Chapter 19

I took a taxi to Presbyterian to Dr. Kournikova's office. Dr. Sharapova was with her.

Dr. Kournikova said, "It's good to see you. We need to have your tests done and examine you." She shook her head and cupped an ear. We'll go to the lab with you."

Does she mean the room is bugged?

We walked to a lab and a Dr. Sharapova drew my blood.

"We need to give you dye." Kournikova smiled.

"Black humor. We've seen you file. You had to have used it in Vietnam to survive."

I nodded. "Or you went crazy. No one else would understand."

Dr. Kournikova said, "Unfortunately, some of our work for our former employers involved d-i-e studies."

"I thought that was pathology. What did you do in Russia?"

"We worked to improve women's performance in sport. I studied and helped with physiology; she studied and worked with biochemistry."

Sharapova said, "Mostly hormones; steroids."

"You were employed by the sports' people?"

"Not exactly. We can't say who."

"KGB?"

She nodded.

"Like those shot putters?" I frowned.

Kournikova said, "You think every Russian woman looks like Khrushchev's wife or those shot putters. We have many, many very beautiful women." She took a picture from her wallet and showed me a picture of a beautiful blonde woman. Her hair was in a ponytail. She looked beautiful.

"She is beautiful."

"She was my sister. Unfortunately she died. That is when I decided to defect."

I nodded.

Sharapova said, "I decided to come with her. We've been friends since we were ten."

I asked, "You gave hormones to women athletes?"

"And other things; we learned a lot about body chemistry."

I asked, "You worked with Russian women?"

Sharapova said, "We experimented with the new things with satellite countries' women first, especially the GDR."

Kournikova said, "That's East Germany to you."

She said, "Brezhnev is not a nice person. Pretty young women athletes serve him sexually. The prettiest ones are trained by the KBG to be security guards and for special operations.

"Mostly I operated to repair injuries and to increase the blood supply to some muscles. What they wanted me to do got completely out of hand."

Sharapova said, "Sometimes my steroids caused women to favor women; others caused the women to be hyperactive sexually; and some ended all desire. Brezhnev sometimes amused himself by keeping several of these hypersexed women. Safety wasn't a concern. Some died. We were becoming like the Nazis."

Kournikova said, "Not every one in the US, wanted us to come to the here."

"The CIA?"

She nodded. "We had to change our names."

Sharapova said, "When we thought about it, we thought the names were fitting. My research is funded by an unnamed government agency. They gave us your complete file and we were encouraged to treat you."

I asked, "Am I in serious danger?"

Sharapova said, "A senator protected you. They are all afraid of him."

"Stennis"

She nodded. "No one in the military can get promoted unless he approves. You had other senators interested too, but it was Stennis, who they were concerned about.

"After they didn't think you were going to cause trouble about what happened to you in Vietnam, we were told to do what we could to help you. I don't think they see you as a threat now."

Kournikova said, "Paranoid people see everyone as a threat."

Sharapova shrugged, "Then probably no more of a threat than most people. But you need to be careful. We wanted to tell you that; but we have something else also."

She said, "I have an enzyme booster that will speed the process. It's not documented and, of course, it's not approved, even for a trial, but you are exempt from those rules."

I asked, "Why?"

"National security reason exemption."

I frowned.

She asked, "Have you noticed any side effects?"

"I'm not aware of any."

She said, "Let's see what the lab says."

We waited quietly for about five minutes, until my lab results came back.

Sharapova said, "The numbers are all good."

Kournikova said, "The dye study is good too. The grafts are doing their job. And no hot stops were detected on the thermal scans either."

"Hot spots?"

"Tumors often show as hot."

Sharapova said, "I can administer the enzyme, but it elevates the risk if there is a problem."

"But it will speed the recovery, if I'm going to recover?"

Sharapova nodded.

"What would you do?"

Sharapova said, "I'd want to know. Have you eaten anything off your diet?"

"I had one glass of wine yesterday at about five in the afternoon."

Sharapova said, "No alcohol in the blood now according to this test. It's been more than twelve hours. Anything else?"

"Nothing"

She said, "It's up to you if you want to take the enzyme booster. If you do, I'd like to keep you here four hours. If you haven't had any reactions, you could go home this afternoon."

I asked, "How much speedup do you expect, if it works?"

"Two or three times the rate initially, but it falls off quickly and it can't be repeated."

"What do I have to do?"

"Complete rest for four hours, then we will examine you and know more."

I said, "Do it."

An IV was setup. A woman came in and talked to me. After a couple of minutes, she had me in a hypnotic trance. The next thing I recall was when my doctors talked to me. I saw it was two in the afternoon.

