Chapter 8 — New Year's and a New Year

_December 31, 2002, New Year's Eve, Chicago, Illinois_

🎤 Jesse {br}

{psc} "Can I ask you a question, Jesse?" Larisa inquired as we walked next door.

"Of course. What?"

"Are you going to kiss me at midnight?"

"If you want me to, yes, I will."

"I do! Dad said I may have one chaste kiss!"

"Far be it from me to do _anything_ that would upset your dad, the general!"

"I think you should be more worried about upsetting me, Jesse Stepanovich!"

"So, it's true what they say about Russian women?"

"My father fears no man, but fears one woman!" she smirked.

I laughed, "I can see that!"

"And you'll dance with me?"

"Yes, of course. I hope it's OK to dance with my other friends, too."

"Yes, of course! We are not a couple. You will know for certain when that would not be appropriate!"

I chuckled, "I hear and obey!"

"As it should be!" she declared mirthfully as we walked into Amber's house.

————— {br}
🎤 Michael {br}

"On January 5th my dad has an entire box at the United Center," I said to Andi as we rode in the car with her mom and dad towards the Hancock Center where the company her dad worked for had booked the entire 95th floor restaurant for a party. "Did you and your dad want to join us?"

"Yes!" Andi declared. "Who are they playing?"

"The Dead Things," I replied.

Mr. Peterson laughed, "I'll have to remember that when I speak to someone from our office in Detroit!"

"I heard it from my dad," I said.

"I assume Eduardo will be there?" Mr. Peterson asked.

"Yes, and my mom, too. I never asked, but what company do you work for?"

"I'm a criminal defense attorney. I'm a founding partner of Grimes, Peterson, Davis, and Hoffman."

"My dad's friend, Melanie Spencer, is a criminal defense attorney," I said. "Do you know her?"

"Yes. We've collaborated with her firm on several cases."

"Dad?" Andi said.

"Yes?"

"Would it be OK for Mike and I to dance and for Mike to kiss me at midnight?"

"Maybe you want to ask ME if it's OK first!" I exclaimed before her dad could answer.

Mr. and Mrs. Peterson both laughed and Andi made a face at me.

"He has a point," Mrs. Peterson said. "What do you think, Joel?"

"I think I'm not ready for my teenage daughter to start dating, that's what I think!"

"And all the time they've spent together over the past three years?" she asked.

"You're not helping your case, Jan!" Mr. Peterson said. "But I'll leave it to you."

"Andi," Mrs. Peterson said, "if, and I mean _if_ Mike agrees, a single kiss at midnight is OK."

"Thanks, Mom!"

Andi reached over and squeezed my hand. I thought about jumping out of the car, but we were on the Ronald Reagan Tollway doing at least 70MPH, so that wasn't going to work. Andi and I would have to talk.

————— {br}
🎤 Steve {br}

"Mr. Adams?" a man about my age said, coming up to me. "Bob Hansen, Senior."

"Hi, Bob; please call me Steve."

We shook hands.

"Thanks for inviting us. This is my wife, Marilyn."

"Nice to meet you," I said to her.

"And you," she replied.

"Do you have a moment now to discuss the trip my son asked me about?"

"Of course. Let's go to my study."

We walked there, and I shut the door, then asked, "What did you want to know?"

"Your version, so I can compare it to the one he and Birgit proposed."

I chuckled, "With my daughter involved, a wise course of action."

"I think that makes two of us," he replied with a grin. "Let's just say Bob is very good at telling the truth but conveying zero actual information!"

Which was actually the opposite of Birgit, who was the epitome of 'Too Much Information'!

"We're flying down to Saint Martin in a private jet owned by a friend of mine, and we're staying at a house she owns on the French side of the island. Kara and I are taking Birgit, three of her female friends, and a family friend and her boyfriend. Birgit invited Bob with our permission. There are five regular bedrooms, and both the den and rec room have sleeper sofas.

