Chapter 12: There Are Some Things a Dad Just Doesn't Need to Know!

August 16, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"I have Doctor Mary Whittaker on the line for you," Kimmy said over the intercom early on Friday afternoon.

"Put her through, please."

Kimmy did, and when the phone buzzed, I picked up the handset.

"Hi, Mary," I said.

"All your scans were clean, as we expected, though there was a minor anomaly with the shape of your hypothalamus, but it's in line with usual deviations from the norm, and other individuals with the same deviation do not exhibit your symptoms or anything close. It's similar to a slight deviation from the norm for your xiphoid process and misshapen patellae."

"I had no idea about those last two."

"You wouldn't because, for you, they don't seem different, and you've never had an exam that would show the deviations until now. Neither of those are anything more than notations which might come into play if you needed surgery or damaged your knees in some way. The anomaly with your hypothalamus could be indicative, but as we have no other cases like yours, and it's in line with normal deviations, it's interesting, but not diagnostic, at least at this point.

"I've faxed a complete report to Doctor Kulczycki, and I'll fax you a summary, along with the letter signed by Doctor Kirilenko and me clearing you for sparring and any other activity that might involve blows to the head. Obviously, you should avoid blows to the head as a general principle of health, but you have no more risk than the average person. OK, to fax those to your private fax machine?"

"Yes. Do me a favor and fax the entire report to Al Barton. Send him CDs or DVDs with the scans as well, please."

"Afraid Jess won't accept our findings?"

"Let's just say I want Al to have the raw data to share with the head of Neuro when Jess asks for a third opinion."

"Will do. I'll send the faxes to you and Doctor Barton right away and send the discs to him by UPS or FedEx. He'll have them Monday."

"Thanks, Mary. See you Labor Day weekend!"

"We're looking forward to it!"

We said 'goodbye', and I hung up.

"What will Jessica object to?" Penny asked.

"Please keep this to yourself until Monday, but the neurologist at Mayo cleared me to spar."

"Whoa! What about your post-concussion syndrome?"

"The latest research says that unless you have misaligned vertebrae, the risks are no greater than for a normal person."

"You are NOT normal!"

"No kidding," I chuckled. "The real risk is repetitive blows to the head, like with boxers. I wasn't allowed to spar because of the risk of it happening, not because it happens a lot."

"So I can throw Nerf balls at your head?"

"I'd threaten to turn you over my knee, but you'd enjoy that!"

"Please?! Now?!" Penny asked, her voice dripping with desire.

"You know the rules, Penelope!"

"SIX! And you are just no fun!"

🎤 Birgit

"There is literally nothing good playing at the theatre," I said to Jesse late on Friday afternoon.

"I know," he replied. "I checked with Dad, and he was OK if we invite everyone back here to watch whatever is on HBO or Showtime or one of the DVDs we have."

"It's too bad 'Skinemax' doesn't run their interesting stuff until 10:30pm!" I giggled.

Jesse laughed, "What do you need softcore porn for? You and Peter have been screwing yourselves silly since we came home from Sweden!"

"And you and Angelina. And Viktoria. And Scarlett will be here on Sunday! Are we going to Giordano's or for Chinese?"

"Chinese," Jesse said. "Just so you know, Nicholas will be joining us. Tom was cool with it, but I suggest we don't say anything about the trouble between Dad and Bethany."

"Are any new guys from your team going to be there?"

"Tired of Peter already?" Jesse teased.

"Whatever," I replied, rolling my eyes. "So?"

"Mitch, Steve, Tom, and George," I said. "Freddy will be there, of course, along with Pete. Angelina is bringing some new cheerleaders, too."

"More virgin pussy for you!" I teased.

"What-ever!" he retorted, obviously mocking me. "I plan to leave in about fifteen minutes. Does that work for you?"

"Yes. Let me let Mom know we're going, and I'll come over to the coach house."

"Cool."

