Chapter 11: Not Just Yet

September 22, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“I think I finally have the hang of this game!” Jackson declared as he raked a pot which knocked both Karl and Pete out of our Hold ‘Em tournament.

“Don’t get cocky, kid,” Karl said. “You’re still up against the Adams boys and Terry, and Commander Northrup is no slouch!”

Commander Lee Northrup was a new member of Karl’s former JAG team, though, at this point, there were no remaining members from when I’d first met Karl about fifteen years ago.

“Are we going to talk, or play cards?” Terry asked.

“Anxious, Uncle Terry?” Jesse asked, eyeing him. “Because my stack is bigger than yours?”

“What IS it with boys and size?” Birgit asked, walking past to go to the kitchen.

All the men cracked up.

“Sometimes, size matters, Sis!” Jesse replied as she disappeared around the corner.

“Nice to see them getting along,” Karl said.

“They decided a truce was warranted, and they’re becoming very close.”

“She’s WAY more interesting and way less annoying than she used to be,” Jesse said as I dealt the next hand.

“Says the kid who did everything in his power to annoy her!” I replied.

“Keep talking, Pops!” Jesse said, eyeing me carefully as I looked at my cards.

“It’s your bet, Little Duck!”

“He’s TALLER than you are, Steve!” Aaron protested, mucking his cards after Jesse bet.

Jackson called.

“And your point is?” I chuckled, also calling Jesse’s bet.

Matthew and Pete, the small and big blinds, both called and I Flopped three cards.

“How are things with your girlfriend, Matthew?” Terry asked.

“Good. How are things with the new job?”

“Challenging. I’m using every single thing I learned from your dad, Dave, and Julia, plus the survival skills I developed being married to Penny!”

Everyone laughed.

“Are you adjusting well, Nathan?” Dave asked.

“It’s been an interesting experience with a new job, in a new city. My wife and son love it here. Lee’s very happy with the hockey team.”

“We play St. Rita tomorrow morning,” Jesse said. “It’s our first tough game. You should bring Lee to Guys’ Night.”

“His mom would never hear of it.”

Another round of betting saw everyone call Jesse’s bet, so I dealt the Turn.

“That’s a common reaction amongst our wives,” Karl observed. “Steve’s approach to child-rearing isn’t widely accepted, though we do pick and choose some elements. Dave and I fewer; Kurt is closer to Terry than to us.”

“I heard all kinds of rumors,” Nathan said, “and my former partner told all kinds of stories, but I was never sure what to believe. I assumed they were exaggerations.”

Several of the men laughed.

“And now?” Terry asked.

“My wife is VERY worried that I’m here, let alone allowing my son to attend! But given Steve got me out of a very bad situation and into a very good one, she agreed it would be OK.”

“Most of our wives knew Steve before we did,” Pete said. “Karl and Aaron are outliers.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what the UCMJ would do with this situation!” Commander Northrup said, calling another bet.

Everyone called and I dealt the River. Pete and Matthew checked and Jesse made a big bet. the question in my mind was whether Jesse had the nuts, and had been stringing us along, or if the big bet was a bluff. I had three kings, having Flopped the set, but not improving after that. There were enough scary cards on the table, including the River which had been the third heart.

Terry called, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what he had. But it didn’t matter, because I was positive that Jackson, who had Flopped two pair had caught the flush on the River. I’d guessed AK suited, which my set would have beat, but now he had me. I had no choice but to muck my cards after he called. I would have raised, but he was a relatively new player, and the pot was significant, so the fact that he simply called made sense, though if I was right, he had the nuts, and a big bet was in order.

Only Terry called and Jesse turned over his cards, revealing a pair of tens which, with the ten on the board, gave him a set. Jackson turned over his AK of hearts, and Terry groaned and mucked his hand.

“Trip kings,” I grinned.

“How the hell did you lay that down?” Jackson asked.

Jesse laughed, and in a faux Russian accent said, “He laid down a monster!”

“Darmok?” Jackson inquired.

