Chapter 66: Trouble in Paradise

November 11, 2000, Chicago, Illinois

“What do you think?” Kara asked after I turned off CNN on Saturday morning.

“I think I have no idea how it’s going to turn out, but I do agree that only doing hand recounts in the largest, most Democratic counties is a serious concern. There’s a lawsuit by some Republican voters based on ‘Equal Protection’, which presents an interesting Constitutional question - there is no right, anywhere, to vote for President, unless you are an Elector. I’ll be curious to hear what the court says. I’m guessing, because of how the Voting Rights Act has been applied, they’ll be found to have standing.

“But, in the end, the deadline for all recounts is the 14th at 5:00pm, and I’m not sure they can finish the recounts by then. Given the Secretary of State in Florida is a Republican, I can’t imagine she’ll agree to an extension, even if Florida law permits her to grant one. And, the Constitution gives final say on this to the State Legislature, so, in my opinion, the courts can’t order an extension, nor can they grant any orders which modify the statutes in any way. And if they did, all the Florida Legislature would need to do is vote on a Republican slate of Electors and all court rulings become moot. Only the Congress can do anything at that point.”

“Assuming the Court follows the Constitution.”

“That’s ultimately the problem, as always. Shall we head to the dojo?”

“Let me call the girls. They made themselves scarce the minute you turned on CNN!”

She went upstairs and came down with the girls, with Albert following behind.

“I’m going to Nicholas’ house,” Albert said.

“Kiss him for me!” Stephie teased.

“No way!” Albert said, making a face.

“Albert, did you hear from Aimee?” I asked.

“Yes. She said she’ll be here on the Friday after Thanksgiving and we can fly. You’ll be at Samantha’s house right?

“Yes, I won’t see Aimee this time.”

“OK. Bye!”

He headed out the back door while Kara, my daughters, and I headed out the front door, and turned south to walk to the dojo. When we arrived, I greeted the Howells who were arriving at the same time, and when we went inside, I saw Miyu with a good-looking Japanese man who I assumed was her intended.

“«Shihan»,” Miyu said, bowing, “I’d like to introduce Fujikawa Hisataka; Hisataka, my «shihan», Steve Adams.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Hisataka said, bowing.

“And you. Welcome to our dojo,” I said, returning the bow. “We’ll see you for lunch at the end of class.”

He bowed again, and I returned the bow, and then went into the locker room to change. Once the weather had cooled, we’d switched from our usual warm-weather practice of wearing our uniforms during our walk. Five minutes later, I went to the main training room to wait for class to begin. An hour later, after having worked with the white belts, I went to the locker room to shower and dress, and then Kara, the girls, Miyu, Hisataka, and I headed to the house for lunch.

“We’ll get lunch ready if you want to chat,” Kara said to me.

“Thanks.”

I invited Hisataka to join me in my study.

“Anala Patel had very good things to say about you,” I said when we sat down in wingback chairs, side-by-side.

“You know her?”

“I met her when she was a graduate student at IIT. We actually dated before she met Prajesh. I had lunch with her the other day for the first time in several years.”

“You spent some time in Japan, right?”

I nodded, “That’s when I received my teaching license. Unfortunately, because of work I could only spend five weeks there, not the full summer, which would have been ideal. I did get a chance to go back on business, but that was a much shorter trip. Where is your family from?”

“Osaka. My dad moved us here when I was six. He works for Westinghouse as a nuclear engineer.”

“Based in Pittsburgh?”

“Yes, though I’m not sure if you know that there were a series of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures that made it part of CBS until last year when the nuclear division was sold to a British company.”

“I recalled hearing about CBS buying Westinghouse but never read much about it. I hadn’t even thought about an entertainment company buying a company that designed and built nuclear reactors.”

“Actually, it’s the other way around; Westinghouse bought CBS.” He answered.

“I stand corrected!” I said with a friendly smile. “What does your dad do?”

“He’s a ‘tech rep’ for the Navy. He’s an expert in the A4W reactors used by the Nimitz-class carriers.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“And your intentions?” I asked.