He left, and I went to find Mom, who was in the sunroom with Stephie and Ashley.

"I'm heading out to meet the usual Friday night gang," I said to Mom. "There are some new kids from Jesse's team and some new cheerleaders, along with the usual group. There's nothing at the movies, so we're all going to come here and watch something. I suggested Debbie Does Dallas or Insatiable."

Mom laughed, "And just where do you propose to get those?"

"The room behind the curtain at the video store!" I giggled.

"You have to be eighteen," Mom countered. "And how do you know about those movies?"

"I've heard Dad mention them, and I've seen references to them when reading about 'culture wars'."

"And do you want to see them?" Mom asked.

I shrugged, "Maybe out of curiosity. I did joke with Jesse about Cinemax being 'Skinemax'."

Mom laughed, "They do push the edge of the envelope. I'd advise against that because most parents would object, and it could cause all kinds of problems."

"It was just teasing, Mom," I said. "I'm going over to the coach house, and we'll be home after dinner."

"Does your dad know the kids are coming over?"

"Jesse checked with him."

"OK. Have fun!"

I left and headed to the coach house to hang out with Jesse until it was time to leave.

🎤 Steve

"What is this?" Jessica asked when I handed her the letter from Mary and Doctor Kirilenko.

"My clearance to spar," I replied. "From the Mayo neurologist and Mary Whittaker."

"No way, Tiger! You know the risks. How did you talk them into this?"

"I didn't. Doctor Kirilenko brought it up after Mary asked him to consult. Al will have a complete set of test results and evaluations, including discs with the full-body electron beam CT scan, on Monday. You can review the images yourself, but there are no anomalies, and the latest research shows that the problem is related to misaligned vertebrae, which I do not have."

"Do not act on this until I review everything," Jessica insisted.

"Babe, you're a trauma surgeon, not a neurologist, but I'll wait until you speak to the head of neurology at UofC, which I am positive you will do tomorrow, even if you have to call him at home. Your dad will have everything you need."

"Jess, why take such a hard line?" Suzanne asked.

"Because I fought her on this when I first received the diagnosis," I quickly interjected, "and I've violated the prohibition three or four times. In addition, given my past relationship with Mary, she suspects I used my charm to influence Mary's decision."

"What he said!" Jessica declared with a smile. "I'll review the results with Dad and with Doctor Kleinhardt, the head of Neuro. And I'll listen to what they have to say."

"That's all I can ask for, Babe. Suzanne, did Yuriko get in safely?"

"Yes. She's napping in Natalie's room. She asked me to wake her for dinner."

As if on cue, Ashley came into the Indian room just then to let us know that dinner was ready. Suzanne went to wake Yuriko, and five minutes later, she joined us in the dining room, along with Natalie, but not Albert, who was hanging out with Nicky Kallas.

"Hello, Steve-sama!" she exclaimed, bowing.

I stood and bowed, not quite as deeply, "Hello, Yuriko-chan. How were your flights?"

"Long and tiring," she replied as we both sat down, "but I am happy to be here! I will go back to bed after dinner. Tomorrow, I will be refreshed!"

August 17, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"I think you handled Jess perfectly last night," Kara said as she, Suzanne, and I walked home from the hospital on Saturday morning. "I was afraid you would take her bait, and it would start a fight."

"I had plenty of time to think about it," I replied. "Doctor Kirilenko told me on Monday afternoon that if the scans didn't show any problems, he'd clear me based on the latest research. Fundamentally, the problem is with repetitive blows to the head, like with boxers. I looked it up, and the medical term coined to replace the vernacular 'punch drunk' was dementia pugilistica, or fistfighter's dementia. When the evidence discovered that repeated mild head trauma caused brain injuries and was more than just boxers, they started talking about 'chronic traumatic encephalopathy'."

"Not to rain on your parade, but isn't that a risk?" Suzanne asked.

"Not the way it would be for a boxer or football player, either gridiron or Association."

