Chapter 47: Changing Relationships

April 13, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“You decided against church tonight?” Jessica asked when Kara and I joined her in the ‘Indian’ room on Saturday morning.

“Yes. Father Basil called to invite us, but it just doesn’t do the same thing for me that it used to.”

“But you’re giving to them, right?”

“On Jesse’s behalf, yes. After the financial mismanagement, they’re hurting. Normally they don’t accept gifts with strings attached, but the Bishop was OK with mine, given the circumstances.”

“That they get a new treasurer?”

“Yes. Hard not to accede to that request given the previous treasurer nearly bankrupted the parish. Of course, the former treasurer is more than a little pissed at me.”

“Do you care?”

“No, of course not! Let him be pissed. Father Basil has done a good job of helping Michelle, and Jesse loves him. And the Zhukovs are there. The parish does a lot of prison outreach and works with the homeless as well. All in all, except for their problems with our marriage and with Jennifer and Josie’s marriage, it’s a good place and a good cause.”

“Jess, what’s the status of your shift request for June?” Kara asked.

“Doctor Barton says it’s as close to a sure thing as can be. With one attending leaving for Johns Hopkins, there isn’t anyone with more seniority that wants it. I’ll know for sure in about two weeks.”

“Do you know which weekdays it will be?”

“It’s not set. The hours on Saturday and Sunday are regular, but the weekday eight-hour shifts could start as early as 4:00am and as late as noon, and the days can change from week to week depending on schedules. Basically, it’s a daytime floating position. There are a couple of those, and it allows for vacations and so on. As I said, most people don’t want them because you aren’t guaranteed two days in a row off, and you have to work all day on the weekend. BUT, it means I get to sleep with you two every single night!”

“Speaking of that,” I said, “Eve asked if it would be possible for the two of us to get away for a couple of days to say goodbye.”

Kara smirked, “Uh-huh! ‘Say goodbye’ as in do your best to fuck each other to death as a last fling?”

“Perhaps,” I grinned. “Anyway, I told her it had to be over by the end of June.”

“You don’t plan to give Jasmine a ‘last fling’ while she’s here?”

“No. Remember, I ended things with her. She won’t ask, and I won’t offer. I intend to stick with our plan, now that it’s coming to fruition. And speaking of that, may I ask a question?”

“Sure,” Kara said with a smile.

“Were there other girls you considered?”

“Yes, of course. Jess and I actually discussed Liz Carullo, but we decided she was too much in love with you for that to work without running serious risks of messing up her life.”

I nodded, “Sadly, that’s true. Not to mention she’s at Purdue.”

“And Donna W and you agreed that it was, in effect, a one-time thing because being together the way she would have wanted was pure fantasy.”

“Sadly, also true.”

“Debbie Vaughn is married, at least according to what I could find out.”

“So, you went down the list of girls, who in the past, seemed to fit the bill?”

“Of course! Penny presents too many issues, though I can’t imagine there’s a girl who is off limits who you’d rather have sex with.”

“Kathy,” I smirked.

“OK, so Penny is second. But she’d also want to run things, which is a big concern.”

“You know her all too well! But if we’re ignoring rules, Kimmy is probably ahead of Penny.”

“I could see that,” Kara said with a smile. “Anyway, Jess thought about one of the medical students, but that’s complicated by the rules, obviously, as well as how long they might stay. The same is true of a student of mine. We thought about some of the girls from the Rap Sessions but the concern there is, again, the length of the commitment we’re looking for. And then, Maria Cristina appeared almost out of the blue.”

“Maybe Fate has thrown in the towel and is on your side now!” Jessica smirked.

“Don’t count on it!” I said shaking my head. “You know it’s when everything seems to be going right that things go off the rails.”

“That really hasn’t been true since your first trip to Japan.”

“Why tempt her?”

“Probably best to avoid that, yes. What’s the plan for the weekend?”

