A Well Lived Life Book 9 AnalaChapter 75 Callie
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July 23, 1994, Naperville, Illinois
“Steve, help me get him on the floor,” Doctor Washington, who reached us first, said. “Quickly!”
We moved Al to the floor and I loosened his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his tuxedo shirt, while Doctor Washington took his pulse.
“One of you get a bag!” he said urgently. “And call 9-1-1!”
I pulled out my cellular phone, moved back a bit, and dialed.
“Doctor Robertson ran to her car,” Gina said.
“Daddy?!” Fawn cried from Georg’s arms.
Belinda looked white as a ghost, but I didn’t think she was going to collapse. Gerry put his arm around his mom, though he didn’t look much better.
“He’s breathing and has a pulse,” Doctor Washington said to Jessica, who knelt down next to Al.
9-1-1. What is your emergency?“A 54-year-old male is having a heart attack. There are two doctors with him, but we need paramedics and an ambulance RIGHT NOW!”
Yes sir. You’re on a cellular phone. I’ll need the address please.“Tamarack Golf Club in Naperville. I don’t know the street number, but it’s on Royal Worlington Drive. We’re in the main banquet hall.”
Stay on the line while I dispatch the paramedics, please.Doctor Robertson came running back with a medical bag and Doctor Washington had the stethoscope in his ears a few seconds later while Jessica fitted the blood pressure cuff. Most of the guests had crowded around the table and I motioned to Eduardo and Bo to get them to move back. They started doing that and I listened to Malik and Jessica evaluate him, but was interrupted by the 9-1-1 operator.
Sir, the paramedics are on the way. They should be there in less than five minutes. Please have someone out front to lead them to where you are.“I will. Thank you.”
I snapped the phone shut.
“Paramedics are five minutes out,” I said. “Eduardo, Bo, get everyone back to their seats, please.” I stood up and turned, “Tom, could you go direct the paramedics in?”
“On it!” he said, and sprinted for the door.
Bethany and Kara came to stand next to me while we waited for the doctors to do their thing. Two minutes later I heard sirens, and a minute after that, Tom was bodily moving people out of the way to clear a path for his colleagues from the Naperville Fire Department. The paramedics knelt down next to the doctors and began opening equipment cases.
“I’m Doctor Malik Washington from UofC and this is my colleague Doctor Jessica Adams from Cook County. Your patient is Doctor Albert Barton, 54, Chief of Emergency Medicine at UofC. Pulse is thready at 100, respiration is shallow at 14, and BP is 160/100. Unless I miss my guess, he’s going to need a trip to the cath lab. Edward is where you should take him.”
Edward Hospital in Naperville was about ten to twelve minutes away by ambulance at speed. I couldn’t remember how I knew where it was, but I did.
“Somebody will have to take Belinda,” Tom said quietly. “They don’t allow ride-along.”
“OK.”
The doctors moved out of the way, and Jessica came to stand next to me. I put my arm around her as the paramedics attached the leads for an EKG and put an oxygen mask on Al. They repeated the exam that Malik and Jessica did, getting similar results. One of the firemen got on the radiophone to the hospital and read off the information he had. They put nitroglycerin under Al’s tongue, and quickly got him onto a gurney. They hustled him out with Doctor Washington following right behind.
“What do you want to do, Babe?” I asked.
“Are you kidding?” she asked.
“Take my keys and go,” I said, handing them to her. “I’ll help get the kids rounded up. Take Belinda and Gerry with you. Tom said they don’t allow ride-along and she’s in no condition to drive.”
“What about Fawn and Georg?”
“Let me talk to Georg and see how he wants to handle it, but I’m sure they’ll be there. Go!”
“Thanks, Tiger,” she said, kissing me and running after the firemen, Doctor Washington, Belinda, and Gerry.
I walked over to Georg who was holding a crying Fawn in his arms.
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“Obviously we don’t have a car, and Al and Belinda came by limo as well.”
“We have plenty of cars. I can have someone drive you to the hospital. I’ll take care of everything here if you want.”
