Good Medicine Freshman YearChapter 22 Fallout
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June 15, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio
“Negative,” Liz whispered happily when I came home from work on Monday.
“Thank God,” I said.
We both had been on pins and needles since the previous Monday, and the news had come as a relief. Jocelyn and Dale had noticed I was on edge on Saturday night, and I’d pulled them aside briefly to tell them what had happened. They were both in agreement that I had no choice but to report the guy. Jocelyn offered to emasculate him with a rusty spoon, which had me laughing and Dale cringing.
I’d had a long talk with Dale about everything on Sunday while we were playing pool and chess, and he offered any help he could give. He also thanked me again, as things with Stacey had progressed to a point where he was sure he’d get laid before he left for Madison. I wondered if that were the case, as it sounded as if Stacey was unsure, and that meant she might change her mind. But either way, Dale was happy which made me happy.
“What are you going to do now, Mikey?”
“Do you remember Phil Kessel?”
“Sure. The baseball star who became a Deputy Sheriff when he graduated.”
“I talked to him today. I called and asked him to stop by the hardware store. I explained what happened and asked what I should do. He told me how the investigation would work. Basically, I gave him a picture of you and your list. He went to the motel and verified the dates matched the guy’s name and the desk clerk recognized your picture. I got Phil to promise not to arrest the guy until tomorrow, so I could talk to Mom tonight.”
“Holy shit, Mikey!” Liz gasped.
“What? All I did was call Phil. He knew what to do. He was ready to arrest Mr. Paul Reynolds today, but he’ll do it in the morning. It was really easy because your ex-boyfriend registered under his own name. And the desk clerk identified you.”
“So what happens now?”
“He’ll arrest the guy. They’ll question him and then file charges. I don’t know for sure how it works, but they may need to get an indictment from a grand jury because it’s a felony. Phil wasn’t sure, because they could also do something called an ‘evidentiary hearing’. He’ll turn everything over to the District Attorney tomorrow afternoon. You’ll have to testify unless he pleads guilty.”
“No!” Liz gasped, and tears ran down her face.
“I think he’ll make a deal, Liz. They have him dead to rights. They’ll send a female deputy to talk to you and take your statement tomorrow. I already arranged to stay home.”
“What about Mom and Dad?”
“That’s the tricky part, I’ll admit. I need to talk to Mom without Dad around. I’ll do that after dinner.”
“What about Dad?”
“I want Mom to tell him. She’ll be able to keep him under control. I had Dale take my rifle home with him yesterday.”
“Whoa! You weren’t kidding when you said Dad might shoot him.”
“I thought about shooting him! Can you hold it together during dinner?”
“I think so. What should I do after dinner?”
“Help me with dishes just like always. Jocelyn and Emmy are coming over at 7:00pm.”
“Why?”
“Strength in numbers. Your friend and my friend. Emmy will stay with you and Jocelyn will be with me when I tell Mom.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I hope so, too,” I sighed. “But I talked to Dale and Jocelyn on Saturday, and Emmy on Friday, and then Phil today. I’m doing what Phil said.”
“I don’t know, Mikey.”
“Liz, come here.”
She came over to where I was standing. I held out my arms and she melted into them. I held her tightly and comforted her.
“It’s going to be OK,” I said, stroking her hair.
“You promise?”
“I promise. I suspect I’ll get more grief than you do.”
“You? Why?”
“For not coming to Mom and Dad right away. But I’ll deal with it.”
“How much trouble did you get in with Father Herman? You didn’t talk to me after you went to confession on Saturday.”
“Not much. He said something along the lines of how easy it is to fall and asked if I was seeing her again. I told him, truthfully, that I wasn’t going to. He suggested, strongly, that I continue to see Tasha under supervised conditions to help me stay on the right path.”
“What did you actually do with Carol?” Liz asked.
“Got my first hand job,” I said.
Liz giggled, “Four years late!”
“Do NOT say something like that to Mom, Lizzy!”
“I won’t.”
“Do you know, a few weeks ago, I was annoyed when I thought you might have had sex before I did?”
“You suspected?”
“It was when you were teasing me about my non-existent sex life.”