“Today? Karate, then just relaxing until dinner, then Guys’ Night. Jasmine is going out with you guys tonight. Tomorrow I have my usual one-on-one with Dyani, and then I’ll take Jasmine to O’Hare. Maria Cristina will come by for lunch. And of course, the usual family dinner, though we’re celebrating Samantha’s twenty-first birthday.”

“OK. I think I need to get to bed. I want to get some extra sleep so I can join you for lunch tomorrow. Will you let Sensei Jim know?”

“Of course.”

We all went upstairs and while Jessica got into bed, Kara and I dressed for karate, and gathered clothes to change into when we got home so we didn’t have to disturb Jessica. We kissed Jessica, then went to find Birgit and Stephie so we could head to karate.

April 14, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, there was a call for you,” Elyse said on Sunday morning when I returned from the dojo after working with Dyani.

“Who?”

“Pam Simpson,” Elyse replied with a smirk.

“No way! I haven’t heard from her in YEARS! Did she say anything?”

“No, just that you should call when you have a chance. It’s a Seattle number.”

“I need to shower and then take Jasmine to O’Hare. I’ll call her when I get back. I should have enough time before Maria Cristina arrives.”

I got some fresh clothes from the closet in the basement so I didn’t have to bother Jessica, then used the shower next to the nanny room, and after I was clean and dressed, Jasmine and I left for the airport.

“Did you have a good time last night?” I asked.

“An absolute blast! I really hope I get the internship because then I can join the girls all Summer! If I get it, and I can swing this the next few Summers, will the room be available?”

“Absolutely. Would you consider moving to Chicago for a job?”

“I’ll move to Antarctica for an investigative reporter job!”

“I’ll check with my penguin friends and see if there are any favors I can call in!”

Jasmine laughed softly, “My first article - ‘The Great Polar Bear Caper’?”

“Polar bears live in the Arctic, penguins in the Antarctic.”

“Oops! I didn’t know that!”

“It’s a common mistake,” I chuckled. “Don’t sweat it. But it is a reminder to always check your facts.”

“Something my professors are adamant about!”

When we arrived at O’Hare, I pulled up outside the departure entrance, Jasmine got her bag from the back seat and I got out so we could exchange a quick hug, and then I headed back to the house.

When I arrived home, I dialed the number Pam had left. A guy answered, and when I asked for her, he called her to the phone.

“Hi, Steve!” she exclaimed.

“Hi, Pam! It’s been what? Ten years?”

“Something like that! How are you?”

“Good. You’re in Seattle?”

“My husband’s job transferred him here. We spent two years in Germany and two years in England, and just moved to the Pacific Northwest two months ago.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a manager for Boeing.”

“Is this the guy from Eau Claire?”

Pam laughed, “I haven’t seen HIM in almost ten years. In the end, he preferred a girl he met at school.”

“So, who’s the lucky guy? Kids?”

“Two kids, a boy and a girl, four and two. You won’t believe it, but I married a guy I met during my Freshman year at UW!”

“I take it this guy has a name?”

“Dale Melrose. He was a weekend fling early during Freshman year, and six years later I ran into him on a plane. One thing led to another.”

“On the plane?” I chuckled.

Pam laughed, “You would think, right? But working for Boeing, that’s the LAST place he’d do it! I was flying to Seattle to visit friends and he was flying back from a meeting in Madison.”

“So why the call?”

“I’ll be in Chicago in a couple of weeks. I thought maybe you and I could grab a cup of coffee. I left a message for Bethany. She was tough to track down. I finally called her parents’ house. I probably should have just called you.”

“Did her parents tell you what happened?”

“No. Why?”

“After our final, failed attempt to get together, she married a Naval officer. He was murdered a few years later while on active duty in Guam.”

“Holy shit!”

“Yeah. She’s since remarried and has two kids, one by her late husband and one by her current husband.”

“That defies comment,” she said. “How about you?”

“Well, you know Jennifer was pregnant with Jesse at the wedding, but since then I’ve had six more kids - two by Elyse, and two by each of my wives.”

