Chapter 31: Talented Tongues

October 5, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"OK to violate protocol?" Lieutenant Commander Nomura asked on Saturday evening.

"You want to play with the boys?" I asked with a grin.

"If it's a choice between the club the girls are going to and poker, poker wins, hands down!" she declared.

"So does Steve!" Mike Knox declared. "Unfortunately."

"Not every time," I protested.

"We've had fifteen tournaments in the past year where Steve played," Aaron said. "Steve has won eight; nobody else has won more than one of those fifteen."

"So, what you're saying," I said with a grin, "is that seven people have beaten me over the past year."

"Stow it, Adams!" Karl ordered.

I laughed, "I'm not one of your sailors, and you actually don't have any sailors because you're a big-time attorney at Winston & Strawn!"

"Stow it, Adams!" Aaron ordered.

"You need to work on your 'CPO' or 'Drill Sergeant' voice," I chuckled.

"Steve is a walking UCMJ violation!" Lieutenant Commander Nomura declared mirthfully. "The chances he'd submit to military discipline are ZERO!"

"The Lieutenant Commander is correct," I said with a grin.

"Are we going to play cards or yack?" Jesse asked, trying to sound annoyed.

"Careful, or you'll be a plucked duck!" I threatened.

"Bring it, Penguin!"

The assembled men and Lieutenant Commander Nomura all laughed, and we sat down to begin our tournament.

"How did you become so skilled at poker?" Roman Alonso, Luna's father, asked.

I smiled, "I've made a life out of readin' people's faces and knowin' what the cards were by the way they held their eyes."

"Somebody shoot me now, please!" Jesse exclaimed from the other table.

"He's not wrong," Terry countered. "That is the key skill."

"I know!" Jesse exclaimed. "It was the Kenny Rogers lyrics I was objecting to!"

"It's also a matter of knowing the odds and having an excellent grasp of expected value," I said. "That is, is the bet 'worth it' in terms of the implied odds and the size of the pot?"

"And you do all that quickly enough to act on it?" Lieutenant Nomura asked.

"That's why the man wins," Karl declared. "He can analyze the information available quickly and synthesize a response. As I like to say, he'd have made an outstanding lawyer."

"You wound me!" I protested.

"If only that kind of insult put him on tilt!" Mike Knox said, shaking his head.

"Good luck with THAT," Jamie declared.

"SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!" I called out to start the tournament.

🎤 Birgit

"It's totally cool that your dad agreed we could take pictures of their poker tournament," Bob said as he put a fresh roll of film into his camera. "But what's with the girl?"

"Navy Lieutenant Commander Nomura? She prefers poker, whisky, and cigars to going to the jazz club! She has special dispensation from Dad to play with the boys."

"Is she any good?"

"You don't need a dick to play poker!" I protested.

"Well, you do to 'poke her'," Bob retorted with a smirk as he snapped a picture of Lieutenant Commander Nomura.

"In your dreams!" I teased. "She's about thirty!"

"You have heard of Mrs. Robinson, right? And Japanese girls are adorable!"

"Jesse dated a girl from Japan who was here as an exchange student. He's thinking of visiting her in Japan next Summer. I might go to Japan to visit Yuriko and meet my dad's friend Sakurako."

"Yuriko is the Japanese girl who's basically living here, right? And is one of your dad's girlfriends?"

"Yes. The other girl is the wife of the master of our karate school, but Dad met her when she was a teenager on his trip to Japan to study at the principal dojo of our school."

"Would you study there?"

"It's not allowed because of Japanese traditions. But they don't enforce those traditions here, and there's a dojo of our school in Wisconsin run by a girl who's a 5th Dan black belt."

"Does that upset you?"

"No. As Dad says, the Japanese have the right to run their country the way they see fit, just as we do ours, and until we get our shit together, we aren't in any position to tell them what to do without being totally hypocritical. It's a 'people who live in glass houses' thing, or if you believe the Bible, taking the log out of your own eye so you are able to see clearly to remove the splinter from your neighbor's eye."

