AWLL2 — Book 4 — Elyse

Last updated through AWLL2.4 ch 68.

Book summary

AWLL2.4 Elyse opens December 1989: Nick Evans's murder in Guam knocks Steve out at NIKA and sends the Adams circle into grief — Bethany, Nicholas, counseling with Doctor Fran Mercer and Chicago psychiatrists, and Steve's refusal to fly to Guam while still holding Bethany up. Through spring 1990 the book is deliberately calmer between storms: NIKA grows (the Dante contract, CEO transition planning, BLS acquisition seeds), Stephanie's intervention and karate expulsion, Jeri vs. Margaret Lundgren, Aimee's court-martial, alderman/union politics, and the household's widening family ( Abbie, Katy, Becka, Claire, Lauren, Vermont B&B). Elyse remains Steve's constant — CFO, co-parent, and emotional anchor. Gulf War, hacker-defense parallels, and syncope workups run parallel to rap sessions and anniversaries. By June 1991, abuse-history reporting laws block real therapy, the FBI circles NIKA's political contacts, a lawsuit looms, and a predawn call reports fire at Katy's Vermont inn — cliffhanger into AWLL2.5.

Chapter summaries

• Prologue — November 2004, Chicago — Steve lunches with Al Barton, departing UofC emergency medicine for the UCLA Medical School deanship in January. Al will encourage a brilliant trauma surgeon (still blocked by a breakdown sixteen years earlier) to apply for Chief of Emergency Medicine. Steve plans discreet hospital-board pressure to overcome liability fears. They reminisce about Nicholas's career and Fawn's life in New York.
• Chapter 1 — December 18–19, 1989 — Nick Evans's murder in Guam reaches NIKA; Steve syncopes on the office floor. Elyse, Kimmy, and Terry call Al Barton; paramedics take Steve to UofC ER where Jessica and Al work him up (low BP, ruled cardiac). Karl relays Navy details; Steve accepts he cannot fly to Guam and commits to supporting Bethany and Nicholas from Chicago.
• Chapter 2 — December 20–23, 1989 — Panama invasion dominates the news while the household prepares for Nick's memorial. Steve attends wake events, resists flying to Guam or emotional collapse, and refuses to journal about Nick yet. Abbie and Kara press him to grieve; he holds the line through Friday homecoming.
• Chapter 3 — December 29, 1989–January 3, 1990 — Nick's interment in Ohio; Julia Kallas delivers Nicholas George Kallas. Bethany grieves with Adams support; Doctor Fran Mercer counsels Steve and Bethany. Bethany stays in the guest house; Steve schedules continued Mercer sessions.
• Chapter 4 — January 4–10, 1990 — Steve comforts Bethany platonically in Milford; Doctor Mercer warns boundary risk. Chicago psychiatrist Doctor Green joins the team; Steve and Kara sign releases for Mercer and Doctor Alborg records. Green maps two weeks of shock, syncope, and Bethany support.
• Chapter 5 — February–March 1990 — Katya phones about Soviet upheaval and a January 15 grandchild (Eric Ferguson). Jesse's birthday; NIKA hires and contracts advance. Kathy arranges Bethany outings; Steve balances grief work with business and family.
• Chapter 6 — March 4, 1990 — Pre-dawn walk with Jessica; Abbie engineers Rebekah Jordan (Becka)'s controlled first sex with Steve (including anal) so Becka can heal and leave without romantic entanglement. Wives approve the unusual closure ritual.
• Chapter 7 — March 4–11, 1990 — Wives debrief Becka night; weekend in Milford with Bethany. Stephanie and Ed deepen; Steve checks Anthony Cicilioni ties for Ed. Sister-gun lockbox and family trust threads continue.
• Chapter 8 — March 13–25, 1990 — Stephanie's twenty-third birthday; Abbie nanny role and backstory (pool-table porn tape, pizza-guy stories). Shower fight: Kara reopens Becky wound; Steve insists he is past Becky since November.
• Chapter 9 — March 25–April 5, 1990 — Kara's birthday; Happy Land club fire news. Rap session on honesty. Steve tells Don Joseph the full Stephanie incest history — sister experienced as jilted lover since his marriages.