"Soccer?" Suzanne asked. "There's no tackling like American football."

"Heading the ball is a normal activity. I haven't seen evidence, so I'm just speculating. Gridiron, I think, is obvious. I suspect rugby and ice hockey would have potential problems as well. At least, that's what I speculate based on what the docs at Mayo said. Going back to sparring, I'm not competing, so the risk of blows to the head is minimal, and even if I were competing, it would take a decade to have as many blows to the head as a single professional boxing match or gridiron football game!"

"Are you worried about Jesse?" Kara asked.

"No. He doesn't stop too many pucks with his helmet, and goalies aren't hit very often. And it's a 'no check' league, so I'm not worried about Nicholas, either. College hockey would be different, but my Duck is a goalkeeper, so relatively safe from contact or fights. Jesse is pretty level-headed, to boot."

"You seem confident Jessica will come around," Suzanne observed.

"She's first and foremost a physician. She'll look at the evidence, speak to the head of Neuro, check the literature, and concede that Doctor Kirilenko and Mary are correct in their assessment. It's not an area where Jess has any more knowledge than the typical medical student because she's a trauma surgery specialist and doesn't keep up with the literature on head injuries because she simply doesn't have time to keep up with everything. Heck, she has trouble keeping up with advances in trauma and surgery."

"And Jess is a worrywart," Kara said. "Though not as much as she has been in the past."

"Jess? A worrywart?" I asked with a grin. "Compared to Birgit?"

"About YOU," Kara declared. "I could be raptured right now, and Birgit wouldn't miss me!"

I laughed, "You don't believe in the Rapture! And neither does Birgit!"

"You know what I mean!" Kara protested mirthfully. "The 'cold war' might be over, but I'm still extraneous in her mind."

"Ask Jess about Albert," I chuckled. "The only adults he has ANY use for are Al, my dad, his scout leaders, the Navy men, and Aimee because she's Navy and a pilot."

"Pilots are boys who never grow up!" Kara declared.

I chuckled, "One of the Navy guys told Albert that he had to make up his mind about growing up or becoming a Navy pilot because nobody can do both!"

Both Kara and Suzanne laughed.

"I'd say that fits!" Kara declared. "What's the plan for today?"

"Cuddles, breakfast, karate, lunch, karate, then Guys' Night and Girls' Night Out."

"Kristin and Erika are visiting tomorrow, right?"

"That's the plan, yes," I confirmed.

"What about Yuriko? I'm sure she'll want time with you."

"I'm sure she will," I replied. "Now that Natalie is back, she'll want some time as well. They'll ask, and I'll work it out."

🎤 Birgit

I cuddled Dad, we had breakfast, then I went next door to see Aunt Penny. I needed help with something, and she was the only one I could think of who might help and would also keep it between us.

"Hi, Birgit," Terry said when I came to the door. "I'll get Amber."

"I actually wanted to speak to Aunt Penny, if that's OK."

"Sure. She's in the great room."

He let me in, and I walked into the great room.

"Hi, Birgit!" she said.

"Hi, Aunt Penny."

"Amber is in her room."

"I was actually here to speak to you."

"Come sit by me and tell me what's going on."

I walked over to the couch and sat next to her the way I had when she'd told me about her and Dad.

"I need a favor," I said.

Penny laughed softly, "You can have Terry only if you convince your dad to be with me!"

I laughed, "Not that! But good to know!"

"Don't hold your breath. Your dad seems immune!"

"And when you were fifteen?"

"I told you that story! But I decided to work for NIKA, and ever since, he's been mean about it! And no fun!"

I laughed, "You know he teases you, right?"

"Obviously! So what is it you need?"

"I know you've seen Aunt Bethany's book, and there's some stuff in there I was thinking about trying, but I don't think I can get what I need because I'm not eighteen."

"What did you want?"

"Toys!" I giggled. "The book was kind of vague, but I figured out some of the stuff."

"So you want a dildo, a vibrator, and some soft cloth or ropes?"