I heard Mom call us for dinner and we went down to eat. Liz was fine during dinner, but she kept looking at me. I wondered if Mom or Dad had noticed, but nothing was said. Liz and I did the dishes, and then I went to my room to wait for Jocelyn and Emmy. I was skipping karate again, and Sensei Adam would be unhappy, but that was too bad. Liz was more important. I read until the girls arrived. Emmy went up to Liz’s room and I asked Mom to come out to the patio in the back yard with Jocelyn and me.
“If you two tell me you’re engaged...” Mom laughed.
Jocelyn smirked, “Well, we did kind of get engaged last Wednesday over the phone!”
“What?!” Mom gasped.
“She’s teasing!” I said. “We’re just trying to figure out how not to lose our friendship after the Summer.”
“If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen,” Mom said.
“Well, duh!” I said. “But we’re really talking about staying friends, not about getting married. I mean we talked about that in a kind of round-about way, but the friendship is more important.”
“True. What did you want to talk about?”
“Liz,” I said.
“With Jocelyn at your side? Why do you need moral support, Mikhail Petrovich?”
I took a deep breath, “Because of what I know about Liz’s boyfriend.”
“Spit it out, Mister,” Mom said sternly.
“Mom, come sit down at the table. Please.”
“I’m not going to be happy, am I?”
I shook my head, “No, you won’t be. I’m certainly not.”
The three of us sat down at the table on the patio, with Jocelyn moving her chair to sit close enough to me to take my hand.
“The short version is, I reported her boyfriend to Phil Kessel.”
“Your friend the Deputy Sheriff? Why?”
I took a deep breath, “Because Liz’s boyfriend is twenty-four.”
“Oh no! Oh my! My poor baby!”
“It’s worse,” I said.
“She’s pregnant?” Mom asked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
“No; thank God,” I said. “But he’s married and has a six-month-old son.”
“I’ll cut his «яйца» off!” she spat. “Your father, on the other hand, will shoot him.”
I didn’t remember hearing that word, but it was pretty obvious it was about his gonads - either his testicles or his penis. Now was NOT the time to ask that question, though.
“I sent my rifle home with Dale yesterday,” I said. “For exactly that reason.”
“What is Phil going to do?”
“Arrest the «ублюдок»! What else?”
“Uhm, Mike, you’re talking in code again,” Jocelyn prompted.
“I said ‘bastard’. If I use the word I want to, Mom will wash my mouth out with soap again.”
My mom actually laughed, “In THIS case, I think I could make an exception. But why didn’t you tell us, Mike?”
“Liz didn’t want me to tell at all when I found out. I talked to Jocelyn, Dale, and Emmy, then talked to Phil. All of them told me the same thing, which confirmed what I thought was the right thing to do. And that was I had to tell. Once I did, Phil started an investigation. He’ll arrest the guy first thing in the morning. He already has the most damning evidence.”
“Which is?”
“Liz made a list of dates they went to the motel and the desk clerk identified her photo. The guy’s name is in the register at the hotel on those dates. Once they arrest him, a female deputy will come talk to Liz and take her statement. Phil is going to accuse him of statutory rape and hold him until the District Attorney decides what all the charges ought to be.”
“Your father is not going to be happy with you.”
“Mom, I did what I thought was right for Liz. The «мудак» is going to jail.”
“Mike, I’ll let you get away with that this one time. Do NOT use that word again! And how is it, you seem to know all those words, but can’t carry on a basic conversation?”
“I can’t answer that question,” I replied.
“Your grandfather and I are going to have words.”
“Mom, cut him some slack. He and his friends do use those words. I know I’m not supposed to, but in THIS case, it was warranted.”
“Care to translate for the ignorant American?” Jocelyn asked.
“Uh, no,” I said. “If I say THAT word out loud, you WILL get to witness an eighteen-year-old having his mouth washed out with soap.”
My mom nodded, “Exactly. Your father is going to lose it, Mike.”
“I know. That’s why Jocelyn and I are here talking to YOU. She’s partly cover, partly moral support. Dad won’t be suspicious. But, sometime tomorrow, a Sheriff’s Deputy will come here to talk to Liz and by Wednesday morning, it’s going to be in the paper. Liz’s name won’t be; I checked that with Phil before I gave him any details. I planned to stay home from work tomorrow. I already cleared that with Mr. Orlov.”
“Did he coerce your sister? Force her into anything?”
I shook my head, “No. That’s why Phil’s charging him with statutory rape. Mom, Liz basically went after him. As far as I can tell, he never called her and never contacted her.”
