17 December 1994 - Doubleday Village Road, Dana, Massachusetts

Jeff opened the door without knocking and motioned for Keiko to enter. Even though he’d told her this was commonplace on this day, she still hesitated before stepping through the door. Jeff took her coat, hanging it next to his in the closet near the door.

“Hi, Jeff!” a dark-haired young lady exclaimed.

“Denise? Holy crap, when did you get so tall? And don’t tell me you’re in college already!” Family rules said that you must be either eighteen or out of high school before you could attend the Christmas party; alcohol plus the Keiolis family equaled shenanigans.

“No,” she laughed. “my brother, sister and I are just helping out today. We’ll score some killer food, then hide downstairs while you old folks have your fun.”

“‘Old folks?’ ‘OLD FOLKS?’ I’ll show you old folks as soon as I find my cane, you damned whippersnapper.” Denise laughed. “Anyway before you run away in fear Denise, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend Keiko Takahashi. Keiko, this is my cousin Monica’s oldest, Denise Sellers.”

“It is nice to meet you, Miss Sellers,” Keiko offered.

“Wow, Jeff!” Denise exclaimed as she shook Keiko’s hand. “You found someone with manners who would hang out with you? It’s nice to meet you, Keiko, please call me Denise. Are you sure you want to be here today? This is a ‘no-holds-barred, full-contact’ family event.”

“Shaddap, kid,” Jeff responded; Denise mimicked him, laughing. “No respect, I tell ya! No respect!” She kissed her cousin on the cheek before flouncing away.

“I believe this will be an interesting day,” Keiko observed.

“Oh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Come on.” As he’d done with Heather in 1998, he led Keiko to the kitchen first. His aunts were gathered in the kitchen as they’d been then also. Jeff was given a hero’s welcome and greeted with another sloppy kiss by his Aunt Marilyn; Keiko was also greeted with enthusiasm by everyone.

“Where did you find this one, Jeff? I remember you met Heather and Jane at Westover.”

“I met Keiko at Fort Bragg, Aunt Marilyn, about six or seven months after you met those other two blonde troublemakers.”

“Are you calling Keiko a ‘troublemaker, ‘ Jeff?” his Aunt Carolyn asked. “She is a very nice young woman!”

Jeff gave Keiko a look; she gave him a doe-eyed innocent one in return. “She’s got you ladies wrapped around her little finger already!” Switching to Japanese Jeff asked Keiko, “Did you put something in their drinks while I wasn’t watching?”

“No, Jeffrey, and you know it,” she responded in the same language while shaking a finger at him.

“What was that?” his Aunt Gwen asked in English.

“Jeffrey asked me if I put something in your drinks. I answered ‘no.’ I apologize for speaking Japanese if you ladies do not; that was rude of both of us.”

“Jeff speaks Japanese?” Aunt Jeri asked in surprise.

“Yes, my brother taught him while they were roommates in the Army. Ken and I are considered ‘Nisei;’ our parents are immigrants from Japan and they raised us to speak both Japanese and English.”

“I had forgotten that,” Marilyn said. “I am sorry I never got the chance to meet him, Keiko; if he was Jeff’s best friend then he was an exceptional person. I know it’s been nearly four years, but you have my deepest condolences.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Marilyn. It still hurts at times, but the years are allowing my parents and I to remember him without the crushing pain.” The other aunts were not in contact with Jeff and his family as much as Marilyn was and gave her strange looks; Keiko answered for her.

“My brother Ken was killed in the Gulf War.” The other ladies gasped; they almost ran each other over trying to hug Keiko. The conversation became stiff, stilted, after that so Keiko and Jeff excused themselves.

“Your family does not hold back with their welcomes, do they?” Keiko asked as they headed for the sunroom where his grandparents were.

“Wait until the alcohol kicks in,” Jeff warned her. He ushered Keiko into the large attached porch with the huge windows. As usual his Grandpa Keiolis was talking animatedly about something; while he waved his right hand around making his point, his left hand held on to his wife’s. Forty-seven years of marriage and they were still going strong.

“Blah, blah, blah, old man,” Jeff cracked as they walked in. Grandpa smiled; he rose from his chair slower than Jeff liked to see, but at least he was still able to rise on his own. Grandma rose at the same time. Grandma gave him a hug and a kiss before Grandpa shook his hand.

