Chapter 35: Relationships

December 12, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

Saturday afternoon and evening had been fun, and all the girls and I had enjoyed ourselves immensely. During rest periods, Tina had interviewed each of the girls, though she’d done that privately with the idea that they would be more open. My interview was after an early breakfast on Sunday morning, before we began the ‘extra innings’ that Ellie had planned.

“How old were you the first time?” Tina asked as we sat in the computer room with cups of coffee.

“Seventeen.”

“And your first kiss?”

“About five minutes before my first time,” I replied.

“You didn’t date?”

I explained the situation growing up and my relationship with Bev.

“How did you go from that to what happened today?”

I explained, without using names, about meeting Kristy and Allyson, and their extended group of friends which had led directly to the baseball games with Ellie and her friends.

“How many partners have you had?” Tina asked.

“I haven’t counted, but I’d guess around thirty,” I replied.

“Were there girls you pursued, or was it all related to meeting that first girl who introduced you to all her friends?”

“There have been a few girls I’ve met in other ways,” I replied.

“Besides what I saw — fellatio, cunnilingus, mammary intercourse, vaginal intercourse, and food play — have you done anything else?”

“Anal,” I replied. “It was something a girl wanted to try, but it’s totally not my thing.”

“Any bondage or pain?”

“No.”

“Any same-sex encounters?”

“No. I have several gay friends, but I have no desire to have sex with any of them.”

“Have you had a sexually transmitted disease? What you might call a venereal disease?”

“No.”

“It’s something to think about, though given most of the girls in this group were virgins and haven’t been with anyone but you, that risk is fairly small. But with the number of partners you’ve had, you should probably get tested just to be safe. There’s a Planned Parenthood Clinic on Broadway, which is probably easiest for you. Next question, do you consider yourself religious in any way?”

“No. I’ve been in a church three times in my entire life, once for a funeral, and twice for weddings. I don’t believe in God.”

“Agnostic or atheist?”

“Atheist.”

“OK. That’s all the questions I have for now.”

“OK for me to ask one?”

“Sure.”

“Have you watched before?”

“No. I’ve only ever had sex with the two girlfriends I’ve had at Loyola.”

“And you were curious?”

“Very, but not that curious, if you get my drift!”

“I do, but I wasn’t trying to imply that. I found it fascinating to watch Bianca and Shelly when they were together, and Bianca and another girl when they were together.”

“Speaking of that, I should have asked something else — have any of your multiple encounters included guys?”

“No. Well, a ‘Spin the Bottle’ game, but it was only kissing and touching, not sex in front of another guy or me and a guy with a girl.”

“Is that something you would do?” Tina asked.

“Probably not. I’m not sure there’s a guy I’d be comfortable enough with to do that, including the guy I’d call my best friend.”

“Many people aren’t. I wouldn’t be with a girl and a guy, even if the guy and I didn’t do anything.”

“But watching is OK?” I asked.

“It presents no risk of accidental contact with something that does not interest me at all!”

“So, we both feel the same way about dicks!” I declared. “Good to know!”

Tina laughed, “You have a quick wit, something I really appreciate.”

“Thanks. I assume Miranda knows about your girlfriend?”

“Yes, as does Meg. I don’t know about the other girls, but I don’t try to hide it. Anyway, I think that’s it. We can now return to your regularly scheduled activities!”

We left the computer room and went back downstairs, where the girls were waiting. I spent the next three hours serially fucking the girls, five minutes at a time, in various positions, and multiple rounds, with Tina watching, until I couldn’t get it up again. After a shower, I left to pick up Violet, and on the way home, we stopped at White Hen for ice.

It was too cold outside to use the grill, so we cooked the brats and burgers in skillets on the stove. The Bears didn’t fare as well as they had the previous Sunday. They had a 7–3 lead after the first quarter, but then gave up two touchdowns in the second quarter without scoring, giving the Seahawks a 17–7 lead. The Bears did score a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough, and a field goal by the Seahawks resulted in a final score of 20–14.

“Are you having people over next week?” Violet asked when we left the house so I could drive her home.

“Next week, and January 2nd. I won’t be back from Ohio in time for the game on the 26th. We’ll see about the playoffs, but I don’t think the Bears can make them. I will have a Super Bowl party no matter what. But we’ll see each other before then.”

“On the 27th! Well, and for class this week. I’m so glad we don’t have a final exam, and with an A on the project, we’re both locked in with an A, even if we don’t show up for class.”

“True,” I replied. “But we should still go.”

“Of course!” Violet agreed.

“OK to ask about your sister?”

I knew she had been to visit her sister on Saturday.

“No real change,” Violet replied. “The only difference is I visit on a Saturday because I come to your house on Sunday.”

“Is there any hope for her to recover?”

