One Week Only Third in the One Night Only Series
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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 clan.”
“And we can continue the conversation you put on hold?”
“If you like,” I replied.
“I told you that you’d made me so curious that I’d have to show up. Well, I’m showing up! How about Sunday? My dad and I are going to the Art Museum tomorrow.”
“Sure. Let me give you the address and how to get there. Train, bus, or car?”
“Car. Dad will let me borrow his Lexus.”
I gave her directions to the dojo so she wouldn’t have trouble parking, and then the walking directions for the few blocks from there to my house. We agreed on 11:00am and said ‘goodbye’.
“Who?” Penny asked.
“A friend. Someone I met on the plane to Denver a couple of months ago.”
“You are SO bad!”
“Don’t make any assumptions, Penelope. Your assumptions about Kassidy and Iris were dead wrong. And in case you didn’t notice, they both were flirting with Dan, the new programmer Tasha hired to replace Big Jim. And I’ll point out that he’s about twenty-five.”
“OK, OK! You were right! But what about your lunch date yesterday?”
“Leigh will be coming to the Rap Sessions, most likely. And I’m glad you and Terry decided to attend. But, and I’m going to make this point quite clearly - despite sex being discussed, it was discussed as a concept not as an activity. I haven’t seen a single sign that she’s interested.”
“I think you’re slipping!” Penny declared.
I wasn’t, because I was going to spend the night with Nicole on Saturday, and I was betting there was a good chance Suzanne and I would get together at some point, if not this weekend, then sometime in the future. What was changing was just my age, and that created an impediment for more and more girls as time went on.
“Think what you want,” I replied. “But I’ve always gone through phases. This one just might be semi-permanent, at least with regard to teenagers.”
“Speaking of that, did anything change with Jesse’s friends?”
“No. Jennifer tried to talk to Heather’s mom but got exactly nowhere. Jesse and his friends are royally pissed at her. They really got on Paul’s case, as they should have, and he regrets being what Birgit would call a ‘dumb boy’, but there is no way to fix it because apparently Heather’s mom doesn’t believe in redemption. Even more concerning, I’m seeing strains of that in society as a whole - certain activities or certain beliefs are so bad that nobody can ever recover from them. It’s like how felons who get out of prison are treated - no redemption, even for non-violent offenders. If that idea pervades society, we’re in real trouble.”
“I know what forgiveness feels like, and redemption, so you know I’m on the same page. You believe firmly in second chances, and both Terry and I are very glad for that.”
“One mistake, no matter how bad, shouldn’t permanently ruin your life.”
“Lisa Glass?”
“I’d say that was way more than one mistake,” I replied. “But I’ll concede there are crimes which are heinous enough to warrant life in prison, though I don’t agree with adding ‘no possibility of parole’ because it denies redemption and metanoia.”
“Devil’s advocate - Ted Bundy or Charles Manson?”
“Well, Bundy is dead, but if he could be certified as rehabilitated, sure. The same is true for Manson. That said, both of them were unlikely candidates for release. I’m not saying everyone should be released, just that everyone should have the possibility, no matter how infinitesimally small, of demonstrating they have been rehabilitated. And there can be conditions on release, too.”
“Timothy Jefferson?”
“Yes, him too,” I sighed, “IF he showed proper remorse and rehabilitation. He hasn’t.”
“I’m guessing you don’t think Noel Spurgeon should have been sentenced to forty years?”
“No, I don’t. Some prison time based on the applicable laws? Sure. But then release him with conditions. You know, no contact with teenage girls, and so on. If he violates it, he goes back inside. And I’m sure there are other solutions, such as house arrest, and so on, which cost the state far less, and give the person a chance to show redemption.”
“You’ll never convince the public at large,” Penny said shaking her head. “They buy the lie that safety comes from locking up a huge percentage of the population and never letting them out.”
“They also buy the lie of ‘stranger danger’,” I replied. “And a whole bunch of other lies told by moralists, control freaks, and the government.”
We both shrugged and turned back to our computers. At the end of the day, I headed home where we were entertaining the Jaegers and Quinns. While I changed, I told my wives about Suzanne’s visit on Sunday.
“You seem to be locating initiates,” Kara observed.
