Chapter 10: I’m Ready

September 19, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Did she give any indication of what she wanted?” I asked.

“She said it was personal, not business.”

“One sec,” I said into the phone, then turned to Penny, “Mind getting some coffee?”

Penny rolled her eyes, got up, kissed my cheek, then left the office. Once Penny went through the door, I asked Kimmy to put the call through.

“Hi, Michelle,” I said.

“Hi, Steve. How are you?”

“Good. How are you and the baby doing?”

“He or she is kicking up a storm. About ten weeks, according to my doctor.”

“And Nathaniel?”

“He’s fine, and so is Alexi. I take it everything is good with the family?”

“Yes, though Jesse will be getting his learner’s permit soon!”

“They do grow up fast.”

“Yes, they do.”

“Have you seen the new church building?”

“Not yet. I planned to come out once the construction is done, but before the icon screen is installed. That should be in about a month. So, what’s up?”

“I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“My sister, Sarah.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“She didn’t show up at your dojo or your house by accident.”

“No, of course not. Nor was it a coincidence. She knew too much about me for that to be the case. If you think you need to apologize for that, you don’t. Nor do you need to apologize for telling her about what we’re now calling our Philosophy Club. She’s decided to join the dojo and she was at Philosophy Club yesterday.”

“Steve, she’s ... she’s going to ask you to take her to bed.”

“Obviously,” I replied.

“You knew?”

“It was fairly obvious once she mentioned the naked rap session. There was nothing wrong with you telling her about it, or for that matter, any of your experiences. I seriously doubt you encouraged the behavior you called to ‘warn’ me about, so there’s nothing for which you need to apologize.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Offer to accept Sarah as my personal karate student, offer to mentor her the way I do my other students, and cultivate her as a free thinker in the Philosophy Club.”

“And?”

“And beyond that, I have nothing to say. If Sarah chooses to share anything with you, that’s up to her.”

“I...”

“Michelle,” I said, interrupting her. “It’s fine. Just let it be. Thanks for calling. I’ll see you at church at some point.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I put the phone back in the cradle and went back to work. Penny returned about ten minutes later, I waved her in and she walked to her desk and sat down.

“Everything OK?”

“Yes.”

The phone rang and I picked it up.

“Yes, Belgium?”

“I have a weird request.”

I chuckled, “Decided to reactivate the bag of tricks?”

Elyse laughed, “Not THAT kind of request! Come by the office? Julia is here.”

“Be right there.”

I got up, left my office, changed my shoes, and walked to Elyse’s office. She waved me in and indicated I should shut the door.

“What’s up?”

“Julia took a request to Bob, who declined it, so she came to me.”

“Now what?” I asked warily.

“Nothing like that!” Elyse said. “This is a hiring thing; well, an interview thing, actually. I’ll let Julia explain.”

“You know we’re looking for two programmers in Colorado, right?”

“Yes, and you’ve had trouble finding people with the kind of UI background that Kajri and Skye want to see.”

“We found two very good candidates, but they present a unique problem.”

“Which is?” I asked.

“They’re a package deal. Hire both or neither.”

“Husband and wife duo?” I asked. “That would give Bob indigestion for sure.”

Elyse laughed, “No. This is right out of Cirque du Steve!”

“Twins,” Julia said. “Identical. And the kind who never grew out of doing literally everything together. They went to the same university and graduated with identical GPAs. They married twins. They had babies two days apart. And so on.”

“OK, that might even go BEYOND the usual circus! So what’s the problem?”

“They want a joint interview,” Julia said. “Bob flat out refused. But their résumés line up exactly with what the Colorado team wants, and Kajri really likes them.”

I shrugged, “I’m OK with it. Take it to Stephanie and run it by Liz, but I don’t see a problem if you can manage a situation like that. Reviews will be tricky, but given the way we do them, I think it’s manageable.”

“Thanks. We decided to bounce the idea off you first, because if you vetoed the idea we’d be wasting our time.”

“No veto. This ought to be an interesting set of interviews!”

“Just when I think it can’t get any weirder!” Julia said, shaking her head.

“You do realize that by saying that,” Elyse said with a smirk, “something even stranger is going to happen, right?”

“At this point, NOTHING surprises me when Steve’s involved! I’ll go talk to your sister and Liz.”

“Steve, stay for a sec,” Elyse said.

Julia left, shutting the door behind her.

“What’s up?”

“I have Matthew’s performance dates and Michael’s schedule for robotics competitions.”

“Thanks. I’ll make sure they’re on my calendar. The only time I’ll be away is a trip to LA next month.”

“For?”

“Morale boosting. I’m going to see Aisyah, and I’ll meet with her imam and visit her mosque.”

“I thought staff was off-limits for your staff! Well, present company excepted.”

I laughed, “Nice. But somehow I don’t see a conservative Muslim girl behaving that way. Their mosque has received threats and I’ll be damned if I’ll allow THOSE voices to be heard over mine. And I’m sure you remember the incident with the medical practice.”

“I do. What’s your cover story?”

I rolled my eyes, “I don’t need one. This is part of my role as Keeper of the «Kami». I called each of our Muslim employees the other day, and I am NOT going to apologize for that, given what’s happening in the country.”

