Maia Laaning Ch. 17

Now Erica was laughing hysterically at Maia's witticism. She said, "Oh lordie Maia! You sure are something else! What that something else is I can't hazard a guess!"

Maia continued, "In any case, since Sonia was indeed a gold star lesbian, the sex with her was sublime. More lustful and passionate than my encounter with Anna. Definitely in another world compared to my times with Riina."

The conversation then turned to elaborating on the details of Sonia Broadhurst's appearance and speculating on its impact to Paul Laaning's family in particular and generally to the Laaning extended family. Rod Koeninger soon appeared to partake in the conversation. As Maia loved her Aunt Erica, she got along with her Uncle Rod by extension. Since she had known him all her life, the fact that he was black was a no never mind to her.

As there did not appear to be any blacks in Estonia, Maia had no occasion to become racially biased or prejudiced. Basically, she was certainly aware that different races inhabit the planet and nothing more should be made of that fact. In her upbringing and view of world history, there were no wars that could be attributed to racial abhorrence. In her mind wars were fought for usually economic gain. The fact that the opposing side happened to be a different race was not a factor in the cause of any conflict.

With such a mindset, Maia did not discern any differences in dealing with her cousins. Be they Paul Laaning Jr and his wife and her cousin Judy of Uncle Paul's family vis à vis her cousins Rose, Charlie and Tony of her Aunt Erica's family. All those cousins were the same to Maia in that none of them could speak Estonian. The fact that Aunt Erica's children were considered black Americans did not alter her perception of the main difference between her and her American cousins. The fact that Uncle Paul's children were white did not make Maia believe she was closer in bonding with them, than with Aunt Erica's children.

In no time at all, Aunt Erica and Uncle Rod were duty bound to go to 'Erica's', the restaurant and nightclub/theater owned by Aunt Erica. Since Erica had not prepared an evening meal, she invited Maia and Rose to come spend the night at their establishment. Maia was quick to accept as despite the many previous visits to Chicago with her mother she had never been to her aunt's entertainment facility. Rose then had no option but to come along if only to keep Maia company. Naturally their meal was comped, but Erica had advised their server that she would receive added on her next paycheck twenty per cent of the cost of the meal to replace the tip she would have normally otherwise received.

'Erica's' had become the most popular trendy entertainment night spot frequented by those of the well to do set living in the metro area of Chicago. It was housed in an original four story structure but now renovated into a three floors building in downtown Chicago. The first floor composed of a sports bar and grill. There were giant flat screen TV monitors mounted throughout the walls showing either a live sporting event or a replay of a sporting event. Naturally, every game of the five Chicago professional sports teams in baseball, football, basketball and ice hockey leagues were prominently featured and available as they occurred throughout the year.

The second floor consisted of an upscale steakhouse restaurant and the kitchen serving the entire building. There were conveniently located a plethora number of dumbwaiters to convey food ordered by customers either upstairs at theater-in-the-round or downstairs at the sports bar. The sports bar in return conveyed drinks ordered by the customers in the restaurant or in the theater-in-the-round.

The third floor consisted of a center stage encircled by ascending tiers of tables and seats for customers to view the entertainment on the stage while sipping on a beverage and incidental food usually a light dessert. When Erica took over the building, she had the existing fourth floor demolished to make room for the cavernous atmosphere of the theater and installed luxury box seats where the fourth floor had been.

The entertainment usually consisted of an established singer or small group that would be appealing to sophisticated well to do professionals. Since Vivian's sporadic billionaire boyfriend Jed Baxter had been an investor in Erica's, he was instrumental to inveigling Pamela Rose, one of the most prominent singer and songwriter in America, to be the original and thereafter a periodic entertainer at the theater-in-the-round. That sealed the deal to make 'Erica's' an absolute perfect date for the 'A' list social crowd of Chicago and ensured a steady flow of well to do patrons.

Erica had a general manager and eight assistant managers to run the day to day operations of her business. However, in recalling the criminality of her late brother-in-law, Maia's biological father, she did not trust anyone to do the day to day accounting for the business. Thus, every Thursday night, Erica would painstakingly examine the financial ledger for the previous week and account for every expenditure and verify every item of income recorded. The one other piece of business Erica was involved in during the week was to obtain and schedule entertainers for the theater-in-the-round.

Maia and Rose had a wonderful time getting to know each other better. Rose was able to fill in with a lot of information about 'Erica's' and how it rose to prominence in the Chicago night life scene. She also cataloged the various famous entertainers that had graced the stage at 'Erica's'. By far the most intriguing gossip Rose was able to impart was the story of the general manager. Her name was Abigail Van Buren, but she had been a porn star appearing under the name of Penny Dreadful. Angela Black, Maia's mother's best friend had spotted her working as a server at a restaurant in San Diego, CA. Ms Van Buren aka Penny Dreadful had advised she had quit the porn business and was taking a course in restaurant and hotel management in a community college in an effort to better herself.