Sharapova said, "It went well. We've changed your dosage and formulation a little. I also added another pill to your diet. We want to adjust you formulation and then you can go home."

"When do I see you next?"

Sharapova said, "Keep on the same schedule. You can skip this Monday's lab submission. When are you going back?"

"Sunday or Monday"

She said, "I'll see you at the end of February."

"Anything I should be watching for?"

Kournikova said, "Just be aware of what you body tells you."

I took a cab from Presbyterian to the apartment. I was a little surprised. Grandfather was there and Karen was gone.

Grandfather asked, "Any problems?"

"They made some adjustments in the medication. No problems."

Grandfather said, "I went to the plane with Karen. Movers unloaded Karen's things and loaded my things on the plane. We had to use two more crates, but everything went on easily. They took Karen's things to her apartment. Carolyn's with her.

He asked, "Are you going to Roselawns tomorrow for Brooke's reception?"

"I don't see any reason why not. I feel fine."

"Good, she would have been disappointed if you couldn't come. She's proud of Roselawns."

He said, "I was impressed with the plane. It looks much more comfortable than the Lauder's. I don't think I would have any problems going five hours in it. I decided I rather fly with you that way that switching back and forth."

"Of course you're welcome to come down with me. We can stop on the way if you need to."

He asked, "Could we leave after church on Sunday?"

"We should get into Fairhope before sunset. I'm familiar with the airport. I don't see a problem even if we take longer."

He asked, "Last thing; could Richard and Jan go with us?"

"I think that's a good idea. I should have thought of it. We have the seats."

"They're already packed. We can take their things in the limo Sunday, when we go out."

Carolyn came by after supper. She said, "I took Karen to eat. We talked about the dangers of the City and that she shouldn't be out alone at night. She understands. We stocked her apartment with food and talked to people about good places for her to shop. I left her at her apartment."

Grandfather left us alone.

Carolyn said, "She thinks a lot of you, but you were correct before, she needs some time to grieve Colonel. Tom, the man I wanted you to meet, is coming in on the red eye tonight. We'll see you at Brooke's reception. What are you doing tonight? You're dressed up."

"I had a long nap while I was getting treatment at the doctor's. I called and got a ticket to see Hair."

"It's a different musical. I hope you enjoy it."

Hair was more interesting and novel than good. I enjoyed getting out and the excitement of the crowd. It had turned really cold in the late afternoon.

Saturday, Richard took me in the limo to the airport. Part of the ground crew loaded all of Richard and Jan's things on the plane; and got a nice tip. We only had four overnight bags to load Sunday. I arranged for the plane to be taken out of the hanger at noon, the tanks to be topped off and an electric line run to operate the heater.

I checked the weather before I went to Roselawns. A storm was moving up the coast Sunday. I decided to go west to Harrisburg, then south along the Shenandoah Valley down the Appalachian Mountains to Chattanooga and down to Fairhope. I was really glad we had the 680 FLP model which flew well in cold weather and had a pressurized cabin. I looked forward to flying along the mountains. I knew it would be a nice view if we weren't above clouds. I hoped I didn't have to fly farther west to miss bad weather.

Richard dropped me at Roselawns. The valet parking crew and catering van were already there. A valet took my overnight bag and clothes and followed me to my old room.

After he left, Erin knocked at the door. She had on a cocktail dress and looked like a guest.

She asked, "I saw you come in. Do you need help?"

"I should be able to handle it. Thanks for asking. You look very pretty."

"Thank you. This dress was a Christmas present from Brooke."

"You do it proud."

I felt good as I put on my all white Southern Gentleman's Suit. I selected the Brooks Brothers all white tie. I adjusted the length of the braces and buttoned them in place. My shoes were ultra conservative black tie banker's shoes. I didn't wear the straw hat.

I brushed my hair, took my cane, and walked down the stairs where I saw Will. Will had on a tux.

He said, "Glad you could make it. How are you feeling?"

"Making good progress. Grandfather, Richard and Jan are flying down with me tomorrow. We are leaving after Grandfather gets out of church."

"I thought he was going commercial to Atlanta."

"He changed his mind yesterday afternoon. Everything looks nice."

Erin and I walked into the library, where from the windows, we could see down on the greenhouse. The greenhouse was much larger than the hothouse. Erin excused herself and went to check on some things. The caterer had two long expandable coat racks setup in the library.

Erin came back. "Everything is ready. I'm sorry it's so cold."

I said, "It's a good opportunity for the ladies to show off their furs."

