Good Medicine Junior YearChapter 65 Developing A Relationship
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October 2, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
I was totally unsurprised when Angie didn’t show up for a ride to church. I was also fairly sure that she and I would have the conversation at least one more time. It didn’t strike me as likely she was going to give up THAT easily, though at some point I’d simply tell her I wasn’t going to consider it. I contrasted Angie’s approach with Kimiko’s, which was very different, mostly due to disparate cultures.
The previous evening, Clarissa and Glenda had excused themselves saying they were going to bed, and Kimiko and I exchanged three soft kisses, similar to the previous time, and she’d made the same oblique offer — ‘If I stay... ‘. As with the previous time, I broke the hug and she’d left my room. She was more or less putting the timing in my hands, which made perfect sense from her cultural perspective. But that cultural perspective was one thing which gave me pause — could we EVER truly be together, and if not, was it right to take our relationship to the place she implied she was willing to go?
When I arrived at church, I donned my cassock, went inside, and went about my tasks. I saw Angie in the nave just before Matins started, which also didn’t surprise me. I did my best to put the situation out of my mind and focus on worship and my duties assisting Father Nicholas and Deacon Grigory. I was largely successful, and when the Divine Liturgy ended, I removed my vestments and went to the church hall for lunch.
“Hi, Subdeacon!” Angelina and Yuliana exclaimed when I walked in.
“Hi!” I replied.
I fixed a plate and went to sit with them and Oksana, Serafima, Viktoriya, and Elizaveta. When Father Nicholas came into the room to give the blessing, I saw him shake his head slightly, roll his eyes, and smile ruefully at me with six High School girls. But they WERE High School girls which meant that I wouldn’t even think about asking them out until they graduated, and the soonest that would happen was in June, and then it could only be Angelina, who was a senior.
The girls chattered mostly with each other, but sometimes with me, though there were lots of looks and smiles and bats of eyelashes and flips of hair which represented flirting. As usual, Angie sat with the college kids and other young adults, and never made eye contact, though I saw her looking my way several times out of the corner of my eye. That alone told me I was right that she’d try at least once more.
After we finished our light lunch, we all went to Sunday school, and when that finished, I headed out to my car, removed my cassock, put it in its bag, and then drove back to campus to spend the afternoon with the gang, as Tasha had chosen not to come to McKinley due to what she called ‘nature’.
After dinner we had our usual Sunday-evening study time, and when we finished, what had become our basic foursome — Clarissa, Glenda, Kimiko, and I — went back to my room to listen to music and relax. As had become the pattern, Clarissa and Glenda left and Kimiko and I exchanged three soft kisses before she left. I said my prayers, undressed, and climbed into bed.
October 3, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
I awoke with a start to a klaxon and after a few seconds realized that it was the fire alarm. I couldn’t leave the room naked, and didn’t smell smoke, so I quickly pulled on underwear, sweat pants, socks, shoes, and a t-shirt, then grabbed my jacket, baseball cap and keys and went out into the hall where students were slowly coming out of their rooms.
I pulled the door to my room shut, and then, as we’d been taught, I went room to room, using my master key to open each hallway door and bang on the room doors that were closed, calling out ‘Fire Alarm’. Most rooms were already empty, but a few people did respond groggily, and I chuckled at the obviously hurriedly-dressed couples. When I finished my rooms, I checked the bathroom, then met up with Teri, confirmed she had finished her rooms and the other bathroom, and then we followed the last stragglers from the floor down the stairwell, joining the stream of students.
In the lobby I grabbed the folder with the manifest for our floor, and went to the assembly area and began checking off names as several fire engines and the police arrived. The police began doing what they called ‘crowd control’ which actually made my job more difficult as they moved people around, and the firemen went into the building. I completed my checklist, then, as per our training, confirmed with Teri that she had completed hers.