Ms Van Buren aka Penny Dreadful also indicated she would probably move back east off the west coast once she finished her course of study. In that regard Angela Black said if Ms Van Buren found herself in Chicago she should look up Erica Koeninger who owns a trendy restaurant in the Windy City; Erica Koeninger being a sister of Vivian Laaning, Ms Black's best friend. Abigail Van Buren did subsequently stop in Chicago and did have an interview with Erica. The interview was a total success as Abigail aka Penny Dreadful was hired immediately on the spot as a server. After two weeks on the job, she was promoted to an assistant manager position. And as Abigail Van Buren no longer aka Penny Dreadful proved to be superior in her position, it did not take long for Erica to promote her as general manager to replace herself in that position.

Maia replied, "Oh what a wonderful story. I love those rags to riches accounts as it proves anything is still possible no matter how averse the situation one finds oneself in. That's why I admire my boyfriend so much. His life was uneventful until his father died when he was eighteen. At that point he was faced with the responsibility of helping his mother out along with his younger sister. To do that, he had to sacrifice two years of his life by prolonging his high school terms before finally getting his diploma.

"However, his sacrifice was not in vain as it proved to be worthwhile. His mother became a registered nurse earning a sufficient income to take care of herself and her daughter. He found employment that was not dead end but projected the possibility of a substantial career employed by the Lamborghini dealership in Tallinn. Finally, he acquired a girlfriend who is considered to be the most beautiful girl in all of Estonia. That would be moi!"

Rose had been sipping on a glass of wine during Maia's soliloquy. As she heard the last hyperbole regarding the unequivocal assertion of Maia's pulchritude, she choked on her drink and gasped in laughter. She was finally able to utter, "Humble much?"

Maia instantly rebutted, "False and insincere modesty is not a virtue but instead can suppress one's ambition. On the other hand, unduly focusing favorably on one's own achievements can likewise be a hindrance to one's progress in life. My tennis coach Toomas Tamala provided a great tennis example that applies in life in general as well as in tennis particularly."

Surprised and taken off guard by such an unequivocal laudatory statement, Rose stammered a response, "Your tennis coach? The one you bonked earlier this month? He was instrumental in giving you relevant life answers?

Maia answered, "Yes indeed! The very same tennis coach whom I was thrilled to have sex with earlier this month. Aside from the great tennis tips he taught me, which would tend to improve my tennis skills, he also was not shy in dispensing life skills wisdom. In particular, he cited the 1986 semifinal match of the US Open between Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, as a great example.

"In this match, Steffi was seventeen years old and had not yet won a slam title. Martina on the other hand was thirty-one years old having already established her outstanding Hall of Fame credentials. The match was a close one, settled by a tiebreaker in the third set. Martina eventually prevailed but not before she had to overcome facing two separate match points against in that last game.

"However, the life lesson did not emanate from the outcome of the match, but at how each player reacted in the subsequent press conference. Martina was naturally ebullient and was boastful about her victory. She was not deterred from her enthusiasm when asked whether she was at all worried or nervous in facing two separate match points. She pointed out that each of those match points occurred while she was serving so she had no worries as she felt that she had the situation well under control.

"On the other hand, when Steffi was asked if she was disappointed to have come so close to beating a tennis legend like Martina Navratilova, she merely replied laconically, 'I guess I'll have to learn to play better next time.' The separate reactions illustrated the mind set of each and a lesson on how properly to react on an important occasion. Martina's reaction was understandable but lulled her into believing she would always prevail. In actuality, after that match Steffi won eight out of their next last thirteen meetings.

"I naturally subscribe to Steffi's reactions as the most effective one. There's no point in delving into what should have, might have, or could have been. Instead concentrate what were your mistakes and plan on how to overcome them to prevail next time. That has been my strategy with my mother in our battles. I know she'll usually succeed, but I analyze what weakness she betrayed that I could exploit to eventually triumph on the next occasion. I like to get my way which I assume most people like to do as well. But I daresay that I'm more likely to triumph than not."

Rose merely said, "Well good luck with that philosophy."

With that kind of conversation, the evening progressed to a very satisfactory conclusion as Vivian got to know better her cousin who was the closest to her age. The next day, Friday, saw Rose leave for her week long spring vacation on the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica. During that week Charlie the second son and middle child of Erica and Rod was on his spring break vacation in Texas. He wasn't scheduled to return until Sunday and so Maia would miss him as she was returning to Estonia leaving Saturday afternoon.

However, Maia was destined to meet in this visit her third cousin of Aunt Erica's family, namely Tony Koeninger who was nine years older than Maia. Tony had followed in his father's footsteps mostly by happenstance as opposed to deliberately imitating him by design. For example, as he applied for football scholarships amongst several schools, it so happened that the University of Wisconsin, his father's alma mater, offered the most advantageous scholarship. No doubt the fact that his father was a very successful alumnus prompted the school to be generous.

Once Tony graduated from the University of Wisconsin, he was not drafted by the Chicago Bears, the team his farther predominantly played for during his NFL career. Instead, he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers, but it was fortuitous for him since his paternal grandparents resided in Charlotte, NC. Since in growing up, his family frequently visited his grandparents, who also occasionally came up to Chicago to visit, Tony quickly became very comfortable living in Charlotte. As a result, he bought a house to establish his expected permanent residency in Charlotte.

