A Well Lived Life Book 7 Kara IIChapter 20 The Winds of Change
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August 1982, Chicago, Illinois
I woke up to the alarm on Monday morning, kissed Stephie, and quickly slipped on my running clothes and headed out. I took a slow, easy pace and worked to clear my mind and prepare to shift my focus to my schoolwork. The Summer had been a combination of fun, emotional highs, emotional lows, and adapting to the reality that Kara wasn’t going to be with me this year. On the other hand, I had Stephie, Elyse, Kurt, and Kathy close, and Kara was less than six hours away by car. In a few weeks, I’d have a windfall of cash that would ensure I could pay for three more years of college and the apartment, even without my side income. Over all, life was good; which, if my history had taught me anything, meant something would go wrong.
When I arrived back at the apartment, I hopped into the shower, then dressed for school. I went to the kitchen and accepted a mug of tea from Stephie and started cooking breakfast. Elyse came out of her room and sat down, and I poured her a cup of tea. As soon as breakfast was ready, I put everything on the table and sat down with the girls to eat.
“Have fun last night?” Elyse said casually as she ate her eggs.
“Was I that loud?” Stephie asked impishly.
“Yes!” Elyse exclaimed.
“Sorry. I hope I didn’t keep you awake, but the Damnyankee had me so wound up I just couldn’t help it!”
“He’ll do that to you!” Elyse smirked.
“What’s your schedule like, Elyse?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“A couple of econ classes, another stats class, creative writing, and a history survey course that focuses on economy.”
“Sounds like too damn many numbers!” I joked.
“Speaking of which, there’s a program I want to get that runs on the Apple called VisiCalc. It’ll make things a LOT easier for doing my homework and testing simulations without burning through my mainframe account. I’d rather use that for SPSS — a set of stats programs one of my professors wrote. VisiCalc costs about $100, but it’ll be worth it.”
“Sure. I can get it for you from the computer store.”
“I think the university bookstore has it. I just needed to make sure you were OK with me using it on your computer.”
“Of course. Everything in the apartment is shared between us. Heck, I’ll even lend you Stephie if you want,” I smirked.
“Jerk!” Stephie giggled.
Elyse and I both laughed. We finished our breakfast and Stephie and I packed up our book bags and left for IIT.
“When do you think we’ll start getting tutoring requests?” Stephie asked.
“I figure two or three weeks — the first quiz or test, or major program that is assigned should generate the first calls. I suspect it’ll be around mid-term when it really kicks in, when people realize that they might flunk!”
“At any other school, it’d be a great way to meet girls!” Stephie said with a small laugh.
“True, but I didn’t have trouble meeting you, now did I?”
“No. And you met Jackie and her friend as well.”
“Yep,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot.
We got out of the car, kissed, and headed to our classes. We’d meet up for lunch and then go to our business class together. I headed for the Stuart Building and found my classroom. As usual, I took a seat front and center and took out my notebook and pencils. As the students filed in, I looked through the textbook and decided this was going to be an interesting class, even though it was purely theory.
The professor arrived and when he called the roll, I was not surprised that there was only one girl, by the name of Julia Simmons, in the class of thirty. A glance over my shoulder located a skinny, raven-haired girl with thick glasses. She fit right in with all the nerdy looking guys in the class.
My good feeling about the class evaporated as soon as the lecture started. The professor, a middle-age man with a neatly trimmed goatee, had a nasal, monotone voice that was only slightly less annoying than fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. So while the material appeared to be interesting, sitting in class was going to be just short of torture. That did not bode well for a class that was pure theory. When the class ended, I, and pretty much every other student, bolted for the door.
I headed for The Bog to wait for Stephie, who arrived a few minutes after I did. She gave me a quick kiss, and we went to get our food, then came back to the table. I complained about my professor but Stephie had a worse complaint — her calculus professor was Chinese and she had serious difficulty understanding anything he said. She had spoken with a couple of the other students after the class and they’d all had the same complaint.