"Isn't that good advice, even if you don't believe in God?"

"Absolutely, but it, along with 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you', comes with so much baggage, it's not worth it."

"So you'll do that, then?" Bob asked with a smirk as he snapped a picture of Dad.

I laughed, "I actually LIKE doing that, so I'll do it even if you don't reciprocate!"

"From what I hear, most girls don't like doing it."

"I'm not most girls, in case you hadn't noticed!"

"I noticed!" Bob declared. "I was just stating what I've heard about the general case!"

"My friends don't think that, for the most part."

"Remember when I said I wanted to hang out with the Girl Gang?" Bob asked with a smirk as he took a snapshot of three of the Navy men.

I laughed, "And you expect the Girl Gang is going to service you in that fashion?"

"Expect? No, but a boy can have fantasies, right?"

"I think my reality will trump your fantasy!" I declared.

"If that's a challenge, I accept!" Bob declared.

🎤 Jesse

"Explain what happened, please," Roman asked when Dad was knocked out in fourth place.

"He played the odds correctly," I interjected. "Two hands ago, he got all his money in with the best of it, just short of the nuts. He was beaten by runner Jacks."

"So he IS a man beaten by Jacks?" Lieutenant Commander Nomura asked with a silly smile.

"Sorry, what?" Roman asked.

"It's from the movie Rounders," Dad said. "After a guy loses a hand he should have never played, he's asked by a friend, 'Does he look like a man beaten by Jacks?'. The implication is that he had judged poorly. As for what Jesse said, I could only be beaten by runner-runner Jacks, so the odds were heavily in my favor. That was a textbook definition of a 'bad beat', as Karl should never have made the bet he did."

"He was trying to push you off what he thought was a weak hand," I observed. "And given how tight you play, that works most of the time. The weird part about tonight is that you, Terry, Mike, and I are all out in fourth or worse. It happens."

"Listen to who's become mellow in their old age!" Dad teased. "It used to drive you nuts!"

"And it's a VERY short drive for the Adams men!" Doctor Al declared, causing everyone, including Dad and me, to laugh.

"And we pick up the trauma surgeons just before we arrive there!" Dad responded, causing more laughter.

"I'll be sure to let Jess know you said so!" Al replied.

"Jess has never denied being crazy!" Dad countered.

"She married you, so there is no way she could!" Kurt smirked, once again causing laughter.

"Let's play some cards!" Karl growled. "I'm going to win!"

"Don't be so sure, Captain!" Lieutenant Commander Nomura said with a sly smile.

Her words proved prescient, and she won the tournament about fifteen minutes later, knocking out one of Dad's new employees, Larry Jefferson, and then Karl.

October 6, 2002, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Steve

"What's your plan for Cincinnati for next weekend?" Jessica asked as Kara, Suzanne, and I walked her to the hospital on Sunday morning.

"I have tickets to fly down on Friday morning and back on Sunday afternoon. Besides the opening of the Marble Palace, I'll see my dad, my lawyer friends, and Joyce and her family."

"Do you have a date for Friday night?" Kara asked.

"Anthony's niece, Aurora," I replied. "We'll be going in period costumes. I'm picking up my navy blue pinstripe double-breasted suit and a new fedora tomorrow. She'll be wearing a black 'flapper' dress."

"That should be our costume theme for Halloween," Kara declared. "We should all get 'flapper' dresses! We can be Steve's gun molls!"

"And we should get toy Tommy guns!" Suzanne declared.

"I'll leave all of that up to you three," I said. "I'm happy to get more use out of the suit."

"I saw you crossed Katelyn's name off the calendar for this week," Jessica said.

"The guy who asked her to the Fall dance wanted to start going out, and she decided she liked him enough to suspend our Monday trysts. That doesn't really surprise me, as it was mostly about sex, and she wasn't all that interested in Philosophy Club. To be honest, I'd much rather spend time with Natalie or Yuriko."

