A Well Lived Life Book 6 Kara IChapter 44 Spring Break 1982 Part I
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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 was working on an Associate Degree in Business. She wanted to eventually be an office manager for a local company and figured a two-year degree would give her a serious leg up. She was seeing a guy named David Potts occasionally, but so far, they weren’t serious. She and Danny had more or less drifted apart Senior year once he decided he was heading to Texas A&M and had no plans to come back to Milford.
I filled her in on how things were going in my life, including school, my business, with my parents and with my sister. She asked quite a few questions about Kara and then we got on the topic of Sweden. She’d really not heard much except second or third hand, so I took her through the year quickly, but with enough detail to paint a good picture. Eventually, she broached the subject of Jeff’s arrest.
“What did your parents say?” she asked.
“Not a thing. My mom threatened to ground Stephanie for a year if she told me, and even said that if I found out, she’d blame Stephanie. If that happens, I may need you to talk to my dad and let him know that you told me. Obviously, don’t implicate Joe. I don’t want him to get in trouble because he talked to you.”
“So they’re really trying to cover it up?”
“It appears so. My dad has a pretty good lawyer, Larry Walsh. I’m sure he was on it instantly. You know my dad has quite a bit of money, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t some donations to the district attorney’s campaign fund, spread around, of course, so it can’t be traced.”
“Your dad would do that?”
“If I was him, in his position, that’s how I’d do it. But I’m not him. I’d throw a pervert and a possible child molester like that to the wolves, even if it was my own kid. It’s just not acceptable behavior in any way, shape, or form. It’s one thing to have sex with a younger girl, say fourteen; it’s a whole different thing to expose your private parts to nine- and ten-year-olds.”
“Or thirteen,” Susan replied neutrally.
“I really owe you an apology for that, Susan. I put too much pressure on you. You were right to break up with me.”
“You did. But I guess you learned your lesson in that regard?”
“I did. I am sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“I will,” she smiled. “On one condition.”
I immediately knew what was coming.
“And the condition?” I asked, doing my best to hide my discomfort.
“I’d want to do it with you. I’ve heard the rumors. I’m not steady with David. You’re not steady with Kara, at least not yet. I’m no virgin and I have no thought of us being a couple. And before you say anything, we made out a lot when we dated in seventh grade, and I even let you touch my boobs and you got your hand in my pants once.”
“Yes. And you pushed me away and broke up with me for doing that,” I said gently, not responding to her request.
“I was thirteen, Steve! I know you did it when you were fourteen, but I wasn’t ready until I was seventeen — well, really, two weeks before I turned eighteen.”
For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have sex with a girl. Usually, that was clear cut, and the decision was, should I, rather than did I want to. This was really a question of desire more than rightness or wrongness. I could, but I wondered whether this fit more into doing what I thought best without worrying about whether or not I actually wanted to do it.
I hadn’t thought of Susan in that way in more than five years. And the more I thought about it, the desire to do it back then was purely physical. Kissing her had made me hard, and I wanted to do something about it. I wondered if the rejection back then was coloring my view and decided that it probably was. If I put that aside, was Susan someone I would want to be with now, if we had no history.
The answer to that question popped into my head and it was a resounding ‘no’. I wasn’t really attracted to her. I also hadn’t made any promises to her, nor even hinted at anything like this. I didn’t believe one person could ‘owe’ another person sex, but even if I had, I didn’t feel like I owed her anything. If I did this, it would be purely casual, purely sex, and solely because she asked. In the end, it just didn’t feel right, even discounting Kara. When I took Kara into account, I was sure it wasn’t right.
I wanted to let her down easily, though. Telling her I wasn’t interested just didn’t feel right, either, if it would hurt her feelings. I wasn’t sure.
“Susan, my situation with Kara isn’t as flexible as you might think. We’re not steady, but she’s moving in with me in July and I have to consider what she’d think about something like this if she found out. She knows I’m having lunch with you and if she were to ask if we did it, I couldn’t lie to her about it. And I don’t think she’d react well.”
Susan was quiet for a moment.
“I did you a huge favor by calling you last week; can’t you do me a favor?”
She had done me a huge favor, but was it worth having sex? Was what she did THAT valuable? Unfortunately, the answer to that question was probably ‘yes’, but I hadn’t asked her for the favor. It was one thing for me to ask Don Joseph for a favor and then owe him. It was a very different thing for her to do a favor and expect a specific favor in return. When I’d asked Don Joseph, through Andreas, I’d known in advance that I could be asked to do something of equal or greater value to the Don. That was a conscious decision. With Susan, the only thing I’d done was answer the phone. She volunteered the information without asking for a quid pro quo.
“Susan, you did do me a huge favor, but I didn’t ask you to do it. If I had, I guess you might be able to claim repayment in the way you want, though the idea of ‘owing’ someone sex bothers me. I’ll owe you a favor, but it has to be one of my choosing, or at least one with which I agree.”