“Jesus,” Pam breathed. “So I guess you’re all together and your legal wife is a doctor?”

“Yes. Hey, when you were in Europe, did you get back to Sweden?”

“Yes, Dale and I stayed in Stockholm for a week. I take it you’ve been back?”

“Several times. We took all the kids last Summer.”

“So you’re still insane!”

I chuckled, “Yes. What are you doing for work?”

“Right now? Being a bum and living off my husband’s princely salary! Once the kids are in school I’ll go back to work. I was doing relocation consulting.”

“Four and two, so the kids were born overseas?”

“Teddy in England, Tracey in Germany. Are you still running your own company?”

“I am. We have nearly a hundred employees now.”

“Damn! Not bad!”

“What days will you be here?”

“May 2nd and 3rd. Would you be free on the 2nd?”

“Sure. Bethany is running a counseling center at the hospital, but she has flexible hours. Make plans with her and let me know. I’ll keep the 2nd free.”

“Cool!”

“«Tack så mycket för at du ringde!»” I chuckled.

“Uh, hell, I didn’t even remember enough to ask for the bathroom when we were there!”

“Thanks for calling,” I replied. “Sofia Katsaros is a doctor here in Chicago, by the way.”

“Your Swedish girlfriend?”

“One of them,” I chuckled. “I see Pia and her daughter about once a year, either here or in Sweden, and I’m in touch with Katt and Karin fairly regularly. And we’ve seen them both here and in Sweden. And I still write Tina Hoff every single month.”

“Cool. Oops, there’s call waiting. That might be Bethany. I’ll call you once she and I work things out.”

“Sounds good! Thanks for calling.”

“Bye!”

“Bye!”

I hung up and shook my head, then went to find Kara to let her know about the call. We only had a couple of minutes before Maria Cristina called out from the foyer that she’d arrived. I was happy she was following my ‘unlocked doors mean you can just walk in’ policy. I greeted her with a quick hug, then handed her off to Kara so I could wake Jessica as she’d requested.

We fed the kids, and once they’d finished eating, Kara, Jessica, Maria Cristina, and I took our food to the ‘Indian’ room to eat and talk.

“We’re celebrating Steve’s birthday next Sunday night,” Kara said. “Are you able to eat dinner with us?”

“I think so. My mom is OK with me spending time with you. Once she met you, she relaxed about it. What time?”

“6:00pm,” Kara said. “It’s our usual family meal and we do our best to make sure all the kids are here. It’s not ‘mandatory’, if you will, but good reasons are necessary if they need to miss. And by family we mean the extended family, which includes Steve’s sister and her family, as well as Samantha and her fiancé. Doctor Gina, the doctor Steve runs with every weekday morning, is usually here with her family as well.”

“No gifts,” I said. “And I mean that.”

“He does,” Jessica said. “He’s extremely generous but really doesn’t like receiving gifts.”

“I honestly don’t want people to feel obligated,” I said. “I don’t throw a fit, but the people who know me best understand how I feel. Joyce will send her usual gift of two boxes of Cuban cigars and a bottle of Sambuca, but those are because of her grandfather, and I would never tell her to stop.”

“Aren’t Cuban cigars illegal?” Maria Cristina asked.

“So was alcohol during Prohibition!” I chuckled. “Sometimes the government is flat-out wrong, and I ignore them. As it turns out, possession isn’t strictly illegal, though importation, sale, and transportation are. Someday Castro will die, or we’ll have a President who realizes that the quickest way to see off the Communists is to allow Americans to travel to Cuba and spend money there. The hotels and casinos will reopen and so much money will flood the island, the Communists won’t know what hit them. Heck, Vegas only exists because of the US economic sanctions on Cuba!”

“But Castro?”

I shrugged, “He’ll get the picture quickly, or he’ll end up like Nicolae Ceaușescu in Romania - up against a wall in front of a firing squad.”