"The plan is for the girls to double-up in the rooms with two full-size beds, Kara and I will have a room, the family friend and her boyfriend will have a bedroom, and Bob will have one. My wife spoke to the girls' parents, and we agreed they'd be supervised directly at all times, though they'll be allowed to go to the beach that's just across the road from the house if they want, but they won't be permitted to stray from there without either Kara or I tagging along."

"That jibes with what Bob said. He said there's no cost?"

"I'm covering the fuel for the plane, as well as the food at the house. Bob should bring spending money."

"Whose plane is it?"

"It belongs to Spurgeon Capital," I replied. "Samantha Spurgeon, who runs the firm, is a close family friend."

"I think that's all OK, though I have to say I sure didn't have an opportunity like that when I was fifteen!"

I chuckled, "Me, either, though I did go to Sweden for a year as an exchange student. I hate to cut this short, but I have things to do for the party. Enjoy yourselves!"

"Thanks."

————— {br}
🎤 Birgit {br}

"My dad is talking to your dad," Bob said when he came into Amber's house. "I suspect it'll be cool."

"Awesome! You told him what we agreed, right?"

"Do I look dumb?" he asked.

"Well…" I teased.

"Yeah, yeah! I want to ask a question about protocol tonight."

"What about it?"

"What happens at midnight?"

"An orgy, of course!" I giggled.

"I see kids under fourteen, so I know _that_ isn't true!" Bob declared.

"We'll have sparkling grape juice and kiss. Is Meghan going to be here?"

"Yes. Her parents were skeptical, but my parents said we'd be closely supervised."

"If you consider Uncle Terry checking on us once an hour 'close supervision'!" I declared. "But seriously, we don't do anything that's out of control. We have an agreement that nobody sneaks into bedrooms or anything like that because the last thing we want is to not be allowed to have our own party."

"How many kids are here?"

"About fifty-five, I think. Le's go to the basement! Kjell is waiting there."

We walked to the door and down the stairs to join the party.

————— {br}
[Oswego, Illinois] {br}
🎤 Matthew {br}

"We're talking about starting a weekly _D&D_ game," Ryan said. "Would your ball and chain object to us playing on a Saturday?"

"You won't be playing _anything_ if she hears you call her that!" I chuckled. "I think she'll be OK with it. What did you have in mind?"

"A campaign with 3.5 rules, using _Forgotten Realms_. You, me, Arby, Matt W, Nick, and Tara."

"Tara? Seriously?"

"Seriously. She plays."

"Who would DM?"

"We were hoping you would. We all agree you'd come up with the best campaign."

"I'd need a little time to work up at least a starting region," I said. "So maybe start in two weeks? Actually, make it three, because Chelsea and I are going to Ohio the weekend of MLK Day."

"Great! Can we play at your house?"

"I'm sure it'll be OK, but I'll clear it with my mom."

"Excellent!"

He and I grabbed drinks from the mini-fridge, then rejoined the others.

————— {br}
[Chicago, Illinois] {br}
🎤 Steve {br}

The party, as always, was a smashing success, with people spread throughout the house playing pool, pachinko, or poker, listening to music and talking or dancing. As was usually the case, my daughters came for daddy daughter dances, and surprisingly, Birgit behaved. In a change from years past, other than Kristin, none of the cousins came to dance with me. That didn't surprise me, really, and even Kristin hadn't danced too close, though she did remind me of our date in May.

I danced with Tabitha, though I was careful not to disrespect her boyfriend, John. Isabella and Emma, on the other hand, both plastered their lithe bodies against mine, though the highlight of the evening was my dance with Kathy, accompanied by Kara's dance with Kurt, though they were not nearly as close together as Kathy and I were.

"You guys weren't nearly as outrageous as you have been in the past," Jessica observed when I finished my dance with Kathy.

"Maybe we're mellowing in our dotage," I chuckled.

"As if, Tiger!" Jessica exclaimed. "You are not old!"

"In all seriousness, she and I discussed it, and because there are a number of relatively new faces here, we felt it better to tone it down a notch."

"It was still hot!" Kara declared. "It's so obvious you two _still_ want to fuck each other!"

