Chapter 21: Plea Agreement

February 23, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“How was your party last night?” Mom One asked as we headed to Johnny’s Ice House for our first-round game against Lane Tech.

“Dad put the kibosh on the orgy, so just dancing, games, and pool.”

Mom Two laughed, “You may be a libertine, but you aren’t THAT libertine!”

“OK, so we didn’t plan an orgy,” I chuckled. “But we had a good time. And thank you again for the iPod! I was surprised that came from the two of you and not Dad.”

“He felt the laptop was more important and suggested the iPod. He’s pretty happy with his.”

“Who all is coming to the game today?” Mom One asked.

“The softball team, plus Adi, Libby, Karli, Mikey, Nicole, the «Filles du jour», and whoever is coming with Dad. Matthew wanted to come, but he had to leave for North Carolina this morning. He’ll be at the games next weekend.”

We arrived at the rink and I headed to the locker room. I was one of the first ones there and started putting on my gear. A few minutes later, Lee, Pete, Jack, Tim, Freddy, Kwame, and the rest of the team arrived and began dressing.

“Our group looks pretty easy,” Tim observed.

“Man, do NOT say that!” Kwame protested. “That’s the quickest way to get bounced in an upset! If we look forward to St. Rita, we’ll be out of the tournament tomorrow!”

“He’s right,” Freddy agreed. “Let’s focus on today’s game.”

“Good morning, men!” Coach Nelson called out when he came into the locker room a few minutes later.

“Morning, Coach!” the entire team replied.

We received our usual pep talk, then headed for the ice for our warm-up skate. I saw Mikey and Nicole, Dad, Suzanne, Birgit, Yuriko, Natalie, Hope, and the rest of my friends and most of the softball and cheer teams. We warmed up, came to the bench for our pre-game talk, then skated out to begin the game. We won in a walk, 5-0, with Jack and Tim each scoring a pair of goals, and Kwame scoring one.

[Durham, North Carolina] 🎤 Matthew

“Hi, Matthew!” Krissy Stuart called out when I walked into the arrival hall in Durham.

“Hi, Krissy! Hi, Casey!” I replied.

We hugged, and then Abbie hugged me.

“Just your carry-on, right?” Abbie asked.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s get out of here! Jason is at work, but he’ll be home for lunch.”

We started walking towards the exit.

“How was your flight?” Abbie asked.

“Only ten minutes late and a smooth ride. According to Dad, that’s about the best we can hope for.”

“How is Chelsea?”

“Great! I’m going to see her over Spring Break, and as soon as she graduates in May, she’s moving to Chicago to go to Loyola.”

“Are you going to get married?” Krissy asked.

“Eventually,” I replied. “But I’m only fourteen, so it’ll be a few years!”

“Did you watch the Daytona race?” Casey asked.

“I did. It was crazy! Sterling Marlin should know better than to try to fix his car under a red flag! Bill did pretty well, moving up from 29th at the start to 11th at the finish.”

“Did you know that that was the first time two sets of three brothers raced in the Daytona 500?” Abbie asked. “The Wallaces and the Bodines.”

“That was pretty cool. Before I forget, Dad said to tell you he’ll be in Sweden and Russia when the Chicagoland race is run.”

“I haven’t spoken to him in a few months,” Abbie said. “How long will he be there?”

“About two-and-half weeks; Aunt Jess can only miss two weekends.”

“Mom, can we go to Europe?” Krissy asked.

“You need to talk to your dad about that,” Abbie said. “For him, any place outside of states that border Georgia or North Carolina is a foreign country!”

“Dad’s a stick in the mud!” Krissy groused.

“Your dad is a fairly typical Southerner,” Abbie said. “I’m a New Yorker and Steve is originally from California. We both have a very different view of the world from your dad.”

“Well, Dad needs to get with the program!” Krissy declared.

“We can talk about it,” Abbie said.

We reached the car, I put my bag in the trunk, and then got into the front seat for the ride to Abbie and Jason’s house.

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Steve

After lunch on Saturday, Kara and I put on our karate uniforms and headed back to the dojo for Leigh’s wedding to Kirk Roberts. The girls were already there with Suzanne, Iris, and Kassidy, doing the decorating and arranging the flowers. Scheduling it had meant canceling my usual Saturday afternoon lesson with my personal students, but it was absolutely worth it.