“I’m with you. By the way, did you see the Dow is down 400 points?”

I shrugged, “Meaningless unless you have to sell today or next week. It’ll come back. Bo’s letter to all of the NIKA people he advises made it clear - hold tight and buy if you’re able.”

“Which you’re doing, I’m sure.”

“Of course. And I’m sure you and Eduardo are doing the same, because you follow Bo’s advice.”

“How is Terry doing at Spurgeon?”

“Great. It’s exactly the role he needed, and one we could never give him. Not even Julia’s job would have been enough for him.”

“I was thinking about something - I remember Suzanne has a friend named Gabe whose dad worked for Cantor Fitzgerald.”

“In the hospital for an emergency appendectomy that morning.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah. Lucky. They lost 70% of the people who worked at their headquarters.”

“Did you see the announcement a few minutes ago?”

I shook my head, “I was on the phone. What?”

“Cantor Fitzgerald made a pledge to distribute a quarter of the firm’s profits for the next five years to the families of employees who died, and also committed to ten years of health insurance as well.”

“A class move. Who survived who could make that promise?”

“Howard Lutnick, the president and CEO. Get this - he was taking his kid to the first day of kindergarten.”

“Another lucky man. And those little decisions show the enormity of ‘What if?’ and why I refuse to play that game. Think about it - taking your kid to the first day of school saves your life. A hot appendix saves your life. A meeting set for 10:00am instead of 8:00am saves your life. Flying to Los Angeles, something done regularly, ends it.”

“You’re preaching to the choir! I bought into that way of thinking years ago, along with all your other ‘off the wall’ ideas which have made being your lover, the mother to your children, and your CFO very interesting, very exciting, and very fulfilling.”

“It’s been a fun twenty-two years, and there are another sixty or more to go!”

“Your dad is what? Eighty-four?”

“Last month,” I confirmed.

“Good genes! He’s healthier than most people forty years younger! That bodes well for our boys and your other kids, too!”

“True. I’m going back to work. Holler if you need anything.”

“One of our special, long lunches? Next week?”

“Let me know which day.”

“I will!” Elyse declared happily.

“Before I forget, is Eduardo still planning to take the boys to Indy for the Grand Prix?”

“Yes. Eduardo checked with a friend of his who does work for the FIA, the governing body, and they intend to run the race on the 30th as scheduled.”

“OK. I’m going to get back to work.”

I left Elyse’s office and returned to mine, joining Penny on a bug hunt.

🎤 Birgit

When we arrived at karate on Wednesday evening, I went to Sensei Jim’s office.

“Come in, Birgit,” he said. “And shut the door.”

I did as he asked, then stood in front of his desk and bowed.

“I need to apologize,” I said after he returned the bow. “I shouldn’t have spoken to Mr. Felipe the way I did, and I shouldn’t have had a bad attitude when I was corrected by my mom. I’m very sorry and I’ll try harder in the future.”

“It’s very good to admit your mistakes and ask forgiveness.”

“I need to apologize to the class, too, because I disrupted things and didn’t live up to the standard of behavior my brown belt requires.”

“I think that’s a very good idea, and it’s very mature. Immediately after warm-up exercises.”

“Yes, Sensei!”

“How is school going?”

“Just fine. It’s early in the year, but I always get mostly A’s.”

“And why would a young woman as intelligent as you not get all A’s?”

I knew if I told the truth - that I didn’t care enough about some classes to give my best effort - Sensei Jim would be very upset. But I could answer in a way that was truthful.

“I suppose I don’t apply myself.”

“That disappoints me, young lady. What does your dad have to say?”

I smiled, “Wrong parent.”

Sensei Jim laughed, “I can see that.”

“Mom says I’m not focused enough.”

“You’re focused here, well, except when you’re upset with Mr. Felipe!”

“Other parent!”

Sensei Jim nodded, “I can see that, too.”

“Dad doesn’t worry too much about less than perfect grades; he’s much more concerned with us learning to think for ourselves. He says the ability to think critically is the most important skill to learn. He believes critical thinking combined with self-discipline is the way to be very successful.”

“That’s a good strategy. Do you know what you want to study in college?”

“Promise not to tell my mom?”

“Sure.”

“Chemical Engineering.”

“Interesting. Are any of your brothers interested in computers?”

“No! We all think they’re great for homework and games, but none of us wants to program like Dad.”

“Any doctors?”

“I don’t think so. Well, Nicholas, Stephie’s boyfriend. He wants to be a doctor and be in the Navy.”

“That sounds like a good career. Shall we go out and line up?”

“I’ll stay in the back until I apologize,” I said.

Sensei Jim nodded, we bowed, and I left his office. I had just enough time to apologize to Mr. Felipe, so I went over to him.

“Mr. Felipe?”

“Yes, «Tesoro»?”

“I’m sorry for speaking to you the way I did last night. It was disrespectful.”

“I understand that you were really worried about me, and I accept your apology.”

“Thank you!”

“Shall we line up?”

“I still need to stand in back until I apologize to the class.”

