A Well Lived Life Book 7 Kara IIChapter 41 End of the Semester
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January, 1982, Chicago, Illinois
On Monday, I woke up early to do my exercises and karate kata, then showered and made breakfast. Elyse showered while I exercised, and Stephie showered while I made breakfast.
“You two had a good time yesterday!” Elyse whispered as I put the food on the table.
“Yep!” I smirked.
Stephie came out of my room and sat down at the table. The three of us ate and then Stephie and I headed to IIT. We stopped at her dorm so she could drop her overnight bag, then walked to calculus class. We’d set up our schedules so that we would be in calculus together. I was done with chemistry, so other than electives, I wouldn’t have any classes in common with Stephie unless she decided on a Computer Science minor, which she was thinking about.
My schedule was similar to the previous semester, but I now had Thursdays completely free because I didn’t have lab. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I had calculus and assembly language programming before lunch and C programming and European history after lunch. My English class, ‘History of the English Language’, was on Tuesday morning. The best part was that I wouldn’t be using punch cards for anything. I’d have an account on the DEC VAX system and would be able to enter everything on the VT-100 terminals.
Stephie and I sat together in calculus, and Mike, the guy from Theta Xi, sat on the other side of me. I had hoped he wasn’t too upset over the party, and he seemed like he wasn’t holding it against me by the way he greeted me. He told me that Steve Krastev wanted to talk to me about working in the computer lab this semester. He said if I stopped by the house that evening after class, Steve would be there.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened the rest of the day. At lunch, Stephie and I went to The Bog and ate quickly, then went to the bookstore to buy our books for the semester. Once again, I was unhappy with the cost, though I was pleased that we were using the same Calculus textbook. The real shock was Stephie’s Chemistry book, which cost nearly $200.
At the end of the day, I walked over to the Theta Xi house on the fraternity quadrangle and met with Steve Krastev. He asked me a few questions, we talked about the lab assistant role and when he offered me the job, I took it. It paid $4.25 an hour, and he mentioned it was a stepping stone to being an actual TA, which paid $9.00 an hour. That job was usually limited to Seniors, though occasionally they hired a Junior. I told him that I’d be ready as a Sophomore and he laughed and said he didn’t believe that Doctor Bauer would ever do that, but he’d be happy to have me apply if I worked out as a lab assistant.
When we were done talking, I walked over to the dorms to see Stephie. We spent about fifteen minutes cuddling in her room before I headed home. I had wanted to make sure she was doing OK and, except for being sore and feeling a bit odd ‘back there’ as she put it, she was happy. We agreed that we’d have lunch every day, because even though I didn’t have class on Thursday I would be on campus and in the computer lab all day — in the morning for four hours as lab assistant and in the afternoon to work on projects.
At home I fixed dinner for Elyse and me, and after we ate and cleaned up, we sat on the couch with mugs of hot chocolate.
“How was your first day of classes?” I asked.
“Pretty good. Not much different from last semester, really. Micro econ instead of macro, but otherwise, pretty much the same classes, only second semester. Same for you?”
“Only calculus is the same. I have two programming classes, English, and history. Stephie and I are in calculus together. She’s probably going to spend the weekends here, and maybe one night during the week.”
“Kathy called before you arrived home. She and Kurt are planning to come this weekend. I told her it was OK.”
“Of course it is! They’ll use the sleeper sofa and Stephie and I will be in my room. You can have Warren stay if you want.”
“I’ll ask him tomorrow,” Elyse said. “I didn’t see him today. What’s up with you and Stephie?”
“The same as before, except we’re sleeping together. She was pretty clear last night that she knows this is just fooling around, nothing more.”
“Bullshit, Steve. That little girl is in love with you. She just knows she can’t have you, so she tries to hide it. I could tell by the way she looks at you. You’re going to break her heart, you know that, right?”
“How can that even be possible?” I asked. “She knows the score, Elyse. We talked about it all last semester. We even talked about it last night.”
“Stop and think for a minute. You’ve told me your history. I’m going to name some names — Becky, Jennifer, Katt, Stephie.”
Shit. Girls who thought it was just going to be sex, and it turned out that they fell in love with me. And they hid it from me in some way, at least at first. Or, in Becky’s case, took it far more seriously than it was intended, at least at the time.
“And she didn’t tell me?” I asked, exasperated. “Why?”
“For the same reason, Jennifer didn’t tell you. Or Katt. They were afraid of how you would react. I guess with Katt you were already having sex with her and she fell in love with you, but Jennifer was in love with you before you made love and didn’t tell you until after. Becky told you at first it was OK to see other girls, then wanted you for herself alone.”
I sighed, “You know, if people would just be honest and forthright, life would be a hell of a lot easier.”
“Yes, it would, but don’t count on that happening anytime soon. You’re guilty of it yourself, you know.”
