Chapter 6

Mid to Late November, 2038



The evening of Helene's dance recital was fast approaching, and she was both excited and nervous. It would be the first time that Rina and Jaime would see her perform, and Alexei was making plans to be in attendance.

Alexei had contacted Helene after fall break, and they got together that following weekend. Helene  thought he looked good, as if he couldn't look any better in her opinion.

They went out for dinner at a restaurant that Rina suggested, then saw a movie that Jaime had seen a few days prior with her sister Rachel and their mother.

The other girls were studying for finals, which would happen after Thanksgiving. Rina's semester project, the paper-thin, clear adaptable keyboard, had passed muster with her instructors. Rina then shocked them with the news that she had already secured a patent for it, and had a financial backer.

"Who? And how did you get a backer so quickly?" asked one professor, clearly in shock.

"I have, how would you say, connections in both the IT world, and in manufacturing," Rina replied. "One of my suitemates is the daughter of Ryan Summers, of Summers Tech Systems. And another suitemate has connections with the DeWitt Corporation. Both companies saw my prototype and wanted on board before anyone else stole my ideas."

"Ryan Summers died several years ago," the professor said; "Who is running his company? I was under the impression that it had been sold by his family."

"Hardly," Rina said; "His family runs it. Julia Summers is owner and CEO, and has been for many years. Maybe you ought to give her a call."

"The SpineSplitter runs her late husband's company?"

"Of course," was all Rina said; "By the way, she hates being referred to as 'The SpineSplitter'. It was never proven that she was the notorious assassin known by that name."

"You've met her?"

"Her daughter, Jameson, is my suitemate. I met her for the first time earlier this week," Rina said; "A lovely woman she is. I'm going to be spending Thanksgiving with the Summers family. I'm looking forward to spending a real American holiday with people who know what family is."

The professor dropped the subject. He could never figure out how Audrina Alexander was expected to learn anything about computer technology if she already knew more than he did about the subject.

But to have a personal connection with the owner of the industry's premier software developer was just too much.

===

"You're all I've thought about, outside of ballet, since you left to come here during the summer," Alexei told Helene after the movie. "Mikhail was not happy that I was coming to Chicago, and suspected my decision to do so had to do with being closer to you. Chicago Ballet contacted me directly about coming here. They didn't want to deal with Mikhail."

"Mikhail has a certain, um, reputation that turns people off," Helene said as they walked back towards Mathison Hall. "I mentioned his name to one of my instructors here, and he had nothing at all good to say about him."

"I'm getting that impression, Leenie," said Alexei. "Apparently, there are things about him that not even I knew. Like his affinity for getting too close to his ballerinas. I'd heard rumors almost from the moment we came to America, but when I actually caught him in the act, I knew they were true."

"So it was time to break away, huh?" Helene asked.

"Yes. The time had come for me to find my own way," Alexei said. "And, I wanted to know if you wanted to take that journey with me."

Helene couldn't believe what she just heard! Alexei wanted her to be part of his life.

"I will wait until you are ready," he continued; "I don't want to run afoul of any laws here."

"I want to take that journey with you, Alexei," Helene said; "but I'm not ready."

Alexei took Helene's hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. "Then I will wait. You are worth waiting for."

"Just until next April, when I turn 17," Helene half whispered.

"I would wait a lifetime if that is what you require of me, Helene."

He took her into his arms and held her as she cried softly against his chest. Yes, she thought, this is where I want to be. In Alexei's arms, I feel safe. I feel needed. I feel...loved.

===

Jaime couldn't wait for the semester to be over. She was tired, she was stressed, but most of all, she was bored. Most of the stuff being taught in the required Biology class she learned when she was nine years old. She barely had to study to get A's on her exams. She complained to her mother as such when Julia brought Rachel to Evanston to see a movie and talk to Rina about her keyboard prototype.

"Mom, this is all stuff you taught us ages ago," Jaime said. "Rachel could take this class and be just as bored. Punnet squares? Really? I can do that shit in my sleep."

"Jaime," Julia had said, "you knew before you came here that there were some things that you would already know that other students might not. Why don't you tutor those who don't have the same knowledge of the subject as you do?"

"I tried that, and I have no patience for it," said Jaime; "Other people in class look at me like I'm some freakazoid. All my majors classes are like that for me. Chemistry? We're still mixing simple formulas and doing equations. Anatomy? You taught us that when we were learning to use weapons. How many ways can you dissect a frog? Psychology? It's all stuff you, Uncle Jere, Uncle Nik and Aunt Natasha taught us. And Philosophy is like sitting in Granpa David's office listening to him talk. I can't wait for this semester to be over so I can take classes in subjects I don't already know!"

"Test out of the subjects you know well, and take only classes you think you can learn something in," Julia suggested; "It's how Miri got out of here in three years."

"I know..." Jaime said.