She considered that for a moment.
“Don’t you pretty much just do it with anyone who asks?”
“I used to, sort of. There were people who wanted to be with me, who never got to for various reasons. But that was before I started dating Kara fifteen months ago.”
That wasn’t exactly accurate, but it was close. I’d started turning girls down about that time and I’d been turning down girls that I actually WANTED to fool around with, like Krista, Tracey, and Jackie. That last name popped into my head unbidden. I realized I really did want to be with her, but I’d turned her down, nonetheless.
“Can you make an exception, please? Just for me? For old times’ sake? We did have fun in seventh grade when we were dating.”
That much was true. But as I added up how I should behave and what I should do, and considered everything, this wasn’t an offer I was interested in. If I was going to take someone else up on it, it would be Jackie, Tracey, or Donna. I’d put Anna far ahead of Susan on my list. In fact, she’d be ahead of everyone that I’d turned down in the last year. And if I really wanted variety, I’d just call Jessica, and she’d fuck me nearly to death.
“No, Susan. I’m not making exceptions. Honestly, I’m turning down girls I’ve been with before because of Kara.”
“I’d be a new one! And I think I’m fun,” she said with a smile.
My senses actually told me that wasn’t the case — that she’d be boring as hell. It would be worse than being with Kellie Linden, where it had felt like a business deal rather than mutually satisfying sex. Oh sure, I’d had orgasms, but it felt like work rather than enjoyable sex.
“I’m sure you would be, but no.” I replied, electing not to upset her by disagreeing with her assessment.
Susan frowned, “You’re a real prick, Steve. You’ve done it with half the girls in Milford. I want the real reason you won’t do it with me!”
“Kara IS the real reason, Susan. Calling me names isn’t going to help. Remember, you asked me, completely out of the blue, for something that a lot of people consider very important.”
“You don’t!” she spat.
“In the past, perhaps I didn’t. I’ve changed a lot in the last year. I’m not the same guy who had more than thirty lovers before he turned seventeen.”
“So make an exception,” she demanded.
“No, I won’t,” I said firmly. “I owe you a favor, but screwing isn’t what I owe you.”
She got up, looked daggers at me, hissed, “Bastard!” and stalked away.
I sighed. It would have been one thing if I had led her on recently, or if she’d shown any kind of interest since seventh grade. She’d been a friend, but not even a close one, quickly eclipsed by Melanie, Jennifer, Bethany, and others. I was sure I’d done the right thing, but I sure felt like crap doing it. That said, because I didn’t WANT to have sex with Susan, now, or any time in the future, I hadn’t lost anything. She’d not even really been a friend recently, or even an acquaintance. Anna and I were closer, and I hadn’t seen her in a year and a half before I saw her earlier in the year. Hell, I felt closer to Jessica than I did to Susan, and Jessica was simply a fun sex partner.
I got up and threw away the trash from both of our meals. I had about an hour before I was supposed to meet Mary, and the temperature was in the low 70s, so I took the T-tops off my Trans Am. I pulled a pair of sunglasses and a Reds cap from the glove compartment, put them on and cranked up the radio, and headed east, out of Milford, on Route 50.
The more I thought about the situation at lunch, the more annoyed I became. I realized that I had a little responsibility in that I’d been extremely promiscuous and had, indeed, pretty much screwed any cute girl who’d asked. I didn’t regret it, but it certainly had given some girls the idea that I’d have sex with them just because they wanted it. Even Kathy had fallen into that trap, but fortunately for both of us, we’d worked through that.
As I came around a bend about eight miles out of Milford, I saw a Toyota Celica at an odd angle in the grass next to the highway. It looked disabled in some way, so I slowed and pulled over. I saw the young woman next to the car and almost hit the gas to speed up and leave, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I stopped, set the parking brake, and when I got out, I received the greeting I so richly deserved.
“Get back in your car, asshole!” Dona Bingham growled. “I do not need YOUR help!”
I sighed deeply. It just was not my day. In less than a half hour, I’d been called a bastard and an asshole by two different girls. The first one was completely unwarranted. The second one, on the other hand, was completely warranted.
“Look, I may be an asshole, and I won’t debate that with you given what happened between us, but do you need help?”
“No! Just leave!.”
“Come on Dona,” I said, “don’t be foolish. If you need help, let me help you.”
She sighed, “Something broke in the transmission. It’s going to need to be towed. Can you give me a ride back into town?”
“Lock your car and I’ll take you home. You can sort everything out from there.”
She grabbed her purse, a few things from the glove compartment, a couple of cassettes, and an umbrella and tossed them in my back seat, then got into the car.
“Don’t talk to me,” she said, glaring at me. “Just start the car and drive.”