“Two so far,” I replied. “But Suzanne has another year of school in Colorado before she moves to Chicago. We’re still at least three new members short for the Fall. And we’ve lost some of the best kids to jobs out of state.”
“Maybe advertise again?” Jessica suggested. “You know, the way you did in the past?”
“We’d have to get a sponsor on campus to be able to do that,” I said. “But we do have some students, so that might work. We’ll have to wait until August, though.”
“I think I found the right person for my fantasy,” Kara said.
“Oh?”
“Her name is Paige and she’s a friend of Mattie’s. Mattie told her about her experience and Paige is VERY interested.”
“Jess?” I asked.
“I approve, but with one condition, to which Kara agreed.”
“Reluctantly,” Kara said. “But Jess made a very good point.”
“Go on,” I said.
“Mattie has to be the one to demonstrate,” Jessica said. “Kara can’t participate in any way; just watch.”
I nodded, “I actually think that makes sense. I’ll need to meet the girl.”
“I’ll set it up. You’re OK with you and Mattie?”
“For you, yes; but you know this is a one-time thing, right?”
“I do,” Kara replied.
“And your next fantasy?” I asked.
“No others, Snuggle Bear. Just this one. I’ll make arrangements for you to meet Paige.”
I finished changing and we went downstairs. The Jaegers and Quinns arrived, and their kids and ours went next door to Penny’s house to spend the evening with Amber, Andy, and Stephen. Maria Cristina was out with friends.
“The kids are gone,” Kathy smirked. “Let the complete debauchery begin!”
“Or not,” Tom replied with a wry smile.
“Spoilsport!” Kathy teased.
“I know you better than that,” Tom said.
“Then I suppose dinner and a sauna will have to do,” she said with a theatrical sigh.
“Seventeen years of good behavior kind of gives it away,” Bethany added.
The timer on the oven sounded and Kara and I went to the kitchen and got the homemade pizzas from the oven. We carried them into the dining room and the others joined us.
“Did Pam let you know she’s going to be in town in August?”
“She did. I wasn’t in the office when she called, but Kimmy relayed the message.”
“Longing to see Dale Melrose?” Kathy asked.
Bethany laughed, “He had a serious thing for me during Freshman year. And for you, too!”
“He had a serious thing for EVERY girl,” Kathy replied with a soft laugh.
“And Pam had a serious thing for pretty much every guy during Freshman year!” Bethany said.
“While we’re on this topic,” I said. “I wanted to bring up an incident from Jesse’s party last Friday.”
I explained what had happened between Paul and Heather, and Joan’s response.
“I’m not sure what else you could have done,” Bethany said. “Were Paul and Heather a couple?”
“That’s not entirely clear,” I replied, “and the kids seem a bit more circumspect about having a boyfriend or girlfriend than we were at fourteen. And given Joan’s reaction, which feels a lot like Carol’s, I’d say the kids are reacting to their parents by either keeping it hidden or, in some cases, repressing their desires. We never had to hide it.”
“Well, not being boyfriend and girlfriend,” Kathy replied with a smirk.
“True,” Bethany agreed, “but Steve’s point is well-taken. The kids can’t have normal dating relationships the way we did because parents freak out about it.”
“How much of that do you think is because they know what they did in High School?” Tom asked.
“A lot,” Bethany replied. “If you think about it, these are parents who graduated from High School roughly the same time we did, or a bit earlier. I think Carol is 40, for example, and she would have graduated around 1978. Our parents, well, Steve’s dad being the extreme outlier, all graduated between about 1955 and 1960.”
“1954 for my mom,” I interjected. “She got married ‘late’ for those days.”
“Right, but think about their situation - they graduated before the sexual revolution, so for them, sex was a big risk for a host of reasons. Fast forward to our peers - they were in High school pretty much at the height of the sexual revolution, at least with regard to High School kids. The ‘Summer of Love’ was 1967 and it took a few years to really spread to High School from the college-age kids. Melanie’s parents are really an outlier in that way - they were WAY ahead of the curve.”
“What do you mean?” Tom asked.
“Sorry, Tommy,” Bethany said with a twinkle in her eye. “That’s what happens when you walk into the theater in the middle of the movie!”