Jaime stared at her Biology text and her notes. Mom was right, she thought. I'm going to test out of next semester's Chemistry II and Biology II, and take the math classes I need. I'll need to test to see what level I'm on and go from there.

She then put her books and notes away in her backpack and went to work to pick up her paycheck.


===

The meeting with Julia Summers went well, and Rina was excited that Summers Tech Systems wanted to manufacture her software for the keyboard she developed. It was a close to meeting Ryan Summers himself as she would get. Julia Summers had some good, knowledgable people working for her, and Rina had confidence that the company would do right by her.

Ditto for DeWitt Corporation. Christian DeWitt himself knew of the perfect partner to manufacture the keyboard itself. He was impressed with her prototype when she demonstrated it for him and his wife. It was perfect for those who had vision, hearing or learning disabilities. But nothing convinced him more of the keyboard's potential than when his young son started playing with it.

They heard Eric giggling somewhere in the house. DeWitt went to his office, where Rina's keyboard was still set up, and saw the two and a half year old pressing keys and hearing the voice program repeat each keypress. Eric had been pressing random spots on the desk, since the keyboard was a thin sheet of film with keys embedded in it. It looked to the casual observer that the person using it was pressing on the desk or table on which it was set up, but were actually pressing the "keys". A voice program, available in both male and female voices, repeated the letter, number, or command (such as "space" when the spacebar was pressed). Eric repeated everything he heard with great glee.

Eric was having great fun with it, and that sold DeWitt. The only suggestion that he made to Rina was to make sure that the user had fun with it, regardless of age.

"I know someone who could manufacture the keyboard for you," he had said, "but you need to patent your design, software, and interface. I can help you with that. I know several patent attorneys."

"I would appreciate any help you can give me, signore," Rina said, astonished. "The idea for this came from a girl I went to boarding school with. She has Asperger's Syndrome, and the regular learning environment was a challenge for her. She often wished that more computers were designed to help those with disabilities. She left before graduating and I have lost track of her. So when I had to do a semester project for my Innovations class, I decided that I would try to at least design and develope a keyboard to make learning and communicating easier for people like her."

"That's commendable, Rina," DeWitt said; "You were raised well."

"No, signore, I wasn't. My mother was emotionally absent from the lives of my brother and me," Rina said; "My father was more hands on with us. But he ran a business and was away a lot. I learned a lot about life from the woman who was charged to take care of us. Then my father died and we were sent away to boarding schools. I hated it."

"There were only two of you?" DeWitt asked.

"Yes, just me and my older brother," Rina said. "He is in business school in Rome. He will take over our father's business upon his successful completion."

"I see," DeWitt said.


The project had been turned in to her professors for their evaluation. Rina knew that if they tried to steal her design, that they would be caught.

She now held the patent on the design, the keyboard, the software, the interface, and all the components that made up the package.

A copy of the patent paperwork was included in her project files.


===

Helene's recital finally had a date: November 23rd. The last day of classes before Thanksgiving.

As promised, she invited her suitemates, who were excited to finally see their friend in a dance performance. Helene also invited Alexei, but he wasn't sure if that date was available in his calendar. Chicago City Ballet were in rehearsals for The Nutcracker, and he was the lead.

Helene decided that if he came, great. If not, there would be other opportunities throughout her college career for him to see her dance.

She felt a mixture of emotions, mostly excitement and nervousness. She knew the routine cold, so she really had nothing to be nervous about. But she had always maintained that if she ceased to be a little nervous before a performance, she'd get out of ballet for good.

She did have other classes to study for finals for, and that took up time between rehearsals and her part time job at the florist. Helene liked staying busy. She hated being bored. Her parents found that out when she was still a small child.

Occasionally, Helene remembered the times her mother wasn't around. It was hard on her family, but her father was always positive that she would return.

That's the kind of relationship I want with Alexei, she thought one afternoon as she was bringing in flowers that had just been delivered to the florist. Like what my parents have.

And she never forgot the "dance" she witnessed between her parents nearly four years before. She often received comments on her dancing that she was able to convey emotion in her performances.  One of her earliest ballet teachers told her to take from her experiences and use them to make her performance better. Helene never forgot that.

She didn't realize it yet, but she would star in her own "dance" before her next birthday.

===


"Mom called today asking how many of us she should expect for Thanksgiving," Jaime said; "Helene, are you going to try and make it home?"

"I wasn't planning to," Helene said; "I told my folks that because the Thanksgiving holiday was so brief, that I'd just stay here."

"Okay," Jaime said, "I told Mom that all three of us would be there, but I wanted to ask you first in case you made other plans."

"What other plans could I have made, Jaime?" asked Helene, puzzled. "I don't know anyone well enough here besides you, Rina, and...oh," she said, finally getting the jist of what Jaime was asking.

"Does Alexei have plans for Thanksgiving?" Rina asked.