“Thanks, Steve,” he said.
“Bethany?” I called out. “Could you and Tom take Fawn and Georg to Edward Hospital? It’s on Washington, between 75th Street and Ogden Avenue. I’ll take care of Nicholas.”
“I know exactly where we’re going,” Tom said. “Come with us.”
Fawn and Georg followed Tom and Bethany out of the building and I went to Kara and Michelle.
“What do you think?” I asked Kara. “Should we tell everyone to leave, or just wait?”
“I think just wait,” she said. “Maybe ask the DJ to play some soft music for now.”
I nodded and walked over to the DJ and made the request. He said he’d put on some soft instrumental music and I went back to where Kara and Michelle were with the kids.
“Do you think he’ll be OK?” Kara asked.
“From what Doctor Washington said, I’d say he’ll eventually be OK. It sounds like he has a blocked blood vessel. I don’t know enough to know if they can hear that through a stethoscope, but Doctor Washington seemed pretty certain.”
“Poor Fawn,” Michelle said. “On her wedding day!”
“Are we going to the hospital?” Kara asked.
“I think the best bet is to get the kids into the van and cars, and have you guys and Elyse head home. I’ll get Bo and Gina to take me to the hospital so I can be with Jessica, and then we can come home in my car. Is that OK?”
“Sure.”
I went to Elyse and let her know the plan, and we managed to get everyone settled in the van and cars, I kissed the kids, Kara, and Michelle, then found Bo and Gina for the drive to Edward Hospital.
“That was pretty fast thinking and good management of the situation, girlfriend.”
“Hey, bitch, I’m not just a pretty face!” I chuckled.
“Do you two EVER stop?” Bo asked, as we got into the car.
“No!” Gina and I both said.
“Steve, you seem pretty calm given what happened,” Bo said.
From the back seat of the car I said, “I suppose I could have freaked out and run around like my hair was on fire, but I don’t see how that would have helped Al. I also saw how calm Doctor Washington and my wife were. Doctor Washington thinks he has an occluded blood vessel and they can fix that pretty easily.”
“Says the guy who never went to medical school!” Gina protested.
“Tell me I’m wrong, girlfriend,” I said. “His heart didn’t stop and he didn’t stop breathing; his BP is high, but not dangerously so; his pulse is fast and thready, but again, not dangerously so; and his respiration is normal for his condition.”
“You sound like a doctor, Steve!” Bo said.
“I’m surrounded by them!” I replied. “It’s kind of hard not to pick up the basics! You could too; you sleep with one every night!”
“Yeah, but our deal is I don’t talk financial markets and she doesn’t talk medicine. It makes for a happy marriage!”
We arrived at the hospital, parked, and found our way into the ER. Tom and Bethany were there, but I didn’t see Jessica, Doctor Washington, or Belinda. I did see Fawn and Georg sitting in a pair of chairs.
“Your wife and the other doctor are in the treatment room,” Tom said, walking over to us.
“Then we’ll sit and wait.”
We sat near Georg and Fawn, who was still crying, and about twenty minutes later, Jessica came out to the waiting room.
“Doctor Washington was right. Doctor Barton is going to the cath lab.”
“How is he?” I asked.
“He came to in the ambulance and he’s cranky. I suspect he’ll be about as good a patient as you were, Tiger.”
“That should be fun for the doctors and nurses here,” I said. “What happens next?”
“They’ll do a cardiac catheterization and he’ll be out of the hospital in a couple of days. They’ll do a full workup to see if there is any permanent damage, but Doctor Washington said he didn’t see any indication of that.”
“Where’s Doctor Washington?”
“He’s going to the cath lab with Doctor Barton. The cardiology guys in Chicago are all thick as thieves.”
“And Belinda?”
“She’s in there with him.”
“What do you want to do, Babe?” I asked.
“Our adrenaline is going to wear off any second now, and I’m going to turn back into Jess,” she sighed.
“I was amazed at how calm and businesslike you were, given that it was Doctor Al.”