This was the proverbial woman scorned that hell had no fury like. I thought about it for a minute, then decided to try.
“Dona, look, I’m sorry about what happened. Can we at least be cordial?”
She sighed again, “I’m sorry. I guess I should be grateful. How have you been? You’re in college in Chicago, right?”
“Yes, and I’m pretty good. I’m getting all A’s and my business is doing well. How about you? You’re a Junior, right?”
“Yeah, a Junior. Things are going OK. Do you still see Larry?”
“I actually had lunch with him yesterday and saw him last Sunday at his grandfather’s house. He’s at UC and is doing pretty well. How are your parents?”
“Good,” she replied. “They still like you, even if I hate your guts.”
“Maybe I should have stopped you, but seriously, a gorgeous, sexy, naked fifteen-year-old asking to screw is kind of hard to resist! I’m just sorry we couldn’t get past that situation. I really did like you, I just couldn’t commit at that point. I’m still not ready to make any kind of commitment like you wanted to anyone.”
Though I was going to be ready once Kara graduated and moved to Chicago, which wasn’t all that far in the future. Dona was quiet for a minute, as if she was thinking about how to respond.
She sighed, “I pushed too hard, too fast, I guess. Both on the sex and on commitment. You really surprised me with how good you were. Because of how you behaved, I honestly thought you were a virgin. I found out later you had a bit of a reputation. Some of the girls said you were quite the good screw. I knew that to be true, but wondered how they knew. They just told me they heard it from one of your girlfriends.”
“Melanie or Jennifer, probably. They thought it was funny to brag about me.”
“Well, considering how good it was, you can brag, I guess. I really owe you an apology for basically dragging you into bed without considering what you thought. But look at it from my perspective. I thought you were shy and nervous and that you might actually be a virgin. If you had been, things would have been different. Two virgins are a lot different from a virgin and a guy with a ton of experience.”
“So now that we’ve both apologized, can we bury the hatchet? And I don’t mean in my back!” I chuckled.
“Sure, I guess so. I shouldn’t have carried such a grudge. I guess if you liked me that much, I should have just worked with it instead of pushing you away.”
“It’s all water under the bridge,” I replied. “I don’t carry grudges. It’s silly. I kind of did once against my friend Jennifer, but I got over it and learned a lesson from that.”
“You weren’t mad at me?” she asked as I turned onto Route 28.
“No. I was unhappy, but I was never angry. And I was unhappy because I’d failed to talk to you beforehand. You caught me by surprise and I just went with the flow instead of making sure you knew about Jennifer and Bethany.”
“Are you still seeing them?”
“No. Jennifer and I had a huge falling out and she’s actually in California. Bethany has a boyfriend. I’m seeing Kara Blanchard now.”
“The Senior who sits at your old table?”
“I guess. I haven’t been to the cafeteria to know.”
“Are you guys steady?”
That seemed to be the question of the day. The answer was ‘no, but’. And that but carried a lot of weight.
“We’re serious, but not steady. Kind of like I was with Jennifer and Bethany.”
“I see,” she said as I turned left onto Branch Hill-Guinea Pike and then quickly turned left into her driveway.
“Here you are,” I said.
“Thanks, Steve. Want to come in for a Coke? I’m sure my mom would like to see you.”
I checked my watch. I still had twenty-five minutes, and Mary was about fifteen minutes away.
“Sure. I can come in for ten minutes. I’m meeting a friend I haven’t spoken to in a while.”
I got out of the car and followed Dona into the small house.
“Well, hi, Steve!” her mom said as we walked in.
“Hi, Wilma. I found your daughter broken down by the side of the road. Well, her car was broken down, not her,” I added with a grin.
“Thanks for bringing her home. How have you been?”
“Good, thanks. I’m home from Chicago on Spring Break.”
“Sit down! Dona, get Steve a Coke,” Wilma said.
“I can’t stay long,” I said. “Maybe ten minutes.”
“Oh, well, you can take your Coke with you then. If you have time, would you come for lunch before you go back to Chicago?”
“Only if Dona is OK with it. She was pretty upset with me when we broke up.”
“She was. I tried to tell her to talk to you, but she’s stubborn.”
“I know exactly how that is,” I said. “I did the same thing myself one time.”
Dona came back with a Coke and handed it to me.
“I guess I’m OK with it,” she said carefully. “How about Friday? We have a half day?”
“Friday is perfect,” I said.
“See you Friday,” Wilma said.
“Thanks for the Coke. Good to see both of you again.”
Wilma came to the door with me and waved as I pulled away. The encounter with Dona had ended far better than it had started. If I could finish setting things right with her, I’d be pretty satisfied. Of course, on balance, I was no better because now Susan was upset with me, but frankly, she had no right to be upset. Dona did have a right, just as Annie had had a right. So had Anna, for that matter. I’d feel a lot better if nobody was upset with me, but that desire wasn’t enough for me to reconcile with Papiya, let Kellie back into my bed, or take Michelle Bateman to bed, though Michelle wasn’t really angry, just frustrated.