“According to her doctors, the best possible outcome would be living in a group home rather than in the state facility. But for that to happen, she’d have to be able to function without significant psychoactive drugs, and right now, if they reduce the dosages, she becomes extremely agitated and there is a risk that she’ll harm herself. That also prevents any real counseling or any real interaction with me when I’m there.”

“As I’ve said before, I don’t even know what to say about that.”

“There is nothing to say,” Violet replied. “What my parents did was evil, and they deserve to be in prison for the rest of their lives.”

“You mentioned ‘twenty years to life’. What does that actually mean?”

“It’s been seven years since they were arrested, which, because of the way things work, is when the clock started, so to speak. That means in thirteen years they could apply for parole. It doesn’t have to be granted. I would be allowed to testify, as would my sister’s public guardian or an attorney I hired to represent her interests.”

“I take it you want them locked up permanently?”

“Yes. Not because of me, but because of what they did to my sister. I mean, sure, they locked me in a cage in the basement, but compared to what happened to Rose, that was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” I replied gently. “But I do understand the point you’re making.”

“Yes, obviously, it affected me, but look where I am now, compared to where she is. I have a house, a job, I go to school, and I have friends. Maybe, someday, I’ll have a boyfriend or even get married, but I’m not even close to being ready to even think about that. I mean, beyond having just mentioned it.”

I wondered if that was truly the case, based on something Doctor Lochner had said, though I mostly discounted her opinions about Violet. That said, I did agree with her that Violet had, in effect, tested the waters with hugs and kisses on the cheek. The fact that Violet hadn’t moved beyond that confirmed, at least in my mind, that what Violet had just said was true.

Bianca had made the point that she and Shelly felt Violet ‘adored’ me, and of that, I had absolutely no doubt. Beyond that, though, I was positive that Violet was in no emotional state to actually act on that adoration, and she might never be. It was, as I’d said to Doctor Lochner, something to worry about if it happened, and I felt the chances were slim, at least anytime soon. And, as I’d also said to Doctor Lochner, I was going to be Violet’s friend, and that’s what I was doing.

I did have questions about Violet’s thinking, and what she’d just said gave me an opening to ask, though I wasn’t sure I should. I’d heard that talking about things helped, and as Violet’s closest friend, and the only person to whom she’d revealed her secret, it might make sense to allow her to talk about it if she wanted to.

I realized that was playing with fire, at least a bit, but Violet’s recovery seemed to be progressing, despite the dire warnings from Doctor Lochner. And my last conversation with Doctor Lochner had been all about helping Violet in any way I could and taking risks. That meant, I thought, that I should at least open the door to the discussion, as even if Violet refused, she’d know I was willing to listen.

“Do you want to talk about that?” I asked.

“Getting married?” she asked.

“Or even having a boyfriend, at least hypothetically speaking. Obviously, if you don’t feel comfortable or you think I’m not the right person to talk to, that’s fine.”

“You’re my friend,” Violet said. “I really don’t have anyone else to talk to.”

“It’s up to you,” I replied. “I have no idea how to even begin the conversation beyond what I just said.”

“I told you about what my parents were doing, but I didn’t tell you why they began locking me in the cage.”

“I’m willing to listen if you want to tell me.”

“I found out about the abuse when I got up to use the bathroom one night when I was ten. I saw the light on in Rose’s room, so I decided to see what she was doing. I opened the door and saw my dad having sex with her while my mom held her. I couldn’t help but gasp and scream. My mom threatened to hurt me if I ever said anything, and then about twice a week, they locked me in the cage in the basement so I couldn’t walk in on them.”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“When Rose told me she missed her period, which was about three years later, she told me all the stuff my mom and dad did to her and I got sick to my stomach.”

That would certainly explain what Doctor Lochner had said, and why my behavior with the gum had created such consternation for Violet. I was actually surprised that she could hug and kiss my cheek, though those were ‘friendship’ gestures. Doctor Lochner had said they were testing the waters, which they were, in that Violet was testing her own ability to show affection to a friend. It was entirely possible I was misreading things, but I didn’t think so. All I could do was be Violet’s friend and help her in any way I could.

“And that’s when you went to your guidance counselor, right?”

“Yes. She immediately called DCFS and the police, and my parents were arrested that night and my sister and I were taken to a DCFS facility. She went from there to the state mental facility, and I eventually went to a foster family.”

“I’m curious, and again, you don’t have to answer, but what did your grandparents say?”

“My mom’s dad disowned her, basically, and changed his will so that I got everything. Her mom had died of cancer when she was fifteen. My dad’s parents lived in Arizona, and I never heard a word from them after my parents were arrested. DCFS got in touch with them, but other than them saying they couldn’t care for me, I don’t know any more. You know the rest, where I moved from my foster family’s house to my grandfather’s house after I graduated from High School, and he left me some money, too.”

“Cousins?”

“My dad was an only child; my mom had a younger sister, but her husband is in the Marines and they’ve lived overseas since I was little, mostly in Japan. I’ve never met my two cousins. I get Christmas cards and birthday cards from them. You only have your uncle and his family, right? I mean, besides your mom?”

