Chapter 47: That’s All I Can Ask

February 6, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

“Uhm, did I misunderstand you?” Bianca asked when she arrived on Saturday.

“It’s OK, Bianca!” Allyson said, coming up behind me. “We had a date last night, and I knew you were going to be here and stay tonight. As I said when you asked a few weeks ago, he’s not mine, though I did appreciate you checking before you called him.”

“I didn’t want to be a bitch, you know, so I felt I had to check to make sure.”

“Come in, please,” I said.

“I can go if you want to be alone,” Allyson said. “I had originally planned to leave first thing, but then decided to go with Jonathan to do his shopping and laundry.”

“So, Mrs. Kane, how was that?” Bianca teased.

“If it WAS ‘Mrs. Kane’ I don’t think you’d be spending the night tonight!”

“Bummer,” I said, causing both girls to laugh.

“Good luck with finding someone who’ll accept an open marriage!” Allyson declared. “Though I do know a family that tried that in the 70s and it ended up ugly when one of them changed their mind.”

“I can see so many ways that could go wrong,” I said. “Though what about a setup like the Arab sheikhs have?”

“A harīm?!” Allyson laughed. “Seriously?”

“Asks the woman who, for all intents and purposes, arranged for me to have sex with seven women in twenty-four hours! And offered to set up another party!”

“Oops,” Allyson giggled.

“I’m in!” Bianca exclaimed. “I still can’t believe how exciting it was to watch and be watched!”

“I could stay...” Allyson offered.

“If Jonathan is OK with it, yes! We can watch each other!”

“Jonathan,” I said, “despite some evidence to the contrary, is not a complete idiot and agrees!”

“Then let’s get started on the computer,” Bianca said. “Where are you going to put it?”

“That’s a good question,” I said. “Obviously, the TV can go on the TV stand, and I can move my books, but I’m not sure about the computer.”

“You could store it on the shelf under the TV, and maybe get a small table to sit in front of the TV stand. For now, you could just move the dinette table.”

“That probably makes the most sense,” I said.

I moved my books from the TV stand, and then we began unboxing everything.

“She went all out on this,” Bianca said. “Max RAM, floppy drive, expansion unit, printer, and there are also two game cartridges — Pac-Man and Star Raiders. Both of those are really good.”

“Why an Atari?” Allyson asked.

“They’re the most popular machines right now,” Bianca said. “They have lots of easy expansion options, can double as a game console, and they use the same chip as the Apple. They’re less expensive, too.”

“I take it you had a computer at home?” I asked.

“A TRS-80 from Radio Shack. Way less expensive, but perfect for teaching myself to program. But they are only black and white, and the expansion unit can be very flakey. This is a much better choice for you, and it runs VisiCalc, which is key for what you want to do. Do you know how to work a spreadsheet?”

“The paper kind, yes.”

“It’s the same. You put the numbers in boxes in a grid. The difference is, you can create formulas which automatically calculate things for you, like the number of shares times price to get the value, and then one to add up all the values. You don’t have to manually add them or use a calculator. It literally takes no more than a few seconds to recalculate when you change the numbers.”

“OK. I remember discussing this with someone six months ago, but nothing came of it because I didn’t have a computer and couldn’t get one at that time.”

“Let me show you how all the parts fit together. When do you think you can get the table?”

“I’ll need a car, so probably Tuesday evening, if I can borrow a car from my uncle.”

“OK. Then I’ll show you how to connect everything. You just disconnect things, move what you need to move, then reconnect them exactly the same way. I think everything only fits one way, so it should be easy. Just make absolutely sure you unplug it from the electrical outlet before you remove any wires, cards, or whatever. To change the ROM cartridges, you just need to turn off the power.”

“English, please!”

“This,” Bianca held up a rectangular plastic box, “is Read Only Memory, or ROM. It means what’s on the chips in here can’t be changed. One of these contains BASIC, which is a programming language, and the other two are the games. You won’t need any of the ROM cartridges to use VisiCalc. It loads from the floppy disk.”

“Which is?” I asked.

“A 5-1/4 inch diameter piece of mylar coated with basically the same stuff they use to make cassette tapes. It’s flat and slides into this unit, and lets you save things permanently. If you don’t have this, you have to use cassette tapes to save things permanently. Remember, if you don’t save it, it’s erased when you turn off the power.”

It took about forty minutes to get everything set up, and Bianca plugged in a joystick, put in the Star Raiders cartridge, and played for a few minutes to be sure everything was working properly. I realized at once that I could waste a lot of time playing games if I wasn’t careful.

“OK. It’s working fine,” she said. “Now, let me show you how to load VisiCalc and create a simple spreadsheet. Tomorrow, we can enter all of your data from your paper spreadsheet and create the formulas. At that point, you’ll just be able to look at what I’ve helped you with to create other things, or use the manual or help function.”