"'Want to', 'should', and 'doing it' are three very different things!"

"Is there room on your dance card?" Sarah York asked, coming up to us.

"Of course! Is Myles OK with that?"

"He'll be fine so long as we're clothed!" she declared with a smirk.

I took her hand and led her to the dance floor, where we danced close, but not suggestively. When we finished our dance, she went back to Myles, and I turned to walk back to my wives when a pretty girl with long black hair came up to me.

"Hi!" she exclaimed. "I'm Amelia, but I go by Amy!"

"Hi! I'm Steve, but I suspect you know that. You have me at a disadvantage."

"I work at Starbucks, and I'm friends with Danielle, Tabitha, Hope, and Kailey. Will you dance with me?"

I saw Kara smirking and wondered if she knew something, or it was just her usual reaction to a young woman asking for a dance.

"Sure," I said.

I took her hand and led her to a clear spot on the dance floor just as _Shook Me All Night Long_ was ending. I had no idea what the next song was on the shuffle mix that was playing via an iPod connected to the stereo, which allowed a hundred songs to play without changing discs or vinyl records. When the song started, I saw Kara and Jessica both laugh and roll their eyes as Rod Stewart began singing the first line of a very suggestive song…_'Stay away from my window…'_

Amy stepped close, and we put our arms loosely around each other.

"Are you a student?" I asked.

"No. I work full time. I had a scholarship to Cincinnati Music Academy, but my dad lost his job after 9-11, so I went to work part time, to help make ends meet, then began working full time when I graduated last June. Hopefully, I can go next August, a year late."

"What instrument?"

"Sax. My parents are both really into jazz, and I've been listening since I was a baby, both live and recorded. When I was eight, I found my dad's old saxophone just sitting in the corner of the living room, and I picked it up. I really love the rich and soulful tones of the sax, to I started trying to play, but only when my parents weren't around. Right after my tenth birthday, I messed up and my dad heard me trying to play. He took me to a music professor friend of his for lessons, and I discovered I had a real talent. Fast forward five years and I was playing at some local jazz clubs, as well as concert band at Maria."

"I love the saxophone," I said. "It's absolutely my favorite instrument, and I like jazz. Mind if I ask what your dad does for a living?"

"He was a convention planner and the firm he worked for went out of business about three months after the attack. He had a tough time finding a job, so my mom, my brother, and I all got jobs to make ends meet. Dad finally found a job with Jones Lang LaSalle, and starts on Tuesday."

"That's good."

"Interesting song," she said.

I chuckled, "Yeah, not exactly a first dance song."

She smiled and scooted a bit closer, and put her lips close to my ear.

"Sometimes," she whispered, "you have to say 'I want to fuck'!"

————— {br}
🎤 Jesse {br}

"You can hold me closer, Jesse," Larisa said. "I promise I don't bite!"

I almost said 'too bad', but decided that wasn't the best idea.

"I'm not worried about you biting," I replied with a smile. "I'm worried about your dad barking!"

Larisa laughed, "Dad is a big teddy bear!"

"More like a Russian bear! Do you think the West Germans thought he was a teddy bear?"

"He no longer commands a tank army! He teaches military history and political science!"

"Which changes nothing!" I declared.

"Oh, be quiet and dance with me!" Larisa demanded.

She squeezed her arms a bit and pressed her body against mine. There was really nothing I could do but tighten my arms and enjoy the feel of her firm body against mine. When the song ended, we went to get something to drink, then returned to the basement.

Larisa was pretty, and she was sweet, but she was also only fourteen, and her family was much more conservative than mine. Dad was always very polite and very proper around Tanya and Dmitry, and Larisa was very much like her mom, both in looks and in personality.

"Jesse," Luna said, interrupting my thoughts, "let's dance!"

I agreed, and we joined others on the dance floor.

"How old is she?" Luna asked.

"Fourteen," I replied.

"So, do you prefer blondes with blue eyes or girls with black hair and brown eyes?" Luna asked.

"Yes," I chuckled.

"Redheads with green eyes?"