"You've really dialed it back," Kara said. "Are you happy?"

"Very," I replied. "And you know opportunities continue to present themselves!"

"Now, if I could just meet the right girl for MY opportunity!" Kara groused.

"I hate to say this," Jessica observed, "but it's going to be more and more difficult to fulfill that very specific fantasy."

"Oh, I know," Kara sighed. "But I'm hopeful!"

We reached the hospital, Kara, Suzanne, and I each kissed Jessica, and after she'd gone inside, we turned for home.

🎤 Birgit

"Thanks for allowing us to take pictures last night," I said after I snuggled close to Dad in the chaise.

"You seem to be enjoying your photography club and your new friend."

"Bob is totally cool and mellow, which makes it easy to hang out with him."

"So opposite of you?" Dad teased.

"HEY!" I protested. "I'm easy to hang out with!"

"You are the least mellow person in this family, except for your mom, the trauma surgeon!"

"Wait! You think Albert is more mellow than I am?"

"Albert doesn't suffer from the effects of the Law of Constant Outrage the way you do!"

"If people weren't so fucking stupid, I wouldn't be constantly outraged!" I protested.

"And do you think society is going to suddenly get its head out of its butt and come to its senses?"

"No," I admitted.

"Then you either need to be prepared to go through life with your outrage meter pegged or mellow about things over which you have no control. It took me a LONG time to learn that lesson, and I'm still trying to put it into practice. Remember our talk after the DCFS lady was here with the detective."

"I remember. It's just difficult, Dad!"

"Being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?"

"You've told us that since we were little, and none of us believed you until we were old enough to experience it."

"Better you've learned that now than when you graduate from college the way it seems happens with most kids these days. We see that in new graduates applying for positions at NIKA."

"I don't know how my moms handle teaching! Kids are SO dumb these days!"

"The Navy men say the same thing about new recruits. That's why I have Philosophy Club, and you and Jesse have Hangouts — to try to build a cadre of people who are able to think critically and call out the BS when we see it. Sadly, we're treated the same way Cassandra and John the Baptist were. But back to Photography Club, are you satisfied with your progress?"

"I'm having fun, and Bob thinks I'm doing a good job, and so does Mr. Tavares, so I think so. Some of our pictures will be used in the Yearbook, and my goal is to get at least two selected."

"That's a good goal. And I see that impish smile, young lady!"

"Not THOSE kinds of pictures, Dad! Those would be private!"

"And you remember our discussion about that."

"Society sucks!" I griped.

"And all we can do is try to make our little part of the world better."

"By sucking?" I teased.

"Birgit Elizabeth!" Dad said, trying to sound as if he was reprimanding me but failing miserably.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You are the last person who can pull off the 'innocent me' bit!"

"Maybe!" I giggled. "But going back to making parts of the world better, I was thinking more about Yuriko's invitation to visit, and I might do it if Jesse goes to visit Akiko."

Dad laughed, "And you going to Japan makes it better?"

"Duh!"

"You know you're welcome to make a trip like that," Dad said, "though Jesse has to work around his hockey camp, and he committed to teaching a two-week session as well."

"I know. What I was thinking was that if I did, we'd fly to Japan with Yuriko and be back before Jesse had to go to Minnesota. Would I still be able to visit Katy?"

"If you can manage without Dad cuddles for all that time you'll be away."

"It'll be good practice for when I'm an exchange student!" I declared.

"A very different tune than the one you've been singing for years," Dad observed.

He was right, but as much as I liked and needed my cuddles, I needed to do other things, too.

"I still love you, Dad!" I declared.

"Obviously, but you're also maturing, and your needs are different from when you were little.

"I'll say!" I giggled.

"Besides that, Pumpkin!"

"Breakfast!" Yuriko announced.

"We'll be right there," Dad replied.

He tightened his arms around me and held me tight for the full three minutes before we went to have breakfast.

🎤 Jesse

My phone rang just as I was leaving church early on Sunday afternoon.

