A Well Lived Life Book 2 JenniferChapter 38 Sankta Lucia
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December, 1984, Chicago, Illinois
On Wednesday, Julia and I had breakfast together and went over our presentation one final time. Charlie’s part was straightforward and all the charts were identical to the ones I’d provided to her the previous week, though we had spruced up how they looked using the Macintosh. I printed fresh copies to use in the opaque projector. I wished there was a way to project images from my Macintosh, but if there was, I couldn’t find one in any of my computer magazines, and the small screen just wouldn’t cut it for the classroom.
Just before 10:00am Julia, Charlie, and I met outside the room to go over the presentation one last time. I reminded both of them to just relax since I had complete confidence that our presentation was worthy of an A. All we had to do was deliver it.
“I have complete confidence in both of you,” I said, by way of encouragement. “We can do this!”
We were still chatting when Scott walked down the hall with Doctor Bauer. They both said ‘hello’ and went into the classroom. We took every available second before class started to discuss a few minor points, and sat down as Scott started taking attendance.
“Mr. Adams, are there any changes to your presentation team?” Scott asked.
“No sir. I have complete confidence in Julia and Charlie, and our presentation is ready.”
“Mr. Adams, Miss Simmons, Miss Johnson, the floor is yours.
“Thank you,” I said.
I handed him a sheaf of papers for the opaque projector, and gave him a loose-leaf binder with a complete copy of the presentation that he’d use for grading us. I went to the front of the room and Julia and Charlie stood just to my right, waiting for their cues. Scott turned on the projector and displayed our cover sheet. I stepped to the side to allow it to project onto the screen and began the presentation.
I led off with a description of our project which was an inventory and shipping control system. Once I had outlined the specifications and feature requests that Scott had given us, I turned the floor over to Julia to discuss how we’d managed the project. When she finished, she turned the floor over to Charlie to demonstrate our application and describe the features.
Scott had provided an Apple IIe with a 19” TV monitor for us to do the demonstration. Charlie put in the disk, loaded up the program and flawlessly ran through the script and slides that we’d created. My faith in her ability to perform was vindicated and made me hopeful that she could be properly rehabilitated. But that would depend on her.
When Charlie finished the demonstration, I wrapped up the presentation, finishing about one minute before class ended.
“Thank you all,” Scott said. “Congratulations to the whole team for the work you’ve done. I’m going to hand out evaluations to everyone on Dave’s team. I’d like you to fill them out and turn them into me. Mr. Adams’ grade will depend partially on your review, just as your grades depend partially on his team’s review of you. Be honest. You may identify yourself with the last four digits of your student ID number rather than your name. There are no conflicts so I will know who you are but Mr. Adams will not. Doctor Bauer, do you have anything to add?”
“Just that I’m pleased with how this new course seems to have developed,” Doctor Bauer said. “All of you here have been integral in helping us improve the Computer Science curriculum at IIT. Mr. Kallas, I’ll return on Friday to see what I am sure will be a presentation of at least equal quality.”
“Thank you, Doctor Bauer,” Scott said. “Class, you’re dismissed.”
We walked out of the room and I saw Julia grab Charlie’s arm and pull her aside. Dave walked with me to The Bog, congratulating me on a successful presentation. I told him that I was sure that his team would do equally well on Friday.
“What’s up with Julia and Charlie?” he asked.
“I really can’t say right now. I’m sure Julia will explain as soon as she can, but it might be a few days.”
“Something’s not right,” he said.
“Your instincts are good, Dave, but please just let it be for now. It’s nothing that will impact you or Julia. I promise.”
“You’re a man of your word, so I trust you.”
“Thanks, Dave,” I said, relieved that he’d let me off the hook.
We shook hands and then he headed back to the fraternity house when I sat down with Kara.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“Perfect. Julia was amazing as always and Charlie did a great job. I suspect most of my team will get A’s, though there is probably one guy who’s going to fail.”
“Did you and Julia ever... ?” Kara asked casually, biting into a French fry.
“Yes, but it was quite some time ago. It was back when Dave was still dating Cindi,” I said.
“I’m curious, and of course you don’t have to answer, but who else have you been with since you came to Chicago?”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s just curiosity. Forget that I asked.”
I took a few bites of my burger before saying anything more.
“I guess I don’t think that you need to know. It’s not that I’m embarrassed or hiding anything, but you weren’t my girlfriend after you walked out on me at Christmas. I answered your direct question about Julia because I can’t lie to you and trying to hide that from you with a cute answer would have been silly.”