“So, Father Steve,” Kara teased, “ready to perform another wedding?”

“No church in their right mind would ordain me for anything!” I chuckled.

“The Universal Life Church did!”

“OK, besides an on-line pseudo-church! But that was only to ensure there were no problems with Illinois, even though it wasn’t strictly necessary. It just takes away any question.”

“I meant to ask you about Maya. It seems to have changed to almost every week.”

“It has, but we talked and we had to skip this week because I had Jesse’s hockey game, karate, the wedding, and the reception. It’s not like I can invite her to the reception without running the risk of revealing the relationship, which is something she doesn’t want to happen. We did talk about it, and she agreed it was a bad idea.”

“Changing subjects, when are you leaving for Cincinnati?”

“Early morning on the 5th, which is a Tuesday. I’m going to have lunch with my dad, then go over to Kentucky to see the property and have dinner with Anthony and Connie. On the 6th I’ll see Ben and Deborah in the morning, drive out to Rutherford in the afternoon to see Lou and the Reynolds, then have dinner with Joyce, Jake, and the kids. I’ll drive back on the 7th.”

“Will you see the Sheriff?”

“I actually left her a message yesterday. If she’s available, I’ll have lunch with her.”

“Or have her for lunch?” Kara teased.

“She’s dating someone, so no. Before I forget, is there anything special you want for your birthday?”

“No. Dinner and sex are just fine!”

“I called Alex to make the reservations, so that’s all set.”

“Good!”

“Did Hope tell you she met a guy?” I asked.

“No. When did she tell you?”

“This morning at hockey. He’s one of your grad students — Roger Lester.”

“He’s a hunk!” Kara giggled. “But he’s six-three! Kailey is more than a foot shorter!”

“I guarantee they’ll figure it out if Hope decides on a threesome before she settles into an exclusive relationship. I’m pretty sure Kailey was just an experiment, as Hope said. Kailey has no interest in an exclusive relationship now or anytime in the near future.”

“So that’s the end for you and Hope?”

“For now, at least.”

“A new girl will pop up! They always do! Maybe Zoë?”

“Doubtful,” I said. “What she really needs is Philosophy Club. And I don’t expect the sex to be wild; just conventional.”

“I was thinking about that,” Kara said. “And maybe I’ll just watch you deflower her and then leave you two together.”

“May I ask why?”

“A vibe, I guess.”

“From me? From her?”

“Both, I think. I told you she called me after she had lunch with you, and then when you told Jess and me last night I got to thinking about it. In fact, I might just let things go the way they would for a normal mindfuck that leads to a physical fuck. That’s what I think she needs.”

“It’s up to you, Kara,” I replied. “The real value is going to be in introducing her to the high-energy physics cabal.”

“Oh, sure!” Kara protested. “It’s a ‘mafia’ when it’s my chemistry friends, but just a ‘cabal’ for them?!”

“It could be worse,” I chuckled. “Suzanne and her friends are the ‘Coven’!”

“You do realize they’ll come to the Halloween party as sexy witches, right?”

“Darn!” I grinned.

We reached the dojo and Kara went into the main training room to check on the girls while I went into the office to wait for Leigh and Kirk, who arrived about ten minutes later. About fifteen minutes after they arrived, all the guests were there, including a dozen officers in dress blues. Leigh was wearing a white formal dress, more like a prom dress than a wedding dress, and, of course, Kirk was in his dress blues.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yes, Sensei!” Leigh exclaimed.

“Yes, Sir,” Kirk replied.

“Then let’s go!”

Leigh waited just outside the large training room which was full of guests, and Iris and Kassidy came to be with her as her bridesmaids, while Aaron and another sailor I didn’t recognize stood with Kirk as his groomsmen. Kirk and Leigh had asked for a traditional ceremony with traditional vows, so that’s what we did, and twenty minutes later, I presented them.

“Lieutenant and Mrs. Kirk Roberts!” I exclaimed to cheers and applause.

They held hands and then walked under the raised swords of the Naval officers to complete the ceremony.

🎤 Jesse

“What’s going on at your dad’s house?” CeCe asked as I let her into the coach house just after 2:00pm.”