“Where did she meet him?”
“The pool.”
“I KNEW I should have forbidden those bikinis, even the new ones!”
I shook my head, “It wouldn’t have mattered. She was looking to do it, Mom. It wasn’t a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ and ‘who’.”
“Where did your father and I go wrong?” she sighed.
“You didn’t,” I said. “Liz made her own conscious decision. You know I’ve struggled with the issue for years. We’ve talked about it. You know what happened with April. Why is Liz any different from me? Because I couldn’t find someone to do it with and she could?”
I squeezed Jocelyn’s hand. She and I would need to talk about this, but she knew most of it anyway.
“She was only fourteen, Mike,” my mom sighed. “If she were even sixteen, I could at least understand even if I didn’t like it.”
“If she had been sixteen, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“That somehow makes her less in need of your protection?”
“You just said sixteen was different!”
“But a married man? Cheating on his wife? And who has a son?”
I took a deep breath and let it out, “At some point, each of us makes decisions we regret later. I’ve made a few which you know about. I can’t be sure, but I have to think you and Dad both have as well.”
“I have to do something about this, Mike. You know that.”
I nodded, “I know. Will you allow defense counsel to speak on behalf of the accused?”
Mom shook her head, “No. Not this time, Mike. You already took matters too far into your own hands. You did the right thing, mind you, but she’s our daughter. You should have come to us and let us handle it.”
I nodded, “Do I get to speak on my own behalf?”
Mom smiled, “You tried to do the right thing. You and I will have a nice long chat about trusting your parents to do the right thing. We’re not evil ogres.”
“I know. But Liz doesn’t trust you.”
“I don’t get it,” she sighed. “We treated her almost exactly the same as we treated you.”
“And she’s not me, is she? I mean, even besides being a girl.”
“No. I guess I learned a lesson today. Just because a parenting method worked for one child, it doesn’t mean it will work for all children. You kids remember that when you have your own.”
“NOW who’s having us engaged?” I chuckled.
“Aren’t you? You’re sitting there, holding hands, with Jocelyn acting like the supportive wife. You didn’t call Dale. Or Emmy. Or Tasha.”
“Emmy’s upstairs with Liz.”
“You are a crafty one, Mike. I can’t get too upset with you because my future daughter-in-law is acting as a shield. And I can’t get too upset with Liz because Emmy is here.”
“The relationship counselor who spoke at the assembly told us about having a friend support us when we had to have a difficult conversation. That’s why Jocelyn is here. And it creates a ‘cooling off’ period so you don’t act out of anger. Dad’s going to need one, for sure. We learned about that in our psychology class Senior year. I do listen, you know!”
Mom nodded, “You always did. Sometimes it took a few times, but in the end, you did listen.”
“As for Jocelyn being your future daughter-in-law, let’s hold off on that determination, shall we? At least until Jocelyn and I sort things out?”
“I think I can wait. I’m not quite ready to have a married son!”
“And I’m not quite ready to marry! I just may do it before my Residency, rather than after.”
“You’ll know when the time is right.”
“So what do you want me to do?” I asked.
“That’s the thing I like the most about you, Mike. You know when to ask for instructions, and then follow them. You’re going to make a wonderful Doctor.”
“Thanks. So?”
“Take Jocelyn out and get some ice cream or something. Give me a couple of hours, I guess. How much does Emmy know?”
“Now? Everything.”
“And before?”
I shrugged, “Whatever Liz told her.”
“I’ll let you off the hook on that,” Mom said, making it clear she knew Emmy knew more than Liz had let on.
“Let Liz keep Emmy with her, please. She’d want me, but you’re sending me away.”
“I am. Because I need to get your father calmed down before you come back.”
“And Liz?”
“I think I’ll let Emmy take her for a walk. That’s not quite within the usual grounding rules, but we are in strange times.”
“OK. We’ll get out of here. Two hours?”
“That should do it.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Your heart was in the right place, Mike. The most important thing. I’m not sure your dad will agree, but it’s true.”
I nodded and then Jocelyn and I stood up and went into the house so I could get my keys. I stopped at Liz’s door.
“She’s relatively calm,” I said. “She’ll come talk to you. Just be honest, OK?”
“You can’t stay?”