“Melanie’s parents lived in a commune,” I said. “Melanie’s mom was fourteen when she got pregnant and her parents kicked her out, so she and Melanie’s dad went to live in one of the first communes in California. Trudy was fifteen when Melanie was born. But as Bethany said, they were WAY ahead of the curve. The thing is, they never lost their free and open attitude towards sex, and were cool with Melanie and I sleeping together.”
“‘Sleeping’,” Jessica teased. “Right!”
“ANYWAY,” Bethany continued, “With a few exceptions, I suspect most of the parents we’re dealing with had some kind of sexual experiences in High School, even if they never actually had intercourse. I know everyone here, with the exception of Jess, lost their virginity in High School, or Junior High, in a couple of cases.”
“So how did WE turn out OK?” Kathy asked.
“You’re making a BIG assumption,” I grinned.
“Jerk!” she growled, but it was mirthful. “You know what I meant!”
“I do. To be honest? I know you’ll point to me, but I have to point to Melanie’s parents, Jennifer’s parents, and Doctor Mercer. They helped shape my attitudes, and I know Doctor Mercer helped Bethany and Kara, too. She never condoned how free I was with my affection, but she never judged me and she helped me understand sex in a way I never would have without her.”
“And Steve first saw her when she was helping me with overcoming my rape. He and I were kind of dating, which prevented him from having his dream date for the turnabout dance!”
“I’m just glad they didn’t act on their mutual crush in seventh grade,” Kurt added, sounding almost relieved.
“Me, too!” Kara declared.
“Me, three!” Jessica quickly added.
“Doctor Mercer certainly didn’t approve of Steve’s methods, but in the end, that was exactly what I needed. I’ve told Tommy the whole story, and the rest of you know I consider that I was a virgin when I was with Steve the first time. And he helped me see myself in a positive light. And that’s what led to Nick, and now to Tommy, who knows I love him deeply, so he isn’t afraid of my past.”
“There was only one time I was afraid,” Kurt said.
“My twenty-second birthday?” I asked.
He nodded, “When she grew back her pubic hair just for that occasion, it made me a bit nervous. Not that I didn’t trust her and you, but...”
“Was that the one where all the girls French-kissed Bethany?” Jessica asked evilly.
“What?!” Tom and Kurt exclaimed simultaneously.
“Not all the girls, Babe,” I replied with a silly grin. “Sofia couldn’t bring herself to do it.”
“Which really surprised me,” Bethany said. “Especially given it was the one and only French kiss with a girl Elyse has ever had!”
“And I thought Stuart had a wild life in High School,” Tom said, shaking his head. “I know quite a bit about our host, but very few details like THAT!”
“I know a LOT about our host, but somebody failed to tell me about THAT!” Kurt replied.
“An impromptu birthday gift for Steve,” Kara giggled. “I bet you can imagine what Cindi wanted to give him!”
“The same thing Cindi has wanted to give him since she and Dave broke up all those years ago!” Kurt said with a laugh. “He resolutely frustrated her with his complete immunity to her most obvious asset!”
“I was never immune to her brains,” I said firmly.
“As I was saying,” Kurt grinned.
“You do realize that her take-home pay is higher than everyone else’s at NIKA, right?”
“I do! And I’ve never said she wasn’t brilliant, just that it’s not the first thing people notice!”
“And what did you notice about me?” Kathy asked.
“The same thing Steve did! The red hair and green eyes. Holy hell, were you hot! And still are!”
“Nice recovery,” Kathy said flatly. “Kara, Jessica, might I borrow your floggers?”
“Sure!” Kara agreed quickly. “But going back to our topic at hand, I have to agree that Doctor Mercer was key to all of our development, but Steve took her philosophy and ran with it, basically to a place similar to the one Frank and Trudy Spencer occupied, and he’s consistently advocated for it since High School. Our peers who had that attitude in High School lost it and many of them became prudish, fearful that their kids would do the same things they did.”
“But why?” Tom asked. “I mean I get they ARE doing that, but why?”
“They never developed a philosophical underpinning for it,” I said. “They didn’t ever sit down to think about it. For Frank and Trudy, it was a philosophy - a way of life. For someone like my mom, it was dirty and had to be hidden. For others, it’s being overly-protective. For others still, it’s religious or social pressure. And, I suspect, some amount of embarrassment in talking about sex, or the human body in general.”