There were missing students, so we went to the student who had been in the lobby and checked the ‘sign-out’ book as well as the ‘sign-in’ book, and we agreed that everyone who lived in the dorms was accounted for. I noticed two girls signed-in who hadn’t signed-out, so I went to find the guys who were in those rooms. They both confirmed the girls had left, and with my checklist completed, I looked for the campus security officer. I found him and handed in my checklist.
“Now what?” Teri asked as she came to stand next to me.
“We wait for McKinley’s finest to tell us it was a false alarm,” I replied.
“You think so?”
“Do you smell any smoke? Or see any flames?”
“No.”
“And they didn’t take hoses in with them yet, so unless they’re fighting it with just the hose reels they have on each floor, I’d say some joker pulled the fire alarm handle.”
“I’ll fucking kill them!” Teri spat.
“Sleeping or fooling around?” I asked.
“Oh, shut up!” she growled, answering my question.
Several other RAs came to stand with us, and their assessment matched mine. About an hour later, our suspicions were confirmed — someone on the sixth floor had pulled the fire alarm, but there was no sign of any fire or any other problem. The fire department and campus security gave the all clear, and the throng of students began filing back into the dorm.
“That jackass better hope I never find out who he was!” Pete threatened.
“What?” Jason teased. “You don’t like being woken up at 2:28am and then standing outside for an hour?”
“No!” came a chorus from half-a-dozen students around us.
We took the stairs rather than wait for the elevators, despite it being eight floors, and when I got back to my room, I began undressing and was just about to remove my undershorts when there was a knock at the door and a male voice called out ‘Mike!’. I sighed, pulled on my sweats and t-shirt and went to the door.
“Ken? What’s up?”
“My wallet is missing! So is Jake’s!”
“«Сукин сын»!” I spat.
“Sorry?”
“Russian for ‘son of a bitch!’. Let me call campus security.”
I walked to my desk and picked up the handset and dialed campus security. When the female officer answered I explained what had happened and she said she’d send someone right over. I hung up and there were two more guys at my door reporting the same thing. I told them I’d called for campus security then went to Teri’s room where, unsurprisingly, I found two girls complaining small purses and billfolds had been stolen.
Teri and the two girls came with me and we met Campus Security in the lobby. There were reports from the sixth and seventh floors as well, but so far, none lower. To me that made sense based on when the fire department had arrived. By the time the McKinley PD arrived, there were nine students on our floor, six on the seventh floor, and eight on the sixth floor reporting missing money. Every single one of them had left the door to their bedroom open.
By the time all the reports were taken, it was far too late for me to go back to bed, as I’d need to be up to run and do my work in the lab. That meant, with class, the first opportunity I’d get to sleep was around 11:00am, but there wasn’t anything I could do to fix that. I was definitely going to need a nap instead of lunch. I took a shower and made myself some strong black tea, and put on 80/81 by Pat Metheny. I’d finished my homework over the weekend, so I really had time just to relax.
At 4:30am, when I normally would get up, I made another cup of tea, ate a quick snack of Pop-Tarts and a banana, then changed into jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed my jacket and baseball cap, and headed to the lab. Once I arrived, I put on my lab coat, checked both the ‘order book’ and the chalkboard for any changes, and finding none, picked up a clipboard, got a fresh reporting sheet from the pile, and got to work.
At 6:00am when the grad student arrived, I confirmed I’d completed all the necessary tasks for the day and then headed back to the dorm. I changed into my running clothes and when I left my room, I was surprised to find Angie waiting for me. Rather than try to start a conversation, I just said ‘Hi’ and walked towards the elevators.
We rode down in silence, then ran together at our usual joint pace which was a bit slower than the pace I ran alone, so when we finished our last joint circuit of the campus, I picked up speed and ran a half-circuit, taking a shortcut through the field next to the dorms to return. Angie had waited for me, and we rode the elevator up in silence and nothing was said before I went into my room to shower and get dressed for breakfast.
“I take it you all locked your doors when you left for the fire drill?” I asked when our usual ‘early morning’ breakfast gang assembled.
Everyone nodded their heads.
“How many people lost stuff?” Sandy asked.