"I don't have a type the way my dad does!"

"What's his type?"

I smirked, "Athletes with small boobs!"

Luna laughed, "Be serious! Your Aunt Kara looks like a supermodel with boobs I'd die to have!"

"And then you wouldn't be catcher for the softball team!"

————— {br}
🎤 Steve {br}

One of the four girls had talked, and my money was on Danielle, though it could easily have been Hope or Tabitha. It was possible it was Kailey, but I didn't think that was likely. Amy certainly fit the new rule, assuming I accepted Jessica's suggestion to set the limit at eighteen, which was reasonable, given my only objection to girls between eighteen and twenty-one was the absolute age difference.

In the end, it was really up to the girls, not me, to decide if I was 'too old', just as I had concluded it was up to a girl if she wanted to have sex, and I no longer gave them the 'third degree' about it, though 'mindfucks' were still the order of the day, at least for most girls, though there were exceptions such as Emma.

And it was Emma, not to mention my other guests such as Dmitry and Tanya, Lyudmila and Yuri, Alexi and Katya, along with some I hadn't seen in some time — Stan Jakes and Jasmine Prager from the _Tribune_, along with their spouses — who gave me pause. I also had to meet Sofia to prepare for midnight, which was about an hour away, giving me perhaps only thirty minutes. That meant any tryst with Amy would have to wait.

"A very intriguing offer," I replied quietly, "but not one I could act on before Thursday afternoon, assuming you can show me a test paper."

"It's in my back pocket. I work during the day, and I couldn't stay overnight without too many questions."

"8:15pm? You could be home by midnight."

"Do I need to ask permission?" she asked as the song ended.

"No, but they'll get a kick out of it if you're willing."

Amy and I dropped our arms, and she followed me over to where Kara, Jessica, and Suzanne were standing with Kathy, Melanie, and Joyce.

"Hi!" Amy said to Kara. "I'm Amy. Is it OK for Steve to have a play date on Thursday evening?"

All six of the women laughed, and Joyce and Melanie engaged in synchronized eye-rolling. Amy's use of that specific phrase made it clear it had to be Hope, as I was positive I'd never used that phrase with Tabitha or Kailey, and didn't think I had with Danielle.

"He may," Kara said, "so long as you're at least eighteen and have a clean test."

"I am and I do!"

"Then, by all means!" Kara replied. "Right, wives?"

"Yes!" Jessica and Suzanne agreed.

Amy smiled, turned, and walked back to where Tabitha, John, Hope, and Myles were standing.

"Did someone advertise?" Jessica asked.

"I'm going to guess it was Hope, based on Amy using 'play date'."

"You know she didn't have to ask, right, Tiger?"

I chuckled, "She asked me if she needed to ask, and I was curious to see just how confident she was. She propositioned me by whispering a slightly modified line from _Risky Business_ in my ear — sometimes you have to say, 'I want to fuck'.""

"You are outrageous, Mr. Adams!" Melanie declared.

"I didn't DO anything except dance with her," I retorted. "And _she_ asked ME!"

"As if YOU have room to talk, Ms. Spencer!" Kathy declared. "I do believe YOU are responsible for Mr. Adams' lifestyle!"

"Whatever!" Melanie exclaimed.

"Your new friend is receiving a lot of attention from those single Naval officers," Joyce observed, seeing Emma talking to the officers.

"Twenty years at Leavenworth and a dishonorable discharge," I replied. "Sixteen doesn't cut it under the UCMJ! Anyway, I need to circulate and talk with friends who aren't here in the attic."

I kissed my wives, then left the attic room to head downstairs.

————— {br}
🎤 Birgit {br}

At about five minutes to midnight, after Jesse, Amber, and I had poured the glasses of sparkling grape juice, I turned off the stereo and got everyone's attention, asking them to get their glass of juice for the midnight toast. My midnight kiss was going to be with Kjell, and I wondered what Jesse would do, given Larisa, Luna, Missy, Brooke, and Shelly were all at the party, along with some other girls I knew liked him. My money was on Larisa.