“If you haven’t encountered anti-government politics before, you’ll get a full dose here!” Kara laughed. “Steve doesn’t like ANYONE telling him what to do.”

“Except Birgit!” Maria Cristina laughed.

“She said ‘like’,” I countered.

“Give me a break!” Jessica teased. “You love it and you know it! She’s your number-one fan and number-one defender.”

“And his only boss!” Kara added.

We were quiet for a bit while we ate, then I cleared the dishes away while Kara and Jessica stayed to talk with Maria Cristina.

When I finished washing the dishes, I rejoined them and we spent another hour together before Maria Cristina had to leave. I walked her to the door, we exchanged a soft, closed-mouth kiss, and I watched as she walked to her car. When she was out of sight, I rejoined my wives in the ‘Indian’ room.

“Diamond or ruby?” I asked.

“An interesting question,” Kara replied after a moment’s thought. “You gave Michelle a diamond.”

“I did. And I bought one for Sakurako, too. And I bought Sakurako rubies, as well. Samantha got a ruby bracelet.”

“What if you did something new?” Jessica asked. “Something for the four of us?”

“Maybe sapphire?” Kara asked. “You haven’t ever given anyone sapphire, have you?”

“No. I like the idea, though. It doesn’t send the wrong message as a diamond might. And it doesn’t imply anything about relationship as rubies might.”

“How much are you going to tell her about the past?”

“Not much,” I said. “Some things are obvious, such as Jennifer and Elyse. But there’s no point in causing undue consternation on Maria Cristina’s part. Things are different from how they were even a few years ago. We’re all older, and we’re all family focused. All that stuff that happened in the past is in the past. Heck, except for Kathy, there really isn’t even any public flirting. Sure, Penny teases, but she keeps it private.”

“I’d suggest rings, but you already wear two for our marriage.”

“My manhood wouldn’t be offended or diminished by a bracelet or necklace,” I said with a grin.

“What about a silver bracelet with four blue sapphires?”

“I’m sure that the jeweler who made our rings could do it. I’ll go see Mr. Digrindakis sometime next week.”

“When would you give Maria Cristina hers?”

“I think we’d all get them when she moves in. I don’t want to cause any issues between her and her mom before she’s ready to do that.”

“That makes sense,” Kara said. “Do we need to do anything with Michelle’s old room?”

“I was going to get all new sheets and a new duvet, and I want to get some new things for the walls to give the room a different feel.”

“Mirrors on the ceiling?” Kara teased.

“And pink champagne on ice,” I grinned.

“How experienced is she?”

I smiled, “That’s between Maria Cristina and me,” I said. “Unless she cares to share with you.”

“Wifely privilege!” Kara said firmly.

I shook my head, “You didn’t get details about Elyse, and honestly, I probably should have exercised more decorum about Michelle. And before you object, if Maria Cristina is to assume the position we’ve talked about, she ought to have just as much privacy as you and Jessica have.”

“That wasn’t the deal!” Kara protested.

I replied in as low a register as I could, “I’ve altered the deal; pray I do not alter it further.”

“Vader ended up dead!” Kara growled.

“Things are changing,” I said. “And they need to change. I need to change. And Maria Cristina needs her privacy. If SHE chooses to share with you, that’s fine. It’s not right for me to do it. I can’t violate her privacy in that way.”

“He has a point,” Jessica said softly. “A very good point.”

“I’m not sure I like this development!” Kara objected.

“Kara, when we started dating, would you have been happy if I told Bethany and Jennifer the details of what we were doing? I don’t mean you as the woman you’ve become, but you as the sixteen-year-old.”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

“Then for Maria Cristina, if we make love, what we do is between her and me. You’ll know if I spend the night with her, but that’s it. It has to be. For her sake. And, honestly, for ours.”

“Why do you agree, Jess?”

“For exactly the reasons Tiger just said - it really does have to be up to her what she shares with us. And, what she shares with us has to stay between us, unless it’s clear she’s OK with telling Steve. She’s not a plaything.”