“Around twenty-five,” I replied.
“It had to be more than one person!” Clarissa declared.
“The cops suspect somewhere between three and six, and then they just filtered out with the rest of the students and disappeared.”
“So off-campus folks?”
“The police are checking everyone who signed in last night,” I replied. “But it could have been someone in our dorm as well.”
“That would suck!” Jason exclaimed. “I guess we have to keep our doors locked from now on.”
“I’d say,” I agreed.
We finished our breakfasts, I got an extra-large cup of coffee to go, and we headed back to the dorms to get our books for our first classes. I managed the morning, just, and when I got back to the dorm just after 11:00am, I crashed, hard. I’d told Clarissa not to wake me, and thankfully, I managed a nearly three-hour nap before our stats class.
October 4, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
When I arrived back at the dorm after my shift in the lab on Tuesday morning, I found a bunch of students outside milling around.
“What’s going on?” I asked a small group of my friends.
“She got her fucking wish!” Melody growled.
“Who?” I asked.
“Who do you think? Dean ‘Rug Muncher’! They issued a search warrant for the entire building. Every room.”
“You do remember that I like to perform oral sex on women, right?” I chuckled.
“You were competent,” Melody replied with a smirk.
“Gee, thanks,” I replied deadpan. “So, now what?”
“They’re making everyone leave the building and then a bunch of McKinley cops are going to search.”
“You know what that means...”
“Yeah,” Melody sighed. “Easily dozens of suspensions or expulsions for booze or pot. I already called my uncle. Some lawyer based in McKinley who works with the ACLU will be here within the hour. They can’t stop the search, but they can sue the school which would put all the expulsions and suspensions on hold while the case is dealt with.”
“You clean?”
“Yes, and I know you are. But Jeannette and Marie have booze in their room. And Mike, so does Sophia.”
“«Говно»!” I spat.
“Whichever word that is, I hope it’s as strong as the one I used.”
“Strong enough. Where’s Sophia?”
“She, Robby, and Lee went to lunch.”
“I guess nothing panned out with the people who weren’t from the dorm?”
“I have no clue. I’m betting Dean Parker used this as an excuse to do what she wanted to do before. That’ll be part of the lawsuit — that she used this event to basically get an unconstitutional ‘general’ warrant without probable cause. And this is a State school, so they can’t force us to agree to anything which violates the Constitution.”
“I have a vague memory from American history about warrants. The British would basically write a warrant that said soldiers could go anywhere looking for anything illegal.”
“Exactly. We fought a fucking war to make sure that didn’t happen again.”
“Hmm, I don’t recall anyone teaching me about a fucking war,” I chuckled. “That might actually be a fun way to decide political disputes!”
Melody laughed, “You’re way more fun than when we dated, Mike. You just weren’t ready, and that was my mistake.”
“We’re friends now, so don’t sweat it. Chalk it up to experience on both sides. I think I’m going to get some lunch.”
“OK. I’m waiting for the lawyer. Oh, and Mike?”
“Yes?”
“You were more than competent.”
I smirked, stuck out my tongue wiggled it around, then turned and headed towards the cafeteria, leaving Melody behind me, laughing hard. When I sat down at the table with my lunch, there were several long faces, including Sophia.
“Who has a problem besides Sophia, Jeannette, and Marie?” I asked.
“Glenda,” Clarissa sighed. “She’s calling her parents right now. She’s twenty-one so she can legally have it, but Dean Bitch is going to nail everyone.”
“I saw Melody and she said her uncle arranged for an ACLU lawyer to come help. Hopefully anyone who is already twenty-one will be OK, because the cops would have to prove you were under twenty-one, right?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“I’m no expert,” I said. “But if you don’t break the law, the police can’t do anything, and the school doesn’t have the right to search EVERY room. Melody said even the police need probable cause and they don’t have that for my room, for example.”
“That sounds right,” Fran said. “I’m no expert either, but that makes sense! How can they search my room when they have no real suspicion I personally did something! I remember that from American History and government classes!”