“I’d like your permission to ask Miyu to marry me.”

I smiled, “You’re free to ask her, but I have no more control over her than I do the wind.”

“That sounds very Japanese.”

I chuckled, “It’s the exact thing the former «shihan» of our main dojo in Oguni said when his most senior student asked for the hand of his granddaughter.”

“But you have no objections?”

“I’d trust Anala with my life, and she gave you an extremely positive review. In addition, I also know Kaito, and if he approves, I can’t imagine what reasonable objection I might have. You have my blessing. When would you marry?”

“That’s the tricky part. I think, given everything, it will have to be right after her graduation in June.”

“At the Shinto Temple in Hawaii?”

“Yes. My parents can fly in then. Are you able to?”

“Yes. What about Miyu’s parents?”

“I actually haven’t met them yet, but she says they can make it.”

“OK. Let me know the date, assuming she accepts!”

“She wouldn’t have asked you for your blessing if she wasn’t going to accept!”

“True! Shall we go to lunch?”

“Yes.”

We stood, Hisataka bowed deeply, thanked me again, and we went to join the girls for lunch.

🎤 Jesse

“We’re playing against your friend Mikey’s team today, right?” Mia asked when we met outside Johnny’s Ice House.

“Yes,” I replied. “My friend Nicole will be in the stands because her game was yesterday.”

“Cool. Will your dad be here?”

“He might be a little late because he’s having lunch with one of his karate students,” I replied, then smirked, “Still angling for adoption?”

“I wish! But I didn’t realize you had six brothers and sisters!’

“Dad’s life is ‘complicated’.”

“I’ll say! But yours isn’t exactly typical - two moms and a dad?”

I shrugged, “I’ve always had two moms.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know, but ‘typical’ isn’t what matters; what matters is being happy and loving each other. My dad’s ‘complicated’ situation is like that, even if people think it’s strange, like they do me having two moms. Or you playing on the High School hockey team!”

“Maybe I just like being around strong, sweaty guys!” Mia smirked.

“And scoring with them?” I teased.

“Well, if they score as often off the ice as on, they’re not getting laid very much!”

Blake, Tom, and Kenny walked up just then.

“Speaking of which,” I said, “can we PLEASE score some goals today!”

“Oak Park isn’t Brother Rice, so we should be in better shape,” Kenny said.

“Assuming you guys actually get any shots off!” I groused.

Fortunately, we did get lots of shots, and we scored three goals, while I only gave up one. I stoned Mikey three times, which I was sure annoyed the heck out of him. After showers, I met up with Kelly, Mikey, and Nicole. Our parents took our gear, and the four of us headed downtown to Bacino’s for dinner. After dinner we went to see Charlie’s Angels and after the movie, Mikey and Nicole took the L home while Kelly and I rode the South Shore.

“What’s up with you and Libby doing homework together every day?” Kelly asked as we walked hand-in-hand from the station towards her house.

“We have all the same classes and we’re friends,” I replied.

“And Rachel?”

“Is tutoring me in Spanish.”

“You spend more time with them than you do me!” Kelly protested.

“I see you at school and we go out on dates every weekend, and you come to hockey games. I have to do homework, and I need help in Spanish, so it makes sense. They’re just friends.”

“Why can’t you have friends who are guys?”

“I do! We were just with Mikey!”

“And Nicole.”

“So? She’s a hockey player, just like Mia.”

“I saw you talking to her at the rink,” Kelly said flatly.

“I talk to everybody on the team! What’s bugging you?”

“You’re supposed to be my boyfriend!”

“I am your boyfriend!” I said firmly. “But I need to spend time with my friends, too.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why?’? Are you saying I can’t have friends?”

“You should spend most of the time with me!” Kelly insisted.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, sure that I sounded exasperated.

“I should be the most important!”

“Are you saying I have to choose between you and my friends?”

“Mikey is cool.”

I couldn’t help but sigh, “I’m not giving up my female friends, Kelly. If that’s the choice, then there is no choice.”

“Because they’ll have sex with you and I won’t?”