“Rounders,” Terry said ruefully. “Jesse is saying Steve knows your tell.”

“Fuck!” Jackson swore. “I’ve been working on that for weeks with Holly.”

“I believe fucking would have been more productive,” Jesse smirked.

“I beat YOU!”

“You weren’t aggressive enough. You had the nuts.”

“Would you have called my raise?”

Jesse smirked, “The only way to know the answer to that question was to have raised my bet! I had you all the way to the River, just as Dad did.”

“And his bet was a gamble your two pair wasn’t suited,” Pete said. “All in all, not bad.”

“Deal!” Jackson said, sounding annoyed.

“Don’t go on tilt,” Karl cautioned. “That’s how these card sharps will beat you every single time.”

In the end, I won, with Terry second, and Jackson a respectable third. Jesse had been beaten on the River on just about every hand, and was thoroughly annoyed.

“I should have made bigger bets after the Turn on those hands,” he said when we went to get drinks after finishing the game. “I didn’t take my OWN advice about being aggressive.”

“You were too worried about Terry and me, and let Matthew, Jackson, and Commander Northrup River you, which reduced your stack.”

“I know.”

“Shall we go play some pool?”

September 23, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“You’re going to have a large cheering section today,” Mom Two said on Sunday morning.

“Oh?”

“Your dad, your aunts, Natalie, Leigh, Suzanne and her friends, Terry, Andy, and Nicholas are all coming to the game.”

“So, what are you and Mom One doing?” I asked.

“Coming to the game, you turkey!”

“Hello!” Libby called, coming in the back door.

I went to meet her and we exchanged a kiss.

“My gear is in the car, so we’re ready to go. Want to see the basement? We can go down there today. We have five minutes before we have to leave.”

“Sure.”

Libby and I went to the basement and I showed her the room for my gear, the laundry room, and the large gaming room with a brand-new projection TV Dad had installed.

“Wow! What did your moms say about THAT?”

“There were tense negotiations, but when it comes to technology, Dad is very protective of his privileges! Though in this case, my moms bought the TV, DVD player, and stereo.”

Libby laughed, “Your dad’s relationship with your moms is so funny at times!”

“It’s all about me and my moms being a real family, but not wanting to exclude my dad. And they all agreed on the plan before I was born.”

“It’s so cool, though. Hey, I have an idea!”

“What?”

“You get a bunch of floor pillows like your dad has in the ‘Indian’ room.”

“Why?”

“So we can have our orgies here!”

“I don’t THINK so!” Mom One said, but she was laughing.

“You know I was teasing!” Libby said. “I saw you on the stairs out of the corner of my eye!”

“It’s time to go,” Mom One said.

Libby and I followed her upstairs, we all went out to the car, and twenty-five minutes later I grabbed my gear from the trunk and we walked into the ice rink. Libby followed my moms into the stands and I went to the locker room to put on my gear.

“Gentlemen, your attention, please!” Coach Nelson called out.

Everyone turned to face Coach while we continued dressing for the game. He gave us the usual pep talk, then reminded us about how St. Rita played. They’d had six Seniors graduate, including their goalie and their top two scorers. Their new goalie was a Sophomore who had been the backup goalie, but we’d never faced him. I liked our chances, though I really wished I had Mikey and Nicole on the team, and that Mia and Jerry hadn’t graduated.

Coach finished his strategy talk, and we all left the locker room. When we skated out onto the ice, I saw what my mom had called my ‘cheering section’ and stopped dead when I saw who was with them. Mia and Jerry both waved and I saluted back with my stick, happy to see them, but wondering what time they’d had to get up to make the early-morning game. Of course, now I had even MORE reason to win the game.

“Dude!” Tim exclaimed. “Is that Mia and Jerry up there?”

“Yeah!” I replied.

“Freddy!” Tim called out, pointing up to where Jerry and Mia were sitting.

Both he and Freddy made stick salutes, and then we began our warm-up skate. Some of our other teammates who had played with Jerry and Mia saw them as well, and acknowledged them the same way. When we completed our warm-ups, Coach called us to the bench and I let him know Jerry and Mia were in the stands.