She sighed, “That was so foolish of me.”
“It’s in the past now, honey. Don’t worry about it. We’ve dealt with it and we’re moving on.”
She smiled, “Yes we are. I’m also curious about what you think of Sofia’s idea for January?”
“I have mixed feelings about it. I’ve been trying to find a correct balance on my own, with a bit of guidance here and there, and honestly, it’s been a very interesting exercise. I think, in the end, that I have to make the decisions and each of you has to decide what that means to you.”
“Yes, and you have some very, very interesting options!” she giggled.
“Are you really, truly comfortable with what you said to me? About simply being my lover and having kids with me with no commitments?”
“Yes,” she said. “I simply can’t see myself being with anyone else. Ever. That first kiss from you sealed it, Steve. I knew then and there that you were the only man I would ever kiss that way and the only man I would ever make love with. I wanted you to take me right then, when you kissed me. I’m sure. There will never be anyone else. As for the ring, I just don’t need it. I need you. I know that you’ll never, ever abandon me or our children. And if some pastor somewhere objects, I just don’t care.”
“On the hood of the car?” I chuckled.
“You have no idea how wet that kiss made me!”
“Are you still seeing Doctor Alborg on Thursdays?”
“I am. Why?”
“I’m just curious if you’ve talked to him about us?”
“About us and everything else, with the exception of you and your sister. And I mean everything. I’ve told him things that I never told Doctor Mercer. Things only you ever knew. It’s liberating to simply say what I want and not worry about what anyone thinks. Kent van der Meer did more damage to more lives than any person I know. I’m glad he’s selling appliances and not pastoring a church.”
“What about going to church? Have you thought more about it?”
“I may go again someday, when I find a church that answers the questions that I have. The ones you started me asking. Maybe someday we can talk about it, but I’m not ready to do that at this point. Maybe when it’s time for us to have our kids.”
“And when is that?” I asked.
“Once I graduate. I want to get my teaching certificate first, but otherwise, I think 23 or 24 is the right time to have kids and I’ll be 24 when I graduate because I started two years late.”
I saw Charlie come into The Bog. She looked at me and asked me with her eyes if it was OK to join us. I waved her over. She sat down, looking completely defeated.
“I lied to you and I’m sorry,” she said, looking down at the floor.
“And?” I asked.
She took a deep breath, and raised her face to look at me.
“I went straight to Doctor Bauer’s office and made an appointment to see him at 4:00pm today. Julia was very convincing. Will you really still speak for me?”
“If you’re truly sorry and realize that you’ve made a huge mistake and learned your lesson, never to repeat it, yes. I told Scott I wanted you to do your part of the presentation today.”
“I can’t believe you took that kind of risk!” she said. “It could have hurt the entire team!”
“But it didn’t,” I said gently.
“Steve has good instincts, Charlie,” Kara said. “He knows who is good and who isn’t. You made a dumb mistake. He’ll forgive you once. But not twice.”
“I’m so screwed, though. My parents are going to have a fit and I’m sure I’m going to have to repeat at least some classes.”
“What did you cheat in?” I asked.
“Differential equations. Nothing else. That class was a bitch and I stupidly tried to take a shortcut.”
“Then make sure that you tell Doctor Bauer that. But, and this is important, you can’t say that I encouraged you to turn yourself in. Tell them you did it because you felt guilty. I know it’s a fib, but the administration will accept that fib if you help them nail Callie Shepherd. They want her to say where she got the exam.”
“How could I have been so stupid!” she sighed.
“We all make huge mistakes in our lives. If we’re lucky, people forgive us. Kara had to forgive me a massive transgression when we were dating back in Ohio. So I know how it is to be where you are.”
“And so do I,” Kara said. “Steve had to forgive one from me almost two years ago. And mine was even bigger than his.”
“We could play that game all day, because I think mine was bigger.” I chuckled, and then turned back to Charlie. “Let’s just say that you’re forgiven. Now you need to re-earn my trust.”
“How do I do that?”
“Time. And no more transgressions. That’s what it takes,” I said. “Just out of curiosity, can you pinpoint when and where you bought the test?”
“Absolutely! I took the money out of the cash machine on campus. I keep all my receipts. I know exactly when it happened.”
I nodded and smiled, “Good. Now, go take care of this issue.”