“A wedding reception,” I said. “One of dad’s karate students is marrying her Navy boyfriend before they ship out to Japan for his assignment.”

“Japan? That would be cool!”

“My dad was there for a month about eight years ago and then went back on business maybe a year later. He loved it.”

“I think I need to stow away in your suitcase for your trip to Sweden and Russia!”

“Hey, if your parents were cool with it, you could come along. I’m sure Dad would be OK with it.”

“Right! ‘Mom, Dad? Can I go to Europe with Jesse and share a hotel room?’ How do you think THAT would go over?”

I laughed, “You might want to leave out the ‘hotel room’ bit!”

“They’d ask your dad to promise,” CeCe said. “And I doubt he’d make that promise.”

“He wouldn’t. He’d say that kind of decision would have to be up to us.”

“Then stowing away it is! What are we doing this afternoon?”

“Whatever you want, though we can’t have privacy in the sauna during the party.”

“Bummer! I suppose your bed will have to do.”

I laughed, took her hand, and led her upstairs. We went to my room, I shut and locked the door, we quickly undressed, and got into bed. Forty minutes later, sweaty and breathing hard, we cuddled to rest for a second round.

“Luna suggested the Tuesday of Spring Break,” CeCe said. “I think only two or three members of the team are going out of town.”

“I’ll let Dad know that we want the basement for the afternoon. What do you think?”

CeCe laughed, “I think they’re all big talkers. They’ll all show up for the sauna, but they’ll also all chicken out. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if two or three of them talked to you privately.”

“Who?” I asked.

CeCe smirked, “Wouldn’t YOU like to know?!”

“Yes, I would!”

“Luna, Shelly, and Shauna, though obviously I’m not sure, and I’m not going to ask them.”

“It’s up to them,” I replied. “I’m not pursuing any of them.”

“You don’t need to! You have the reputation of ‘school stud’ amongst all the girls.”

“Hmm,” I grinned evilly.

“There are a few girls who would drop their panties in a second if you approached them, but are WAY too shy to even talk to you. I mean, shyer than Brooke.”

“Please don’t encourage anyone.”

“Because you have a girl for each day of the week?” CeCe teased.

“Libby said something to you, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“Libby needs to keep her mouth shut,” I complained. “I know she means well, but think about the problems it could cause if a teacher or parent found out.”

“Mr. Kassidy would NOT be happy that his ‘baby girl’ is being expertly fucked by one of his students!”

“I’ll say something to Libby because talking about it can only cause trouble. And that’s the real thing that I think bugs me about the softball team — there’s a huge risk that someone would talk and if THAT got out, all hell would break loose.”

“True. Do you want me to tell Luna to forget it?”

“No,” I chuckled. “I’m curious to see what happens. I suspect you’re right, though, about them chickening out.”

“You never know!” CeCe giggled.

🎤 Steve

“Kassidy and Iris wanted to know if it’s OK to ask you to dance,” Leigh said as we finished our chaste dance.

“Yes, of course,” I replied. “It’s not a problem. I can ask them.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“You know you can IM me anytime, or call if you need to. And if it’s asynchronous, you can just email.”

“You know it’s more than that, right? You’re my sensei and mentor, and you’re very special.”

“And you are very special as well! You’re on the next big adventure of your life! And you will come back stateside eventually, though maybe you’ll like being overseas enough that Kirk will request other assignments.”

Leigh shook her head, “I still don’t believe everything that’s happened in the past two years! You changed my life, and I’m grateful.”

“Just pay it forward, please!”

“I will!”

I walked her back to Kirk, then walked over to where Iris and Kassidy were standing.

“Leigh mentioned you were concerned about asking about a dance.”

“We know the policy at NIKA,” Iris said. “So we weren’t sure if it was OK.”

“This isn’t a NIKA event, and Leigh invited you, so there are no problems. Would you like to dance?”

“Yes!” Kassidy declared.

I led her to the dance floor, and we danced in the usual hands-on shoulders, hands-on-hips style, and when our song was finished, I danced with Iris the same way, then went to where Kara was standing with Suzanne.

“Going to disappear?” Kara asked with a smirk.