I sighed again. She had me there.
“Tatyana,” I said.
“Yes. Bethany told me that you had fallen hard for her. What happened in DC?”
“What do you think happened? You know me well enough.”
“Jesus, Steve,” Elyse said, shaking her head. “You’re creating the conditions for a major blow up here — Kara, Tatyana, and Stephie. This is going to end very badly; I can feel it.”
“Slow down a second, Elyse!” I replied. “In Tatyana’s case, she knew the score, and raised the points herself. And we spoke in detail before we did anything. She’s on a very different timetable and acknowledged all the potential challenges. She knows that so many things have to happen in certain ways for us to be together. She’s even more practical and pragmatic than you are. Her father even went out of his way to point out the difficulty that we’d encounter. So in that case, I think there’s no issue.
“That said, I agree Stephie might be a concern, but I can say with complete certainty and with no reservation that I was completely honest and forthright with her. She knows Kara is coming to live with me. She even talked about being able to hang out with me and Kara when Kara moves in,” I said.
“You better hide all the knives, that’s all I’m saying. And I do have a question now about your Russian friend. You met her in Austria?”
“That’s right, skiing. We were in the same beginner’s class. She knew how to cross-country but not downhill.”
“And she’s kept in touch with you by writing letters, correct?”
“Sure. What point are you trying to make?”
“Just a moment. And you said her dad was OK with you guys being together, but warned you how difficult it would be.”
“Yes. Again, what’s your point?”
“And you say she’s a cool customer, very practical and pragmatic.”
“Yes. Come on; what are you getting at?”
“You don’t see the connection? Come on, Steve. You’re a huge James Bond fan.”
I started laughing, “Yes, yes, her name is Tatyana, but her last name is Voronin, not Romanova! And Colonel Anisimova is NOT Rosa Klebb! We even joked about that movie. Be serious! The Soviets send a girl to me in Austria? For what purpose? I was a stupid sixteen-year-old kid.”
“No, that was an accidental contact. The rest might be intentional.”
“I don’t have a ‘Lektor’, or any other damn thing they could possibly want!” I protested.
“Your computer skills, perhaps?”
“I have other skills!” I grinned. “But maybe I killed John F. Kennedy, too!”
“Oswald was a Soviet agent!” Elyse said mirthfully.
“Sure, sure. But are you serious? This is a honeypot trap? The guy is pimping his daughter? I don’t buy it.”
“Are you sure she’s his daughter?” Elyse asked with a smirk.
“OK. Now you’ve seen too many spy movies or read too many Ian Fleming novels! Come on Elyse, seriously?”
She started laughing, “I got you going pretty good! I was teasing, mostly, but it is possible.”
“Yes, and it’s possible the Moon landings were faked. And it’s possible that Pamela Sue Martin is going to come to the door in that trench coat she wore in Playboy and ask me to fuck her silly!”
“She won’t, but I will!” Elyse replied sexily. “You and Stephie can’t be exclusive!”
“No, but what about you and Warren?”
“He’s not my boyfriend just yet. I’m sure he’ll want to make it that way soon, but after listening to you and Stephie go at it for hours yesterday, Ah needs some attention from ya’, ya’ damnyankee! Kin ah’ sleep with ya’ tonight?”
I laughed hard, “OK, OK. So we were a bit loud. I warned you! You said you were going to get headphones. Or were you listening with your hand in your panties?” I asked with an arched eyebrow and a silly smile. “Or maybe you weren’t wearing any?”
“I’ll never tell!” she giggled.
“So long as you and Warren aren’t exclusive, you’re welcome in my bed if nobody else is there. Heck, even if somebody else is there, but that’s not your thing.”
“Nope. It’s not. One person at a time. I have zero interest in multiple partners at the same time.”
“I know,” I said, then remembered. “I need to call Kara and Jennifer.”
I went to my room to make the calls. I called Kara first. We talked about when I’d visit and I suggested Valentine’s Day weekend as my first visit, then Spring Break, and then one week later for her birthday.
“I like it, Steve. Valentine’s Day and my Birthday! It’s a long drive for just a weekend, and I really appreciate it!”
“I love you, Kara, and I want you to be happy. I haven’t been putting you first all the time like I should be.”
“No, you haven’t. But the fact that you realize it is a good thing. You’re learning, Steve. You’re growing. And that’s what’s important to me. The path is an odd one, but I know where it leads, and it leads where I want it to, even if there are some detours along the way.”
“Have I told you recently how amazing you are?” I asked.
“Not recently enough!” she said brightly.
We talked for a few more minutes and I told her I’d call her again soon. We expressed our love and then hung up.
I dialed Jennifer’s number in Seattle, as she wasn’t heading to Stanford until Thursday. As soon as she answered, I knew something was wrong.