“I will,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You did a great job today. I recommended you for an A in Scott’s class.”
She beamed.
“You’re a good guy,” Kara said to me after Charlie had walked away.
“I guess. Of course, I have no idea what Callie is going to say to the committee. She may well claim that Bart raped her and that she had sex with me because I was blackmailing her. That will become ugly fast. I’m hoping that with Bert and Charlie both testifying against Callie, plus your statement, and whatever other evidence they have, they can put Callie in a position where she can’t really lash out. But we’ll see.”
“Yeah. But the accusation could still cause trouble, couldn’t it?” Kara asked.
“I’ll worry about that when it happens. I don’t know that they’ll even make the formal accusation until after Christmas. Right now they’re just gathering evidence. I heard that Callie was called to testify this Friday. That should be interesting, now that they have serious evidence against her.”
“What’s going to happen to her?”
“That’s a good question. She sold exams, so I’d expect at least a one semester suspension if not outright expulsion. If she turns in the person or persons who actually stole the exams, she might get some leniency. In that case, I’m sure she’d receive failing grades for whatever classes she had tests for, which for her would be math. She’d also certainly be on academic and non-academic probation as well. In the end, it would be up to the disciplinary committee to decide how much to credit her for turning what amounts to State’s evidence.”
“And Charlie?”
“She’ll fail differential equations and will be on academic probation. My guess is that she won’t be expelled. She might be suspended, but now that she’s agreed to confess and give evidence against Callie, I’m going to do what I can to help prevent that.”
“You really flirted with disaster there, according to Elyse,” Kara said.
“I did, but I managed to dodge a bullet, thanks to you. I just have to be careful.”
“Yes, you do!”
We finished our lunch and Kara walked me to class. I had my usual escorts that afternoon and Kara and I rode home together. After karate, Julia and I locked ourselves in my office for three hours hashing out a business plan. A lot depended on how quickly we could establish enough business to pay ourselves. There didn’t seem to be much competition in this area, though I had seen some advertising by companies and individuals offering computer programming and support services.
“I think the most important thing we can do right away is get our class project into shape to sell,” I said. “Inventory and shipping has to be a nightmare when it’s all done by hand. Plus, I have programs that maintain membership records and what I learned writing the code for veterinarians could easily be applied to doctors’ offices.”
“That makes sense. What about consulting jobs?” she asked.
“I think that’s a matter of getting our company name out there. We send letters to law offices, doctors’ offices, construction companies, that kind of thing.”
“What about estimating software for a business like Jeremiah’s dad runs?”
“That would be perfect!” I said. “In fact, I’d offer it to Gerald Brown for free, or seriously discounted, if he acted as a reference for us, as well as provided input into development.”
We wrote down some notes and agreed that we’d get together again on Sunday morning to work some more. We debated bringing others into the discussion, but I decided I wanted to keep everything somewhat quiet at this point. Julia was itching to talk to Dave about it, but I asked her to hold off until we had everything ready and I had the funding lined up.
I was very happy with the day’s outcome, and went to bed feeling satisfied.
The last week of school before exams seemed to fly by. On Wednesday, Sofia skipped karate class and spent the evening baking «pepparkakor» and «lussekatter». She hadn’t filled me in on her plans for celebrating Sankta Lucia, but I was sure that she had it well in hand. I was right.
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August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois I walked in the near 90°F heat to Carla’s place. I was grateful that the humidity of the morning had dropped significantly; otherwise the heat would have been unbearable. By the time I walked up the steps to the apartment over the photography studio and knocked on her door, I had broken into a light sweat. Carla answered almost immediately and invited me inside her studio apartment. The air was moderately cool, and the window air conditioner was running full...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio On Tuesday morning, I kissed Kara goodbye and headed to my parents’ house for my usual morning routine with my little sister. She was happy that I could spend the morning with her and asked to take a walk, so we weren’t in the house with my mom. “Let me guess — this walk will end in the clearing,” I said with a smile. “Yes,” she said, taking my hand as we walked down Overlook towards Klondyke. As usual, we turned around and walked back, taking the path to the...
March 13, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Steve!” Ailea said when she opened the door. “Hi,” I replied, accepting the offered hug. There was no touching of lips, just of cheeks, and I wondered if I’d misread her intentions at her birthday lunch, or if, perhaps, she detected my reluctance to return the offered affection. “Lunch is ready, so go ahead and sit. I’ll bring it in from the kitchen.” I went to the low table, sat down, and a minute later, Ailea brought miso soup and sushi, our usual...
