Chapter 33: New York, New York

October 12, 2002, New York, New York

🎤 Birgit

I arrived at Gotham Café at 7:15am early on Saturday morning and saw Marcella waiting for me at a table near the front window. I went inside and let the hostess know I was meeting someone and then walked over to the table where Marcella was waiting.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, hopping up.

"Hi!" I replied.

We hugged and then sat down at the table. A waiter came over and took our orders.

"How was your flight?" Marcella asked.

"OK. It was the first time I was allowed to fly without an airline escort, which was totally cool."

"I've never flown alone. How does that work?"

"If you're under fourteen, then you have to wear an ID, and an airline employee has to watch you one hundred percent of the time from when you check in until you're met by someone at your destination. It's so dumb because I could do it by myself. My brother Albert could fly the plane, and he has to follow the stupid rules!"

"How old is he?"

"Thirteen. He's been flying for a few years with a Navy Commander. He can't get his license until he's seventeen, but he's practicing a lot, both with the Commander and on his flight simulator."

"That's cool! I've only ever flown with my parents. It's totally cool your parents let you travel."

"Where are your parents this weekend?"

"A conference in Florida," Marcella replied. "They'll be back on Monday afternoon."

"And they won't know you're out?"

"No. My friend Teri's parents are cool, and they think my parents are too strict. So long as I'm in by bedtime, they won't say anything. We'll meet Teri for dinner, if that's OK with you."

"That's fine with me," I replied. "Where do Teri's parents think you are?"

"Hanging out with a friend. They just don't know you're from Chicago."

"They didn't ask who?" I inquired, suddenly having second thoughts about making the trip.

"I just said you were someone I met over the Summer. Why are you so concerned?"

"Because of how your parents reacted in Vermont and the fact I could get into serious trouble."

"How?" Marcella asked.

"If your parents complained to the police, for example."

"But they won't find out!"

"Are you sure about that?" I asked.

"Seriously, Birgit, they won't find out! Teri's parents won't say anything, and she sure won't."

"Does she know you like girls?"

"No, but there's something I didn't tell you, and that's that her older sister, who is in college, has a girlfriend."

"And her parents are OK with that?"

"I'm not sure 'OK' is the right word, but they accept it."

That made me a bit more comfortable, but I had taken a risk. Despite my second thoughts about coming to New York, I still felt it was worth it to be Marcella's friend.

"What does Teri think?"

"That it's gross, but she loves her sister, so she just doesn't talk about it and kind of ignores it."

Which explained why she didn't talk to Teri about it.

"What would she say if she found out you liked girls?"

"I don't think she'd freak out," Marcella replied. "She does agree my parents are WAY too strict with me."

"They haven't told Teri's parents?"

"No way! They're like totally embarrassed to have a daughter who likes girls."

"What's with the counselor you're seeing?"

Marcella rolled her eyes, "She keeps saying it's a 'phase' and that I need to start dating boys, and I'll understand."

I rolled my eyes, "Right, because you decided to like girls? Ugh! Who is this quack?"

"She has a degree in psychology, but she's a 'life coach', not a psychologist."

Which probably explained how she could counsel Marcella even though the DSM had removed being gay as a mental illness. I probably should have asked Aunt Bethany, but she and Dad were on the outs, and if he was upset with her, that was enough reason for me to avoid her. Dad almost never got upset enough with people to avoid them, and when he did, it was almost always because they were prudes or control freaks. That confused me a bit about Aunt Bethany, but I was positive Dad had a good reason.

"Just tell your 'coach' you play for the other team and you aren't interested in being traded!"

Marcella laughed, but before she could respond, our food arrived, and we began eating.

"How did you make so many lesbian friends?" Marcella asked.

"At first, it was my half-brother's moms, then my dad's friend Katy, and then I just met people at school. Everyone in my family has a totally open mind, and we don't judge people. Well, we have limited tolerance for prudes, control freaks, or idiots, but otherwise, we accept everyone for who they are, and the only thing we ask is that people do the same in return.

"Sadly, too many people don't, and they tend to make up the majority of voters. And it makes sense, if you think about it, because if you're a prude or control freak, you make sure you vote for other prudes or control freaks, and they usually win because promising to leave people alone and not control their lives is a losing strategy in elections. It's like State's Attorneys back home — nobody wins by promising to be lenient or not prosecute people for violating stupid laws."

"How did you become so politically active?" Marcella asked.

"I'm not!" I declared. "I just understand how the system works. My dad has taught us civics, which isn't really taught in schools anymore. And he's taught us philosophy, economics, theology, and a bunch of other stuff they don't teach in school. Schools don't educate anyone anymore; they just teach to the standardized test and ask you to parrot back what the teacher says, even if it's total BS. But anyway, what did you want to do today?"

"You've never been to New York before, right?"

"Right."

"Then let's go to Central Park. There's lots of stuff to do there, including a zoo."

"Cool!" I agreed.

[Greater Cincinnati, Ohio]
🎤 Steve

"What are you doing today?" Aurora asked as she, Shannon, and I got into the shower together late on Saturday morning.