“I learned about that in the sauna,” Kurt said.
“That one threw me for a loop,” Tom said. “Especially the kids. But that was social conditioning, according to my live-in therapist!”
Bethany smiled, “It is. And Steve, who’s the expert in this area, can confirm that being ashamed of being naked goes back to the root myth of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Adam and Eve partake of the ‘forbidden fruit’, realized they were naked, and were ashamed. They hid themselves from God because of that. And THAT is the basis of Western society from the second century onwards. The Romans of the Republic and early Empire, for example, generally had no issue with nudity.”
“That’s true,” I said. “And we also inherit from Augustine of Hippo, called a Saint by the Roman Catholics, the notion that sexual desire, in and of itself, is bad, and that ultimately leads to the need for the ‘Immaculate Conception’ in which God intervenes to prevent any improper sexual desire, called ‘concupiscence’, when Joachim and Anna procreate, thereby freeing Mary from Original Sin, so that she doesn’t transmit it to Jesus when she conceives ‘by the Holy Spirit’.
“As an aside, the Orthodox view on that is that it denies Jesus’ essential humanity, because he no longer has a complete human nature. For the Orthodox, what we inherit is not ‘sin’, original or otherwise, but the effects of sin, that is, mortality. Jesus, as man, was truly mortal, and as such, had the same essential human qualities as each and every other person. In that way, he could heal everything fallen about our humanity. But I digress.”
“No, it makes the point,” Bethany said. “For the West, sex becomes ‘dirty’ and ‘sinful’ except in a very narrow context. Not just to only be within marriage, but even then, only for the purposes of procreation. It creates the largely ignored Roman Catholic rules about chemical or physical birth control, and, in effect, teaches that each and every sex act MUST have the possibility of procreation, making oral sex taboo and sinful.”
“I place a lot of blame at that man’s feet, not God’s” I replied. “And honestly, listening to a guy who asked God to allow him to continue having sex with his mistress kind of disqualifies him in my book!”
“Hypocrisy is THE mortal sin in Steve’s spirituality,” Kathy said.
I chuckled, “I said that to someone yesterday. And if everyone is done with their pizza, we’ll clean up and then continue our relationship as ‘sauna brothers’.”
“Jorge’s equation of the sauna with water in Stranger in a Strange Land,” Kara said. “You miss him a lot.”
“I do,” I replied.
June 24, 2000, Chicago, Illinois
On Saturday, after breakfast with the guys, karate, and lunch with Kara and the kids, I headed to Oak Park. As before, I parked in the driveway and went to the front door and rang the bell. Natalie opened the door and let me in.
“Hi! We just got home from practice and Nicole is in the shower. I just made tea.”
She shut the door, then led me to the kitchen where she poured tea for us. I set my overnight bag on the floor, and sat down.
“I’m surprised you didn’t go up to the shower!” she said as she sat down.
“Only with an invitation,” I replied. “Anything else makes an inappropriate assumption.”
“How does that work at home?”
“In the master bedroom, there’s just an opening without a door which leads to the bathroom. The toilet has its own private area with a door, but not the rest. And given we share the bedroom and bathroom, there’s no expectation of privacy in the shower, or whatever. If Nicole invited me, then I’d go. But she’s not expecting me in the bathroom, so to me that would invade her privacy.”
“Even though she intends to have you screw her completely senseless for the next eighteen hours or so?”
“Even then. Never assume anything in that regard. Remember Russia?”
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“So, how should we do these Stone’s songs?” Phil asked at our rehearsal session. “I think we all know the music, we just need to come up with a pretty awesome arrangement; we don’t want to sound like yet another cheap cover band.” “I had some ideas, if it’s okay for me to make some suggestions,” Allison said. “Of course it is,” Phil said. “Everyone can have a say, there’s no rule that says you can’t participate in the discussion.” “Thanks, Phil, I guess being the newest here, I’m a bit...
February, 1984, Chicago, Illinois The drive back to Chicago was typical - light traffic, a stop for gas in West Lafayette, and a little over five hours of time to think. I’d made this drive many times, and knew every mile of road. At times it seemed as if I was on auto-pilot, giving my mind time to work through whatever issue it was that was foremost in my mind. This drive was no exception, and I was thinking mostly about Joyce and Kara, but also about the other girls, especially Karin, who...