She spent two hours teaching me, by which time my head was spinning, but I’d taken copious notes so I at least I had something to go by, and then we decided to order Chinese. I paid, feeling flush with cash, having earned over $300 extra because Mr. Nelson had been away, and deciding I could splurge for once. I knew it wasn’t a lot of money in the scheme of things, but for me, it was a nice bump, and would let me pay for a couple of boxes of floppy disks, printer paper, and a computer table, none of which were in my budget.

“What are we doing for the evening?” I asked once we finished eating dinner.

“Having sex, of course!” Bianca laughed. “Allyson, shall we take turns? You suck him, then I suck him? You fuck him, then I fuck him? And of course, all the lights on and no covers so we can see everything!”

“Sounds great! Do you think the three of us could squeeze into the bed afterwards? If not, I’ll go back to Loyola.”

“I think so,” Bianca said. “Jonathan?”

“I’m willing to die trying!” I grinned.

I received two very nice blowjobs, then had two very energetic fucks, and, because I wasn’t worn out, two more energetic fucks before we squeezed into the bed, one girl on each side of me, turned so that they were each half on me, with me on my back. We pulled the covers over us, and I fell asleep, enjoying the sensation of two warm bodies next to me.

February 8, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

The girls had left late on Sunday, after Bianca had helped me get the spreadsheet set up, and after another round of blowjobs and fucking. I’d very much enjoyed being in bed with the two girls, even though it was only to sleep. Bianca showed no interest at all in sharing, and Allyson didn’t press her on it. My entire commute on Monday morning had been consumed by memories of the weekend, which, strangely in my mind, had included computers and sex.

“Morning, Mr. Nelson,” I said when I arrived in the Spurgeon offices.

“I see you guys didn’t wreck the place while I was out of the office!”

“We decided against the coke and hookers,” I said with a grin.

“The extra pay wasn’t THAT good!” he chuckled. “You’ll have to wait until you work for Matheson for that.”

“Not my thing,” I said.

“Mine either,” Mr. Nelson agreed.

“I heard they made you give up your cigars.”

“Bastards. I told the doc what he could do with that advice, but the prick talked to my wife. No booze, either. And I have to go to the gym every morning. My wife is all up my ass about that, too. I didn’t even have a heart attack!”

“I’ve learned in my very short experience that arguing with women is a losing proposition. I can’t imagine it gets easier if you marry them!”

“No, it does not. And look at my lunch today! It’s like I’m a damned rabbit!”

“I don’t know what to say, Boss.”

“Nothing, Kane! I had good reports for while I was gone. Good job!”

“Thanks, Boss!”

“What happened with your girlfriend?”

“It was complicated, but the short version is we weren’t compatible. It kind of came to a head when we were talking on Friday and that upset her.”

“Is there a problem between you and Thiele?”

“No. We spoke last Monday and everything is cool. I take it you saw the memo about the new secretary who starts today?”

“Yeah, that’s what twigged me to her being gone. If Thiele has no problem, then there’s nothing more to say.”

“Then I’ll get to work.”

He nodded, and as I left, I saw him slip a cigar into his mouth, but he didn’t light it. I headed to the mailroom to see Nick sitting in his usual spot. Bob came in right after me, and we all got to work. I chose to eat lunch downstairs just to get out of the office, and realized I missed my lunch partner, even though she’d been gone a week.

Later that evening, Violet put a stick of gum on my writing board, as had become her habit at every class, switching between Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, Doublemint, and Big Red.

“That’s kind of it for flavors of gum, right?” I asked after getting the stick of cinnamon gum.

“Wrigley’s, anyway, and who would chew anything else?”

“I actually don’t know the answer to that question. That’s the only gum I’ve seen beside bubble gum.”

“Beech-Nut, who makes the Fruit Stripe gum, which is OK, but I like Juicy Fruit a lot more. There’s also Dentyne, and other stuff, but I stick to Wrigleys.”

“Which is your favorite?” I asked.

“Juicy Fruit, for sure. You?”

“The cinnamon one you shared today.”

“Not the first one I shared?” she asked with a sly grin.

I had no clue how to answer that because I had no clue about her sense of humor, or much else, for that matter. Well, I knew she played the flute, had graduated High School, lived in Bridgeport, and was planning on being a CPA. But none of that helped, and thankfully, the professor tapped the lectern for quiet to begin the lesson.

That, thankfully, gave me an hour of respite before I had to worry about the question, and the glimmer of hope that Violet wouldn’t repeat it. When class ended, we gathered our books and, as was usually the case, she asked if I’d join her to study. I found it interesting that she didn’t assume that after a couple of weeks of studying together that I’d come with her. The girl was an enigma, and I had no reasonable way of unwrapping it.

As we walked, I pondered other plausible explanations that I’d come up with for the way she was behaving, other than her being very young. I really didn’t have enough experience to truly consider any other options. Had she been a victim of abuse? Had she had a horrible breakup? Did she have some kind of mental or emotional problems? I had no clue, and it was the case that Anala’s assessment would explain everything, but it also meant I had to be exceedingly careful.