At three women arrived. Erin stood at the door and welcomed people. Catering people offered to take their coats. In the living room, Brooke headed the receiving line, followed by Will and then me. There was plenty of room so no one had to stand in the cold if they went straight to the receiving line. We stood and greeted guest for thirty minutes, then Brooke circulated. Will stayed near the door and welcomed late arrivals. Erin circulated through the rooms and was security.

Brooke had introduced me as her Southern brother-in-law and that the house was where Will and I had grown up and had been my mother's family home. I told everyone how much we looked forward to Brooke and Will's next generation in the house and that I thought Brooke's renovations had really made the house more livable.

The women were generally Brooks' age or a little older. Only one or two hadn't been married. A few were divorced. All looked wealthy. Four or five were stunning.

After the receiving line split, I went to a window that overlooked the greenhouse. It was an easy conversation piece, since it was obviously not complete.

One of the stunning women came to me. "Brooke told me this was really your home and that you gave it to them. That was generous."

"Brooke and Will will make it a happy home with children. I'm years away from that. And besides, I really like Brooke and am delighted she's in the family."

"You were injured in the war?"

"I was in a unit with people from the Alabama National Guard. I liked them so well, when I got out, I transferred from Yale to the University of Alabama."

"I hear Southern Belles are charming."

"They certainly are, but there are charming and beautiful women here too."

"Are you here for long?"

"I'm flying my grandfather south tomorrow, but I plan to return in the spring. Do you like to fly?"

"Sometimes"

"I'm going to be staying this summer at the house on the Hamptons."

She asked, "Is this the house where Brooke stayed while this house was being renovated?"

I nodded.

I gave her my 'Chairman of St. Joe Paper card'. "I'm coming back in the spring and will be here all summer. I hope to see you."

I gave her a fountain pin. She wrote her telephone number. "Ten is the best time to reach me."

I wrote her name on the card and put it in my pocket.

A little later, a woman, who reminder me of Dorothy asked about the greenhouse. "I think it's perfect. The brick building was a summer kitchen, then a steam room. I think Brooke will enjoy sitting there on a cold winter day."

I held the woman's hand much longer than necessary. She didn't pull it back.

"Brooke didn't tell me she had such a charming brother-in-law."

"She didn't tell me she had such a gorgeous friend. It's probably a good thing; I love gorgeous women. If I weren't going down South tomorrow, I'd be trying to get you to give me you telephone number and meet me somewhere."

I squeezed her hand gently.

"It is probably a good thing. You'd get me in trouble."

"I'll be back in the spring and up at the Hamptons house this summer. May I call?"

"Oh my. I'm not sure that's a good idea."

I took my finger and moved it in her palm. Her nipples actually hardened.

"I'd really like to see you and I'm very discrete. No one would know. When's a good time to call?"

She said, "I can't do this."

I handed her a card. It was a Vice-Chairman of Jenkins and Jenkins Bank card. She walked off. In a minute she came back and gave me the card with her number on it. I wrote her name on the card.

I talked to several more women who seemed interested. I wrote their names in my appointment book.

I went to the front door to say goodbye to the women as they left.

When everyone was gone, I said to Brooke, "That seemed to go very well. Were you happy?"

She said, "I'm sorry it was so cold. I think a few more would have come."

Will said, "I'm sure the ones that did were the best of the bunch."

Brooke said, "I thought everyone liked the house and the renovations. A lot of people really liked the greenhouse."

The catering people were gone very soon after the last person left.

Will gave Erin an envelope, obviously money. "We appreciate you coming and the help."

"You didn't have to do that."

Brooke said, "Thank you. We appreciate everything you do for us."

As she left, I said, "Bye Erin. I'll see you when the stork approaches Roselawns or maybe at Spring Break."

Last year during Spring Break I lost my virginity. This afternoon I was coming onto good-looking married women. And it appears I may have been successfully. It's almost my anniversary of getting shot and Dallas getting killed; and the second anniversary of Dad's death. I really don't know what came over me this afternoon. I wanted to screw every one of those women, especially the one who looked like Dorothy. I can't believe I stroked her palm. I better get it together or I'm going to be in trouble when I see Dorothy.

From the look on Brooke's face, she not too pleased with me. I may be in trouble already.

Brooke said, "I don't know how many women asked me about you. You were a big hit."

"There were a lot of gorgeous women here this afternoon; none as gorgeous as you, but some nice ones."

She said, "It's probably a good thing you're leaving tomorrow. I'd hate to see broken marriages because of this reception."

"I think a few may be entering their seven year itch time."

"I hope not. The white suit was a big hit. Everyone will remember you."

I said, "I heard nothing but positive comments on the house."