Amber brought her laptop to a table in the center of the room and opened it, with the screen filled with a digital clock, and when at ten seconds before midnight, we began the countdown, all our voices in unison.

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

I kissed Kjell, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jane kiss Albert, and wondered if they were fooling around. I'd never seen them kiss before, and while it was none of my business, I was curious. I could probably ask Ashley, who would know, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction!

————— {br}
🎤 Jesse {br}

I touched my lips lightly to Larisa's, judging that a quick peck was the safest course of action, as I could remedy a complaint that it wasn't 'good enough' far easier than I could deal with her being upset because I'd gone further than she wanted to.

"You call THAT a kiss?!" Larisa protested, her blue eyes sparkling in the flashing lights that Amber had triggered.

"Would you like a better one?" I asked.

She nodded, we set our glasses on a table, I took her in my arms and we exchanged a soft kiss.

"Better!" she declared. "And one that won't upset my dad, at least not too much!"

"Self-preservation is high on my list of priorities!" I said with a grin.

Amber put the music back on, and we all began to dance.

————— {br}

_January 1, 2003, Chicago, Illinois_

🎤 Steve {br}

The party had finally wound down around 3:00am, and a large number of our friends had crashed at the house, with the usual setup of women in the sunroom and men in the great room, though the guests staying at the hotel in Hyde Park had all taken cabs back to the hotel, and Emma's dad had sent a car for her. I served a buffet-style brunch, and by noon, everyone had left, and I was relaxing with my wives in the Indian room, savoring the last day of my vacation.

The new year was shaping up to be busy and eventful. Demolition would begin on the Annex in the morning; Kara, Birgit, and I had our Spring Break plans; Emma would move to Chicago in June; and during the Summer, Jesse and Birgit would visit Japan. More importantly, I would begin researching what Steve Samet had revealed to me on Christmas Eve. And all of that was in addition to my regular work at NIKA, and the work I was doing for Dante on behalf of SKJ Partners, the LLC in which Kara, Jessica, Suzanne, and I were partners.

"It'll be time to bid on schedules soon," Jessica said. "Given my tenure and position, I can opt for a five-day-a-week, ten hours per day schedule. I was thinking Tuesday through Saturday, 6:00am to 4:00pm. Not only would that give me Sundays off, those are prime trading shifts, and also shifts that are easily covered by a _locum tenens_."

"It's your schedule, Babe," I replied. "What about teaching?"

"Three hours on Wednesday afternoon. Dad mentioned last night they want you to continue the seminars with the incoming class. They're going to institute a new requirement of attending at least thirty hours of seminars on any topic related to medicine for all new medical students. Basically, most students skipped every Thursday seminar, except yours. They won't be able to count more than ten hours for any specific topic, either."

"I'm enjoying the seminars, so I'm happy to continue. No grades for those seminars, right?"

"Correct. The only change for you is that you'll need to have the students sign-in so they receive time credit."

"That makes it a bit more formal," I replied.

"Yes, but you're still considered a career coach, not a lecturer or professor. Because you refused the stipend and don't accept any fees, there's no problem with any outside involvement with students, whether it's karate, or Philosophy Club, or whatever."

"When Steve is involved, there's always plenty of 'whatever'!" Suzanne declared.

"I take it you noticed that unlike years past, other than my daughters and Kristin, none of the younger girls came to dance with me. Well, Emma, of course, but none of Birgit's friends or any of the cousins. That's a good thing, mind you."

"Are you reconsidering Saint Martin?" Jessica asked.

"No, just saying that given the overall environment, it's probably for the best that fades into the background, and if, and I do mean if, a cousin approaches me privately, then due consideration will be given. But public displays? Those have to give way to the insane puritanism that is sweeping the country from both the right AND the left. We've come to a point where sex is not just repressed, but demonized and criminalized. I've even heard so-called experts claim that kids playing 'doctor' is sexual assault or abuse!"

"Which is why Bethany was pressured by her colleagues to 'revise' her book," Jessica observed. "As much as it pained me to see the two of you on the outs, you did the right thing. I notice she didn't dance with you last night."