April 3, 1997, Dallas, Texas “Remember what I said about drinking too much,” I said, as I poured bourbon into three cups. We’d stopped at a liquor store, bought a bottle of Blanton’s, and then returned to the small suite I’d reserved at the Westin. Deborah’s room was down the hall, and Krissy’s was two floors below. Krissy’s comment had caught me a bit off guard, but I hadn’t reacted visibly. I didn’t know her quite well enough to know if she’d been teasing with Deborah, so I was being...
March 28, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “This day belongs to you, Kara!” I said when the three of us woke on Thursday morning. “Happy birthday!” Jessica said. “Thanks,” Kara replied happily. “I think I’d like an amazing birthday fuck from our husband, and then a nice loving shower with my wife!” Kara said. “Do we have enough time?” I asked. Jessica giggled, “I set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier!” “Then let’s not waste any of it!” I said pulling Kara to me. Kara’s squeals as I plunged...
September 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning I went to my study to make a surreptitious call to ensure that the surprise I’d planned for Kara was still going to happen, and after confirming that it was, Jesse, Matthew, Michael, and I began preparing for the Labor Day party by getting beer and soda into coolers, getting the grill ready, setting up tables and chairs in the backyard, and ensuring the liquor cabinets were stocked while my wives and daughters worked on food prep in the...
September 1, 1987, Chicago, Illinois “I heard that you have some kind of plan to help Ed,” I said to Connie. “There’s no plan,” she replied. “A witness who saw the shopkeeper alive after Ed left came forward.” That sounded convenient, and I wondered if the witness was real or someone that Anthony had put forward to solve the problem. Certainly, the videotape was real, because I couldn’t imagine how Anthony could have faked that, but the witness? Who knew? “So is he being released? Or is...
August 17, 1997, Chicago, Illinois We finished lunch and Marissa and the younger kids went to play, but Natalie sat with the adults to talk, with coffee, tea, or soft drinks. The Sarcus were very comfortable, but the Heaths were still struggling. But, vitally, they hadn’t left and hadn’t insisted Natalie leave the group. “Can you explain how you developed this attitude and approach?” Chris asked. I nodded, “It started when I was just a bit younger than Natalie. My mom was a total control...
July 1979 — Falkenberg, Sweden On Friday, when I got back from my run, Pam was in her bra and panties again. I whistled at her, she giggled, then finished dressing. I showered, and we went to breakfast and finished up our last day. Once class was done, we were pretty much free. On Saturday, we’d have several optional activities and then on Sunday we’d head back to our host families. After dinner on Friday, I took Pam’s hand and we walked towards the river. It was quiet and peaceful, and...
July 1980, Over the North Atlantic We reached cruising altitude, and I settled back to read my book. Pam raised the armrest between us, snuggled close to me and read as well. The cabin crew offered drinks, and I had my first Coke in a year! Meal service began about an hour and a half into the flight. After the cabin crew picked up the trays and offered drinks again, they passed once more, offering headsets for the movie. Trevor and Maria took them, but Pam and I didn’t, instead we turned on...
July 8, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “Is it really that surprising?” Leah asked. “I suppose not,” I replied. “I just didn’t read too much into the kiss on the cheek.” “I didn’t think it was a good idea to kiss you on the lips with all those people around, because I had no idea who they were or what they would think. You were VERY careful with our dance, so I kind of followed your lead.” Which showed very mature thinking on her part. Both of these girls were exactly the kind of students I...
November 8, 1993, Chicago, Illinois A dark fog swirled before my eyes as I tried to take stock. My head hurt, badly. I felt something on my face and realized, dimly, it was an oxygen mask. My right hand was uncomfortable and I recognized the feeling of an IV and pulse-oximeter. My left arm ached fiercely. On my chest I felt the pads and wires of an EKG. I didn’t feel anything else wrong as I continued taking inventory. I tried to open my eyes, but the fog didn’t clear. I tried to speak, but...
August, 1983, Chicago, Illinois In the morning Anala and I ran as we had the previous time, then showered together, carefully washing each other’s bodies in an intimate but non-sexual way. After our shower we went to the kitchen and I made breakfast and we sat down to eat. “Steve, may I make a suggestion?” she asked. “Sure.” “Broaden your circle of friends. Other than me, all of you are white, nominally Christian, 20-year-old Americans. And you don’t invite me to your Sunday...