“You’re damn good at math, you have the textbook and you can always talk to one of your Chem-E classmates a year ahead of you if you need help.”
“True. And he writes so much on the board, which helps some, but still!”
“There’s a CS prof from Eastern Europe who has a really heavy accent. I’ll have him next semester for a Management Information Systems course. And it’s a theory course, too, so it’s all lecture. I suppose it could be worse. I could’ve had a professor from Georgia!” I grinned.
“Very funny, Yankee. You didn’t seem to have no trouble at all talking to Red, Rose, or Bill! And you sure didn’t have no complaints about Emily!”
“I like you best, though, Peaches,” I said, causing her to break into a big smile.
We finished lunch and then headed for the humanities building where our Introduction to Business course was being taught. This course was a survey that covered basic stuff like corporate organization, basic accounting, business law, creating and reading balance sheets, and a host of other topics that covered pretty much every aspect of business. It had been created for non-business majors to understand how business worked. The professor was a woman who was engaging and funny, and best of all, who had a wonderful British accent.
After class, Stephie and I hung out in her dorm room with Jackie until it was time to go to our final class of the day. After a quick kiss, I walked to the Engineering building for my class in digital electronics. A quick look around the room revealed that at least half the students from my operating systems course, including the girl, were in this class as well. That didn’t surprise me because it was a pretty standard second year class. I assumed the others were in either the C or assembly language classes that I’d taken a semester early.
The professor for this class was probably the biggest nerd in the room, and he dressed to fit that image — faded jeans, unbuttoned flannel shirt over an REO Speedwagon t-shirt, and sandals with bare feet. He had a bushy beard, and to complete the picture, large, black-framed glasses. His jokes were corny, but he seemed like a pretty nice guy. When he handed out the syllabus, I noticed several projects that would require actually building circuits, and that looked like a lot of fun.
Next he handed out a parts list of things we’d need to buy, along with the addresses of several RadioShack stores where we could buy them. He also said that we could work in teams of two or three if we wanted, but that each team member had to turn in their own working unit. I looked around and saw a couple of guys I’d been in class with during Freshman year, but one of them was at best a C student. I didn’t know much about the other guy, Dave Kallas, but we were acquaintances, so after class I asked if he wanted to partner up.
“Sure,” he said. “You were pretty much a wizard in the C class. I’m game. When do you have time to work on stuff together?”
“I live off campus, down in Hyde Park. I have Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings free, and my last classes end at 4:00pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”
“Tuesday afternoons work for me,” Dave said. “I’m at Sigma Phi Epsilon over in the quad. You know where that is?”
“Yeah, more or less across from Theta Xi. I’ve been there for a party.”
“Ah, Theta Zoo! They do know how to party there, that’s for sure!”
I’d left too early to discover that, apparently. I’d have to ask Becky about it. We exchanged phone numbers and said we’d work out plans once we got the first project assigned. I went to meet Stephie at the car for the drive home and told her about the class.
“Wait, you have a guy for a partner? No way! You, Steve Adams, talked to a guy?” she smirked.
“It does happen. Pete, Josh, and Larry back home. And Kurt and I are becoming good friends.”
“Until you kill him for making your ex-lover shave her pubes!” she giggled.
“She told you?” I said.
“Yeah, when you were makin’ dinner. She’s a great girl, Steve. Why did you ever let her go?”
“It’s a long, long story. The short version is that her cheerleader friends put pressure on her to stick to jocks and we both ignored our mutual crushes in seventh and eighth grade. By the time we got together, it was more or less too late. We became occasional lovers during my Senior year, then more serious when we first moved here. But she met Kurt and that kind of opened the door for you, Peaches!”
“Well, that’s a good thing, then! But if you guys got together, why not give it a go?”