• Chapter 10 — April 5–8, 1990 — Dante dinner and volatile union-automation deal. NASCAR Bristol tape; Bill Elliott divorce rumor. Jason Stuart cannot be visited mid-season; Steve accepts limited father-son time.
• Chapter 11 — April 10–20, 1990 — Classified Dante project for Greg; Jesse birthday party. Joyce and Don Joseph reveal Steve will run NIKA from July while Stephanie must gain experience first — infuriating her.
• Chapter 12 — April 25–30, 1990 — Hiring and Dante counter-offer poker. Philosophy rap session: absolute truth, social lies, and Steve's harm-minimization ethic.
• Chapter 13 — May 8–12, 1990 — Katy depressed post-divorce; Lauren wants to cohabit. Staff plans Stephanie intervention after escalating behavior.
• Chapter 14 — May 12–13, 1990 — Stephanie jailed for disorderly conduct; Steve bails her. Sauna at Kimmy's; Melanie drives Stephanie to intervention site instead of home.
• Chapter 15 — May 14–19, 1990 — Signed Dante contract; Greg meets Dante in Lombard. Intervention continues; SAIC engineering project staffing set.
• Chapter 16 — May 21–28, 1990 — Wrigley Field Reds win; Birgit birthday. Victim impact statements for Nick's killer; military death-penalty facts. Veronica nanny farewell as she moves on.
• Chapter 17 — June 2–10, 1990 — Sensei Jim expels Stephanie from karate for violence. Jessica asserts professional 'Wonder Woman' identity. Margaret Lundgren harasses Jeri; NIKA staff ordered to refuse Lundgren contact.
• Chapter 18 — June 15–18, 1990 — Attorneys Jamie Ferguson and Philip Lache shield Jeri from parents. Lifestyle documentation for legal strategy; family sees Back to the Future Part III.
• Chapter 19 — June 19–26, 1990 — Steve, Elyse, and attorneys meet Margaret Lundgren on his terms. External corporate and family threats; Aimee court-martial trip to San Diego planned.
• Chapter 20 — June 29–July 6, 1990 — Office and vehicle security upgrades. Total Recall date; Aimee assigned USS Blue Ridge. Patrick Shaughnessy business; Trouble with boys.
• Chapter 21 — July 6–7, 1990 — DCFS Jane Danforth investigation; Gwen Meyer as counsel. Police questioning on household; State's Attorney expected nolle prosequi; records expungement planned.
• Chapter 22 — July 9–13, 1990 — Political countermeasures against Lundgrens and allies. Fight fire with fire strategy; Days of Thunder declined.
• Chapter 23 — July 15–17, 1990, San Diego — Aimee Shaughnessy court-martial; Steve and Jessica attend Naval Base San Diego hearings and testimony.
• Chapter 24 — July 18–21, 1990 — Flight with Kathy; Penny/Amber birthday pool party and Slip 'N Slide. Steve realizes Penny's children may include his.
• Chapter 25 — July 25–31, 1990 — Margaret Lundgren in Milford; political pressure on Jeri's parents. The Economist and Gulf crisis inform rap sessions.
• Chapter 26 — July 31–August 5, 1990 — Chicago politics: aldermen, unions, and NIKA's public-sector clients under scrutiny.
• Chapter 27 — August 6–21, 1990 — Aldermen working lunches; DuckTales and Ghost with wives; Michigan International Speedway NASCAR weekend.
• Chapter 28 — August 22, 1990 — Chicago tornado; baseball outing; Ohio family visit.
• Chapter 29 — September 4, 1990 — New NIKA hires and household faces integrate into fall routine.
• Chapter 30 — September 26–October 4, 1990, Los Angeles — User group trip; West Coast client and tech meetings; Jason/Abbie threads advance.
• Chapter 31 — October 6–7, 1990 — Lagom (Swedish balance) guides household and workload decisions.
• Chapter 32 — October 11–17, 1990 — Home and office transitions; group outing to Goodfellas.
• Chapter 33 — October 18–22, 1990 — Missing person scare; Craig Neidorf/Legion of Doom hacker defense fund; IIT lecture on We Didn't Start the Fire and American Pie.
• Chapter 34 — October 22–27, 1990 — Lauren hiring arc; IIT curriculum critique. Rap-session dance; triad dances to You're the Inspiration.
• Chapter 35 — October 28–November 2, 1990 — Tim replacement and Novell tech hiring; Katy emotional crisis. Star Trek Legacy with kids; medical software push.