“My grandparents live in Naperville, but I haven’t seen them in a long, long time. They kicked my mom out of the house when she was sixteen because she got pregnant with me. She, rightly, didn’t want anything to do with them. She did keep in touch with her sister, though, and that’s how I landed the mailroom clerk job at Spurgeon.”

“She’s the one who got pregnant while in college, right?”

“Yes, and married the baby’s father, who is my uncle Alec. Somehow, that was OK with my grandparents, while my mom getting pregnant while she was in High School wasn’t.”

“Did you live here in Illinois?”

“No. My grandparents moved here once my mom’s sister graduated from High School.”

“Have you thought about getting in touch with them?”

“Not really. They were never part of my life and they’re very religious, which you know I’m not.”

“The opposite!”

“Exactly. And here’s the thing — they know I’m here and could easily get in touch with me if they wanted to. They haven’t.”

“And you don’t know anything about your dad’s family, right?”

“Right. I have a name, a hometown, where he worked, and I know the day he died, but that’s it.”

“In a plane crash, right?”

“Continental Airlines Flight 11, which crashed on May 22, 1962, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri. It was actually brought down by a bomb set off by a guy who apparently was suicidal over legal and financial problems. He wanted his wife to get the insurance.”

“Wow! And that was before you were born, right?”

“Yes. I was born in November 1962, which means I was conceived in February, so all the facts line up.”

Except for the exact timing of when my mom had met my dad, but that wasn’t particularly relevant.

“You aren’t curious?”

“Not really. I mean, I never knew him, and I don’t know anything about him. It’s even possible he was married and never told my mom. And imagine if I were to get in contact with his parents, if they’re still alive, and it turns out he was married and had kids. I don’t want to inflict emotional pain on anyone, especially my mom, if she discovered he had lied to her.”

“If I remember, he never knew she was pregnant, right?”

“Not as far as I can tell, and I obviously want to be careful what I ask my mom.”

“I suppose not having any relatives growing up that’s just normal for you. And we’re basically in the same boat now, though I guess there’s your uncle and his family. Is your girl cousin still a brat?”

I’d have said ‘bitch’, but I couldn’t imagine Violet using that word!

“And will be for life, as far as I can tell.”

When we arrived in University Village, I parked, walked Violet to her door, received the usual hug and kiss on the cheek, then walked back to my car for the drive home.

December 13, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

“Mailroom, Kane,” I said when I picked up the phone late on Monday afternoon.

“This is Phil at the loading dock. You have a delivery from Great Lakes Furniture.”

“Do I need to come down?”

“No. Just authorize me to let them use the freight elevator.”

“Please do that,” I replied. “Let them know to bring everything to 29. I’ll meet them there.”

“Will do,” he replied.

He hung up, so I replaced the receiver, let Jack know he needed to cover for me, and went to Mr. Nelson’s office.

“The first furniture shipment is here,” I replied.

“Hot damn!” he exclaimed. “I never know whether or not to believe those guys when they make promises. Hell, I’ve had them give me ‘guaranteed delivery dates’, then had them call about ten minutes before the truck was supposed to arrive to say the shipment had been delayed.”

“That’s messed up, Boss.”

“It’s fucked up, Kane!” Mr. Nelson declared. “Are they bringing the stuff up?”

“Yes, to 29. I’m going to meet them. The construction crew has knocked off for the day, but Marcus and I agreed where to store the stuff, so it’s not in the way.”

“Good. Also, I received a call from Bloomberg about the terminals to let me know they’ll be here to begin installation on January 12th. They should finish by January 14th. They’ll start on 29 so they can confirm everything works before they disrupt anyone upstairs.”

“I thought it was the first week in January.”

“It was, but they had some kind of delay. Remember, these are brand new terminals on the market, so we’re likely to see other problems with them. Teething pains, if you will.”

“Great,” I said flatly. “That should be fun. Please tell me we don’t have to install them for Matheson and his team and then move them.”

“We don’t. We’ll move Matheson’s team the following weekend. Put that on your calendar. Let the other guys know we’ll likely need them on the 15th and 16th.”

“OK. I’m going to head down to 29 now. I’ll check everything against the manifest and the order and let you know what’s missing.”

“Good work, Kane!”

“Thanks, Boss!”

I left his office and headed down to 29 to wait for the guys from the delivery company to arrive. About two minutes later, the biggest guy I’d ever seen stepped off the elevator. He was easily 6’5” and built like an NFL defensive back. I was tall, but he was taller, and I couldn’t even begin to match his muscles.

“I’m Kane,” I said.

“André,” he said. “We have forty-four pieces; some boxes, some furniture units. Where are we putting it?”

“This way, please.”

I led him to the new offices, put on a hard hat, and handed him one. He put it on and I walked him to what was going to be the break room.