May 11, 1992, Chicago, Illinois Monday was turning out to be a LONG day. After my run and talk with Gina, and my talk with Elyse, I had a full day at the office scheduled. First was our leadership meeting in the morning, and then I had status meetings with each team. At lunch I’d gone to see Siobhán and explained that I was going to break off the sexual relationship, but that I wanted to remain friends. She was disappointed, but admitted that Thursday would have been the last time, since she...
January 19, 1989, En-Route from LAX to ORD When the engines of the plane started, Jeri reached over and took my hand. She held it while we pushed away from the gate, and taxied for takeoff. Her grip tightened a bit as we hurtled down the runway, but nothing like the death grip she’d had on my arm for the flight out. The plane roared its way into the air and once we leveled out, Jeri’s grip loosened but she didn’t let go of my hand. “How are you doing?” I asked with a touch of...
September 1982, Chicago, Illinois The weekend was quiet and besides homework, I worked on the program changes for Frank, called Karin, Tatyana, and Kara, and hung out with my usual study group. Monday was refreshingly normal. On Tuesday morning, I handed Katy my completed intake form. She put it in an envelope and stuck it in her bag. She said she’d let me know soon about the interview. On Tuesday afternoon, after having lunch with Stephie, I made my rounds and then I headed over to Sigma...
March/April, 1982, Chicago, Illinois When I arrived home on Sunday night, Elyse was sitting on the couch reading a book and listening to music. I dropped my bag just inside the door and took off my shoes. “Hi, Honey!” she exclaimed. “There’s tea if you want it. No Georgia Peach?” I poured myself a mug of tea and then went to sit on the couch. “I wasn’t sure what time I’d get in tonight, so I just let her know I’d see her in the morning. She won’t stay the night until Tuesday.” “Would it...
October 1982, Chicago, Illinois The drive back to Chicago was as uneventful as usual, and I arrived at the apartment just before 6:00pm. When I arrived, Elyse and Stephie were sitting on the couch and Jackie was sitting on the loveseat. Stephie hopped up as I opened the door and greeted me with a hug and a kiss. “Hi, Peaches!” I said. “Glad you’re home, Yankee!” “Hi, Steve,” Elyse and Jackie both said. “Hey,” I replied. “How was the weekend?” “Well, it was just Kurt with me, Stephie,...
June 11, 1989, Chicago, Illinois It was just after 3:00am when I kissed Trish goodbye. She’d been an enthusiastic, energetic, and adventurous lover. We’d done just about anything either of us could think of, though her breasts weren’t large enough for a tit-fuck. The last time had been in the shower where we’d ostensibly gone to clean up afterwards, but instead I ended up taking her from behind as she leaned against the wall of the shower. “I think I’ll have you again, Steve Adams,” she...
May 1978 The first couple of weeks in May were busy with school, work, and friends. Except for Becky, I didn’t even have any dates. But I was OK with that. Well, almost OK. I wanted to see Anna, but it likely wasn’t going to happen until school was out. I had tutoring sessions with Melanie, but she still wouldn’t talk to me about anything other than Spanish. Barely a hello. I was grateful for the tutoring, but it was maddening seeing my friend this way. I hoped someday she could understand...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio As I drove along I-65, I thought about what Stephanie had asked for and what Bethany had said without even knowing about the request. Of course, because Bethany and I were so in tune, she might have actually had an idea that I was struggling with getting involved with my sister again. I kept turning it over and over in my mind and I kept coming to the same conclusion — that I shouldn’t do it. I was torn between doing what Stephanie wanted and doing what Kara and...
September 7, 1992, Chicago, Illinois “That went reasonably well,” Michelle said when her parents drove off. “There were a few times I thought my expression would give away something I shouldn’t. You were messing with me, weren’t you?” She grabbed both my hands and smiled, “I was telling the truth, in my own way. Thank you!” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “So, what’s left?” I asked. “To visit UofC tomorrow and formally withdraw from classes. To spend some time with you and your...