“I’ll ‘old man’ you, Jeff!” Grandpa said. “And who is this beauty with you?”

“Hittin’ on my girl with Grandma right next to you? Grandma wasn’t in the room when you hit on Heather years ago! You’ve got even more stones now! And I don’t mean gall stones!”

“Oh, really, Nickolas?” Grandma K. asked.

“Marion, he’s exaggerating.”

“Right,” Jeff snorted. “You’re the one who told Heather you’d show her how a real gentleman treated a lady.” Grandma glowered at Grandpa while Grandpa glowered at Jeff. “But I digress. Grandma, Grandpa, I’d like to introduce you both to my girlfriend Keiko Takahashi. Keiko, these are Mom’s parents, Marion and Nickolas Keiolis.” Grandma hugged Keiko and gave her a peck on the cheek while Grandpa kissed the back of her hand.

“Clearly you get your humor from your grandfather, Jeffrey,” Keiko remarked.

“I do come by it honestly. Keiko, these gents are my uncles; Uncle Fred, Carl, Frank, Gene and Paul, this is my girlfriend Keiko.” The men all greeted her.

“Between your father and grandfather, it is a wonder your humor has not gotten you into trouble,” Keiko stated.

“Well...”

“Ah, it has then?”

Jeff noted that his grandparents and uncles were smirking at him with Keiko. “Oh, look! Heather, Jane, Alice and Tom just arrived; let’s go say ‘hi!’” he said while he pulled Keiko out of the sunroom. The grandparents and uncles laughed when they exited.

“Heather and her family are family?” she asked, trying to place everyone on a mental family tree.

“Not technically, no. They don’t have any other family beyond the four of themselves, so we started inviting them along to our family stuff after I met them in ‘88. They’re like family now.”

Keiko stopped Jeff right in the middle of Monica’s living room and gave him a firm kiss. “You are a good man, Charlie Brown. I can see how you and Ken became such good friends.” Jeff blinked. “I know the cultural references, Jeffrey; I grew up watching those shows as well,” she reminded him while shaking a finger at him.

“I should know this by now, shouldn’t I?”

“It is alright, Jeffrey. At least you appear trainable.”

Jeff and Keiko stood at the security checkpoint at Boston’s Logan Airport the following Thursday afternoon; they were awaiting the arrival of Keiko’s parents’ connecting flight from Detroit. Classes for both of them let out the day before, in advance of Christmas; Jeff also took a week and a half’s vacation to cover most of Keiko’s parents’ visit. He’d report back to work on January third. Keiko was wringing her hands while they gazed down the concourse.

“Why are you so nervous, Keiko? It’s not like they don’t know me. Heck, your Dad let me drive away with you within fifteen minutes of our meeting!”

“I believe it was twenty,” she corrected him, laughing; her laughter helped her relax. She squeezed his hand in gratitude.

“Oh, well, that’s different. Maybe I’m the one who should be nervous because it took so long?”

Two minutes later her parents came into view. From a distance Jeff saw no visible difference in their appearance as compared to when they’d first met in 1989; he saw none when they stepped past the security cordon and walked up to Jeff and Keiko, either.

Hiro extended his hand in Western fashion before Jeff could bow. “It’s good to see you again, Jeff,” he said in Japanese. “You’re looking well.”

“Thank you, sir, you as well. I don’t think you or Mrs. Takahashi have aged a day since we met.”

“It’s the Asian genes, Jeff. And please, call us ‘Hiro’ and ‘Mayumi.’”

“That’s going to take a bit of getting used to, sir.”

“So long as you get there. How is your family?”

“All doing very well, sir ... uh, Hiro, thank you. Everyone was quite happy to meet Keiko this past weekend.”

“Would you two stop talking long enough for me to say hello?” Mayumi asked the men before she gave Jeff a hug and kiss. “Hello, Jeff!”

“Ma’am.” She glared at him. “Mayumi,” he corrected.

“That’s better. So, what do you two have planned for us?”

“Well, tonight we figured we’d just get you over to your hotel; from what I hear west-to-east air travel is hard on a person. The restaurant there is pretty good and has the added benefit of being right downstairs from your room. For the weekend we’ve got more than a few tourist-type options for day trips. We’re dining with my folks on Christmas Day, in the afternoon, then at another friend’s house next week. Other than those meals, there’s nothing set in stone.”