“We all have to do that,” Gina said. “Losing our cool would endanger patients.”
“I’m just glad you learned how to turn it off after a crisis has passed, Babe,” I said putting my arm around Jessica.
“Neither of us should drive home,” Jessica said. “Not after that kind of adrenaline rush.”
“We can drive,” Bo said. “One of us will drive your car, and one ours. We really only live around the corner from you guys.”
“We’ll stay with Georg and Fawn and wait for Belinda,” Bethany said. “And I guess Doctor Washington will need to get his car.”
“His wife is around here somewhere, too,” Jessica said.
“Why don’t we just stay in a hotel,” I said. “I’m sure there’s one close.”
“There is,” Tom said. “The Marriott is less than fifteen minutes from here.”
“Let me call home and then the hotel. Do you guys want to stay with us? I’m sure Jennifer and Josie will watch Nicholas.”
“Go,” Gina said. “We’ll help take care of Belinda, Fawn, Georg, and the Washingtons.”
“OK,” Bethany said.
I made the calls, and then the four of us headed in two cars to the Marriott. As predicted, both Jess and I crashed, and fell asleep almost immediately.
July 24, 1994, Naperville, Illinois
Tom, Bethany, Jessica, and I had breakfast at the hotel, and then my wife and I headed back to the hospital, while Tom and Bethany headed back into the city.
“You seem to be doing OK this morning,” I said.
“A good night’s sleep in your arms can make all the difference. And Doctor Barton is going to be fine.”
At the desk, Jessica flashed her ID and they gave us his room number. We walked down the hallway to the elevators and rode up to the correct floor.
“Shoe’s on the other foot now, Al,” I grinned when we walked into his room.
“He’s a bad patient, just like you are,” Doctor Washington said with a smile.
“Did you get any sleep at all, Doctor Washington?” I asked.
“I borrowed the cardiology Resident’s cot. He was busy all night, so I actually got some sleep. Doctor Swanson and her husband took my wife home. And you can call me Malik at this point, if you want.”
“So how is he?”
“I’m not dead yet,” Al groused.
“Monty Python quotes aside, Malik, how is he?” I grinned.
“He had a single occlusion and the procedure was successful. There does not appear to be any permanent damage. He’ll need a bit of rest, but he should be good as new. We’ll probably put him on some maintenance blood thinners.”
“Hmm, and I thought he had ice water in his veins,” I grinned.
“His students are going to wonder how this happened. The rumor at the medical school is that he has no heart!”
“OK; OK;” Al complained. “You’ve had your laughs.”
“So, what happened?” I asked.
“There’s nothing in his medical history that indicated any issues,” Doctor Washington said. “His cholesterol is good; his blood sugar is good; his triglycerides are good; he doesn’t smoke and hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in about 30 years; and he runs on the treadmill at least three times a week.”
“So clean living isn’t the answer?” I grinned.
“Malik, if you agree with him...” Al said menacingly.
“You know I’m kidding, Al!” I laughed. “You know my diet and exercise regimen. And ever since my Russian friends went home, I don’t drink to excess.”
“And that bit about inhaling burning weeds?”
“How are Fawn and Georg?” I asked, turning to Belinda, and ignoring Al’s question.
“They’re going on their honeymoon,” Belinda said. “I talked them into it last night after Al’s procedure. Their flight is at noon.”
“Good,” I said.
“They’re stopping here in about thirty minutes. They basically crashed so one of Al’s friends came and got them and took them to his place in Naperville. He’ll make sure they get on the plane.”
“What happened to Gerry?” I asked.
“He slept at a friend’s house. He’ll be here later, too.”
“OK. Is there anything we can do?”
“Get me out of this place!” Al said, causing everyone to laugh.
“With his relatively healthy lifestyle, what will you do?” I asked Doctor Washington.
“Now that we know he has an issue,” he replied, “we’ll monitor it, and as I said, most likely put him on blood thinners. In a sense, it’s like your situation where we watch and see.”
“Speaking of which, I had a bout of near-syncope in Japan.”