“We talked about it, actually. I suppose you could blame me, because I’m a romantic and believe in true love. If I didn’t, then for sure I could have given it a go with her. Or with Elyse, for that matter. But I think I need to truly, deeply love someone to marry them. Elyse argues that can come second. I think it has to come first.”
“Do you love me, Yankee?” she asked as I parked the car near the apartment.
I did. But answering that question was fraught with danger. I’d made the mistake of saying that too often in the past. I still said it a lot, but I was a lot more careful about who I said it to and when. How did I feel about my Georgia Peach? I loved her, I was sure of it. The question in my mind was how this would change our relationship if I said it out loud. This felt like one of those times when Joyce would warn me about being too honest. But there was no way I could lie to Stephie.
“Yes, I do,” I said, after a moment’s thought.
“You had to think about it?” she asked.
“No. I’ve known I loved you for some time. It was a matter of whether or not I should say it. I don’t want to hurt you or mislead you, Peaches.”
We got out of the car and Stephie slipped her hand into mine, and we walked into the building, up the stairs and into the apartment. We slipped off our shoes and then went down the hall to drop our books in my room. Stephie shut the door and pointed to the bay window. I went to sit down, and she sat between my legs and leaned back. I put my arms around her and she snuggled in.
“We love each other, we get along famously, and we’re almost livin’ together. Why not give it a try?” she asked.
“You know why, Stephie,” I said softly.
“Kara,” she said flatly.
“Yes. I’ve never hidden that from you, nor lied to you about it in any way.”
“That’s true. You’ve been totally honest with me. I’m wonderin’ if you’re bein’ totally honest with yourself.”
“You aren’t the first person to ask the question,” I said. “Elyse was pretty blunt with me about that before you got here. My little sister has raised that question as well. And to a lesser extent, so have some other friends. I keep coming to the same conclusion. The same one you know about.”
Stephie sighed, “Am I evil for wishin’ that you two would break up?”
“No, you aren’t evil. It’s no surprise that you would think that way.”
We were quiet for a bit and then I asked the question that kept popping into my mind.
“Do you want to keep on like we are?” I asked. “Or is it too hard for you?”
“I guess it kinda’ stinks either way. But I’d really kick myself if I broke off with you now and then something happened between you and Kara. Isn’t that more or less what she did?”
“More or less. We were steady, but she was afraid of me going off with Jennifer, so she broke up with me. Then a couple of weeks later, Jennifer called the whole thing off and Kara was pretty upset with herself.”
“I bet! I guess it’s in my best interest to stay with you, then. I love you more’n I’ve loved anyone or anything in my life. When I’m with you, it just feels right. That was true before we made love that first time in January. I hope you’re not upset with me.”
“Not at all. It’s OK for you to tell me how you feel!” I said, hugging her tight to me.
“She’s coming for Labor Day, right? A week from Friday?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“How’s that going to work?”
“Well, she’s going to stay in my room. If you want to stay over on Friday night, you could use the sofa bed. If you ask Elyse, you could probably use the air mattress in her room on Saturday. I’m not going to ask you to stay away from here. I have nothing to hide from you or from Kara.”
“I’m not sure I want to be around a lot and see you cuddle her and stuff. If it’s OK, I’ll come for the Saturday study time and supper. Kurt and Kathy will be here, right?”
“They usually are. And Jackie as well.”
“Jackie’s gonna have a car by then so we can come out on Saturday then go home that evening. Is that OK?”
“Sure, Peaches. That’s fine. Also, Bethany is probably going to visit this weekend. She’s breaking up with Gene and wants to see me and Kathy. It’s cool for you to be here, but I will have to spend some time with just her and Kathy.”
“You two were a serious item before. Is she gonna want to take up with you again?” Stephie asked.
“I’m sure that will come up, but I can’t do that to her. She’d get the wrong idea. I don’t want her to think she has some kind of chance with me.”
“Sure, but do I? Really?”