Tony had scheduled this visit sometime previously, obviously without knowing that Maia would be present. When he became aware that Maia would be present during this visit, he was intrigued to see her. He had not seen her for several years. His football commitments prevented him to be in Chicago during the time Maia and her mother visited his family in July. Because the football season was still on in November, he was deprived of being with his family for the Thanksgiving holiday. As it turned out, when she started high school Maia did not accompany her mother during the November visits, anyway.

From the descriptions volunteered by his brother and sister as well as from his mother, Tony was apprised of the fact that Maia had developed into a stunningly good looking woman. Thus, he was curious to meet his Estonian cousin. He had intended for that Friday night to ask out one of the women he knew living in Chicago who he expected he could bed at the conclusion of the date. Since he was staying for a whole week, and Maia would only be available that one day before she was scheduled to leave Saturday afternoon to return to her home in Estonia, he decided that his intended date could wait.

Consequently, when Tony did meet Maia that Friday afternoon, he did not regret his preliminary decision. Her beauty was spectacular! She was very tall, just about as tall as him. That was a plus for Tony as he preferred tall women as opposed to those short women who needed to wear high heels just to stand higher than his waist. Maia was proportionality even in her body frame. Although she weighed 100 kg, to her 183 cm height; she looked voluptuously sexually appealing. 'Oh yes!' thought Tony, his cousin was as gorgeous as his sibs and his mother had avowed.

To Maia the appearance of Tony Koeninger was a welcome surprise. She had not seen him for almost a decade and hardly remembered what he looked like save and except that he was the only truly black person she personally knew save and except his father. Charlie and Rose did not have the same dark skin pigmentation as their father or Tony. Since throughout her life she had no other personal contacts with black persons, she harbored no prejudices or assumptions concerning the difference in race.

Thus, when Maia gazed upon Tony, she was not concentrating on the obvious racial difference. Instead, she focused on how he stacked up as a lover compared to the other growing list of lovers, she had engaged in. On this basis, she felt Tony would probably be a star. He was taller than her an obvious plus. She knew from experience that shorter men were invariably intimidated by her height alone, never mind her obvious superior pulchritude.

Most importantly Tony exuded a completely comfortable self assurance. So, despite her relative lack of extensive sexual experience, she had already concluded that the confident men tend to be superior lovers than the timid ones. That opinion was shared by her sexually active friends and her mother. It was their collective opinion that a confident man would willingly accept sexual suggestions for improvement, whereas a timid man would see it as a sign of sexual inadequacy on his part.

Accordingly, upon meeting Tony this time, and engaged in innocuous conversations at the Koeninger home, Maia naturally formed a very favorable opinion of Tony. She determined which by now had become a ubiquitous resolve for her, in that if she did not get laid by Tony, it wouldn't be due to any reticence on her part. She did think, though, that since she was leaving the next day, there probably was no scope of sufficient time available for seduction.

Here though, Maia did not do justice to Tony Koeninger's powers in sexual initiative and enticement. He advised that he had preordered tickets to Medieval Times. This is a dinner theater entertainment establishment featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting in a building with the outward appearance constructed as a replica of 11th-century castles.

The menu consisted of garlic bread; tomato bisque soup; half a Roasted chicken; sweet buttered corn; herb-basted potatoes and lemon cake as the pastry of the castle. Soft drinks, coffee and a cash bar for alcoholic drinks were also available. To make the medieval feast authentic there were no utensils provided; one was expected to eat with one's fingers like they did in the relevant times. During the meal patrons were treated to a two hour show replicating the medieval knights jousting tournaments as well as hand to hand sword fighting. In addition, there were some neat displays of equestrian showmanship, which drew enthusiastic response from the audience.

In making the invitation to Maia to be his date for the evening, Tony told a little white lie. He suggested that his intended date had bowed out at the last minute, and so asked if Maia would like to accompany him as opposed to his trying to find an alternative substitute. Naturally Maia readily accepted the date, not only because of her attraction to Tony in any case, but the date did seem like a truly extraordinarily exciting event, something not available back home.

The venue was in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago about a forty-five minutes' drive from the Koeninger residence. The entertainment lived up to its billing. The action took place in an oval area like an ice hockey rink. The patrons were all seated around in rows like an ice hockey rink with aisle space to allow servers to tend to their assigned customers.

The entertainment show proved to be very realistic in its exhibition. The visible action seemed as authentic as similar actions depicted in Hollywood movies or TV shows like 'Game of Thrones' for example. The audience could see real sparks flying in the air from the clash of lances or the swords. Maia was thoroughly entertained, and as a result she was even more prone to think highly of her cousin. She welcomed the opportunity for an attempt at seduction.

The opportunity for sex was made more possible when after the show ended around 09:30 PM, Tony suggested that they have some drinks at a nearby bar. At this point, Maia sensed that as a result of this entertaining date there seemed to have developed a chemistry between them. So, she reaffirmed her resolve that if she didn't get laid that night it surely wouldn't be because of any reticence on her part.