“Me, too,” I replied.
“Yeah, and I’m nineteen,” Sophia groused.
“But Sophia,” Fran said, “if I remember right, if they didn’t have probable cause, the evidence has to be excluded and there won’t be a ticket or anything. I don’t think the school could do anything based on what a court calls an illegal search.”
“You think?” she asked.
“Let’s finish eating and see what Melody’s lawyer says before we all freak out,” Fran counseled.
We did as Fran suggested and headed back to the dorm where we found Melody with a young female attorney who was talking to other students and taking notes. We still weren’t allowed into the dorm, so those of us who didn’t need the lawyers help decided to go to the student union and have coffee.
“We don’t have our stats books or homework,” I said. “We should probably see if we can talk to Professor Lund before class.”
“You think they’ll still be searching?”
“Eight floors? And not letting anyone in until they finish? I’d say.”
At 1:30pm the police still weren’t allowing people into the building, so Clarissa, Sandy, and I went to Professor Lund’s office to let her know we wouldn’t have our homework assignments to turn in. She told us we could turn them in on Wednesday. We thanked her, and then headed to the classroom to wait for class to start. We had notebooks from other classes, so we all had pens and paper to take notes.
When class finished, we headed back to the dorm and were finally allowed in. We all went to our rooms and when I got into mine, it was obvious it had been searched, but it wasn’t overly messy. I didn’t see anything missing, nor anything horribly out of place. I went to check on the others, and found similar situations. The real question was what would happen with Sophia, Jeannette, Marie, and Glenda.
We finally heard from Melody around 4:00pm. She told us the lawyer had been to the courthouse and obtained an emergency preliminary injunction which meant there would be no immediate consequences. She said the lawyer was very confident that there would be no consequences for anyone who was over twenty-one who had alcohol, and she said she had already informed the Chancellor that the search was illegal because the warrant was an unconstitutional ‘general’ warrant.
We all went to dinner, had our usual study time, and afterwards I simply went to bed, still tired from the effective all-nighter I’d pulled on Sunday night.
October 8, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
By Saturday morning, not much had changed. Dean Parker was on a rampage, but ultimately, there was very little she could do. The preliminary injunction had become permanent until the status of the warrant was resolved in Federal court. The investigation had, to nobody’s surprise, turned up exactly nothing, which the ACLU lawyer said helped our cause tremendously.
The thieves had gotten away with nearly $1000, taking only wallets, billfolds, and loose bills. And while the money was an issue, the bigger concern for most of the victims was replacing driving licenses, student ID cards, and in a few cases, credit cards. I could easily have been a victim had I not locked my door when I left to respond to the fire alarm.
I had felt a bit guilty about unlocking hallway doors and leaving them open, but that was the procedure we were taught, and was supposed to serve as a sign to firemen that a room had been checked. That policy hadn’t been changed, but the student safety handbook had been quickly updated to state that everyone should bring their keys and their wallet, billfold, or purse with them when evacuating.
Saturday, at least so far, had been spent doing what I normally did so far during the current semester — lab, running, breakfast, mentoring Kimiko, computer lab, lunch, and the computer lab again. Karate, too, was part of the norm, but there was a major difference — a brown belt test. As I walked with Robby, Lee, and Angie, I tried to clear my mind in preparation. I wasn’t having much luck.
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January 7, 1984, McKinley, Ohio “Thanks for the lift, White Boy!” Clark said as we got out of my Mustang. “Somebody had to drag your lazy black ass the last fifty miles, and I have sympathy for the mentally challenged,” I deadpanned. “Hey, Cracker, are you saying I’m dumb because I’m black?” “Not at all! You being dumb has absolutely nothing to do with the color of your skin!” “Fuck you, Honky!” “I love you too!” I grinned. We both laughed, shook hands, and with Clarissa following...