I sighed, “I think I’m going to give up on answering speculative questions like that. Let’s just take things as they come up and figure it out as they do.”
“That’s actually the best answer you could give me, Yankee!”
I heard the apartment door open and Elyse called out, “Anybody home?”
“In here, Elyse,” I called to her.
She came down the hall to the door to my room.
“What’s up?” she asked, stopping short when she saw us together.
“Yankee’s just comfortin’ me. I was kind of having an emotional moment.”
Elyse nodded, “Are you making dinner, Steve?”
“Yeah, I am. OK to get up now, Peaches?”
“Yep!” she said, her face brightening a bit.
I went out to the kitchen and started on dinner while the girls sat on the couch and talked quietly. The music was loud enough to completely cover their voices, but that didn’t bother me because I figured Stephie was telling Elyse what was going on. When dinner was ready, I called the girls to the table and we ate, then the girls cleaned up and I made tea.
“How was your first day of classes, Elyse?” I asked.
“The usual. Just get the syllabus, go over the grading system, that kind of thing. No homework. How about you?”
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May 1982, Milford, Ohio On Monday morning, I followed my usual routine for being in Milford and had lunch with Trudy Spencer after our sauna. That afternoon, Krista and Beth were coming over to talk about business. Kara would join us as well. Beth arrived about 2:30pm and Krista and Kara walked over from the school campus and arrived about 2:45pm. The three of us were very happy with how things were going. We had a total of twenty-two veterinary clients paying a monthly support fee, about a...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio “What’s the craziest thing you’ve done, Tracey?” “That one’s easy! Asking Steve to the Sadie Hawkins Day dance!” “What?!” Kara said, looking askance. “Think about it. I was a frumpy, shy girl with no self-confidence. I asked the school sex god to take me to the dance, knowing full well I’d probably end up losing my virginity, though I was worried he wouldn’t do it with me. Boy, was I wrong! Not only did he do it, but he spent the entire next day with me doing...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio Kara and I awoke, and she took a quick shower before we drove to my parents’ house so I could swim and have breakfast with Stephanie. My dad joined us for breakfast before he had to leave for work. After cleaning up the kitchen, we went to my old room to hang out with Stephanie for about an hour before heading back to the Spencers’. Nobody was home and there was a note on the fridge that said that Frank, Trudy, Pete, and Melanie were out for the day because Frank had...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio Sandy came into my room and shut the door, shaking visibly. She leaned against the door and didn’t move further into the room. “Relax, Sandy,” I said gently, trying to ease her nerves as best I could. “Are we going to do it now?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion. “No. We’re just going to talk,” I said. I could see visible relief. That confirmed to me that she was very nervous about doing this and I needed to be very cautious. “Talk about what?” “About...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio On Wednesday morning, I swam with Stephanie and we ate breakfast together. I avoided talking about Saturday or what we might do. I still had no clue what I should do, and the implications of my decision were huge. I wondered if Stephanie could handle the conversation about the deep meaning behind what she was asking, and I wondered if she understood the implications. The fact that she and Jennifer were talking meant that she and Jennifer could have discussed this...
February, 1982, Chicago, Illinois On Monday morning, while Stephie and I were driving to school, she asked what I was doing for Valentine’s Day. I let her know I was going to Ohio, but that I’d be happy to celebrate with her either on the 11th or the 16th, because I was taking the three-day weekend in Milford. “I guess that will have to do,” she sighed, “because it does make sense that you would be with Kara on Valentine’s Day.” “Are you going to be OK, Peaches?” I asked. “Do I have a...
December, 1981, Milford, Ohio As I drove to Kara’s house, I thought more about my conversation with Bethany. And the more I thought about, the more I realized that I had totally missed the signs. I had fallen in love with Kara without feeling the connection — in a sense, our kisses, and even our first lovemaking, didn’t feel different from many other girls I’d been with. But it was different. It was different because I loved her. And, eventually, we HAD felt the spark of the connection. We...