“What’s wrong, Jen?” I asked.
“I talked to Jocelyn. She really laid into me about letting you brainwash me.”
“Well, if you ask me, I’d say I undid the brainwashing. What happened?”
“She broke up with me. I knew it was going to happen, but it still bugs me.”
“That’s because you cared for her. It’s no surprise. But did you really want to turn into a man-hating harpy like her?”
“No. I talked to my mom about it before I called Jocelyn and my mom agreed mostly with you. She thinks you overreacted to the whole thing with our moving here, but, on the other hand, she told me I was damned lucky you had friends who basically forced you to call me after the whole Stanford thing. She was really surprised that you forgave me for that and are working on being a close friend again.”
“And that’s how you explained it? Not your goal of marrying me?” I asked gently.
“Oh, she knows all about that. But she agrees with you on that, too. She’s told me in no uncertain terms that I blew it so badly that it’s just unlikely to ever happen, and that it would be nothing short of a miracle if it does! Remember, you made me promise to tell my mom everything.”
“I did. And I’m glad you’re sticking to that. Are you going to be OK?”
“Yes, it’ll just take some time to get over it. But with good friends, I’ll do it.”
“That’s good to hear.”
We talked for a few more minutes and she promised to call me if she needed anything at all.
I made one more call, to Kathy, to check that she and Kurt were indeed coming for the weekend and she confirmed they were. I let her know that Stephie would be here for sure and that Warren might. If so, we’d have a nice dinner on Saturday.
I rejoined Elyse, and we did some homework and then went to bed. We made love vigorously and fell asleep spooned together.
On Tuesday morning, I went to IIT early to see if Jackie might be there. She arrived, bringing two coffees with her. She handed me one and sat down.
“How was your break?” Jackie asked.
“Good. I was busy. I was in my old hometown for a couple of weeks, back here for a few days, then in DC.”
“DC? What were you doing there?”
“Attending a dinner reception at the Soviet Embassy.”
“What?! Wow! How?!”
“A girl I met in Austria years ago is the daughter of a Russian diplomat. She invited me as her escort. I did that once for her here in Chicago, too.”
“That’s so cool! I didn’t do anything that exciting on my break. I just went home to DeKalb. That’s west of here, about 60 miles. Nothing ever really happens there. I wasn’t sure you would be here because you don’t have a computer class this morning.”
“No, but I have an English class. I wasn’t sure you would be here either, but I came early, just in case.”
“I’m glad you did. I like talking to you,” she paused. “Do you think we could get together sometime? I mean, just as friends. You know, do something together?”
I wondered about that. Back in the Fall she’d told me she wanted to fool around because of the report she got from Papiya. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attractive or even interesting, but the association with Papiya just really turned me off. Having another friend would be good, but I didn’t want to start another relationship. Elyse’s warning about Stephie still rang in my ears. I’d need to address that soon.
“If it’s just as friends, yes. I’m not really interested in getting involved with anyone at this point.”
“Some days I regret having her as a friend,” Jackie said, half under her breath.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” I replied. “She’s not the only reason.”
“No, but if she hadn’t done that, and told me, I wouldn’t have said what I did to you, which messed things up.”
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May 1982, Milford, Ohio On Saturday morning after Stephanie and I swam and ate breakfast, we picked up Bethany and Ed and did our shopping for the party. We went to K-Mart on Route 28 to get some decorations, as well as paper cups and plates and plastic silverware. Next we went to Fazio’s and bought all the groceries that we’d need. Finally, we stopped at UDF and picked up two gallons of ice cream. We headed back to my parents’ house and after we unloaded the car; I went to get Kara while...
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November, 1982, Chicago, Illinois On the Tuesday following Halloween, when I got to the Sig Ep house, I invited Dave and Cindi to join Stephie, Elyse, Eduardo, and me for a dinner party on Friday. They agreed and when Julia arrived, the three of us went upstairs to work on our next project. So far, we had solid A’s on all of our projects. For the next two weeks, we’d be building a 4-bit adder circuit, which was the most complex thing we’d done so far. When we finished, Julia asked me to...
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June, 1982, Milford, Ohio “You know what? We need to eat something,” I said. “Let’s see your sister and your dad first, and then we can go out,” Kara replied, sounding very tired. We pulled into the driveway at my house and after I parked, we went inside. First, I went to find my dad and asked if he’d come talk to me and Kara privately. My mom glared at me but said nothing. It was cool and overcast, but not raining, so we went out on the deck. “Dad, I wanted to let you know that Kara and...
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August 1982, Chicago, Illinois I woke early on Sunday morning after a good night’s sleep. I was pleasantly surprised to not find Elyse in my bed. I wasn’t sure what our relationship was going to be, and I wanted to talk to her before anything happened, rather than afterwards. I went out to run, though I really would have preferred a sauna to help clear my head and organize my thoughts. When I got back, Elyse had just started a pot of coffee and I went to the shower. When I finished and...