“That all sounds good, Jeff. Let’s go get our bags.”

“So, Jeff, Keiko tells us that you’re in paramedic school?” Mayumi asked at dinner that night.

“That’s right, Mayumi. I started about the same time as Keiko started her classes at BC. We’re halfway through the classroom studies; we’ll start our in-hospital clinical rotations in June. Ambulance shifts will follow once we finish those rotations. My classmates and I should take our paramedic exams around Labor Day next year.”

“All that while you work full-time?” Hiro asked.

“Yeah, it makes for a crazy schedule,” Jeff admitted. “I’m lucky that your little girl puts up with it.” Keiko put her hand in his and smiled at him.

“What sort of things do you learn in paramedic school?”

“First, there’s a review of what we should already know as EMTs, which they then expand on: medical-legal issues, splinting, bandaging, basic airway management, proper body mechanics while lifting, and very basic psychology. Then they also add blood chemistry, anatomy and physiology of individual body systems and the body as a whole, cardiology, pharmacology, endocrinology, intravenous access, and advanced airway management to include endotracheal intubation - putting a breathing tube in the throat. Then there are the clinical rotations: emergency room, operating room, obstetrics, ICU, CCU, psychology and, finally, the field internships.”

“That’s quite the list. How long does all of that take to learn?”

“It depends a bit on the program, actually. The program I’m in is held Mondays through Fridays from nine to five. Some programs hold classes twice a week after ‘normal’ working hours. I’ll be done with my entire program and be a paramedic by the time other folks start their clinicals. The trade-off is the crazy schedule, next to no social life, and a higher tuition.”

“You are balancing it well, Jeffrey,” Keiko said.

“With your help, Keiko. It’s been a team effort.”

Mayumi and Hiro shared a quick look, each smiling around their drinks while they sipped at them. It was obvious to them where Keiko and Jeff were headed.

The Takahashis picked Keiko and Jeff up at her apartment at noon on Christmas Day for the ride to Enfield; their full-sized rental car would be more comfortable than either Keiko’s compact car or Jeff’s pickup. Their ride to Palmer was an easy one, and was without the normal Boston-area traffic, since it was both a Sunday and a major holiday. Jeff directed them to West Ware Road in Enfield once they got off the Turnpike; they pulled into his parents’ driveway just after one.

“Hi, Uncle Jeff!” exclaimed Matty when he opened the door; he and his parents had spent the night at the Knox residence.

“Hey, buddy! Merry Christmas. How are you?” Jeff asked as he gave his nephew a hug and ruffled his hair.

“I’m good. Merry Christmas. Hi, Aunt Keiko.”

“Merry Christmas, Matthew,” she responded, giving him a hug of her own. “Matthew, I would like you to meet my parents. Mother, Father, this is Matthew Masterson, Jeff’s nephew.”

“How do you do, sir? Ma’am?”

“Very nice to meet you, young man,” Mayumi said. “Do you prefer ‘Matty’ or ‘Matthew?’”

Matty shrugged. “Either one is fine, ma’am. I kinda like how Aunt Keiko calls me ‘Matthew, ‘ but ‘Matty’ is good, too. I figure I’ll ask folks to call me ‘Matt’ in a few years, though.”

“Where are your mom and dad, Matty? Or your grandparents?” Jeff asked.

“Everyone’s waiting for you in the family room.” Matty turned to lead them there.

Joe and Marisa Knox rose when Matty entered the family room. While they shook hands with the Takahashis, Stu and Kara rose to greet them. After the introductions, while Jeff and Stu were in the kitchen gathering drinks for everyone, Jeff asked Stu, “So, have you guys told Mom and Dad yet?”

“Told them what?”

Jeff stared at his friend and brother-in-law. “Kara’s always been a terrible liar, and I can see that you’re not much better. She’s wearing her ‘I know a secret and you don’t’ face. Fine, be that way; I won’t say anything to anyone.” Jeff picked up half of the drink order and walked back to his family. Stu gathered his portion and hustled to follow.

Jeff handed out the drinks before sitting next to Keiko. He watched while Stu whispered something to Kara; she shot Jeff a look! He raised an eyebrow at her. She took a big gulp of her drink before speaking.