Mr. Felipe went to his spot, and I stood behind the white belts for warm-up exercise. Once they were done, Sensei Jim called me to the front, I apologized, and saw Dad nod and smile with approval. That meant more than anything to me.

September 21, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

By Friday of the second week after the attack, world events continued to spiral out of control and the number of casualties from the attacks continued to rise. Attacks on Muslims had led to retaliatory attacks, including the murder of a non-Muslim in England by a gang of up to ten Pakistani men. The threats against Afghanistan had led to large protests in Pakistan against cooperation with the US. The stock market continued to slide, having its worst week since the Great Depression. And President Bush had addressed a joint session of Congress, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in attendance.

More worrisome was that he had announced a plan to create an ‘Office of Homeland Security’, which would oversee a number of agencies taken from other departments, including Customs and Immigration, FEMA, US Coast Guard, and Secret Service. All in all, twenty-two agencies would be combined into one over-arching internal security service, to be headed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. The new office, even if only on an organizational chart, would instantly become the third-largest, with only Defense and Veterans Affairs having more personnel.

Even more worrisome was the stream of proposals coming out of Congress for a massive expansion of internal surveillance, which would include tapping domestic phones. As was the norm for any response by any elected officials after a crisis, seriously increased penalties were being discussed for terrorism, AND the list of what might qualify as terrorism seemed to grow every day.

I felt as if things were spiraling out of control, and we were moving into ‘police state’ territory. One of my biggest concerns had been the continual expansion of federal power, and what was going on looked to expand it even further. Add in the near-certain war in Afghanistan, and it appeared that the terrorists had the upper hand - we were responding in ways which led us away from our founding principles, and THAT was something which I could not tolerate.

And all of THAT paled against the fact that some of our friends were going to be at the point of the spear.

“Ready to leave for dinner?” Kara asked from the door of my study.

“I am. Are Nicholas and Albert ready?”

“They are. And the girls are next door. Shall we?”

I got up and Kara and I walked to the great room where Jessica, Albert, and Nicholas were waiting. We left the house, got into Kara’s minivan because it was more comfortable now that the boys were getting bigger, and headed towards Bucktown.

“I was a bit surprised Suzanne decided not to join us tonight,” Jessica said from the second row of seats where she and Kara were holding hands as they usually did.

“With Leigh and Natalie there, she chose to hang out with them and her friends. Suzanne has never really been part of the Navy crowd.”

“But MC and Mike will be with us, right?”

“Yes. Mike is expecting orders for the Middle East sometime this week. He’ll likely end up on one of the carriers as counsel for the Captain and Air Boss on rules of engagement. A thankless and impossible task, really, because our politicians have no balls.”

“Why do you say that, Uncle Steve?” Nicholas asked.

“Because they’ll give rules of engagement which tie the hands of the men on the battlefield and in the air, and those cause delays in seeking permission to attack will allow the enemy to escape.”

“Aimee says most REMFs are pussies!” Albert declared.

“Albert...” Jessica warned.

“That is what she says, Babe,” I chuckled. “You know HER theory of war-fighting, and it matched up exactly with Nick’s.”

“«Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.»” Albert declared.

I laughed hard, “Did Aimee teach you the Latin?”

“Yes! She said the way we say it in English isn’t exactly right, because the Latin is ‘Kill everyone; God will know His own.”

“It does. And do you know the history?”

“Yes! It’s from the Massacre at Béziers, part of the Albigensian Crusade. After they captured the city, the general asked an abbot how to tell the ‘true’ Catholics from the ‘heretical’ Cathars. The abbot was afraid that the heretics would pretend to be Catholic so as not to be executed, then later, return to the heresy, so the abbot said that phrase to the soldiers.”

“Yes, and the second part is from the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:19.”

“Mom says more evil has been done in the name of religion than anything else,” Nicholas said.

“Only if you count communism as implemented by Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and Ho Chi Minh as ‘religion’,” I replied. “Communism, in its various forms such as Stalinism and Maoism, has killed more people than any other ideology in history. Between the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, and the famines caused by his policies, Mao killed upwards of sixty million, and that’s a conservative estimate. Stalin was responsible for upwards of ten million, and probably another five million, at least, under other Communist Party leaders. But both of them pale in percentages, because Pol Pot was responsible for the deaths of around a quarter of the entire population of Cambodia. In the end, only the Black Death can compete.”

“How many people died from the plague?” Albert asked.

“Nobody knows for sure, but the plague reduced the global population by a third, and might have killed sixty percent of Europeans. The estimates run from seventy-five to two hundred million.”

“What about war?”

“World War II, depending on how you count, was responsible for about seventy million. Of those, about twenty million were Chinese and twenty-five million were Soviet, and about seven million were German.”

“How many Americans?”

“Just over four hundred thousand, but almost all of those were military. There were relatively few civilian deaths in the US, unlike those other countries. And most of those US deaths were in the Merchant Marine - civilians on ships transporting men and matériel.”

“In convoys? Like the ones Grandpa Adams helped protect?”

“Yes.”

“He doesn’t talk about it very much.”

“No, he doesn’t. But I think if you ask him, he might tell you more.”