September 1981, Chicago, Illinois, and Milford, Ohio When Elyse arrived home she found me sitting in a beanbag chair drinking some of the bourbon that I’d had Joyce get for me. The wine was stashed in my room, though I left two bottles on the kitchen counter. “Uh oh! What’s wrong?” Elyse asked. “Just thinking,” I answered. “About Bethany?” “Yeah. It’s good, but it’s sad. She’s always depended a bit too much on me and now she’s moving on. We didn’t break up, per se, but she’s going to...
October 1981, Milford, Ohio Kara and I headed to Frisch’s for lunch. Our food arrived quickly, and we started eating. “A lot has happened in the last week,” I said. “Oh?” “Bethany has a steady boyfriend in Madison.” “Really? I had hoped something like that would happen, but I wasn’t counting on it. I always thought she was going to wait until you actually married before she did something like that. So she’s really moving on?” “That’s a good question. I would say that she’s recognized...
November, 1981, Milford, Ohio Kara came out quickly when she saw me pull into the driveway. I barely had time to stop and go around to open the door for her, for which I was rewarded with a quick peck and a sultry look of promise for later. We headed to Skyline, where Kathy wanted to meet. Kathy and Kurt were already there when Kara and I walked in. I introduced Kurt and Kara to each other, then all four of us ordered, with Kathy insisting that Kurt get 5-way. We had a nice lunch and a good...
July 1982, Dawsonville, Georgia My drive south took me into Kentucky and I stopped for lunch at Wendy’s just after I passed through Lexington. As the countryside rolled past my windows, I reflected on the things that had happened recently. I hadn’t been keeping my journal as closely as I should have and resolved to spend some time alone at Stephie’s to put my thoughts on paper so I could put them in the computer when I got back to Chicago. I was a bit concerned about the situation between...
November, 1981, Milford, Ohio Stephanie was waiting for me when I pulled into the driveway and came walking out to the car. “So?” she smirked. “A wildcat, just as you predicted. She’s going to be sore for a couple of days, I suspect.” “Tell me about it! I sure was!” “You both asked for it!” I grinned. “Oh, I’d do exactly the same if I had to do it all over again. Did you get her unconscious?” “No, I did not. And I thought we weren’t talking about stuff like this!” “Special...
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...
November, 1981, Milford, Ohio On Sunday, I spent the morning with Stephanie swimming and eating breakfast, as well as making my call to Karin. I had lunch with Larry before heading over to Don Joseph’s house. The weather wasn’t good enough for bocce, so I sat with Don Joseph and his friends and talked before dinner and with Larry and Joyce after dinner. When it was time to leave, Joyce followed me outside. “Can I come spend the night with you?” Joyce asked. “Sure. I’ll see you at the...
July 1982, Chicago, Illinois On Sunday morning after breakfast, Kara packed her things, said goodbye to her mom, and followed me to my car. I drove to the Spencers’ to pick up my things, where I thanked Trudy and reminded her that I’d be back on Friday. Kara and I took my bags to the car, loaded them in the trunk, and set off for Chicago. As usual, the drive was uneventful. I had encountered neither traffic nor an accident, nor been pulled over a single time despite all the back-and-forth...
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...
October 1981, Chicago, Illinois I went to my room, closed the door and dialed my old number in Milford and Stephanie answered. “Hi, Stephanie!” “Hey, Big Bro! How’s Chicago?” “Pretty good. A lot of stuff is happening. But I have a favor to ask. Well, really, it’s a favor from Ed. I’m coming home this weekend and I was wondering if I could borrow the keys to the apartment.” “You and Kara? On Saturday? I’m sure the answer is yes. Where are you staying?” “I was going to call Mrs. Spencer...
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 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...
August/September 1981, Chicago, Illinois When Elyse and I woke up, I went for my run. When I came back, she’d showered and had changed the sheets on my bed and sprayed air freshener in the apartment. “It really smelled like us, and not in a way I want Kathy to notice!” Elyse giggled when I thanked her for cleaning up. Kathy called while I was making breakfast. She said she’d be at the 55th Street station about 9:20am according to the schedule. I told her I’d meet her there. Elyse and I...
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...
January 1982, Chicago, Illinois I awoke with a start, confused as to where I was. It quickly came back to me — Jennifer and I had fallen asleep together on the couch. She was still asleep, her head on my shoulder, her strawberry blonde hair cascading over her face and my chest, and her arm across my stomach. I was a bit stiff because I didn’t normally sleep sitting up, but there was no way I was going to move until Jennifer woke. I knew she needed the close contact and the comfort I was...
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...