“Those two have never, once, ever, given any hint of any kind of interest,” I said. “And you saw how we danced. They were even concerned about the NIKA rules because of their internships. You know that as time passes, more and more girls who are under twenty, and eventually, under twenty-five, are going to feel that I’m ‘too old’ even if they’re interested.”

“There will be some, though,” Kara replied.

“Sure, but not in the numbers of the past. And that’s OK. There will be some, like Kristin Jaeger, and some similar to Maya. But when it comes right down to it, if I only have the two of you and Jess, I’ll be very happy.”

“That’s the propranolol talking,” Suzanne said. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it’s taken the edge off, if you will.”

“It has,” I agreed.

“And I think that’s part of what happened with Zoë,” Kara said. “You’re not interested in her as a virgin, but as a potential subversive recruit, and for her, sex isn’t about rebellion or being subversive, it’s about, well, frustration, I guess. The more I think about it, the more sure I am that I should just let you two be alone.”

“It’s totally up to you, Kara.”

She smiled and her eyes twinkled, “It’ll be MUCH more exciting to see you deflower a fifteen-year-old Swedish figure skater than a nineteen-year-old American college student!”

“It’s your fantasy, so it’s always up to you.”

February 24, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

“Another easy win!” Tim declared as we left the ice after beating Riverside-Brookfield 4-1.

“All we need is a pair of ties now to guarantee that we advance!” Lee added.

“No, we need a win!” I declared. “We want to make sure we face the lowest seed in the first game of the knockout round.”

“Jesse is right,” Kwame declared. “We need to win both games to ensure we’re seeded number one. We want to make sure we face St. Rita in the finals, and not before.”

“See you guys at Giordano’s?” Pete asked.

“We’ll be there!” I declared. “My moms will drop me there and I’ll take the L home.”

Actually, I would stop by Brooke’s house before I went home, but I didn’t need to advertise that to the guys.

[Rockingham, North Carolina] 🎤 Matthew

A lot of ‘big names’ were starting in poor positions for the Subway 400. Tony Stewart was starting 19th, Bill Elliott was starting 28th, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was starting 29th, and Jeff Gordon was starting 30th. The only Hendrick car in the top ten in qualifying was Jerry Nadeau, so things didn’t look too good for Jason’s team.

I walked around the garage and talked to the usual drivers I knew, including Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty, and Bobby Labonte, along with the Hendrick drivers — Jerry Nadeau, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Terry Labonte. I had a full garage and pit pass, but decided to sit in grandstands with Abbie, Krissy, and Casey.

The race was fairly uneventful, but Bill Elliott did move steadily up the field and stayed on the lead lap. With five laps to go, NASCAR put out a caution for debris, and unfortunately, they never waved the green flag again, ending the race under the yellow flag. That basically handed the win to Matt Kenseth, though Sterling Marlin took over the points lead. The best Hendrick car was Jeff Gordon, who finished seventh, while Bill Elliott finished in eleventh.

Once the race was over, we had to head directly to the airport so I could fly home. I didn’t want to miss school, so I’d booked the last flight out. On the way to the airport, I called Chelsea for our usual Sunday call. I missed her and was really looking forward to going to Cincinnati in a month.

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Steve

“Steve and Kara, this is Allyson Crowley, an ER Attending who was just hired to replace Don Drake,” Jessica said when she came out of the ER on Sunday evening. “Allyson, my husband Steve and wife, Kara.”

Allyson was about our age, blonde, and pretty.

“Hi!” Kara exclaimed.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Where were you before?”

“Northwestern,” Allyson replied. “I thought Jessica was yanking my chain when she said she was part of a polyamorous marriage!”

“It’s a surprise to a lot of people,” I said. “Are you married?”

“Divorced. Medicine and marriage didn’t mix well.”

“It’s been a struggle at times for us,” I said. “So I totally understand.”

“See you next Saturday, Jessica!” Allyson said. “Nice to meet you, Steve and Kara!”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

She walked away and Jessica, Kara, and I headed for home, hand-in-hand-in-hand.

“Anything exciting happen today?” Jessica asked.

“Nope,” I replied. “Just a quiet Sunday. How about the ER?”

“Busy, but not crazy. A good first day for Allyson to get her feet wet. We’re not Cook County, but we’re not Northwestern, either.”