“Mom? Dad? Now that everyone is here, Stu and I have something to tell you.” Kara took a deep breath: “I’m pregnant.” Marisa cried out happily and bounded over to her daughter to give her a hug. Joe rose to shake Stu’s hand. Through all the commotion Jeff heard his sister say that she was due in June. Jeff shook Stu’s hand and gave him a congratulatory hug. Mayumi and Hiro offered their congratulations as well.

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

“Yeah, but it was.”

“The only one whose opinion really matters is Matty. Is he okay with this?”

“Yeah, he knew before we got here last night. He thinks it’s great.”

Later, Jeff and Keiko borrowed his father’s truck to visit a special friend. When they arrived, he escorted Keiko to the front door and rang the bell. He smiled when a friendly face appeared.

“Why, Mr. Knox! You do seem to have a penchant for surprising my family and I! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Dottie,” he greeted, giving her a hug and kiss. “We’re not interrupting anything are we?”

“No, we ate our dinner earlier, as you likely did, Jeff. We were just lounging around. Who is this lovely young woman with you?”

“Dottie, may I introduce my girlfriend Keiko Takahashi? Keiko, this is Dorothy ‘Dottie’ Newbury, my good friend, and wife and mother to two other good friends.”

“It is very nice to meet you, Mrs. Newbury,” Keiko offered with a nod of her head.

“‘Dottie’ please Keiko, if I may call you ‘Keiko?’”

“Of course.”

“Come in, come in!”

Dottie took their coats and hung them up before leading them to the family room at the back of the house. Allison caught sight of Jeff and smiled; she rose from her chair and walked over to him, hugging him tight for a long time. She kissed him on his cheek.

“Jeff, how are you?” Allison asked while Don Newbury and another man approached.

“I’m doing very well, thanks, Allison. You look terrific, as usual. Texas has been good to you?”

“Very good,” she smiled. She extended her left hand to the other man who claimed it. Jeff caught the sparkle on Allison’s ring finger. The other man carried himself like someone comfortable in his skin, a man whose fiancée could have male friends and he wouldn’t feel threatened.

Jeff shook hands with Don, then introduced Keiko. “Allison, Don, this is Keiko Takahashi, my girlfriend. Keiko, these folks are Allison and Don Newbury.”

Allison stepped over to Keiko. “That’s why you look so familiar,” she said in a quiet voice. “Ken had your picture on the wall in his barracks room. I’m so sorry, Keiko; he was a wonderful person.”

“Thank you, Miss...” Allison raised an eyebrow. “Allison. Ken was ... Ken was my big brother. He protected me, encouraged me. He is missed greatly.” Allison gathered Keiko in a tight hug.

“I’m afraid I haven’t met you yet, sir, or I would have introduced Keiko to you as well.”

“No worries, Jeff. I’m Antonio Rosado. It’s very nice to meet you both. Please call me ‘Tony.’” He held out his hand.

Jeff shook the man’s hand, he felt its rough texture and saw skin that hadn’t quite come clean. “Good to meet you, Tony. Are you a mechanic by any chance?”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, oil field mechanic, actually. Ally said your Dad’s an automotive mechanic?”

“Yeah, he owns a garage in my hometown.”

Tony nodded; they drifted away from the others while they spoke. “I’d like to open my own repair shop one day. I’ll have to wait to see where Ally goes after she finishes her Ph.D.” He shrugged. “That might work out, it might not. I know she might have to move a few times before she settles down. But being a mechanic is a pretty portable job; it’s more important that Ally gets to where she needs to be.”

“Not many guys can say that, Tony. I have to say I’m impressed.”

Tony shrugged. “I never went for the ultra-macho-Hispanic thing. I watched too many guys in high school try that approach with mixed results, mostly bad. I found that a more relaxed, more understanding attitude served me better. Because of that I had a steady girlfriend through most of high school. We’re still friends; Ally and I frequently get together for dinner and drinks with her and her husband.”

Jeff nodded. “You didn’t get upset when Allison gave me the hug.”

“Right. She told me all about you before we came up here; at first I couldn’t believe how you’d handled that last summer, especially how you ended your relationship. That told me all I needed to know about you, that you wouldn’t be the guy moving in on his old girlfriend while others watched.”

“I doubt I’d have lived long if I’d tried that. Keiko’s a black belt in karate, you know?”

Tony laughed. “‘Discretion is the better part of valor, ‘ and all that?”