I shook my head, “I’ve been excused. Emmy can stay, though.”
Liz sagged, and said, “OK.”
Jocelyn and I left the house just as my mom was coming in from the back yard. I didn’t envy her. My dad loved us, and usually kept on an even keel. But an adult man having sex with his young teenage daughter was going to put him on tilt like the pinball machines at the bowling alley when you shook them too hard. Jocelyn was quiet until we got into the car.
“What DID you say in Russian?” she asked.
“I called him an ‘a-hole’. Mom has a REAL problem with swearing. And she was exaggerating. I can carry on a basic conversation in Russian. Well, kind of at a six-year-old level, I guess. My dad doesn’t speak much Russian beyond a few standard phrases, so we don’t use it much at home. At church, when I was little, it was mostly Russian that was spoken, but now it’s mostly English and I more or less lost most of what I’d learned.”
“What’s going to happen now?”
“Well, there’s going to be 20 megaton nuclear explosion. My mom will try to pick up the pieces before I go home.”
“Want to hide out at my house?”
“Are you inviting me to live with you, Jocelyn Mills?”
“Oh sure! You can just move right into my bedroom. I’m sure my dad will be just as cool with THAT as yours is going to be when your mom tells him about your sister’s married lover!”
“A reasonable point,” I grinned. “Ice cream?”
“You don’t have to ask twice. You know my weakness!”
“Rocky Road!” I grinned.
“And let me guess, a single scoop of chocolate on a sugar cone?”
“I am a creature of habit. You never did tell me what Julie said.”
“Julie doesn’t answer questions, she asks them. Good ones.”
“So what was the good question?”
“She asked what made me decide to go to school anywhere except where you were going.”
“Do I want to hear the answer to this question?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shake her head.
“No, you don’t. I told her it was because I didn’t even think about it. I’m really sorry, Mike.”
“You do know I could have gone to Purdue, or just about any college in the country.”
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Hum dono abhi bhi nange hi thay. Chalte chalte usne paad maari. Uski gaand mein abhi bhi haddi akti hui thi. Nadi kinare, jhadiyon ke bich usko bithaya. “Hug le saali madarchod. Kab se paad rahi jai bhosdiki.” Woh hugne lagi. Uski gaand se haddi nikal gayi. Uski garam moot ki dhaar mere pairo pe giri. “Saali maderjaat! Mere pairon pe mootegi. Saali raand muh khol,” main uske muh mein mootne laga. Lavda uske gale mein ghus kar mootne laga. Maine apni tange faila di aur wahi khade khade hugne...
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June 6, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio After Vespers on Saturday, I spent a few minutes talking to Tasha. “My dad isn’t sure karate is ‘ladylike’,” she said. “The uniforms cover more than those nice dresses you wear during the Summer!” “You noticed, Mike?” she asked with a soft laugh. “If I may be «некультурный», yes, of course! It’s difficult to miss a pretty girl with a nice body!” “Thank you! But do NOT say that around my dad! He’ll never let you see me again!” “So the answer is ‘no’?” “I...
September 28, 1981, McKinley, Ohio “Mike?” Nancy whispered. “Wake up! I need to eat breakfast so I can catch the bus!” “I’m awake,” I replied. I stretched and yawned and sat up. “Are you doing OK?” Nancy asked. “Much better after last night. That was just what I needed. Thanks.” “I think I’m calling Ripley’s,” Mrs. Landers laughed, coming into the room. “Teenage boy shows up and asks to spend the night with teenage girl. She agrees and gets permission from her mom. Boy desires only...
December 21, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio “Mikey!” Liz squealed when I walked into the house on Monday evening. “Hi, Lizzy!” I said. She ran to me and we hugged lightly, then went into the living room where she had been sitting with my parents. “Welcome home, Mike,” Dad said. “How is Jocelyn?” “Pretty good. She has most of her range of motion back and they’re working to see if they can get her some more. Her bones have knit well, and she’s able to move around more freely.” “That’s good to...
September 19, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio “Why are you sending me such mixed signals?” “Mixed signals?” Jocelyn and I were sitting on the couch, and she was cuddled next to me, at least as best she could, given her obvious discomfort from the injuries, catheter, and physical therapy. I had thought a lot after my talks with Doctor Hart, as well as my talks with Nancy. One thing I was seriously concerned about was getting more deeply involved with Nancy and messing things up with Jocelyn. I...