I shrugged, "I'm not sure if I should read anything into that or not, so I'm not reading anything into it. My only real disappointment was Prajesh, Anala, and Avanti not coming to the party, but I wasn't surprised. Prajesh just cannot handle _Cirque du Steve_. I'm just grateful he tolerates Avanti training at the dojo and Anala and Avanti coming to Philosophy Club at least once a month."

"Changing topics," Kara said, "did you decide what to do about Danielle's friend, Nadia?"

"I'm still thinking about it," I said. "I'm concerned about the whole 'word of mouth' thing getting out of hand."

"Because of the girl who propositioned you last night?" Suzanne asked.

"Yes, and Isabella. Girls like Emma, where it's organic, and develops out of a chance encounter and we click, are very different from ones who are, in effect, sent to me. No matter which way I decide with regard to Nadia, I'm going to start refusing any 'referrals'."

"I think you should allow for an extraordinary circumstances exception," Jessica suggested. "Blanket rules have never worked well for you, and in nearly every case, you've justified an exception. Kimmy and Aisyah being two perfect examples, not to mention fudging your relationship with Cecily in Ohio, so she has an opportunity to work for NIKA."

"I will allow that exceptions can be made in extraordinary circumstances," I agreed. "That said, I'd prefer if the three of you adhered to the 'no referral' rule going forward. I won't apply it to any past referrals, and I will entertain occasional requests from Kara that fulfill her particular kink."

"Thank you, Snuggle Bear!"

————— {br}
🎤 Jesse {br}

"You seem to have as many girlfriends as your dad does, Jesse Stepanovich," Larisa said as we sat on the couch in the Duck's Nest.

"Not even close!" I replied. "Yes, I have plenty of female friends, and I don't date exclusively, but my dad has three _wives_ and two live-in girlfriends! I don't want anything like that long term."

"And a regular girlfriend who is the only one you date?"

"When it's time to consider a long-term relationship. I can't say exactly, but sometime between the ages of twenty and twenty-four. Or are you trying to tell me something?"

Larisa laughed softly, "Unlike my mother, I do not wish to discuss marriage until I am at least in college, and probably not until after! You know she wanted to marry your dad when she was sixteen!"

"According to Mom One, my dad was already thinking about who he was going to marry when he was fourteen!"

"Crazy!" Larisa declared. "I can't even imagine! On the other hand, I can imagine you kissing me, if you wish. But remember, kissing is the limit."

"I'd never, ever try to do anything you didn't want to do."

"But you will do anything I want you to?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"A dangerous question! Let's just say that within reason, I'll do my best to make you happy."

"Good! Then please kiss me!"

I put my arm around Larisa's shoulders, she turned her head towards me, and we exchanged a soft kiss.

"That was nice," she said. "Another one?"

I obliged, of course, because I wasn't an idiot, and because she was sweet and gorgeous.

"That was nice, too," she said quietly. "But we should stop."

"OK. What would you like to do?"

"Do you play chess?"

"I do!"

"Then let's do that."

————— {br}

_January 2, 2003, Chicago, Illinois_

🎤 Jesse {br}

Nicholas was grumpy when I picked him up just after 5:00am on Thursday morning.

"I can't believe Coach is making us get up this early on vacation!" he groused as he tossed his hockey bag into the back of Aunt Kara's SUV.

"This is when we have our ice time," I replied. "And we need to get back into our rhythm after more than two weeks off!"

"After school starts, sure, but not during vacation," he complained.

"Well, you can go back into your house and be benched, or stop bitching and get in the van."

He climbed into the passenger seat of the van, as I knew he would, and once he fastened his seat belt, I put the van in gear and headed for Johnny's Ice House. I wasn't any more thrilled than Nicholas with being up so early during our break, but I wanted to win the State Championship, so I was more than willing to put up with it without bitching and moaning the way some of the guys did, and there was plenty of it in the locker room as we put on our gear.