When the puck dropped a few minutes later, it was clear to me that St. Rita wasn’t nearly as good as they had been, and we were at least as good as we’d been the previous year. That played out, and we won the hard-fought game 2-1 with a late goal by Lee. The one goal I’d given up had been on a St. Rita powerplay in the second period, but we’d got it back just a minute later. Lee had scored, off a rebound from the St. Rita goalie, when he’d crashed the net with just two minutes to go.

“Great game!” Mia exclaimed when we came out of the locker room.

We hugged and Jerry and I shook hands, and the rest of the team who had played with them gathered around.

“Jesse,” Libby said, “your dad had to leave because he’s having guests for lunch, but he gave me some money and said you should take the team for a pizza lunch. Just don’t tell Mom One or Mom Two!”

A bunch of my friends laughed and I invited everyone to meet us at Bacino’s on Wacker for lunch.

🎤 Birgit

“Mrs. Khan? May Fatimah come up to my room?” I asked after lunch.

“Yes, but no TV and no computer, please.”

“I remember the rules.”

“Good.”

Fatimah and I went up to my room, I shut the door, and put on a jazz station on the radio.

“How is everything with your family?” I asked.

“My father is thinking of taking us back to Saudi Arabia. It seems very dangerous here for Saudi citizens and Muslims in general.”

“I’m sorry ignorant people are causing trouble.”

“Up until the hijackings, and what happened afterwards, I liked it here.”

That was new. She’d never said anything like that to me before.

“Do you want to stay?” I asked, knowing I needed to be careful.

“I hoped to stay until next Summer. You’re my friend, I like my school and the friends I have there, and your family has been so kind.”

“You’re going to be eighteen soon, right?”

“Yes, on December 12th on your calendar.”

“What’s the date on your calendar?”

“December 12, 2001, would be the 27th day of the month of Ramadan of the year 1422.”

“A different year?”

“Yes, it’s calculated from the year the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his family migrated from Mecca to Medina. That’s when he established the first ummah, or Muslim community. The Hijrah is the day the Muslim year starts.”

“Do you have twelve months?”

“Yes, and they correspond to the cycle of the Moon, and are based on sighting the new Moon. Your calendar is based on the Sun, and we do use it for some things, especially business.”

“Interesting. What do you call your days?”

“In English, it would be First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Gathering, and Rest. Gathering is the day we go to the mosque, and it’s the day you call Friday.”

“What will you do when you go home?”

“Marry and have children.”

“Right away?”

“Yes.”

“You said you lived in London? And that’s where you learned English?”

“Yes, we went there when I was six and stayed for two years.”

“Did you like it there?”

“Not really. It’s better here.”

“I hope you don’t go home soon.”

“Me, too.”

“Have you ever thought of staying here?”

“I couldn’t!”

“You’ll be eighteen, so it wouldn’t be up to your dad, at least here in the US. It’s not like Saudi Arabia where the dad is completely in charge.”

“Your father is in charge! He even has three wives!”

“Yes, but he can’t tell me who to marry and I go to a regular school. And I can talk to boys if I want to.”

“But how do you stay pure?”

I giggled, “Who says I want to?”

“But...” she responded, a look of horror on her face.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Birgit, do you know what happens to girls like that in Saudi Arabia?” Fatimah asked quietly.

“What?”

“The girl is killed. Or the boy is killed. Or both. Sometimes by the girl’s family, but if they are caught by the police, they can be whipped or executed as punishment!”

“What?!” I gasped.

“It’s true. Do you know Princess Mishaal?”

“No. Who was she?”

“A niece to our former King, Khalid. She and her lover were executed for adultery.”

“Whoa! That really happened?”

“Yes, after she confessed in court. Did you know that in Saudi Arabia there are religious police, the Mutaween, who make sure boys and girls aren’t together?”

“Seriously?!”