September 7, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio When I stopped home just before 8:00pm on my way back to McKinley, I found my dad alone, in the living room, sitting in his easy chair, drinking Scotch on the rocks. “Hi, Dad. Where’s Mom?” “Sleeping. She’s completely worn out by last night and today. I’m surprised you’re not.” “I’ll crash when I get back to my dorm. How did it go?” He held up his glass, “Third one. How do you think?” I slumped down onto the couch. “Not good,” I sighed. He took a...
March 23, 1982, McKinley, Ohio I had been extremely distracted during my drive from Circleville to McKinley, and was having real trouble concentrating on my review for O-Chem, and the guys noticed. “What’s bugging you?” Jason asked. “You seem like you’re on another planet.” “I know,” I agreed. “I’m having real trouble concentrating.” “That must have been a hell of a concert!” Pete laughed. “Of course, seeing my girlfriend wrap her lips around a saxophone might distract me, too!” “You’re...
October 12, 1981, McKinley, Ohio “Well THAT stinks,” Nancy said on Tuesday afternoon. “What happens now?” “I don’t know yet. I talked to Doctor Norris this morning after my chem mid-term and he’s confident nothing will happen. The problem is, I’m sure I’ve made an enemy of the Dean, and any minor slip-up on my part is going to become a Federal case.” “But why you?” “I had the misfortune to draw someone who felt she could use the discrimination procedure to get something she couldn’t...
November 8, 1981, McKinley, Ohio “Do you want me to disappear?” Angie asked as we walked into the dorm after church. “Why? Emmy knows I’m dating you. She’s not jealous. You know she’s coming to visit and she knows you know. It would be REALLY dumb to invite her here otherwise, don’t you think?” “Guys have been known to do dumb things from time to time!” “Not ones who want you to stick around.” “You do remember I told you my High School boyfriend screwed a close friend of mine behind my...
Great and Holy Friday, April 16, 1982, McKinley, Ohio As Angie and I stood quietly waiting for the Lamentations service to begin late on Friday, I thought about the series of services which had brought us here - Bridegroom Matins on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings; Holy Unction on Wednesday evening; a Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Thursday morning celebrating the Last Supper, the Twelve Gospels service Thursday evening, celebrating the passion; the Royal Hours kept all day Friday; and...
November 2, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio “I did not come here for a lecture,” I said firmly. “I did what I felt was in Liz’s best interest. Again. Dad said we needed to talk, and I’m willing to talk. I am NOT willing to listen to a lecture.” “You do not decide what is best for your sister,” Mom said. “That is for your father and me, as well as the professionals.” “And what is Dad’s opinion on this?” I asked. “That is not the point, Mike!” I sighed. We’d been going around in circles on the...
August 16, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio Liz threw her arms around me on Sunday morning when I walked out of my room. “Thank you! Thank you!” I hugged her tightly to me. “Mom let you out of ‘house arrest’?” “Yes. And I know you’re responsible. If you weren’t my brother, I’d kiss you!” “Just remember, you have to behave, because if you don’t...” “I know,” she sighed. “I’m on parole. Did Mom tell you that Paul agreed to plead guilty to one count of statutory rape and one count of oral sodomy...
November 23, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio On Monday morning, just after breakfast there was a knock at the door. I got up from the couch and went to open it. “Phil?” “Hi, Mike. Can we come in?” “We?” “This is Mrs. Laramy from Family Services.” “Hang on a second.” I went to the kitchen to get my dad, who followed me back to the foyer. “Hi, Phil,” Dad said. “What’s up?” “This is Mrs. Laramy from Family Services.” “Mr. Loucks? I have an order here to take custody of Elizabeth.” “What?!...
May 31, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio On Sunday morning as I dressed for church, I faced the true reality of what happened the previous night. My make-out sessions with April had, except on that single instance where I’d fondled her sweater-clad breast for more than a second or two, not gone far enough to be included in my confession. What had happened the previous night certainly had. I now faced effectively the same dilemma I would have faced had April and I gone to the motel after Prom. I...
