Chapter 21: The Return of the Well-Oiled Machine

September 12, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"I'd say that went very well for a first session," Al said after the seminar. "You managed to really engage several students, and everyone was paying attention."

"I'm curious," Doctor Washington said. "What's your actual opinion?"

I chuckled, "What? You don't think 'Yes, by all means, Sir; drop that fucker, twice!' is my actual position?"

"No, I don't."

"I side with Commander Hunter, though my position is that nuclear weapons are terror weapons, and thus, using them is always wrong. I would prefer they didn't even exist, but as they do, then the only way to prevent their use is Mutual Assured Destruction."

"And all those Marines, Naval aviators, and Army infantrymen and airmen who would have died in an invasion?"

"I can't support killing several hundred thousand civilians because of decisions by their totalitarian military government. Striking military targets is one thing; striking civilian targets, be they in Japan, Germany, Afghanistan, Serbia, Iraq, or any other place, is never acceptable. The type of weapon is irrelevant, be it nuclear, biological, chemical, incendiary, or explosive.

"With regard to the actual use of the Hiroshima bomb, it's easy for me to sit here in 2002 and pass judgment on Harry Truman. Given his circumstances, I could understand why he ordered it, even if I don't support it. I would have arranged for a remote demonstration on an atoll and invited the Japanese to witness it under a temporary armistice. I believe that would have been sufficient. But, as I said, I understand Truman's thinking.

"As for the second bomb, it was completely unnecessary. Indications were Japan was ready to surrender after the first bomb, but the second bomb was dropped to intimidate the Soviet Union. It was completely unnecessary as a way to force Japan to surrender, as they were already moving in that direction. That makes Nagasaki mass murder in a way only a nation-state can achieve."

"You did an amazing job defending the opposite position."

"Thanks. Did you serve at all?"

"Four years, during the Korean War. I chose not to take an available deferment and completed my Residency at Bethesda Naval Hospital. When I left the service, I took an Attending role in McKinley, Ohio. Ohio was home for me, just as it was for you, though Cleveland, not Cincinnati. I was offered the position here in the mid-80s. Anyway, we'll see you next week!"

"See you at home, Tiger," Jessica said.

I shook hands with Al and Doctor Washington, hugged Jessica, gave her a kiss, then headed home.

🎤 Birgit

My mobile phone rang as I was walking home with Fangsu, Ashley, and her new friend, Chadrima. I slipped it from my pocket, saw who was calling, and quickly opened the phone.

"This is Birgit!"

"Hi, this is Philip."

"Hi! What's up?" I asked hopefully.

"Would you want to meet at Starbucks on Sunday morning?"

The answer was obviously 'yes', but there was no way I was going to be overeager!

"Promise you won't say anything about me being fourteen?"

"I promise."

"Then yes. Same time?"

"Sure."

"See you!" I exclaimed happily. "Bye!"

"Bye!"

I closed the phone and slipped it back into my pocket.

"Who was that?" Ashley asked.

"Philip," I replied.

"Who's that?" Fangsu asked.

"A guy I met last week," I replied.

"Is he older?"

"A bit," I replied. "But I'm just having coffee and scones with him on Sunday."

Both Fangsu and Chadrima came to our house to do homework, and I wrote my date with Philip on the calendar. I was surprised to find Dad home.

"Hi!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember?" Dad replied.

I rolled my eyes, "I meant, why are you home?"

"Today was the seminar at the medical school. I decided to come home rather than go back to the office."

"How many female medical students did you meet?" I asked with a silly smile.

"Zero, the way you mean, nosy daughter! The class was about half female. But I'm an instructor, so it would be totally inappropriate to do what you implied."

"What-ever!" I giggled. "Philip called!"

"Just be careful, Pumpkin."

"I know," I replied with a smirk, "I'll keep my lips sealed..."

"DON'T SAY IT!" Dad ordered, but he was laughing.

"You're just no fun, Dad!" I giggled. "I need to go do homework."

"Yes, you do!"

I went over, hugged him, and he kissed my forehead. After the kiss, I went to the kitchen to get a snack for Fangsu and me, then went to the sunroom to do my homework.

September 14, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Jesse

"Guys, I'm not going to make a long speech," I said in the locker room before our game on Saturday morning.

They all cheered.