December, 1981, Milford, Ohio I pulled into the driveway at the Spencers’ and went inside. Melanie was halfway up the stairs and turned to say hello. “Want to spend some time in the sauna with me?” she asked. “Only if you promise to behave. I need to make a phone call first, and it may take a bit of time.” “I do. And I’ll wait. If you want privacy, use the extension in my room. I can read while you’re on the phone.” I nodded and walked up to her room and shut the door. It hadn’t changed...
November 1982, Milford, Ohio After dropping Elyse in Glen Este, I headed to the Spencers’ to drop off my stuff and then drove to Kara’s house. Kara hadn’t been clear about me staying every night at her house, so I didn’t want to assume. “Hi, Snuggle Bear!” she said when she opened the door. “Hi, Honey!” I said, pulling her into a hug and kissing her. “Do you need to get your stuff?” she asked. “I wasn’t sure from our last conversation which nights I could stay here, so I dropped my...
January 1982, Chicago, Illinois Bethany and Gene arrived just before 10:00am on Sunday morning. The apartment was full as both Warren and Stephie had spent the night, and Kurt and Kathy were staying the weekend. The plan was to have a big meal together around 3:00pm so that Gene and Bethany could get back to Madison before 10:00pm. Bethany was in great spirits and seemed very happy. I hadn’t had much chance to talk to her in the past few weeks because both of us were busy with school, and I...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio Joyce, Kara, and I sat quietly on the lower bench while the steam built in the sauna. I was really going to miss the easy access to a sauna when I went back to Chicago. IIT had a steam room that I could use, but they required towels and it wasn’t ever quiet. It also wasn’t co-ed. “Joyce, I didn’t see Terry at your grandfather’s house yesterday,” I said after about five minutes of silence, other than the steam hissing and our breathing. “He’s sort of upset with...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were nearly identical — swimming and breakfast with Stephanie, spending the day with Kara, finding time for a sauna, and making love in the evening. I did end up sleeping alone on Saturday night because I took Kara home so she could go to church in the morning with her mom. She would drive to my house after church to help set up for the party, which was starting at 2:00pm and might even continue after fireworks, depending on how...
February/March, 1982, Chicago, Illinois I made good time on the drive back to Chicago despite the light drizzle that I ran into just south of Gary. I walked into the apartment to find Stephie and Elyse stretched out on the couch, each one leaning on an arm and their legs alternating so they could put them out straight. “You two look comfortable,” I said, taking off my shoes and coat and dropping my bag. “Hi, Steve,” Elyse said. “Hi, Steve,” Stephie echoed. Neither of them moved to get...
November, 1981, Chicago, Illinois “How are things going?” I asked. “Amazing!” Kathy said with a huge smile. “He’s just what I needed. Last night was the first time we could sleep in the same bed. Doing that with you was always my favorite thing!” “Oh, really?” I chuckled. “Actually, yes. You holding me in your arms while we slept was the most amazing feeling. Don’t get me wrong, the orgasms were out of this world, but feeling safe, secure, and loved; it’s the best thing there is. And I...
November, 1981, Milford, Ohio We made good time, arriving at Kathy’s house about 2:00pm. She and Kurt thanked me for the ride and we agreed that I’d pick them up at noon on Sunday so we could be back in Hyde Park by 5:00pm Chicago time and they could be back at Northwestern by 6:00pm. We agreed to have lunch on Wednesday, then I said goodbye, got back in the car, and pulled out of Kathy’s driveway to head to the Spencers’ house. Melanie and Pete were there waiting for me, and I got one of...
December 1981, Chicago, Illinois I really should have guessed that what Jennifer was saying was prompted by a girlfriend who saw me as a competitor, but I had to know if it was just Jocelyn, or if it was from Jennifer’s therapist as well. “And not your therapist?” I asked. “No. The reason Doctor Clauson didn’t want me to come is because she knows how I feel about you and that you’re in a serious relationship with Kara. She’s afraid that I’ll have a serious setback, or do something stupid...