“Momma didn’t raise no dummy. That being said, would you mind if Allison and I got caught up for a few minutes?”

“Not at all.”

Dottie reentered the family room with a platter of small sandwiches; she turned right around to get drinks from the kitchen. They sat around chatting while the six o’clock news showed on the TV.

“Keiko, would you mind if I borrow your boyfriend? To get caught up?”

“Of course not, Allison. I know you have not talked to Jeffrey for some time.”

Allison walked over to Jeff, who’d stood when she did, hooked his arm and led him out of the family room. She walked out to the heated breezeway to the attached garage; she steered him to a window seat there.

“You look very happy, Jeff.”

Jeff smiled at one of his oldest friends. “I am, Allison. I’ve been coasting along, romantically, since we parted in Amarillo. There’s been no one until I ran into Keiko two months ago; she feels like the missing piece that completes the puzzle. And you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you happier.”

“I can’t believe Tony and I have already been seeing each other for a year and a half, Jeff. It’s been the lowest-stress relationship I’ve had so far, and there wasn’t much stress when you and I were together.”

“And that rock on your finger? Is that a new development?”

“Two months ago,” she said with a smile.

“Congratulations, Allison. I like him already and if your Dad let him near you, especially after that jackweed from Harvard, he must be a pretty good guy. How did you guys meet?”

“Would you believe we met in a bar?”

“Seriously?”

“Totally. I was at some place near UT with a small group of doctoral students when some guy put his hand on my butt. I turned around and Tony already had this guy’s arm twisted behind his back. Once he’d handed the jerk off to a bouncer, we started talking. The rest is history. What about you and Keiko? I know you said you’ve only been back together for two months.”

“We ran into each other in Newton, at Heather’s Masters graduation party. We still have lots more to learn about each other. She’s getting her second Masters degree and I’m in the throes of paramedic school. We’ll both finish this summer; she in May, me by Labor Day.”

“A paramedic? You’ve always been looking out for everyone else, so I guess that doesn’t surprise me. Are you still working in Springfield?”

“No, not for going on two years. She’s at BC while I’m in school in Wilmington.” Jeff told Allison a condensed version of his time at CRVA and the events leading to his departure.

“Any progress on your law suit?”

“We’re scheduled to go to court in May, finally! They’ve made a few offers to settle out of court, but I’ve rejected them all. They were insulting and unrealistic. We’ll see if the looming court date focuses their attention. I can think of better ways to spend my time and money than in a courtroom ninety miles from home. Good thing I still have vacation time saved up.”

Hours later Keiko and Jeff spooned in bed together in his old room at his parents’ house. Her parents were in the guest room; Hiro and Mayumi surprised everyone by suggesting that he and Keiko could share Jeff’s room. The house was crowded with Stu, Kara and Matty also staying over. Everyone would go home in the morning.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight, Keiko,” Jeff whispered. “Allison is a good friend; I’m glad to see her happy.”

“She is a good friend. She interrogated me quite thoroughly while you were talking with Tony.”

“What?” he asked, picking his head up off the pillow.

“Allison is your friend, Jeffrey, and is very protective. The times you protected her in high school, and the time you handled that ... person ... in Amherst, made quite the impression on her. Her questions were not unreasonable.”

He put his head back down with a sigh of acceptance. “Did she say when she and Tony were getting married?”

“In August, in Austin.”

“I’ll put in for two weeks vacation around their wedding. There are some friends in Amarillo I’d like to visit too, if you’re up for it?”

“You wish for me to accompany you?”

“I wish for you to accompany me to many things in our future, Keiko.” She rolled over to kiss him. “Keiko, we haven’t talked about this yet, but do you want children?”

She caressed his cheek. “Yes, Jeffrey, I wish to be a mother. And you?”

“Well I don’t think I can be a mom but, yes, I’d like to be a dad, Keiko.” She rolled her eyes at his humor as was becoming her habit. “Now that the New Year is almost upon us, when will you begin your job search?”

“Some time at the end of January.”

“Will that be around here, or... ?”

“It will be here, Jeffrey, do not worry. I have no desire to return to Spokane even though my parents still live there. I have also discussed this with them and they understand my future lies elsewhere.”

Jeff kissed her - a soft, gentle kiss while he caressed her cheek. “I love you, Keiko Takahashi.”

“And I you, Jeffrey Knox.”