I wanted to walk over to the nearest house and bang my head against the bricks.

“No!” I declared exasperated. “Why would you even ask that question?”

“Because you had sex before!”

“So? I’m not doing anything with any of them! YOU are my girlfriend!”

“Then don’t see them.”

“If that’s the choice, I told you my decision.”

She yanked her hand out of mine like she’d received an electric shock and started walking faster. We were almost at her house, so I hurried to catch up. She didn’t say anything when we got to her house; she just went inside and closed the door hard, not quite slamming it. I stood and looked at the door, not believing what had just happened. I totally didn’t understand because I hadn’t done anything wrong, at least as I saw it. After a couple of minutes, I turned and quickly walked home.

“How was your date?” Mom Two asked when I came into the house.

“OK until we got off the train coming home. Kelly started complaining about me doing homework with Libby and about Rachel tutoring me in Spanish and about me having female friends. She even complained about me being friendly with Mia.”

“Why?”

“That’s just it! I have no idea! It was like, out of the blue, she turned into a jealous bit ... person.”

“I heard that!” Mom One said, coming into the kitchen.

“Sorry, I know you don’t like that word but I totally don’t understand!”

“Did anything happen in the last couple of days?” Mom One asked.

“No. Nothing. And before you ask, I haven’t done anything with any girl since I asked Kelly to be my girlfriend.”

“How much does Kelly know?”

“She’s sure I had sex with Francesca, but she doesn’t know about the other girls.”

“Are you sure? Did somebody maybe suggest you were with those other girls?”

“Who? Nobody knows except the girls and you two. Dad doesn’t know except about April and Francesca. Even Birgit doesn’t know it all!”

My moms both laughed.

“Your sister is a menace!” Mom One declared.

“Right,” I replied flatly. “I mean, after all, you and Aunt Melanie didn’t arrange for girls to have sex with dad in Junior High or anything like that.”

“You little turkey!” Mom One growled, but then she laughed.

“So what happened?” Mom Two asked.

“She got mad and walked straight into her house and shut the door. I just don’t get it.”

“Are you doing OK?” Mom One asked.

“I’m confused,” I replied.

“All I can suggest is that you give her a couple of days to calm down, then try to talk to her.”

“I guess. I’m going to go upstairs and read and then go to bed.”

“Good night,” my moms both said.

I hugged them, then went up the stairs to my room.

November 12, 2000, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“I take it this will be Suzanne’s room?” Leigh asked as we went into the nanny room early on Sunday morning.

“Yes. It’s way more roomy and comfortable than the guest rooms downstairs.”

“And it has a bigger bed which we should be in right now!” she declared.

“And another important feature,” I said, pointing upwards.

“Nice mirrors!” she exclaimed and began undressing.

I undressed as well and a minute later we were in bed with Leigh on top of me, her breasts pushing into my chest, her smooth mons pressing against my shaft, as our tongues gently explored each other’s mouths.

“Want to watch me pleasure you orally?” I asked when we broke the kiss a few minutes later.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied, her voice dripping with desire.

Leigh rolled over on her back and after one sexy French kiss, I feasted on her lovely breasts and tight, young pussy as she watched intently in the mirror.

“Steve?” she asked, gasping after her third orgasm.

“What?” I asked.

“I want to watch you fuck me!” she exclaimed

I was more than happy to oblige and moved between her legs, positioned myself, and pushed completely inside her with one firm thrust. Rather than kiss her, which would block her view, I put my head next to hers and began fucking her as she’d requested. Leigh spread her legs as wide as she could, resting her heels on my butt, which allowed me to penetrate her even deeper. She didn’t move much for the first few minutes, and I was sure she was enjoying the view in the mirror.

Eventually, she matched my rhythm and twenty minutes later, after she’d had four good orgasms, she whispered in my ear, “Cum in me!”. Two minutes later, I did, and she groaned and spasmed as she had a fifth orgasm. I raised my head, kissed her softly, then rolled onto the bed next to her and looked up into the mirror to see our naked bodies.