"We have one job," I said. "Win the whole freaking thing!"

"RAH!" they all exclaimed.

"That's all I have to say! Let's hit the ice!"

"RAH!"

We left the locker room and headed to the ice for pre-game warmups. I looked up in the stands and saw about half the softball team and most of the cheer team.

"Any last-minute advice?" Nicholas asked.

"The circular black rubber thing goes into the net guarded by the guy with a white jersey."

"Very funny!"

"Just play your area, use your passing lanes, put the puck on the net, and when they have the puck, back check and keep your stick active."

After stretching and a warm-up skate, Pete stood in net for shooting practice. Halfway through, we switched, and everyone took turns shooting at me. When the horn sounded, we collected the pucks, then skated over to the bench. Everyone took a seat except the starters, who stayed on the ice in front of the bench. Coach reminded us not to take penalties, which is what had killed us in the playoffs, and when the horn sounded, we skated out to our positions to wait for the puck to drop. I roughed up the ice in the crease, took my usual stance for face-offs, and waited for the referee.

He dropped the puck, Jack won the face-off to Freddy, who skated forward over the blue line, passed across the red line to Tom, who entered the St. Rita zone. Tom passed back to Mike at the blue line, Mike passed to Freddy at the top of the circle, and Freddy one-timed it past the St. Rita goalie just thirteen seconds into the game.

Our cheering section leapt to their feet and screamed their appreciation while the guys all surrounded Freddy. I saluted him with my stick, and everyone lined up for a face-off without any line changes. The next ten minutes were hard fought, mainly between the blue lines, with each team only getting two shots.

Everything changed eleven minutes into the period when St. Rita took a major penalty for boarding. That gave us five minutes of 'score all you can' powerplay. Coach decided to go for the jugular, and put out the first O line and Nicholas, with Freddy as the lone defenseman. It was a good strategy because Nicholas was fast, could play both O and D, and had a better shot than any of the defensemen except Freddy.

The strategy worked, and by the time the five-minute major expired, we were ahead 4-0, with Freddy, Nicholas, and Jack all scoring. The rest of the period was relatively calm, as we didn't press, playing dump and chase whenever we had the puck in the neutral zone. We took our four-goal lead into the locker room, having outshot St. Rita sixteen to four.

"We can't let up," I said to Freddy, Jack, and Nicholas as we grabbed bottles of cold water.

"Another four goals?" Nicholas asked.

"That would be nice," I declared, "But I was thinking more of not letting them get back into the game!"

🎤 Steve

"Why couldn't they play like this in the playoff game?" Josie groused.

"Whatever happened then is in the past," I replied. "They're focused and not screwing around. I haven't seen Jesse this focused in a long time."

"He's determined to win the statewide championship before he graduates," Jennifer interjected. "And he's been taking an active role in helping Coach Nelson."

"He knows he's not headed to the NHL as a player, so he's working on his coaching skills. When the time comes, I'll make the calls to get him an interview with the Penguins."

Jennifer and Josie laughed.

"Your ultimate revenge!" Jennifer said.

"The Pens are the only team where I have any access, and that's through Ned Jenkins in Pittsburgh. We could ask Cindi if there are any other firms which represent NHL teams."

"Or just ask Samantha to buy him a team!" Josie said.

"That might be a bit much, even for her!"

The teams came back on the ice, and the second period began, and it was relatively boring, as Jesse's team simply played solid defense, using a dump-and-chase offense. The period ended as it had begun, 4-0. The third was only a bit better, with our team getting a goal and Jesse having to turn away some furious attacks. He stoned St. Rita's best shooters, and the team closed out a 5-0 victory to start the season.

🎤 Jesse

"Twelve more, just like this one!" Pete declared when we left the ice. "Then we do the same thing in the playoffs."

"No letting off the gas, period!" DeShawn exclaimed as we headed into the locker room. "We're going to kick some serious butt!"

"Def!" Tomás agreed. "And I saw all the hot chicks here cheering for us! Time to do some serious scoring!"

Freddy laughed, "Good luck with that! They're all here for Jesse!"

"I'm happy to share," I chuckled. "And I'm not dating anyone regularly since CeCe left."

"Have you heard from her?" Freddy asked.

"She texts, and we chat on AIM. She's loving Arizona State, and she's the starting first baseman."