April/May 1982, Chicago, Illinois I made very good time driving back to Chicago, assisted by the radar detector, and arrived at my apartment before 6:00pm Chicago time. As usual, Stephie and Elyse were sitting on the couch when I walked in. “Well, another fantasy up in smoke!” I teased. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Yankee!” Stephie exclaimed, getting up to hug me. “Did you have a good weekend?” “I did. How about the two of you?” “Same as always, though I didn’t have a date on...
August 1981, Chicago, Illinois We ended up not getting crazy that night. We made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms. We woke up the next morning and repeated what looked like was going to be the pattern for the school year — I jogged and Elyse showered, I showered, and then we ate breakfast. “Bye, Honey! Have a good day,” she said again. I headed to IIT and after parking I walked into the Stuart Building for Computer Science 200. I’d been permitted to skip CS100 because I already...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio Tuesday started off like usual days had when I visited Milford and after Stephanie went off to school, I played some video games and practiced pool until it was time to go and meet Susan Pollard for lunch. We met at Skyline just before 1:00pm and both of us ordered Five-Way chili. We started out by catching up on our lives. It had been a really long time since we’d talked and said more than just a brief greeting. Susan was attending Clermont Community College and...
September 1981, Milford, Ohio Friday was routine until lunchtime. Afternoon classes had been canceled for both Elyse and me because of the Labor Day weekend, so I drove back to the apartment instead of having lunch on campus. Elyse and I packed our overnight bags and waited for Kathy and Bethany, who arrived as planned, and we left Chicago just before 4:00pm. It was my goal to make the trip to Milford in just under five and a half hours, which I could do if we grabbed fast food on the way...
December, 1981, Milford, Ohio On Tuesday morning, I swam and ate breakfast with my little sister and hung out with her until it was time to head out to see Anna. I was still surprised that she’d called out of the blue, and was really curious as to what it was that she wanted. Even though I hadn’t driven to her house before, I’d been there enough times to remember how to get there. I parked in the driveway, then walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Anna opened the door almost...
December, 1981, Chicago, Illinois I made good time on my drive back to Chicago, arriving just before dinner. Other than one stop for gasoline and the restroom, I had driven straight through. When I pulled up in front of the apartment, I didn’t feel like cooking, so I parked, dropped my things inside, and then walked to the Chinese restaurant and got takeout. I took it back to my apartment, retrieved two weeks’ of mail from the mailbox, then went inside. I set the food on the table and sorted...
July 1982, Milford, Ohio It was getting close to the time that both Kara and I had to leave, and Kara was still crying softly as I held her in my arms. I simply held her tight and occasionally kissed her hair and whispered that I loved her in her ear. “Kara honey, are you going to be OK to have lunch with your mom? Do you need me to call off my lunch with Anna and stay with you?” She sniffed, “No. I need to pull myself together. Mom’s expecting me and I don’t want her to worry or be...
March, 1982, Milford, Ohio At the Spencers, I quickly changed clothes, then headed to pick up Kara. Our evening followed the usual pattern for this week — dinner, lovemaking, a sauna, and then cuddling on the couch in the basement until I had to take her home. On Thursday, I swam and had breakfast with Stephanie, and after she left for school, I headed back to the Spencers’. I went to my room and wrote in my journal. I sat down in the beanbag chair to read my history text from school. I was...
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...
September/October 1981, Chicago, Illinois When we walked in, the light on the answering machine was flashing. I pressed the button to listen. It was a message from Bethany asking me to call her. I picked up the phone and dialed her dorm. They put me through to her room. “Hey, Bethany, what’s up?” “Can I come see you next weekend?” “Kathy will be here, but sure. Why?” “I just need to talk to you face-to-face.” “Is something wrong?” “No, I promise. Nothing is wrong. I just need to talk...