Well, 'late' for me, as we'd slept until 9:00am and I was usually up before dawn.

"I'm having lunch with my dad and dinner with Joyce and her family."

"Bummer!" Shannon pouted.

"You have the room for tonight, though, right?" Aurora asked.

"Yes. It made more sense to stay here because it's so much closer to the airport."

"We could come back!" Shannon offered.

She and Aurora were both 'conventional' but enthusiastic, and that suited me just perfectly, especially given both were 'Steve types', and Shannon, being a redhead with green eyes, was a major plus. The only negative in my book was that both girls shaved, and I preferred a bit of fur in which to nuzzle my nose.

"What time will you finish at Aunt Joyce's?" Aurora asked.

"Probably around 9:00pm," I replied. "We can meet here around 10:00pm."

"What time is your flight tomorrow?"

"3:00pm," I replied. "Which means I'll need to be at Greater Cincinnati airport around 1:00pm."

"How about a late breakfast after a night of fun?" Shannon suggested.

The previous night had been fun, with the girls basically taking turns and not exchanging so much as a kiss between them. I certainly wanted to be with them again, though I was positive Kara would tease me about being 'boring' in my 'old age'. The thing was, I hadn't changed, as I'd always adapted myself to what the girls wanted, and it had been the girls, starting with Melanie, Joyce, and Elyse, who had pushed me to engage in all manner of things I wouldn't have done on my own. I didn't regret any of it, but my preferences with regard to sex hadn't changed from the time I was a teenager.

"That sounds good to me!" I declared as I soaped Shannon's small, firm breasts.

When we finished the shower, we dried off, dressed, and then went down to the restaurant for breakfast.

[Chicago, Illinois]
🎤 Jesse

On Saturday morning, I ate breakfast, packed up my gear, and then my moms and I headed for the ice rink for the game against De La Salle. This was one of Pete's two games, so I'd be helping Coach Nelson from the bench, but I'd be ready to play if Pete were to be hurt.

"Ready to rock?" I asked Pete when he and I met in the parking lot.

"Locked and loaded!" Pete replied.

After we dressed and Coach gave his usual pre-game talk, we hit the ice. As I skated out, I saw two familiar faces by the glass near the 'sin bin' and skated over.

"Hi!" I said to Jerry and Mia.

"Hey!" they both exclaimed. "We had a three-day weekend, so we came to see you play!"

"I'm not starting today," I replied. "This is one of Pete's two games."

"Bummer!" Mia exclaimed. "Are you free for lunch?"

"I have lunch plans," I replied. "You guys should have called."

"We wanted to surprise you!"

"Meet me after the game, and we'll figure something out, OK?"

"Yes."

I skated away from them, thankful that Coach hadn't reprimanded me, but I was positive he'd recognized Mia and Jerry and cut me some slack. We finished our warmups, and I skated to the bench, sitting on the end in the usual spot for the backup goalie, and picked up the clipboard to track shifts and ice time.

[New York, New York]
🎤 Birgit

When we got to Central Park, we decided to check out the zoo, and as we walked towards it, I felt Marcella's hand brush mine. I still wasn't sure what I should do, if anything, with her, but holding her hand didn't seem like a problem. It wasn't like holding hands was going to attract attention in New York, and even if it did, we were younger teenagers, and nobody would think much of it. It wasn't that I cared; it was more about keeping Marcella safe, and that was the most important thing in my mind.

When I took her hand in mine, I saw Marcella smile from the corner of my eye. We continued holding hands during our walk around the zoo and chatted, mostly about school but also about friends, school, and karate. It was clear to me that Marcella was very unhappy with her life, and it made me think of the struggles Aunt Jennifer and Katy had discussed with me.

In both their cases, Dad had been there for them when nobody else was, and it seemed as if the only person Marcella had to talk to was me. That made me wonder exactly what it was she needed from me and how far I should take any physical activity. The other concern I had was to make sure I didn't do anything that would hurt her, but that was going to be challenging to figure out because I could potentially hurt her no matter what I did.

After the zoo, we walked to Belvedere Castle, then had lunch. After lunch, we decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Tomorrow, I was wondering if we could just hang out at your friend's place?" Marcella suggested as we began the tour of the museum.

"We could," I said. "I'm here to talk to you and hang out with you, so whatever you want to do is fine with me. I just need to be ready to take the car back to the airport around 2:00pm on Monday."

"OK. I'm glad you're my friend, Birgit."

What she really needed was a friend in New York City, but I didn't want to say that now and make her think I was pushing her away.

"I'm glad I met you in Vermont," I replied.

She squeezed my hand, and we began looking at the exhibits.

[Chicago, Illinois]
🎤 Jesse

We had another relatively easy game, winning 4-1, with the only goal by De La Salle coming on a late powerplay. And that had Coach Nelson incensed, and he made it clear during the post-game debrief.

"Owen," Coach said, his voice on the edge of anger, "if you take another penalty for retaliation, I'll drop you two lines!"

