Chapter 5
Jack retired as planned on June 13th. Friday the 13th --which he hoped that wasn't a bad omen. He adamantly refused any type of farewell party, preferring to slip out quietly. Despite this, word of his retirement spread and his last day was a blur of co-workers and friends—lawyers, cops, judges, administrators, secretaries, paralegals--all coming in to wish him good luck. They ended up adjourning to a nearby pub that catered to the legal set, and he ended up getting home far later than he had planned. It felt good when he woke up the next morning with no work responsibilities for the first time in his adult life. He still had a huge list of things to accomplish, but legal work wasn't among them. His first order of business was a long summer vacation accompanied by wife and son. Matt's final day of school coincided with his retirement. Kate managed to get an extended vacation by hiring an agency physician to cover her shifts. Elizabeth was home from college and would house sit for them.
Jack's primary job over the next few days was preparing for the summer long trip out west. They planned to visit state and national parks/monuments in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. They would stop in Chicago along the way and visit Jack's sisters that still lived in the Windy City area.
He busied himself loading the Jayco travel trailer and familiarizing himself with its bells and whistles. It had been a long time since he'd driven with a tow, so he practiced maneuvers in the local high school parking lot until he satisfied himself that he could squeak into fairly tight spaces. Kate worked her final weekend, covering the ER from 7 a.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Monday—Jack wondered how physicians were alert enough to work 72 straight hours. Kate was an attending physician though, and she was able to nap when the ER wasn't busy and let the junior interns and residents handle the more routine cases. Still, after a shower, clean clothes and breakfast, she was content to curl up on the front seat and leave the driving to Jack.. Matt was strapped into the backseat and kept occupied by his toy cars and gameboy—at least for a while. The plan was to drive straight thru to Chicago with just a short stop to let Jack nap a few hours and a few to stretch their legs and run some energy off their son. They did just that. Kate napped until their first gas stop, then she took a turn driving while Jack played in the back seat with Matt. Cooping up an energetic small boy for 800 miles was an ambitious plan, but with their planned breaks to stretch, gas up and snack, they survived the long haul to Chicago. Pulling in behind the rush hour traffic, Jack squeezed the trailer back into his sister's driveway in the Mayfair Park neighborhood on Chicago's North side.
Jack's little sister Kerry was a high school teacher who lived on Kenton Avenue in a rambling house facing Mayfair Park. Her husband, Brian Sullivan, was a cop at the Riverside Police station. Much to Matt's delight, she had an above ground pool in her back yard. Kerry's three sons were 19, 21 and 23 years old. Aidan, the oldest boy, was already at work in a downtown bank, but still lived at home. The youngest two boys Brendan and Colin were home from college and promptly took Matt out to swim. His grateful parents had coffee and caught up on family events that Jack had barely paid attention to for the last 30 or so years. Kerry had invited their sister Shannon and her family over, so they would have a big cook out that evening. Shannon lived in nearby Glenview. She was a registered nurse, divorced with four kids aged 15-23. Her oldest daughter was married and living in California, but her two younger daughters and their brother would be coming. Both sisters adored Jack. He was the oldest and had always tried to protect them from their father's brutal temper and heavy hand. He had gone to the University of Chicago for his undergraduate degree so he could watch over them until they were old enough to take care of themselves. Both had fled into early marriages, one happily, the other not so. Both sisters were settled and content with their lives, delighted that their brother had finally found happiness too.
They spent a few days enjoying the city. Kate and Kerry hit the Art Institute, While Jack, Matt and assorted male cousins took in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Kate, Jack and Matt all trekked through the Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Museum of Science and Industry. Jack wanted to visit the Chicago Historical Society, but Matt protested strongly against another museum, so Kate took him to nearby Lincoln Park Zoo, while Jack strolled through one of his favorite old haunts by himself. He loved the exhibits on the Chicago fire. Mrs. O'Leary's cow indeed! "How come her barn survived the fire if her cow started it?" a youthful Jack had gotten a cuff on the head when he asked that question on a school field trip. Not all Chicago memories were bad ones, Jack decided. After meeting up with Kate and Matt, Jack drove them to the cemetery where his parents and two siblings were buried. When Jack was ten, he had lost a baby brother to Rheumatic fever. Another sister had been stillborn after his mother fell late in her pregnancy. Jack always believed his father had caused the fall. Seeing the graves for the first time since his mother's death caused both anger and sadness to well up. Matt was surprised by his father's tears, but Jack knelt beside him and explained simply that his father hadn't always been a good husband or father. He also promised the little boy that he would try to be a better father himself. He also told Matt that Matt should then try to be a better dad than Jack. That way, other children in our family will have a happy life. Kate got a bit teary too. Kerry had filled her in on some of the events of Jack's childhood that he omitted: Bruises and broken bones that fellow cops, neighbors and teachers routinely ignored in the fifties as private business. Kerry suspected that the nuns of St. Ignatius believed Jack deserved whatever he got and never reported the abuse.
They wrapped up the Chicago leg of the journey with a family picnic at Chicago's North beach on Saturday. All the family was able to attend so it was a great time. Jack had worked his summer vacations as a lifeguard at that beach from age 14 until he left Chicago. Nepotism was rampant in city jobs, and his father had gotten him the job. Old man was good for something. The beach hadn't changed much, but the suits were skimpier. Kate playfully smacked him when she caught him checking out the scenery. "Aren't you supposed to keep your eyes on the water?" she asked him.. He just gave her his most charming Jack grin. They pulled out at 4 a.m. Sunday morning so they could spend a day in Wisconsin Dells. The male cousins had suggested that Jack and Matt spend the day at the Big Chief Go-Kart Track. "They have like thirty different tracks, plus a dozen roller coasters," Aidan explained.
They settled into a shaded campsite at the Dells, and then Jack spent over an hour on the phone with the DA's office answering some questions for Serena and his replacement. Kate dropped her guys off at Big Chiefs with a cell phone then headed downtown to shop. She then came home and napped several hours. When she woke up they still hadn't called for a pick up, so she headed for the pool with a book. It was just after six when Jack called for their pickup. Both of them were grimy, sweaty, smelled like exhaust fumes and grinning from ear to ear. Kate left the windows down in the truck as she drove them home. She grilled burgers and fixed a salad while they cooled off and cleaned up via the pool. Matt was dead asleep by 7:30 still in his swim trunks. Jack carried him to bed and pulled the partition closed. He sank onto the master bed and was closing his eyes to when Kate straddled him and untied the drawstring to his swim trunks. Tired, but immediately aroused, Jack opened one eye and sized up his wife. She just smiled at him and proceeded to make wonderful love to him. Afterwards, he curled up with his head in her lap snoring softly, exhausted from an all day romp with his son and a shorter evening romp with his wife.