August 21, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio On Friday morning, Mr. Mills called just after 6:00am to let me know that Jocelyn had gone into surgery, and that it would likely be mid-afternoon before he had any news. I thanked him and sat down at the table in the kitchen with a mug of tea I made and read the Rutherford Tribune. Nobody else was up, and I enjoyed the quiet for about an hour before my parents came into the kitchen. “Was that Jocelyn’s dad who called at 6:00am?” my dad asked. “Yes. I...
February 13, 1982, McKinley, Ohio “I visited Ohio State yesterday,” Nancy said when we had a chance to chat on Saturday morning. “And?” “I’m pretty sure I’m going to Taft like we talked about because I can live at home. But the tour was cool and our tour guides were absolutely hysterical.” “Oh?” “Yeah. A guy and his fiancée. He’s a criminal justice major and wants to be a US Marshal. She’s in pre-law and wants to be a criminal defense lawyer. They told some of the funniest stories about...
April 4, 1982, West Monroe, Ohio “Mishka!” Tasha squealed, hugging me tightly, but quickly releasing me because we were in the narthex of the church. “Hi, Tasha!” I said with a smile. She grabbed my hand and led me to the church hall where we got some food and coffee, then sat down by her parents. “Michael, how is school going?” Deacon Vasily asked. “All A’s so far, and I should finish the semester with a 4.0 average.” “Very good. And you’re attending church regularly?” “Yes. Every...
September 26, 1981, McKinley, Ohio “What?!” I gasped. “How is she?” “I don’t know, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Her dad called from Rutherford Hospital and asked me to call you. All he said was that they were working on her.” “I’m leaving in about three minutes. That’s what I’ll need to get dressed.” “What about Becky?” “I’ll bring her, I guess. I can’t imagine her parents are going to be in Rutherford.” “She’s there with you?” “Yes. Beat me up about that later! I’m on my way to...
October 10, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio I froze and realized my first inclination to go back to McKinley had been the right one. I’d thought my talk with Becky the previous weekend had resolved the issue, but I was very clearly mistaken. I could actually go back. It was early enough, and I hadn’t told Tasha I was going to be home, so she wouldn’t be upset, and a phone call would make her very happy as the two I’d made so far had done. But there was one problem - all I could hear in my head was...
October 11, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio On Sunday morning, Becky and I got out of bed and snuck across the hall to the bathroom, where we got into the shower together. “Thank you,” she said as I lathered shampoo in her hair. “I was afraid you’d say ‘no’ and I’d have missed that.” “You’re OK?” I asked. “Mike, it’s what I wanted from the day I met you. I just knew you’d be perfect. You let me do exactly what I wanted and how I wanted. As I said, patient and gentle.” “You weren’t very gentle...
November 9, 1981, McKinley, Ohio “OK?” I asked, shocked enough that I was rocked back in my seat. “Yes. OK.” “OK to WHAT?” I asked warily. “Getting married.” “You can’t be serious! You’re afraid of French kissing and you want to get married?” Angie smirked, “Gotcha! You should see the look on your face!” “Nice.” I laughed. “You did get me!” “Sorry, I figured at that point I needed to do something to change the mood.” “By making my heart stop?!” “Oh, come on! The first thought that...
January 12, 1982, McKinley, Ohio Influenza was making the rounds of the dorm, and just about everyone had it by Tuesday morning, including me. I dragged myself out of bed, realized there was no way I was going to run, and climbed back into bed. I took some decongestant tablets from the box on the shelf next to my bed and swallowed them with a gulp of water. I hoped to fight the worst symptoms and be able to make it to lab. Angie had already said she wasn’t going to run, so I stayed in bed...
January 25, 1982, McKinley, Ohio “I have a message for Michael Loucks,” a young man announced just as biology class ended. “That’s me,” I said. “Dean Parker would like to see you immediately.” “I’ll go with you, Mike,” Doctor Stanton said. I had no clue what she could possibly want, but I appreciated Doctor Stanton coming with me. We made our way to the administration building. “I’m here to see Dean Parker,” I said. “I’m Mike Loucks.” “One moment,” the young woman at the desk...
January 31, 1982, McKinley, Ohio “You’re STILL struggling with that issue?” Jocelyn asked during our regular Sunday afternoon call. “Does it really surprise you?” “No, I suppose it doesn’t. I think the circumstances of the last year really caused you some serious heartache and anguish, and I’m not just talking about you and me. If you think about it, you and Emmy were ripped apart by her dad; you and Nancy were ripped apart by her difficulty with commitment; you and I were ripped apart by...