"Great job, Men!" Coach Nelson said once we were all in the locker room. "Everyone played great today! Game pucks to Freddy for his pair of goals and to Jesse for his shutout."

Everyone cheered.

"Next weekend, we have Lane Tech. I'll see you men at practice on Monday morning!"

"RAH!" everyone shouted.

Nicholas and I showered, dressed, and left the locker room. I met up with my moms and dad, while Nicholas went with Tom and Bethany, who didn't come anywhere near my family. I wished that wasn't the case, but my moms said Bethany had basically doubled down on her complete change of opinion on teen sex and sex in general.

"Great job, Jesse!" Mom One exclaimed.

"We played like a well-oiled machine today," I replied. "Not like Dad described our playoff game last year!"

"No sand in the gears today!" Dad declared. "And Nicholas had his first goal."

"Thanks for coming, Dad. I know it's a big deal to miss karate practice."

"Priorities," Dad said with a smile.

And he had his right, I thought. He almost never missed anything any of us kids did; whether it was hockey, drama, or robotics, he was almost always there. My sisters didn't do many outside activities besides karate, and of course, he was there. Albert was the outlier, but he had taken Dad flying a few times, and, of course, Dad went to awards ceremonies for Scouts.

"What's on tap for this afternoon?" Mom One asked.

"A nap!" I declared. "And then I'm going to win the poker tournament!"

"Your dad isn't playing, right?"

"Right. I want him to, but the rest of the men want a chance to lose to me!"

"Well, if ego counts for anything," Mom Two said, shaking her head, "you're in good shape!"

"I'm just that good!" I grinned.

My moms groaned, but my dad laughed, and we headed out to the parking lot.

🎤 Birgit

"I need to take two rolls of film," I said at lunch. "I need interesting subjects."

"Me!" Ashley declared, giggling.

"Cameras steal your soul," Dad declared.

"I'd have to believe in a soul to believe that!" I declared. "You'll let me take pictures of you, right?"

"She's not a ginger, Dad," Albert smirked. "So you don't need to worry about her stealing your soul!"

"Blondes have WAY more fun!" I declared.

"Uh-huh," Ashley smirked. "I say strawberry blondes have way more fun!"

"I say there's WAY too much estrogen at this table!" Albert declared.

"Not possible!" Stephie replied. "Even an ounce of testosterone is too much!"

"What about Dad?" I asked.

"He's still a boy! You call him a 'dumb boy' all the time!"

"Stephie-chan, your dad is a wonderful man!" Yuriko interjected. "He is kind, loving, and intelligent."

"He's still a boy!"

"Let's talk after lunch, please."

Stephie rolled her eyes, but I hoped Yuriko could beat some sense into her because her 'I hate men' attitude was totally annoying.

"What are the parameters of the assignment?" Dad asked.

"That's it!" I replied. "Just 'interesting subjects'. Mr. Tavares wouldn't say more because he said he didn't want to interfere with our creativity or artistic ideas."

"Autistic is more like it!" Albert observed with a smirk.

"Love you too," I said, sticking out my tongue.

"Very adult, Birgit," Ashley giggled.

"Albert," Dad interjected, "I would strongly prefer we don't make light of mental illness."

"Sorry, Dad," Albert said. "I thought it was funny."

Dad smiled, "It was, and I didn't tell you not to do it; I simply expressed my preference."

"Your 'preferences' carry the weight of commands!" Albert declared. "At least according to Birgit!"

"If you get your worldview from Birgit," Ashley teased, "then I feel VERY sorry for you, Albert!"

"Hey!" I protested. "What is this? National Pick on Birgit Day?"

"That's every day, Sis!" Albert smirked.

"ANYWAY!" I replied. "Before I was so rudely interrupted by my annoying siblings, I'm not sure what pictures to take."

"When she was an architecture student, Anala drew pictures of every bridge over the Chicago River from Lake Michigan to the Congress Expressway. And she drew multiple versions of each bridge, at various times of the day and in various weather conditions."

"Hmm," I mused. "So, like the classrooms. But I don't get to see the results of those until Monday, and I have to shoot before then. He should have waited to give the assignment."