“Tiger?” Jessica asked, worriedly.
“What happened?” Doctor Washington asked.
“When I received my karate promotion, I was completely taken by surprise because it was two ranks, not one, which basically does not happen. I felt a bit dizzy, and the signs of an oncoming short circuit. But I fought it, stayed standing, and never felt the heart flutter that would signal I was going to pass out, so I knew I was going to be OK.”
“How long into your trip was that?”
“Literally at the end,” I replied. “So five weeks.”
“You had plenty of time to have your body clock adjust,” he said. “How were your diet, exercise, and sleep?”
A little light bulb went on in my head, and I had a suspicion.
“The latter two were pretty much normal,” I said. “I ran every day, and practiced karate either alone or with others for about three hours a day. My diet was Japanese. Overall, healthy, but I had rice with literally every meal from the time I boarded the plane at LAX until I walked off the return flight.”
“Which is probably about ten times your normal daily carb load,” Doctor Washington said. “Did you take your baby aspirin and Vitamin D?”
I shook my head, “I didn’t take them with me because of customs. I did have Advil, but only accidentally because it was in the pocket of my carry-on bag. With regard to Vitamin D, I was outside pretty much eight hours every day, unlike here where I’m mostly only outside early in the morning for maybe an hour when there’s barely any sun.”
“Call my office and make an appointment for a check-up. Just to be safe.”
“Will do, Doc,” I said, then turned to my wife, “What do you want to do, Jess?”
“I think we can go home,” she said.
“Al, when are they letting you out?” I asked.
“Tuesday.”
“And then he’s on leave for two weeks, per my orders,” Doctor Washington said.
“You’re a real pal, Malik,” Doctor Barton said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“And I intend to be your pal for another thirty or forty years, Al,” he said, then turned to Belinda. “Have him at my office on Wednesday for a full exam. We’ll schedule a stress test when you’re there. Enlist Steve if you need help convincing him.”
Belinda smiled, “Al will be there. I’ll make sure of it.”
We said ‘goodbye’ and Jessica and I walked out to my car for the drive back into the city.
“You stayed really calm, all things considered,” I said as I turned right onto Washington Street.
“But you know how I was on the inside. I turned on my ‘Doctor Jessica’ mode and just kept it on until we crashed at the hotel last night. Doctor Washington was confident, so I was confident.”
“I trust him with my life,” I said. “Literally. So what’s your opinion?”
She shrugged slightly, “I’m not a cardiologist, but it has to be genetic. You know his lifestyle. The only difference from yours is he eats a few more carbs and doesn’t exercise quite as much, though that’s normal given he’s twenty years older than you are. Well, and he doesn’t have your bad habits.”
“Wine, women, and tobacco?” I said with smirk.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the incident in Japan?”
“You saw how out of it I was when I arrived at O’Hare, and I just didn’t think about it until Malik commented about monitoring me.”
“Please don’t forget to report things like that,” Jessica said as I made a left turn onto 75th Street.
“We know it’s the adrenaline. I had that weak-in-the-knees feeling when I led my first class in Japan from the adrenaline. That ‘flight’ response my body has to situations like that.”
“Which is weird because you LOVE doing that stuff. There is something very, very strange about your physiology.”
“Which is the same diagnosis I received from the Mayo Clinic after $25,000 worth of tests there, not to mention the $15,000 or so from UofC. You doctors are real geniuses.”
“Tiger...” Jessica warned.
“I’m just teasing, Babe! On the plus side, our insurance paid for most of that. Before I forget, when do you need to get your applications in for Attending jobs?”
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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 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...
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...
July 1983, Milford, Ohio My drive to Ohio was filled with wild swings of emotion. After quickly driving Anala home I had set out for Milford, driving as fast as I thought I could get away with, slowing only when warned to do so by my radar detector. I’d told Nancy that I’d come straight to her house and asked her to call my dad and let him know so that Stephanie wasn’t worried. I pulled into the Blanchards’ driveway at 3:30pm, having managed to avoid any run-ins with the Indiana State Police...