June 23, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Steve,” Kimmy said over the intercom, “I have a Suzanne Aavik for you.” “Thanks,” I replied. “Put her through, please.” A few seconds later, Suzanne was on the line. “Hi!” she exclaimed when I greeted her. “I’m in Chicago for three weeks. Can I still run away and join the circus?” I chuckled, “You might want to find out what the circus is actually like before you join! If you’re free, you’re welcome to come to the house tomorrow or Sunday and meet the...
March 1979 Monday was back to the normal routine of school. Debbie Courtney, who lived across the street and had turned fourteen the last week in February, started flirting more with me on the bus each day. Debbie Vaughn, who lived just down the street, would turn fourteen on March 16th and invited me to her birthday party. And Donna Woody, who lived just down the street in the other direction, would turn fourteen on March 20th. She had made it clear what she wanted for her birthday, and in...
June 2, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “My office, please,” Sensei Jim said after class on Saturday. I followed him to his office and waited for him to bid me to sit. He did, and I sat in the usual chair across from him. “She has a real problem, you know that, right?” he asked. “I do. That’s why I insisted she start seeing a counselor.” “I run a huge risk having her here with that kind of temper and her violent acts.” I nodded, “I understand. May I ask what you intend to do?” “I really don’t...
February 21, 1991, Chicago, Illinois “Hi, Sweetheart!” I said, greeting Bethany at the door. “Uncle Steve!” Nicholas exclaimed. I took him from his mom and he hugged me tightly. “Is Jesse with his moms?” Bethany asked. “Yes. They won’t bring him back over tonight so you and Nicholas can surprise him in the morning.” “Perfect!” “How was the drive up?” “The same as usual. Just a bit of traffic in Northern Indiana. Otherwise, smooth sailing. It was driving the other direction that was a...
November 4, 2000, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” Miyu said when Kara, the girls, and I walked into the dojo on Saturday morning. “Good morning, Miyu.” “Do you have a moment, please?” I nodded and we went to the small practice room for privacy, as Sensei Jim had a family in his office. “What can I do for you?” “I need you to meet a young man,” she said. “I think you might be taking this ‘not do anything without permission’ a bit too far!” Miyu shook her head, “No, I’m not....
May 1979 The limo dropped me at home about 9:00pm. I took my stuff to my room, stripped, and hung up the tux. The rest of the things went into the hamper. I took a shower, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked down the hall into my dad’s office. I saw no reason to put this off any longer. “Stephen, you need to explain yourself!” my mom demanded. “I was in Mrs. McGrath’s, well, Mrs. Sanders’ now, wedding, as I said.” “You walked her down the aisle! You’re sixteen and not even related to...
November 3, 1990, Chicago, Illinois “I still don’t understand why you told everyone to leave Katy alone last night,” Elyse said on Saturday morning. “Because we weren’t going to talk her out of it. I could tell by the way she told us. I hoped letting her sleep on it would allow her to hear what we had to say. Obviously I was wrong.” “I was surprised that she wouldn’t talk to Jennifer at all,” Kara said. “I thought Jennifer would be the one to get her to listen to reason this morning.” I...
February, 1983, Chicago, Illinois Our first joining since the previous summer was slow and sweet, trying to express our deep love for each other through the motions of our bodies. When we finished, Karin held me tight and refused to let me move off of her. “Sleep there, please,” she whispered. I kissed her once more then adjusted my pillow so that I could rest my head next to hers. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was what Karin wanted. The feel of her firm body under mine,...
July 3, 1996, Chicago, Illinois I blinked several times and took a breath before responding. It didn’t help. The best I could do was contain my visceral reaction at her completely out-of-line request and her wrong-headed assumptions when she had NO idea what had happened in my life the previous eight months. “What makes you think you can make that request after refusing to talk to me for nearly eight months? And equally importantly, without explaining Alexi? And without giving me the first...
August 12, 1994, Chicago, Illinois “Fuck ‘em all,” I sighed. “Especially Donald Fehr. Running to Federal Court, the NLRB, and Congress? I’m really tired of the government putting its thumb so heavily on the scale.” “Well, we’re not going to resolve that problem today,” Elyse said. “Jackie and Jeremiah want to come over.” I chuckled, “Why am I not surprised? I bet you anything he had a rough sketch done ten minutes after they hung up the phone.” “They want to discuss options. Kimmy felt...