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December, 1981, Milford, Ohio Kathy and I made good time driving back to Milford on Saturday afternoon. We grabbed a quick lunch in Lafayette, but otherwise we drove straight through to Milford, talking quite a bit along the way. We discussed her relationship with Kurt and mine with Kara. Both of us were happy with where things were and how they were going. I let her know that Elyse and Warren were getting serious, and I let her know about Stephie as well. “Hmm. That might make it crowded...
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...
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...
August 1981, Chicago, Illinois On Sunday morning, I made my usual call to Karin. I described everything in the apartment and all the things I’d done during the week, including the reception. Both of us would start school in a week and we were both looking forward to it. When we finished talking, I went out for my run, showered, and ate breakfast. I made some tea, started a load of laundry, and then turned on the stereo. I put on an REO Speedwagon album and then relaxed on the couch with the...
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, 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...
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...
October 1982, Chicago, Illinois The drive back to Chicago was as uneventful as usual, and I arrived at the apartment just before 6:00pm. When I arrived, Elyse and Stephie were sitting on the couch and Jackie was sitting on the loveseat. Stephie hopped up as I opened the door and greeted me with a hug and a kiss. “Hi, Peaches!” I said. “Glad you’re home, Yankee!” “Hi, Steve,” Elyse and Jackie both said. “Hey,” I replied. “How was the weekend?” “Well, it was just Kurt with me, Stephie,...
April 1982, Chicago, Illinois On Wednesday, Stephie and I came straight home from class so she could help Elyse prepare dinner. They had baked a cake on Tuesday night, and I saw a couple of wrapped presents on the counter. The night before, Elyse had told me that she’d made the purchases I’d asked her to make and that she’d put the bag on the shelf in my closet. I hadn’t looked because Stephie had been there the entire time, but given the girls were busy, I went to my room and shut the...
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...
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...
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...
October, 1981, Milford, Ohio “What do you want me to do?” I asked. “Oh no, you don’t! It’s not about what I want, it’s about what you want. And you have to be sure that what you say and what you do line up with what you want. Telling Kara you’ll get engaged to her next Summer but starting a relationship with a new girl in Chicago is hardly consistent! I’d say that qualifies as ‘misbehaving’ by any reasonable standard, AND so was sleeping with Elyse.” “OK, let me rephrase that. What’s your...
July 1981, Milford, Ohio Tuesday’s lunch at Kara’s was similar to Monday’s, though Kara’s mom spent a bit more time talking to us. It became totally clear to me that she was supportive of our relationship. I didn’t think she’d do anything to clearly violate her husband’s decisions, but knowing that she was there for Kara made me feel a lot better. Kara and I exchanged a nice kiss when I left around 2:30pm for my date with Joyce. I went home and showered and dressed. I left a bit earlier...
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...
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, 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...
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...
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...
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...
October, 1981, Chicago, Illinois I was still a bit tired when I woke up Monday morning because of the lack of sleep on Saturday night. I dragged myself out of bed when the alarm rang and went out to run. I could tell I was going to be dragging all day, but because there were no exams and my homework was done, I figured I’d manage through the day and just get to bed a bit earlier tonight. In calculus we received our graded test and I was happy to see a 94, which kept my solid A. I’d made a...
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...
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...
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...
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...
March/April, 1982, Chicago, Illinois “What?!” I asked, incredulous. “How long have you and Elyse been fuckin’?” Stephie repeated. “Your pillow smells like her and I saw a small spot on the sheets. I wasn’t here since ‘fore you went to Ohio.” I sighed, “Since the first day she moved in. She basically had decided that it was eventually going to happen and so rather than spend months or years with that kind of tension, she decided to get it out of the way, so to speak. I tried to talk her...
December, 1981, Milford, Ohio On Sunday, after swimming and having breakfast with Stephanie, I called Karin, and then Stephanie and I hung out until lunch. I had let Kara know that I was going to Don Joseph’s, so I wouldn’t see her. After eating lunch, I called Stephie to see how she was doing. Things were fine at home and she was hanging out with Red and Rose, plus seeing her other friends from High School. Daryl had called her, but she wasn’t going to see him. “I miss you, Yankee. It’s...
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...
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...
October 1981, Chicago, Illinois Friday was a cool, cloudy day. It was getting late in the year and we had passed the point where the nights began to be longer than the days. I knew that it wouldn’t be too long before I’d have to find something to replace jogging, at least for the couple of months where it would be brutally cold and snowy. I had found an ice rink, but it wasn’t convenient to either home or school. I decided to ask Sensei Jim for an exercise routine that I could do indoors, in...
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...