May 23, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio “Good morning, Mike!” my mom said when I arrived at the kitchen table for breakfast. “Hi, Mom,” I said. “What do you have planned for today?” “It’s all on the calendar, just like it has been since I could write,” I replied with a smile. “I work from 8:00am to noon, then I have my Saturday karate class at 1:00pm. Dale and I are playing chess after that, and Vespers are at 6:00pm. I’m taking April to the movies after church.” “What are you going to...
October 30, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio “Hi,” Jocelyn said when her dad led me into the living room. “Hi! I’m glad to see you at home.” “And we’re glad to have her home,” Mr. Mills said. “If you need anything, let us know.” I went over to sit next to Jocelyn on the couch. She scooted close and I put my arm around her. She sighed, kissed my cheek, and then snuggled. “I was glad to hear from Doctor Henderson that you could leave the hospital.” “And you should be seeing your sister!” “I will....
March 1, 1982, McKinley, Ohio “I have a meeting with the Dean to get permission to put up the flyers this afternoon,” Kurtis said at lunch. “We’ll only be escorting girls from our dorm. I talked to a couple of guys in other dorms who will organize theirs. I figured we couldn’t take care of everyone without some help.” “Cool,” Clark said. “Did anyone hear any more about the investigation?” “The Times said the police didn’t have any suspects, but were following leads,” Jeannette said. “What...
August 7, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio The Summer was rapidly disappearing and there were but two weeks before I moved to McKinley. Once my dad had calmed down, the Summer had returned to normal. It was almost as if everything was in a holding pattern, where each week had followed a simple pattern. I worked at the hardware store, went to the dojo, had dinner with Tasha on Wednesday, a date with Emmy on Friday, and the usual triple date on Saturday. Liz was still grounded, but Emmy was allowed to...
September 1, 1981, McKinley, Ohio Tuesday wasn’t quite as crazy as Monday. My first class after breakfast was the biology seminar. After the first day, this would be run by Laura Peters, a graduate student. I immediately decided the seminar would be valuable, as she would provide study guides, sample lab reports, and a host of other useful information, as well as address any challenges we encountered in our first semester at Taft. The most important thing is that there would be no outside...
November 1, 1981, McKinley, Ohio It was just past midnight when I walked into the Landers’ house. “Hi, Mike,” Mrs. Landers said. “Nancy said you might show up. I’m glad you did!” “Hi, Mrs. Landers,” I replied. “Don’t mind me,” she smiled. “If you two want to go on to bed, that’s OK.” “You better call Ripley’s once more,” I grinned. “I’m going to turn Nancy down on her offer. Again.” Mrs. Landers laughed and shook her head, “I told her you were a keeper! Then I will go to bed so you can...
February 19, 1982, McKinley, Ohio “Angie!” I exclaimed, as I hurried toward the girls, who appeared tired, but otherwise OK. I took Angie in my arms and hugged her tightly. “Are you OK?” I asked. “Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m late, but we were at the party and the police wouldn’t let us leave or make phone calls until they interviewed everyone who was there.” “What happened?” Melody asked. “A girl from the seventh floor was raped,” Jeannette said. “Who was it?” “Some girl named...
April 8, 1982, West Monroe, Ohio “Liz wanted me to talk to you,” I said to my mom on Thursday evening. “I assumed she’d put you up to this.” “I only promised to talk to you, and told Liz not to count on anything changing.” “Good call. We’ve given her as much freedom as your father and I think is reasonable. Has she talked to you about Paul Reynolds?” I nodded, “I know how she feels about him. But he’s in prison. Don’t forget she was raped before that, and anything that happened after the...
Mera naam Rudra hai. Ek number ka harami aur besharam. Mera dimaag mere lavde mein hai, jo saala har waqt chudai ke liye uchalte rehta hai. Kasarati badan jo ghanto tak lavde ka saath deta hai. Waise toh bachpan se hi kaafi chudai ki hai. Lekin yeh wali sabse achi wali, ya yeh kahu ki sab se gandi wali hai. Main tab 30 saal ka tha. Shaadi hui nahi thi. Ghar mein rehta hi nahi tha. Naukri hi aisi thi ke sheher-sheher gaon-gaon bhatakna padta tha. Peshe se ek civil engineer, jiski degree paiso se...