"I think I need a harness, too."

Penny laughed hard, "You might want to wait until you're a bit older for that!"

"Why? I've done most of the other stuff in the book! Including with a girl!"

Penny laughed again, "And how much does your dad know?"

"Just that I'm not a virgin, and it was with Kjell. I'm pretty sure he suspects Peter and I are fooling around, but he doesn't know the others."

"I figured you would tell him everything! In detail!"

"I decided it was better to not share everything with him. So, can you get me those things?"

"I can, but I'm not sure I should."

"Why?"

"First, even though you are very mature, you're only fourteen. Second, I'm not sure your mom and dad would approve."

"Dad won't care!"

"Then why not ask him?"

"Because of what I said before. Being circumspect makes more sense."

Had I done that, I might have been able to convince Dad to give me an expert deflowering! I'd learned my lesson, though, and I was going to be careful. Though Tiffany would get to know literally everything, as would Lilibeth.

"Also, if you're thinking of doing what I think you're thinking of, Peter is only fourteen, and I'm not sure he's ready for something like that. Have you asked him?"

"Uhm, no."

"Have you had it done to you?"

I nodded, "Once."

"And did you like it?"

"It was sexy, and I'd do it with a boy if he'd do what I wanted."

"Can we make a deal?"

"Convince Dad?" I asked with a smirk.

Penny laughed, "In my dreams, and you can try, but he'll say 'no'. What I was going to suggest was that you speak with Katy. If she thinks it's OK, have her get in touch with me, and I'll get you the things you want. Well, I'll get you a vibrator now if you need one, but you could get that at CVS as a 'personal massager'."

I giggled, "I had no idea!"

"You could also get a shower massage."

"A shower massage?"

"There was a commercial when I was growing up where they sang a jingle that went, 'Why just turn on the water, when the water can turn you on?'. It had a pulse setting, and I think you can imagine how that would work!"

"Point it at my clit!" I declared.

"Yes. You could ask your dad for one. I'd pay good money to see his reaction!"

"I'll IM with Katy," I said. "And thanks."

"You're welcome!"

I left Aunt Penny's house and walked home to get ready for karate. I was really tempted to ask Dad about Penny, but I knew he had rules about girls from work, and it could cause all kinds of trouble if anyone ever found out, which meant he wouldn't do it. I wanted to IM with Katy right away, but because of karate, that would have to wait.

🎤 Jesse

"Hi!" Libby said when she arrived at the house on Saturday morning. "Sorry I missed last night, but we only arrived home at 9:00pm."

"It's OK," I replied. "How was California?"

"Parts were fun, and parts were boring. My parents thought touring wineries in the Napa Valley was the height of excitement. I was bored to tears, and I wasn't even allowed to taste any wine! San Francisco was cool, though, and I'd have stayed there if they would have let me!"

"Have you seen Karli? She wasn't at the restaurant last night, and I'm pretty sure Birgit invited her."

"We broke up," Libby frowned.

"When?"

"She texted me last week that she met someone."

"OK, now THAT is low! Breaking up by SMS?"

"It sucked, obviously, and it was the same day we went to Napa Valley, so I was already in a bad mood."

"You guys were only gone three weeks!"

"I know," Libby sighed. "I think she was cheating on me before. There were clues, but I just chalked it up to it being Summer and her doing stuff with her parents."

"So now what?" I asked.

"I find a new girlfriend or boyfriend. I had time to get over it, and as you and I have talked about, we're only sixteen, so it's not like we're ready to get married or anything."

"True."

"You wouldn't have an hour or two to spend in bed with a close friend, would you?"

"I'm meeting Angelina and some cheerleaders for lunch," I replied.

Libby laughed softly, "Of course you are! No V-cards, right?"

"Right. They were wise enough to give up that idea, though now they're talking about 'initiation rites', and I think that's an equally dumb idea because if anyone found out, it would be even worse than last year with the softball team."