• Chapter 36 — November 3–4, 1990 — Relationship negotiations; gaming flirtation with Claire Colson.
• Chapter 37 — November 4–10, 1990 — Claire Colson affair; UUCP/email for Robert Riggs hacker case; Len connectivity tests.
• Chapter 38 — November 11, 1990 — Extended family news: Sofia baby and Stavros engagement.
• Chapter 39 — November 19, 1990, Columbus — Ohio reconnecting visits (university and old ties).
• Chapter 40 — November 21, 1990 — Thanksgiving gratitude; Jesse and Francesca childhood romance comedy.
• Chapter 41 — November 24–30, 1990 — Business/pleasure balance; Abbie pregnancy timing if Jessica is not pregnant.
• Chapter 42 — December 3, 1990 — Jason Stuart NASCAR friend; Detroit mid-air collision report. Abbie Sunday intimacy.
• Chapter 43 — December 10, 1990 — Stoicism and Board debate on employee profit-sharing — Steve's loyalty-over-turnover philosophy.
• Chapter 44 — December 15, 1990 — Wedding anniversary celebration; Leslie Novak social introduction.
• Chapter 45 — December 16, 1990 — Katy Vermont B&B silent-partner deal; Jamie drafts partnership papers.
• Chapter 46 — December 28, 1990 — New Year's Eve party Part I; dances with Sheila and Leslie; Open Arms, You're the Inspiration.
• Chapter 47 — December 31, 1990 — NYE Part II; year-turn reflections on Stephanie, Francesca, and monogamy models.
• Chapter 48 — January 3, 1991, Vermont — Katy's Place: Londonderry farmhouse and apple-orchard B&B inspection.
• Chapter 49 — January 7, 1991, Pittsburgh — Jessica burnout diagnosis on surgical rotation; wives press her to share stress.
• Chapter 50 — January 13, 1991 — Leslie Novak arc; live Gulf War CNN coverage from Baghdad hotels.
• Chapter 51 — January 18, 1991 — Revelation: Steve and Stephanie childhood abuse cannot be disclosed to therapists without mandatory reporting and DCFS risk.
• Chapter 52 — January 19, 1991 — Meeting halfway: Steve approves Cindi's IIT hire Lauren despite reservations.
• Chapter 53 — January 30, 1991 — War is Hell — Gulf coverage; Neidorf/EFF parallels to hacker prosecution.
• Chapter 54 — February 11, 1991 — Psych battery of tests with Doctor Bradford begins (mood swings, family history).
• Chapter 55 — February 12–19, 1991 — Results: syncope likely stress-related; NASCAR safety rules debate; continued Bradford therapy.
• Chapter 56 — February 21, 1991 — Proper relationships — Russia trip planning; Jesse excited for Saint Petersburg friends.
• Chapter 57 — February 26, 1991 — Gulf cease fire; Exxon Valdez libertarian rap-session on regulation vs. shareholder risk.
• Chapter 58 — March 15, 1991, Vermont — Vacation at apple-orchard B&B site; Karin contact for future visits.
• Chapter 59 — March 28, 1991 — Kara's birthday party; naval-officer guests; board-seat background explained.
• Chapter 60 — April 5, 1991, Pittsburgh — Stanley Cup playoff corporate night; intimate hospitality subplot.
• Chapter 61 — April 6, 1991 — Steve turns 28; office birthday mutiny; kids' 'marry Mom' jokes raise Oedipal vigilance.
• Chapter 62 — April 26, 1991 — Conundrums: BLS acquisition training; Trek Prime Directive debate; medical-release timing.
• Chapter 63 — May 17, 1991, Pittsburgh — Penguins rout (7–0); We Are The Champions Cup run.
• Chapter 64 — May 26, 1991, Iron Mountain — College counseling; US News rankings; family teasing and tech banter.
• Chapter 65 — June 1, 1991, Iron Mountain — Abbie high-school graduation; triad dances to You're the Inspiration and We Can Last Forever.
• Chapter 66 — June 8, 1991 — Manic episode concerns around Jessica; Fawn STD/birth-control permission chain clarified.
• Chapter 67 — June 12–14, 1991 — You knew! — Kara learns Bethany knew abuse secret; rap session; Chelsea kisses Matthew.
• Chapter 68 — June 15–22, 1991 — Perfect storm: Bethany on Ohio/Illinois mandatory-reporting traps; FBI interview on aldermen/unions; lawsuit stress. 3:02am call — fire at Katy O'Connor's Vermont B&B. Book ends.