"ENOUGH!" Coach Nelson growled. "If you don't want to be here, let me know. I have better things to do on a day off than listen to you ladies whine about how early it is! Now, who's here to play hockey?"

"RAH!" everyone responded, as any other response would have led to extra skated laps or some other form of 'attitude adjustment' administered by Coach.

We finished dressing and went out to the ice. We spent more time stretching, as Coach was concerned that some of the guys hadn't done any exercising over break. I'd used the free weights each day, but that was it, so I absolutely needed to stretch more. Once that was done, we began our usual drills.

————— {br}
🎤 Steve {br}

I was headed to work for the first time since Christmas, though I would have to park in a lot on Halsted because the alley between the main NIKA building and the Annex was unusable until at least April. The walk to the office wasn't bad, as the temperature was hovering just below freezing and there was no snow on the ground. I parked, grabbed my bag, locked the car, and walked along Van Buren towards the office.

When I reached the office, instead of going to the front door, I turned left on Peoria so that I could take a look at the Annex. I saw four men on ladders and a crane operator working to dismantle the pedestrian bridge we'd had constructed between the buildings. The new design would accommodate the old bridge, which had saved us some money. I also saw three large dumpsters in the alley between the Annex and main building, and chutes ran from them to the upper floor of the Annex, and while I was standing there, I heard materials clatter down the chute, then thud into a dumpster.

Seeing the work was well underway, I returned to Van Buren and walked to the front door, letting myself in with my security card, as the office didn't open until 8:00am. Lucas wasn't in yet, so I swiped my card to unlock the interior door, then headed up the wide staircase to the second floor, made a left, and walked down the long hallway to the office I shared with Penny, noting that the door to the pedestrian bridge had been covered with plastic sheeting.

"Good morning!" Kimmy said brightly. "The demolition has started."

"I stopped and watched for a moment. Anything pressing?"

"Just me against you!" she said invitingly.

"Business-wise!" I replied.

"Oh," she said flatly, copying my style of response. "Nothing in the mail except a few Christmas cards that arrived late. You have four messages in your voicemail, none of them are pressing."

She knew that because we now had a system that sent our voicemails to _Outlook_, and Kimmy had access to my mailbox.

"Thanks."

"I saw the email from Dante. The flight and hotel should be charged to SKJ Partners, right?"

"Yes. There's no need for a Saturday stay because my deal with Dante is First Class domestically and Business Class internationally. I do have to be in Phoenix first thing on Monday, so I'll fly out on Sunday afternoon. I suspect we'll have a celebration dinner, so return on Tuesday morning, please."

"I'll take care of it! Coffee, tea, or me?"

I chuckled, "Green tea, please, and take three kisses from the box in your desk drawer!"

"What does Penny like to say? You're just no fun!"

"And how much fun would it be if Gary found out?"

"None, of course! You know I'm just flirting!"

"I do. I appreciate everything you do!"

"Thanks! Don't forget the construction meeting at 9:00am every Monday."

"I'll attend today, but I'm not sure I'll go to every meeting. Please remind me twenty minutes before I need to leave for 550."

"Of course!"

I slipped off my street shoes and put on my slippers, then went to my desk. I turned on my PC and my Mac, signed on to both, and began reviewing my email. I'd read some messages during the break, but I'd ignored most of them.

"Morning!" Penny exclaimed, coming into the office about five minutes later. "Anything exciting going on?"

"You're here!"

"Yeah, but you won't do anything about it!"

"Poor baby! I assume you saw the demolition started on the old Annex?"

"Yeah, and that means we have to walk to 550 for our weekly team meetings! And no snacks, foosball, or big screen TV!"

"Again, poor baby. You'll live. Your other option is to move out of this office. I know your answer!"

"NEVER!"

"So, you've made your decision, and have to live with it!"

"But I don't have to like it! What's up for today?"

"Check your email. Backend changes for the next version, and this is our DB schema change release in our cycle."

"Ugh. I hate those with a passion!"

"Not as much as QA and tech support hate them!"

"True. Let me check my email and we can review the new schema. I assume Julia sent it?"