Owen was a winger on the second O-line, and he'd been tripped from behind, but the ref hadn't seen it because it had occurred during a rush up the ice, with the ref looking at the puck. Owen had slashed the player who tripped him just as they came into the ref's field of vision, and the ref's arm had gone up immediately. Of course, if Owen did it again, that would mean Nicholas would move up from the third O-line and get even more playing time, which would be a good thing.

We all showered and dressed, then I headed out to meet Jerry and Mia, stopping on the way to let my moms know I'd need a few minutes.

"As I said, I have a lunch date," I said. "If you don't mind me inviting her along, I think she'll be OK with making it a double."

Mia smirked, "Not the first time I've blocked you!"

I laughed, then said, "But don't make assumptions, please."

"You know, I'd never say anything to a girl I didn't know. Who is she?"

"Ebele Adeoye," I replied. "She's a Freshman."

"Softball team or Cheer Squad?" Mia asked with a smirk.

"Cheer Squad," I replied with a grin. "That's her walking over to us now."

Ebele came up to us, and I introduced Jerry and Mia and explained their surprise visit. Ebele wasn't upset, and the four of us agreed to have lunch at Ricobene's at noon. That gave me enough time to get home, put away my gear, and relax for a bit before I picked up Ebele for the drive to the restaurant.

[Greater Cincinnati, Ohio]
🎤 Steve

After the girls left, I retrieved my car and headed to the diner in Newtown, where my dad and I often met for lunch when I was in Cincinnati. He was waiting in a booth, so I let the hostess know and went to sit down across from him.

"Hi, Son."

"Hi, Dad."

"How did things go last night?"

"I'd say really well. I'll hear from Anthony next week about the receipts, but from the looks of things, he achieved the goals he set for the grand opening."

"That's good to hear," Dad said. "I assume you made the same kind of investment you did in your other business investments?"

"Yes."

"Are those caught up in the audit?"

"Only tangentially at the moment," I replied. "That said, I have the utmost confidence in the IRS to find some pretext to audit all the LLCs. They won't find anything material, of course, but that won't stop them from demanding their pound of flesh in some way. Ditto the SEC. I'll pay off the IRS if it's some ticky-tack thing, but the SEC can pound sand."

"I assume you've spoken to Samantha's attorneys on that topic?"

"Not me directly, but Liz, Jamie, and Phoebe Miller have, so I'm confident I can tell them to 'shove it' when they present me with some kind of 'agreement in lieu of prosecution'. Fundamentally, I've complied with all securities laws, and I understand how to play hardball with them from Samantha. I'm actually in better shape, as I don't have a license they can threaten."

"What about the preferred shares you issued to Samantha for financing?"

"Those all cleared SEC review when the SEC was doing inquiries into trades made on September 10th and 11th. All because idiots claimed that people were shorting airline stocks after the first plane hit. Well, the problem with that, is that the New York markets never opened for trading on the 11th. Short volumes on the 10th were normal, and except for algorithmic trades, not much happened in Paris or London on the afternoon of the 11th, at least with regard to any of Samantha's clients."

"It sounds as if they have nothing on which to hang their hats."

"They don't, but as I said, that won't stop them from trying."

"And your personal taxes?"

"Nothing so far, and you know we're scrupulous about those. Kara files as head of household with two dependents, which is what Elyse does as well. Jennifer files as head of household with one dependent. Jess and I file as married with two dependents, and given our income is substantially more than Kara's, we take the mortgage deduction. It's all handled by CPAs and tax attorneys at McCarthy/Jenkins, and audit defense is part of the fee we pay them. I'm totally not concerned."

"How are things with the family?"

"I think the best word to use is 'stable'. With seven teenagers or pre-teens, I don't think 'calm' is an appropriate description!"

"I'd say that's right," my dad said with a smile.

I filled him in on each of the kid's activities, as well as how Kara, Jessica, and Suzanne were doing. When I finished, I asked him about things at home. Not much had changed, though my brother, who was working as a researcher for a biotech firm, had a new girlfriend living with him at my parents' house, and she had a child from a previous relationship.

We finished our lunches, and when I left the restaurant, I headed to Joyce's house.

[Chicago, Illinois]
🎤 Jesse

I left the house just before 11:00am and drove to Ebele's house. In order to keep things kosher with her parents, I parked and went to the door rather than wait for her to come out. Her little brother opened the door and called for her, and a minute later, we were in the car heading for Ricobene's.

"I half expected your dad to open the door and give me the third degree," I said.

"He's out, and Mom isn't quite as conservative as Dad is. It's my grandma who's the real pain, though."

"Why?"

"She doesn't like the fact that I'm dating a white boy. She thinks I should only date Nigerian boys, and then only if they're Yoruba."

"OK, the only thing I know about that is that it's one of the ethnic groups in Nigeria and a language."

"It's one of those things which simply isn't important here. I mean, your moms wouldn't care if you married a girl who was Irish or German or French or whatever, but my grandmother is very traditional."