“That,” she said, breathing hard, “was totally cool!”

We lay together for about ten minutes before she moved on top of me, her head over my groin and her pussy pressed against my lips. We pleasured each other until I was hard, at which point Leigh moved to impale herself on me. She rode me, as she usually did, and just before I was about to cum, she lifted off, turned, and took me completely into her mouth while pressing her pussy against my face, sucking me until I blasted cum into her mouth. When my orgasm passed, she turned, we exchanged a soft, sexy French kiss, and then cuddled together.

“Enjoying your morning?” I asked.

Leigh laughed, “I’m hooked.”

“It is addictive, that’s for sure!” I agreed.

“And there’s truly no limit how long this can go on?”

“It’s up to you,” I said. “You did say that at some point you’re going to want to marry and have kids. That’s basically the hard limit.”

“True, but I still have four years of college after I graduate High School in June.”

“I’ll leave it up to you,” I said.

“Suzanne is staying with you permanently, right?”

“That is what she said she wants, and is what I want, so I’d say yes, that’s true.”

“So if she’s the first, and I’m the second, who’s the third female member of the inner circle?”

“I’m not sure we’ve met her just yet.”

“And the guy?”

“Same answer.”

“It’s like concentric circles, right? The inner circle, then others in various orbits, as it were. Like Elizabeth, Ben, Henry, Patricia, and Gabby in the second circle, because you aren’t sexually active with those girls and the guys aren’t as close as Suzanne and I are.”

“How much have you been talking to her?”

“We message each other almost every day. We’re not plotting behind your back; we’re just talking about how we think this might work.”

“You’re that sure of your decision?”

“Positive. My life changed irrevocably when you took me to bed. I went into that room a little girl and came out a woman. Of course, my entire world view was turned upside down the first time we talked in depth. And I LIKE the view from here!” she said with a soft laugh.

“There are mirrors in the guest room, though there’s a kind of sliding cover that looks as if it’s just an oversized ceiling tile.”

“Cool! I know this is Suzanne’s room, so we can only use it together until she gets here next summer.”

“I’d say that’s correct. Did you get your ACT results?”

“Yesterday. 32 composite, so combined with my SAT of 1510, I’ll easily get into UofC. Suzanne had slightly better scores, so I’m sure she’ll get in, too.”

“Remember, you’ll need to stay at Sensei Ichirou’s dojo until we’re no longer lovers. We can’t break that rule.”

“I remember, but I plan to live at home, so that’ll work out OK. Ready to start again?”

“If you are,” I replied.

“Always!” Leigh exclaimed, turning so she could suck me hard.

Just before lunch we showered and dressed, then had lunch with Kara, the girls, and Albert. Leigh, Kara, and I hung out in the ‘Indian’ room until it was time for the Rap Session.

🎤 Jesse

“I think I know what happened,” Libby said when we met for cokes at the diner on Hyde Park Avenue.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m pretty sure Cynthia blabbed to Heather, Missy, and Sally.”

“Shit!” I exclaimed crossly. “Why would she do that?”

“I don’t think she meant it to cause trouble; I’m pretty sure she just told them how great sex was and what she’d done, and I think it was pretty obvious she was talking about you.”

“And somebody said something to Kelly,” I sighed.

“Who is pure and innocent as they come.”

“You know, even if Cynthia didn’t mean anything bad by it, she shouldn’t have said anything!”

“But Missy said Cynthia never used your name. They just guessed.”

“Yes, but why tell them in the first place? She HAD to know one of them would say something to Kelly! Does she know about us?”

“Nobody knows about us but you and me; well, and your moms!”

“Let’s keep it that way, please,” I said. “She already accused me of doing it with you. And Rachel. And Mia. And while she didn’t say it, I’d guess she thinks I did it with Nicole, too.”

“Best friend answers?” Libby asked.

“You’re entitled! Nicole is like a sister, and Mia is like, hmm, a different kind of sister, though she teases me about sex because she’s a Senior and I’m a Freshman. And Rachel is a huge pile of trouble I am NOT interested in!”

“Why?”