"Go for Jesse!"

"Hi, Jesse! It's Viktoria! What are you doing right now?"

"Leaving church. What are you doing?"

"I'm home all alone and need some attention!"

"Where are your parents?"

"They're at a dinner with the Parish Council. They won't be home until after 9:00pm! Come over, Jesse! I need you!"

"And if they were to come home early?"

"That won't happen!" Viktoria declared.

"You can't be sure of that," I countered, "and I guarantee that if your dad finds me in your house, he'll call the cops!"

"But I'll say I wanted to!" she protested.

"Which won't matter because you aren't seventeen, and Illinois says you can't consent until you're seventeen. Mostly, they leave High School kids alone, but if a parent were to make a complaint, it could cause all kinds of trouble with the police and DCFS."

"But I want to see you!" she whined.

"I'm OK with picking you up and going somewhere, but not staying at your house."

"Could we go to your house?"

"We could, but we'd only have a few hours together."

"I guess that's better than nothing," Viktoria said, sounding unhappy.

"You can't be foolish about this," I said. "You know how angry your dad would be."

"I know. Come pick me up."

I didn't have any plans, and Viktoria, despite being a bit whiney, was fun and enthusiastic in bed, not to mention being smoking hot. And I wasn't having nearly as much sex as I had been, mostly because I'd tried to avoid the girls on the cheerleading squad and softball teams, with the exception of Estefana and Ebele. There was just too much potential drama because the parents had freaked out over the 'naked sauna' and had discovered the V-Card contest.

"OK," I said. "What time do you need to be home?"

"Any time before 8:30pm is OK."

"The problem is that I'll either need to have you home by 4:30pm or get permission for you to join our family dinner. I can't miss."

"I thought your dad gave you freedom!"

"He does. I don't want to miss."

"Even for more time with me?" she asked sexily.

"Even for more time with you," I confirmed.

"You can't be serious!"

"I am. Our family meals are important, and it's often the only time I get to see my brothers Matthew and Michael because they live in the burbs."

"And you'd rather do that than have sex?"

"I'd rather do both! And we can. If you don't want to, just let me know."

"You're being mean!"

"No, I'm letting you know that I'm happy to do what you want, but you have to acknowledge that I have needs besides sex and be happy to let me do what I want as well. It goes both ways. And remember, you called me."

"Why are you being like this?"

"I'm simply telling you what I want to do. You have to decide what you want to do. If we can't agree, then we don't do it. That's the mature, adult way to handle things."

"Sorry," Viktoria said. "Come get me, please. Dinner is OK if your dad agrees."

"See you in forty minutes.

[Oswego, Illinois]
🎤 Matthew

"Excellent work these last four days," Mr. Fruits said backstage after our final performance. "As is our usual practice, stage strike is tomorrow after school, and, as usual, I expect everyone here, not just stagehands. Our next performance is our Winter Pageant, which runs from December 12th through the 15th. We'll sing traditional Christmas carols and perform scenes from famous Christmas shows, especially those of Rankin/Bass. I will have scripts, libretto, and music on Tuesday. That's all! See you tomorrow!"

I left with everyone else and walked to my mom's car, where Chelsea was waiting for me.

"Great job again, Matt!"

"Thanks! Home so I can change and then to Maggie's for the party?"

"Yes. I have our contribution of food and cold drinks in coolers in the trunk, so all you'll need to do is run inside, change, and come back out."

"Remember, we're leaving at 5:00pm so we can get to my dad's house for our family dinner. Maggie knows, and the party only runs until 6:00pm, anyway."

"May I say it's a lame party?"

"You may, but it's one Maggie is allowed to attend, and given mom and Eduardo talked her parents off the ledge about drama, nobody is complaining about the party. And, to be honest, I prefer not having wild cast parties like some of the ones in the past."

"When girls propositioned you?"

"Not just at parties," I replied. "And you know how I've responded."

"I do. I'm sorry I've been insecure. It's just, well, you know what's happened to several of my friends."