“Yes. You can be arrested for not wearing the «ḥijāb», «niqāb», and «ʿabāyah», for drinking alcohol, or doing other things which are forbidden, such as talking to boys.”

I couldn’t imagine living like that, but I remembered that alcohol had once been illegal in the US, and people had been arrested over it. And I remembered Aunt Melanie telling me about women who were arrested in Chicago during the early 1920s for wearing bathing suits that showed their whole arms and legs, but were nothing like modern bikinis. And even men couldn’t wear only trunks - they had to wear shirts, too.

“It used to be like that here, at least partly. But then women got the right to vote and things started to change. I think it’s better, but I understand you think your way is better. And I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I wish you could stay.”

“It’s not possible.”

“So what happens when you go home?”

“I’ll be married as soon as Ibrahim returns from London, which would be in June. And then I’ll care for him and the children we’ll have.”

“I hope he’s nice.”

“Me, too.”

🎤 Jesse

“What time did you guys have to get up to get to Chicago?” I asked.

“4:30am,” Jerry said. “The drive is less than three hours, so it’s not too bad.”

“How is hockey?”

“I get a lot of time in during practice, but I won’t get too much game time as the backup. The starting goalie is a Senior, so I’ll have a shot at starting next year. Mia is on the 2nd D-line of her club team, so she gets decent playing time.”

“And school?”

“It’s only been a couple of weeks, but so far, so good,” Mia replied. “There’s a lot of partying, but Jerry and I aren’t really into that scene.”

“Drugs?”

“We’ve seen some around, but athletes get randomly tested, so even if we were interested, which we aren’t, we couldn’t. How are things here?”

“Not much changes! Well, that’s not true. Dad finished the basement in our house. There’s a room for my gear with a dehumidifier and racks for my gear and sticks. The larger area has a new projection TV with a DVD player, a stereo, and a custom-made poker and gaming table.”

“Sweet!” Jerry declared.

“Jesse, it was really nice of your dad to pay for pizza for the team,” Coach said. “I’m sorry he couldn’t join us.”

“He had guests coming to the house for lunch. He did say that Samantha invited us to her box for the Mighty Ducks and the Hawks on December 30. Players and coaches only.”

There was a lot of cheering from the team, and we explained to the new kids about the box.

“Ms. Spurgeon has a box at the United Center?” Lee asked.

“Yes. And one at the race track in Joliet, and one at Soldier Field. Jerry, Mia, you’re invited. Kenny, too, if he comes home from Maine, which I’m pretty sure he will. And Mikey and Nicole.”

“Excellent!” Mia said. “Your dad is pretty awesome.”

He actually was, and I was lucky to have him as my dad. The pizza he paid for was awesome, and the team really enjoyed it. When we finished, Libby and I took the L home.

September 27, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

“Steve,” Kimmy said, “your interview videoconference is in five minutes. Noelle has the portable unit in the ‘Orr’ room for you. The call is connected, and Skye will have the candidates there in a couple of minutes.”

“Thanks, Kimmy.”

“The twins?” Penny asked.

“Mary and Martha,” I replied.

Penny laughed, “Like in the Bible, right?”

“I see at least some of Bart’s teaching stuck!”

Penny stuck her tongue at me, but I didn’t take the bait.

“You’re just no fun!” she groused as I got up from my workstation.

I chuckled, turned, winked, and then left the office, and headed to the ‘Orr’ room. I sat down and about thirty seconds later, Mary and Martha Grafton came into the room in Colorado and appeared on my screen.

“Hi, Steve,” Skye said.

“Hi, Skye! How are things in Colorado?”

“Awesome as always. You should come out during ski season! Kajri, Miles, Art, and I would love to entertain.”

“A tempting offer!”

“Let us know. I have Mary and Martha Grafton with me. They’re candidates for the two UI Engineering positions. Mary, Martha, this is Steve Adams, President and NIKA Fellow. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks,” the two young women said in unison.

“See you, Steve!” Skye said.

“Thanks, Skye!”

She left the room.

“I have to say this is a first for me,” I said.