October 1981, Chicago, Illinois I arrived back at the apartment just before 10:00pm and saw the address for the party. I decided I wasn’t particularly interested in going so I put on some music, poured myself a glass of wine, and started reading more about Russia. I was alternating between the history and culture book and the Communist Party book, decided on the history and culture book for this time. I didn’t get much reading done because I was thinking about Tatyana, which led me to...
January 23, 1996, Chicago, Illinois “Father, bless!” I said, greeting Father Basil with upturned palms. “Bless you, Stephen,” he said as I kissed his hand. The waiter showed us to a quiet table along the wall of Roditys in Greektown. He took our drink orders and was back quickly. We placed our food orders right away and he left to put them in with the kitchen. “I’m not quite sure how to address this, so I’m just going to ask you bluntly. Are you the father of Michelle’s baby?” I shook my...
June 29, 1995, Chicago, Illinois On Thursday, I finally had lunch with Melissa again, something I hadn’t been looking forward to. Much like with Cèlia, Melissa and I had passed an inflection point and I was left with sub-optimal paths forward. I’d been struggling with the possible solutions, and all of them had pitfalls. When I walked into Takumi, I had something of a plan. Whether it was good or not would only be known once everything played out. “I spoke to my wives,” I said after we’d...
December 5, 2000, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota “I had a good time last night,” I said. “I was surprised you invited a friend!” Mary laughed as we walked into the exam room, “Naomi had a good time as well. You know what a Resident’s life is like.” I nodded, “No social life.” “Exactly. You guys seemed to hit it off pretty well.” “Yes, but I’m not here for that!” “You’re everywhere for that, and you know it!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s just say that you hit the sweet spot -...
March 1980, Hovås/Göteborg, Sweden I woke early as usual, but just enjoyed being in bed with Katt. When she woke, she hopped out of bed and pulled a robe out of her closet and handed it to me. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. Go have your shower, then we’ll have breakfast after I have my shower.” I quickly showered and brushed my teeth, and went back to Katt’s room. She went to shower and came back a few minutes later. She dressed, and I got a very good look at her sexy body...
April 5, 1997, Chicago, Illinois “You missed cuddles this morning!” Birgit said accusingly when I walked into the house about 9:30am. “I know, Pumpkin, but I had a work emergency and had to go see Aunt Joyce and Grandpa A.” “And now we have to get ready for karate!” “I know. We’ll have some family time this afternoon. I don’t have any plans.” “Good!” I hugged her and the rest of the kids, then went to find Kara. We hugged and kissed, and went straight upstairs to get ready for...
September 3, 1989, Chicago, Illinois “Good morning, Sensei,” I said, bowing to Sensei Jim. “Good morning!” he said waving me to a chair in his office. “How was your trip?” I asked. “Enlightening. I spent most of my time acting as a manservant to Sensei Robert and Sensei Hiro.” “He who will lead, must first serve,” I said. “Someday, I’m going to send you to Sensei Hiro, should he live long enough. You understand.” “Does that mean you are now 6th Dan?” I...
October 29, 2000, Chicago, Illinois Birgit followed me as far as the stairs, then scooted upstairs when I went to the front door and opened it. “Hi!” Sophie said. “Hi!” I replied and held the door open so she could come into the house. I closed the door behind her then led her to my study where I waited until she went in, and then walked in, closing the door behind me. I nodded to one of the wingback chairs, she sat down in one, and I sat down in the other. “Is something wrong?” she...
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 1982, Chicago, Illinois and Washington, DC Sunday evening, after dinner, I excused myself and called Joyce. I knew she’d have good advice for me, knowing the full situation. “Shit,” Joyce said, “That is really bad. Some of those guys don’t care about age. In fact, they want the teenagers because they attract clients and they can actually charge more. Grandfather absolutely forbids his guys from using girls who are under eighteen. One time he found out about a girl who was only...
January, 1985, Chicago, Illinois When we arrived in Chicago, I drove Kathy to her apartment, and then headed home. I greeted the girls and went to my office to print out the paper that I’d written at Bethany’s. I wrote a bit in my journal, and then headed down to the basement for a sauna. It was the weekend, but with all our friends gone, and only my housemates around, I decided on the weekday rules and turned the sign the correct way to reflect that decision. I had been in the sauna for...
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...