"Yes. She worked a half-day on New Year's Eve and sent it then."

Kimmy brought in my tea, and a few minutes later, Penny and I sat down to review the requested changes to the database schema.

————— {br}
🎤 Jesse {br}

"You must come visit, Jesse," Dmitry said once they had their boarding passes for their return flight to Boston.

"It's going to be a very busy year," I said. "I have four weeks of hockey camp, two of which are training and two of which are coaching, plus Birgit and I are going to Japan for two weeks in August. Maybe during Spring Break?"

"You're welcome to visit us then!" Dmitry said.

We shook hands, but then exchanged the usual Russian greeting. I also exchanged a typical Russian greeting with Tanya, and then Larisa. I thought about kissing her on the lips, but the last thing I wanted to do was have Dmitry more concerned about Larisa than he already was.

"I hope you will visit, Jesse," she said. "Talk to you on the computer?"

"Yes! And call anytime, too!"

She smiled brightly, then the three of them walked to the security line. I waited until they were through, and once they waved, I headed back to the short-term garage where I'd parked Aunt Jessica's BMW which I actually drove more than she did! Just after I paid the $2 parking fee, my phone rang. I answered and put it on speaker.

"Go for Jesse!"

"Hi! It's Simone! Are you free before school starts on Monday?"

"It would have to be tomorrow after hockey practice," I said.

"What time is that?"

"Practice ends at 7:00am."

"Whoa!" Simone exclaimed. "When does it start?"

"5:30am," I replied.

"No thanks! How about lunch?"

"Sure. The café on Hyde Park Avenue just east of Woodlawn?"

"Sure! 11:30am?"

"See you then!"

We said 'goodbye' and I closed the phone.

————— {br}
🎤 Albert {br}

"When will you arrive in England?" Doctor Jon asked when they were ready to leave for the airport for their flight to Florida.

"My flight is booked for July 11th, arriving on the morning of the 12th, and then the return flight is July 26th in the late morning."

"Then we'll see you at Heathrow on the 12th!" Jon said. "Send me the time by email."

"I will!"

We shook hands, then I hugged Amanda, who had been a great nanny for us before she'd decided to marry Doctor Jon. I hugged Karen, too, then Jane and I hugged tightly. I wanted to kiss her, but she'd had special permission for New Year's Eve, and I wasn't going to push it.

We released our hug, they all picked up their bags, and I walked them out to their rental car. I helped Doctor Jon load the bags into the trunk, we shook hands, and then I stood on the sidewalk to watch and wave as they drove away. Once the car was out of sight, I went back into the house.

I went up to my room, turned on my computer, and forwarded my itinerary to Doctor Jon and to Jane. Once that was accomplished, I called Peter to see if he wanted to get together. He did, and we planned for him to come over for lunch.

————— {br}
🎤 Steve {br}

"As everyone should have noticed," Eve said at the start of the meeting, "demolition of the Annex began this morning. Demolition is expected to be complete by the end of January, and they'll begin construction on or about February 15th, weather permitting."

"Why the two-week delay?" I asked.

"To allow for contingencies. This way they could lock in the teams to begin on the 15th and not have to worry about having crews idle due to some delay."

"Logical. Sorry to interrupt."

"It's OK," Eve replied. "There are no changes or updates to the plan at this time. I did spend some time at 550 this morning to ensure everything is up and running and there aren't any problems. Dave was happy and said there were no complaints other than from Penny."

"I suggested to Penny that if she was that upset," I said with a grin, "she could move out of my office and Dave would give her one at 550. She declined."'

Everyone laughed, including Bob.

"Seeing that there is no way Penny is going to do that," Eve said, "I'll give her complaint the appropriate level of attention!"

"In other words, none!" Elyse declared.

"I don't have anything else this morning," Eve said. "Steve, do you want an invite to future meetings?"

"Yes, but I most likely won't attend unless you flag something that's a problem. Make me optional."

"Will do," Eve said, then ended the meeting.

I went back to my office to work with Penny until the development staff meeting.