"But he didn't," Dad replied. "Which I believe means he wants to see more of what you can do on your own. Remember, the best way to learn is experimentation. You know how the camera works, so now you have to apply your creativity and ideas of art to taking great photos."

"Birgit, what about some of the unique houses in Hyde Park?" Suzanne suggested.

"Or the different shops along Hyde Park Avenue," Dad suggested.

"I don't know," I said. "It seems boring compared to something like the Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty."

"And that's the secret to success," Dad said. "You make the photos interesting through your artistic abilities."

"Math and science are SO much easier!" I protested.

"Which is why I'm happy you've taken on this challenge," Dad replied. "It'll expand your horizons."

"Ugh," I groused. "I think I'm going to call Bob after lunch."

"Just have fun," Dad advised. "That's part of it, too."

🎤 Stephie

"«猿も木から落ちる» ("Saru mo ki kara ochiru") Stephie-chan," Yuriko said. "In English, it would be 'Even monkeys fall from trees', and means 'anyone can make a mistake'. You believe Nicholas made a mistake, and now you are making one. You must remember «因果応報» ("inga ōhō"), which is 'cause brings result' and which in English idiom would be 'what goes around comes around'."

"But boys are dumb!" I protested.

Yuriko smiled, "And it is a wise woman who knows that but does not say it! Instead, she uses her power as a woman to help the man see what is right! That is how it works in Japan."

"Oh, right!" I said, rolling my eyes. "The karate school is run by guys, and only guys are allowed to train there!"

Yuriko smiled, "You have never met Emiko-san or Sakuro-chan, and I think you should. You would learn much from them. Hiro-sama would never do anything that would displease Emiko-san, and Hideki-sama would never do anything that would displease Sakuro-chan! And that is the secret! Your dad would never do anything that would displease your moms or the other women close to him, most importantly, Liz."

"He does whatever he wants!" I protested.

"No, he doesn't," Yuriko replied. "He thinks about what your moms or Liz or his sister would say and takes that into account. And it is very easy to get the truth from a man."

She had me curious.

"How?"

Yuriko smiled, "When you are engaged in love, and you are in the superior position with him inside you, after he has already had one release! It is, as Emiko-san has said, difficult for men to lie in such a position!"

"Seriously? Sex is truth serum?"

"We have to use every power we have to help the men we love. Of course, it's different with your dad."

"Not for you!" I smirked.

"Yes, but you know what I meant, Stephie-chan! And I do not mean you use the art of love on every boy or man or in every situation. You must be subtle in everything. I can help you learn to be a proper woman if you wish. And I believe that if you change your attitude and your approach, you will find Nicholas-chan receptive."

"He's an idiot!" I groused.

"Perhaps so," Yuriko said with a smile. "But you obviously love him!"

"Says who?"

"If you didn't love him, you wouldn't be so upset! Do you want my help?"

I thought about what she'd said, and she wasn't wrong about me loving Nicholas. But he had severe testosterone poisoning, and I wasn't sure there was a cure! But maybe Yuriko could help.

"Yes."

🎤 Jesse

There was a knock at the door of my room after I'd been asleep for about an hour.

"What?" I called out.

"You have a visitor," Mom Two said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Francesca."

I suppressed a groan, got out of bed, and opened the door.

"Did she say what she wanted?" I asked.

"You!" Mom Two declared.

"Obviously," I replied. "I just ... never mind. Let me see what she wants."

We went downstairs to the living room, where Francesca was sitting on the couch with Mom One.

"We'll go next door," Mom Two said.

I was grateful, because I didn't want to give Francesca any wrong impressions by going upstairs, and sitting in the living room was a better option than going downstairs.

"Hi," I said as Mom One got up and left with Mom Two.

"Hi," Francesca said. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you back in March."

"Apology accepted," I replied. "How have you been?"

"OK, I guess. I miss you, Jesse. We were friends forever, and now I don't even see you. I know it's my mom's fault."

"Is she still in prison?" I asked.

"For another year," Francesca replied. "I only know because Ms. Meyer gave Dad all the information. My mom isn't even allowed to write me letters or talk to me before I turn eighteen."

"November of next year, right? You'll be seventeen this year if I remember correctly."

"Yes. She'll be out of prison in June and then on probation for two years. Dad says she'll need permission from her probation officer to contact me, and the probation officer will ask if I want her to."