasonably sure I knew why Elyse liked her preferred candidate and Barbara hers.

“I see your dilemma,” I said with a grin from the door to Elyse’s office.

“So in a case where two people are basically equal, how do you decide?”

“I go through my ranking criteria in my mind and decide which ones are the most important, and work downwards. If all the major criteria work out about equally, I might re-interview them. Who all talked to them?”

“Barbara, Cecelia, and Heather in Colorado, Eve, Keri, Chris, and me from Chicago. Keri and Chris did a team interview, and so did Cecelia and Heather.”

“And their input?”

“Divided. Keri and Chris agree with me, Cecelia and Heather agree with Barbara. And that makes sense, if you think about it. Each of us sees things from the perspective of our office.”

“What does that tell you?”

“Aha!” Elyse smiled. “I should go with what the team ‘on the ground’ wants to do.”

“That is one approach,” I grinned. “What did Eve say?”

“She was pretty strongly in favor of the candidate Barbara liked. Basically, the break down is between people who are part of the finance side of things versus the customer service, sales, and consulting side of things. And this role is a mix of receptionist, accounting clerk, and office manager. OK. I’m going to extend an offer to Margaret Stevens.”

“Sounds good. How are you going to break down the financials?”

“75/25 corporate versus Colorado Springs. Some of that 75 will be folded into the P&L charge we make for corporate support to the regions.”

“So long as you and Barbara agree.”

“We do. I’ll get the paperwork for both Irvin and Margaret Stevens to you on Monday morning. OK to make verbal offers today?”

“Yes.”

I headed back to my office to finish up my work for the day, then headed home.

January 13, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

On Saturday morning, Mary came into the kitchen while Birgit and I were eating.

“Where’s the rest of the family?” she asked.

“Jess is in my study, reading. Kara, the other girls, and Albert are all sleeping. Elyse and her boys went out with Eduardo last night and stayed at his townhouse. Can I get you breakfast?”

“Sure. Hi, Birgit!”

“Hi Doctor Mary! What are you doing today?”

“I need to go to a few more sessions at the conference. I’ll be back late this afternoon.”

While they talked, I began making breakfast for Mary and Jessica. She sometimes ate with Birgit and me on the weekends, and sometimes didn’t, because she wanted to make sure Birgit had her ‘Daddy time’.

“Do your kids follow low-carbohydrate diets?” Mary asked.

“Yes, but not as restricted as mine. We haven’t seen any signs of issues with the kids, and their pediatrician is aware of my issues. All the kids have my same low temperature, you know, a couple of degrees below normal. Jesse has similar blood pressure and heart rate, but he’s very athletic.”

“He’s the hockey player, right?”

“I take karate!” Birgit interjected. “With Mom and Mom and Dad! Stephie starts today!”

“How are her vitals?”

“Typical for a sassy seven-year-old!” I chuckled.

“Seven-and-a-half!” Birgit declared firmly.

“It’s something to keep an eye on for all your kids, as we don’t know exactly what the issue with your hypothalamus is. Would your parents and grandparents be willing to undergo a battery of tests?”

“My dad’s parents died long before I was born. The chances of my mom cooperating with anything like that are near-zero. The only thing I know for sure about her is what I told you for the family medical history - she had rheumatic fever when she was thirteen, and in 1989 she had a thyroidectomy due to hyperthyroidism.”

“Why wouldn’t she cooperate?”

“Because his mom is mean!” Birgit stated. “She hates everyone! Even when we’re nice to her, she’s mean!”

“And she wouldn’t help with figuring out your medical condition?”

“Probably not. I’ll ask my dad, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Your dad hasn’t had any health problems? I mean other than the hip replacements?”

“And the skin cancer, but we attribute that to so much time in the sun during World War II, in Cuba, and in California. He had minor surgery and there has been no recurrence in the past twenty years.”

“Let me know and we’ll set it up if they’re willing. What about your mom’s parents?”

“They live in Cincinnati and don’t travel. I actually haven’t seen them in years.”

“University of Cincinnati has most, if not all, of the equipment necessary to run the scans.”

“Let me see what my dad says, and we’ll take it from there.”

“OK.”

“Birgit, would you go get your other mom, please?”

She left and came back with Jessica while I got breakfast on the table. The four of us ate, and Mary left for the conference just before Kara came in with Stephie, Ashley, and Albert. I hugged and kissed them, then made breakfast for them. After breakfast we hung out until it was time to go to karate. Elyse and her boys arrived home just as we finished dressing, which meant Ashley and Albert didn’t have to come with us.

“Remember what we talked about, Little Bunny Rabbit,” I said as we walked to the dojo.

“I listen and do what I’m told! Kiya!”

She made a silly chopping motion with her hand.

Kara, Jessica, and I all laughed. Birgit, on the other hand was NOT amused.

“Stephie, you didn’t do that right!”

“Pumpkin, let’s allow Sensei Jim and Will to teach her, please.”

“Not Daddy?” Stephie asked.

“Daddy teaches the brown belts and black belts,” I said. “But you’ll like Will. He’s really nice. Daddy can help you practice at home if you want.”

“OK,” she said, sounding a bit sad and confused.

“It’ll be OK, Stephie,” Kara said, picking her up and hugging her.

We arrived at the dojo and I retrieved the brand-new uniform that Sensei Jim had ordered for Stephie, and gave it to Kara who took Stephie to the changing room to help her put it on. When they came out Kara helped her find her spot at the very back, and at the far right of the last line. Molly and her students arrived just then, and Will and I quickly got them lined up in the correct places, which shuffled a few of our regular students backwards and nearly filled the main practice room.

When class began, I wasn’t surprised that Sensei Jim asked Molly to lead the exercises. It made perfect sense and clearly conveyed the message that Molly was ‘one of us’. She did a good job and once our warm-ups were completed, Sensei Jim and I went to the smaller training room so he could evaluate Molly’s students.

When class ended, Sensei Jim, Molly, and I met in his office to discuss his thoughts. They closely aligned with mine, which didn’t really surprise me, as he’d taught me. We agreed on a plan to have them visit Hyde Park once every three months, and Sensei Jim gave Molly a schedule for the black belt dinners which he said he expected her to attend.

“Think you could put me up for the nights when I come down for those?” she asked when we left Sensei Jim’s office.

“Sure. We have guest rooms, so that won’t be any trouble at all. How was your date last night?”

“Good. He might actually be a keeper. But time will tell.”

“Glad to hear that! I’d like to meet him at some point.”

“Is that part of being my sensei?” she asked with a smile.

“Being your sensei makes me responsible for you in all aspects of your life. I’m here to guide you and help you. What you choose to share with me is up to you, but the more we talk, the better I’ll be able to help.”

“That makes sense. See you in Racine next Saturday afternoon?”

“In two weeks. Remember, I have a business trip next weekend.”

We exchanged a platonic hug and then she left to join her students, while I joined my wives, Birgit, and Stephie, who seemed much happier than before.

“Did you have fun?” I asked as we walked home.

“Yes! Will is really nice!”

“I told you he was! Do you want to go again?”

“Yes!”

We arrived home and after quick showers, Jessica went to bed and Kara and I went to the kitchen to make lunch. Just as we were getting everything to the table the doorbell rang and I went to answer it. As I’d expected, it was Maria Cristina who was going to hang out with us for the afternoon. I greeted her and led her to the dining room for lunch.

Maria Cristina spent most of the afternoon talking with Kara or playing with the kids. If Kara’s plan was going to work, and Maria Cristina was going to stay with us for the long term, she’d need to develop good relationships with everyone in the family, not just with me. They all seemed to get along well, and Maria Cristina left when it was time to make dinner.