"I don't know," Helene said. "We didn't talk about any when he was here. He'll probably be busy with rehearsals for The Nutcracker."

"Why don't you call him and ask?" Jaime asked; she and Rina didn't get a chance to meet Alexei when he came to visit Helene after the fall break. "I'm sure that Mom can manage one more."

Helene looked at the clock on the table behind the sofa where the phone sat; it was four-fifteen. Alexei would be in rehearsals until eight or nine, she thought.

"He's probably in rehearsal, but I'll leave a message for him to call me," she said.

She picked up the phone and dialed Alexei's number at his apartment. She got the voicemail right away. "Alexei, it's Helene. Could you give me a call when you get a chance? I hope all is going well with rehearsals. Look forward to talking to you soon. Bye!"

Jaime looked over at Helene. She was blushing a little. Oh she's got it bad for this guy, Jaime thought.

"I'll call Mom back and tell her that the three of us are coming, and that there may be a fourth person," Jaime said aloud. "I'm sure it will be okay."

"That sounds good," Rina agreed; "I can't wait!"

Jaime only smiled.


===


The message icon was displyed on his phone, and Alexei thought, please dear God, not Mikhail again!

Mikhail had been leaving voicemail messages for him periodically since Alexei had been in Chicago. Most of the time, he called back. It was usually about how he was doing, was he keeping up his dance studies; all the things that a father would worry about.

Except Mikhail was not Alexei's father.

One of Mikhail's voicemails was about Alexei's parents. Over the years, Mikhail allowed him to speak to his parents in Moscow. Alexei felt so distant and guilty about them not being closer to him. But that's how Mikhail had wanted it.

Alexei had finally gotten a phone number for his parents home in a middle class section of the city. He had spoken to them about once a week since he arrived in Chicago. Their financial circumstances wouldn't allow them to travel to the United States to visit, though Alexei dearly wanted to see them. His mother hadn't been well, and Alexei worried about her. She wasn't really that old, only 45 years old. But she had worked hard her entire life, and it was taking a toll on her health.

But the message wasn't from Mikhail, it was from Helene. Alexei recognized her phone number right away. It was for the phone in her suite at the dorm.

He looked at the clock. It was nearly 10:30pm. He wondered if Helene were still awake, then worried that he would wake one of her suitemates.

He decided to take a chance. He dialed the number, and it was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" asked Rina's voice.

"Hello, may I speak with Helene DeWitt please?"

"One moment while I get her, please?"

"Of course."

He could hear Rina asking if Helene were still awake, and she answered. "I think Alexei is on the phone."

Alexei smiled when he heard Helene say, "You can wake me up anytime for that, Rina!"

Then she was on the phone saying, "Alexei?"

"Hello, Leenie," he said; "I got your message."

"Oh, okay," Helene said; "I called to ask if you had any plans for Thanksgiving, and if not, I'd like to invite you to come with us to Jaime's family's Thanksgiving dinner."

"I have no plans for Thanksgiving, Leenie," he said; "The director is giving us Thanksgiving weekend off. I'd love to accompany you and your friends to wherever it is that Jaime's family lives."

"Great!" Helene said a little too enthusiatically for her liking; "We've already told Mrs. Summers that you would be coming, so there will be plenty of food and good times. Jaime said that her mother and her aunts each cook a turkey and bring some part of the rest of the dinner. We're going to bring a couple of desserts. Pies and stuff."

"Sounds wonderful," Alexei said; "When do require me to be there?"

"Can you meet us in the lobby of our building at 9am Thanksgiving Day?" asked Helene; then, "We'll all drive in together. Jaime's the only one of us who has a car here."

"I'll be driving," Alexei said; "My car, it will be safe parked at your dorm?"

"I'll get you a visitor's parking pass so it doesn't get towed," Helene said. "Let me find out what I need to do to get one and I'll call you with the details."

"Sounds good, Leenie. I can't wait to see you and meet your suitemates," Alexei said; "By the way, was that Rina who answered the phone?"

"Yes," Helene said; "She's working on a paper for one of her classes and was closest to the phone."  

"Ahh, I see," said Alexei; "I didn't wake you, did I? I realize it's late."

"I wasn't really sleeping," Helene replied; "Just reading in bed."

"Okay," he said; "I will let you get back to reading, and look forward to hearing from you about the parking permit."

"I'll inquire tomorrow, Alexei," Helene said; "When's a good time to call you?"

"Probably around 9am, when I'm getting ready for the day," Alexei said. "If I don't answer, leave a message and I will call you tomorrow evening."

"I look forward to it either way," Helene said.

"Goodnight, Helene. Sleep well, my dear."

"I shall, Alexei. Goodnight."

As Helene replaced the receiver in the cradle, she felt like screaming for joy.

But Jaime had gone to bed early, and Rina was studying in her room, so any celebrations would have to wait.

Helene Hope DeWitt was in love.

===