Nothing more was said, though, and after we did our homework, I walked her home, then headed to my apartment.

February 13, 1982, Goshen, Ohio

On my drive to Goshen early Saturday morning, I reflected back on the week. Things had returned to normal with Mr. Nelson back in the office. I’d attended my classes, received an A on a quiz, and done homework with Violet, who was still a mystery. She hadn’t repeated her question about that first swap of chewing gum, so things were still exactly as they had been. I did wonder what would happen after our last class, when we’d part ways and perhaps not see each other again. Of course, I did know where she lived, but I wasn’t going to show up uninvited, as I had no clue how her parents might react if she was underage, as Anala had suggested.

I’d seen Bianca on Wednesday evening, and she’d helped me with a problem I was having with one of the two spreadsheets I was using, and of course, we’d romped in the bed for several hours before sleeping spooned together. I’d teased her about not having an audience, and she had laughed, saying that she was sure she could find a friend who was interested in watching, but that she was happy to have my undivided attention.

On Friday, I’d gone out with Allyson, and she’d gone with me to my uncle’s house to pick up the car for the drive to Ohio. I’d seen Jeri and Natalie there with Lisa, but didn’t acknowledge Jeri other than a nod, to which she returned a wink that Lisa couldn’t see. Allyson and I had gone to her dorm room at the end of our date to fool around, but I’d gone back to my apartment to sleep as I planned to be on the road by 4:00am, which I had, allowing me to arrive in Goshen just before 9:00am.

“Hi, Mom!” I called out when I walked in the door.

“Hi, Jonathan!” she exclaimed, coming out of the short hallway that led to the bedrooms. “How was the drive?”

“Good. How are things here?”

“About as good as they can be.”

“I was really happy to hear about your new job!”

“You can thank Bev’s dad for that. He’s on the School Board and he leaned on the Superintendent to give me an interview. It’s going to be nice only working one job, with benefits!”

“What’s with the Ford Escort in the driveway?”

Mom smiled, “My first ever new car! I saved basically every penny you sent me, and that covered the down payment, and they gave me a few hundred dollars for the beater I was driving. The monthly payments are low enough that I can make them without dipping into what you send me by scrimping a bit.”

I forced myself not to be disappointed, because I had planned to buy my mom a new car during the Summer, but she was so happy that she had done it herself, I couldn’t object.

“I’m very happy I could help!” I replied. “And I don’t want you scrimping!”

“Sorry, I meant that if for some reason you needed to stop sending the money.”

“That’s not going to happen,” I said.

“Actually, when I start the new job, I want you to save that money. I won’t need nearly as much gas because the school is only two miles from here, and I won’t have to drive into Cincinnati anymore. Even though the pay is slightly less than the two jobs, I come out ahead, because I put fewer miles on the car and have health insurance, which I didn’t have before. The job also has a pension for retirement, something I never dreamed of having.”

“I’ll keep sending the money, and you can put it in savings and maybe take a trip somewhere?”

“Me? A vacation? I’m not sure I know how!”

“I think you should. And after everything you did to take care of me, it’s the least I can do.”

Mom smiled, “I’ll put your bag in your room so you can go next door to see Bev. She’s waiting for you.”

“Is she showing?” I asked.

“Just a bit, but if she wears loose-fitting tops, you don’t see it. She’s still a beautiful girl!”

“And she’ll be just as beautiful when she looks like she’s hiding a basketball in her jeans!”

“Say that to Bev and you might need the new Life Squad service they just started!”

“Your son is not THAT dumb!” I chuckled.

“Go see Bev. You and I can talk later or tomorrow.”

I left the house and walked next door and my finger had just touched the doorbell when it was flung open and I was pounced by one-hundred-and-twenty-five pounds of gorgeous female flesh. Bev hugged me tightly, kissed my cheeks, my nose, and my chin before she gave me a proper kiss.

“Missed me?” I asked.

“Duh!” she exclaimed, dragging me into the house.

I reached back and pushed the door shut, then allowed Bev to pull me into the living room.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Newton,” I said.

“Hi, Jonathan,” Mr. Newton replied. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks.”

“We’re going up to bed,” Bev announced.

“Beverly Louise Newton!” her father growled. “We discussed this.”

“Yes, we did,” she replied. “And I’m eighteen, and an adult. It’s not like Jonny and I haven’t done this before and one thing is certain, he can’t get me pregnant!”

She tugged my arm, but I resisted.

“Bev,” I said gently. “I can’t disrespect your father that way!”

“I don’t want to say I told you so,” Mrs. Newton said. “But Bev, I told you that Jonathan would say that.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Bev groused. “You know we’ll go to Jonathan’s house and do it, so what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is this is MY house, and you’ll respect my rules while you live here!”