A Well-Lived Life 3 - Book 1 - SuzanneChapter 65: Hoodies free porn video
November 5, 2000, Chicago, Illinois
“How DO you manage to get yourself into those situations?” Kara teased when I told her what Mia had said.
“I didn’t DO anything,” I protested. “Mia made the joke about adoption and Nicole made the comment about being a mistress being empowering!”
“Nicole sounds like Suzanne, but with a three-year headstart!”
“Suzanne just didn’t meet me until she was seventeen, unlike Nicole who met me when she was eleven.”
“So?”
“I didn’t say anything except ‘goodbye’. Honestly, this is one of those things we talked about - friends of the kids who aren’t ‘cousins’. Rachel is kind of a gray area there, but Mia is decidedly not.”
“Not going to ask your son if you can fuck his friend?”
“No!”
“I do have to ask about Nicole.”
“There are occasional exceptions to every rule, and you know what happened there - I waived the rules because her silence in Russia allowed me to be with Natalie, which helped me become «lagom». And to be honest, my balance is a bit off again.”
“Too many girls?”
“The fact that you said that right away tells me that the answer to that is yes. I let things get out of control again.”
“Break it down, Snuggle Bear. Which one, in and of itself, was wrong?”
“I suppose I can only really point to Harmony or Cheryl, and those weren’t wrong, per se. But the number went from zero for eighteen months to eleven in ten months.”
“OK, but there were reasons why you limited yourself to Liz and Maria Cristina. And there were historical reasons why you agreed to be with Rachel, Misty, and Nicole. And you certainly can’t be thinking you shouldn’t have been with Suzanne.”
“I guess I’m not expressing myself correctly - my concern is that somehow I’ve gotten out of balance.”
“I think Ivy and Mia show that you haven’t. And you weren’t thinking this way until you messed up your blood chemistry in Buenos Aires.”
I sighed, “That really is the key. It made me wary, because I know what can happen.”
“I also think the change with Liz had a much bigger impact on your psyche than you’re letting on.”
I took a deep breath and let it out, “Probably.”
“Add in Maria Cristina changing your relationship, and I think everything makes sense. Shall we go get Jess? We have to leave for the wake almost immediately after we get back.”
There was no family dinner, one of the rare times we’d canceled, because everyone was going to the wake to support Lieutenant Nicholson’s family, the firefighters, and most importantly for me, Tom, Bethany, Nicholas, and Bobby. Nicholas was taking it pretty hard, but Stephie had spent lots of time with him and that had seemed to help.
The wake was traditional with a Roman Catholic priest leading the memorial prayer service. The casket was closed, thankfully, and we paid our respects to Lieutenant Nicholson’s wife and kids. I had a quiet word with Tom and then both Jessica and I wrote checks for the college fund and handed them to him.
We went home, had a quiet smaller family pizza dinner, then spent time together until everyone had to go to bed.
November 6, 2000, Chicago, Illinois
“Ready to go, Penny?” I asked just before 9:00am on Monday morning when the TV coverage of the honorary parade for Lieutenant Nicholson finished.
“Not really, but I guess I don’t have a choice. I positively HATE funerals.”
“How many have you been to?”
“A couple, but it’s the idea, you know?”
“Yes.”
Cindi, Terry, Penny, and I left the conference room where we’d been watching and headed out to my car for the drive to Holy Name Cathedral. We were fortunate, as admission to the church was strictly limited because of the number of firefighters who would be in attendance, but Tom had made sure we would have seats. After parking in a nearby garage, we walked into the church where Bethany was waiting to make sure we could get in. We took seats in the very back of the church and waited for the Funeral Mass, which would be celebrated by Francis Cardinal George.
The Funeral Mass made me think of the others I’d attended - Stephie’s, Don Joseph’s, and fatefully, Jim McGrath’s. And it made me think of the one I missed - Jorge’s. The uniforms reminded me of Nick Evans’ funeral, and I knew the firefighters from Lieutenant Nicholson’s company would perform a very similar service for him to the one the sailors had performed for Nick.
When the service finished, we exited the church and went to stand about two blocks away along the route they’d take to get to Saint Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, not too far south of Midway Airport. The streets were quickly lined with firefighters, police, and civilians, and we watched as the engine from Tom’s company led the procession away from the church as hundreds of uniformed firefighters and police saluted.
When the cortege had passed, we retrieved my car from the parking garage and made our way to the cemetery. Following the interment, we had a late lunch, then headed back to the office. Penny, Terry, and Cindi left in Terry’s car to go to the meal that had been planned, and I went back to my office.
“Do you need anything?” Kimmy asked when I walked in.
I shook my head, “No. I’m OK. Penny will be out for the rest of the day as we discussed.”
“Let me know if you do.”
“Of course.”
I sat down and turned on my computer and brought up my email. I quickly dealt with the few items then brought up AIM.
Bonita84: You there?
NIKASteve: Sorry. I had a funeral to go to this morning.
Bonita84: Oh! Sorry! Someone close?
NIKASteve: A Chicago firefighter. I have friends in the department.
Bonita84: So sad! How are you?
NIKASteve: OK. How are you?”
Bonita84: Good! I had a chat with Doctora Alejandra! She’s wonderful! Thank you!
NIKASteve: Glad I could help!
Bonita84: I need to find a place which administers the ACT. Doctora A said there are places in Buenos Aires.
NIKASteve: OK. How is everything else?
Bonita84: School is the same. My sister is very jealous I found such a good lover!
Gert
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