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December 16, 1983, McKinley, Ohio Exams had gone well, and Clarissa, Sandy, and I didn’t have a Friday exam because of our work in the lab only had an evaluation, which we’d each received earlier in the week. We’d all received excellent reviews, which meant an A for the course for each of us. Our stats exam had actually been a breeze, as had the biochemistry exam. The psychology exam was moderately tough, but I was sure I’d achieved at least a B, which meant I would have an A for the course....
March 30, 1984, McKinley, Ohio “Sorry about earlier,” she said. “My roommate was being a bitch.” “Something specific?” I asked. “She’s been on the rag ever since our second week here. Guy trouble. I guess she thought you were trying to use me.” “I can see why she would think that,” I replied. “You and I don’t know each other except basically by sight and name, I sang to you, and you came to my room.” “If I were totally clueless about life, I could see it. But I knew what was going on!...
MAGIC MEDICINE Christopher Halstead was at the end of his tether. He was only 50 years old but felt deep down in his soul that his useful life had come to an end. To understand why it is necessary to go back some twenty-five years. In 1992 Christopher married his childhood sweetheart Amy. He and Amy had grown up in adjacent houses; attended the same schools; and had had an unspoken 'understanding' from their teens. They only occasion they spent time apart was whilst they were at...
June 1, 1983, McKinley, Ohio Wednesday at the Quick Mart was very much like Tuesday, though there were no deliveries, so I had time to work through a number of items on Mr. Sokolov’s list. That kept me busy, and away from Nancy except for when it was time for her breaks. She apologized again and I replied as I had before, just telling her to take her break. Maybe I was being a jerk, but I was honestly quite upset with her, and really didn’t think there was much to talk about. When my shift...
November 26, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio “So what did you say?” Clarissa asked after I relayed what Hannah had said. “I simply said I appreciated the offer, that I’d keep that in mind, then smiled and left the house.” “After Maggie gave you permission?” “I don’t need ‘permission’ from Maggie to do anything,” I protested. “And be serious, Lissa, do you think it’s a good idea?” Clarissa shrugged, “Is it all that different from Kristin? Or from Mindy and Emmy?” “That kind of thinking is a...
October 16, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “I started dating someone,” I said to Tasha as we relaxed in the whirlpool at Doctor Blahnik’s house. “You’re not cheating on her, are you Mikhail Petrovich?” “No. It’s not THAT serious, and it won’t be anytime soon, if it ever is. But I thought you should know because we promised complete truth and complete honesty. I don’t want any misunderstandings.” “May I ask about her?” “Her name is Kimiko Mei Takahasi. She’s from a small town called Oguni in...
July 23, 1983, McKinley, Ohio Just as I had when Nancy told me that her mom had put her on the Pill, I missed a shift due to being completely surprised by Maggie’s question. I recovered enough to find the correct gear, and willed my heart to stop beating rapidly. The silence was deafening, but I needed to think about how I could answer her question. I wasn’t sure I knew the answer, but saying that seemed lame in the extreme. Almost immediately, I realized that I really shouldn’t have been...
July 28, 1983, McKinley, Ohio On Thursday evening I was sitting in my room, practicing my guitar after having spoken with Tasha and confirmed our date for Sunday. Just after 9:00pm, there was a knock at the door. “It’s unlocked! Come in!” The door opened and Milena walked in, closing the door behind her. “Hey!” I replied. “What’s up?” “Got some time for me?” “Always. What can I do for you?” “Sing me a love song and then make love to me?” “Your wish is my command!” I grinned. “Come sit...
November 19, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio “You know I think you’ve made a terrible mistake and given Sasha bad advice, right?” Clarissa asked after we got into my Mustang for the drive to my parents’ house. “Obviously.” “Her life is going to be very, very difficult.” “And living with her conscience after what she would consider murder would be easy?” “It’s not murder, Mike,” Clarissa said firmly. “I know that’s what you believe, and I know that’s what the law says, but I also know what she’s...
March 15, 1984, Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “You’re OK?” Clarissa asked when she and I got out of bed on Thursday morning. “Yes. Just kissing was fine, Lissa. Let’s get our showers and meet Jocelyn. We need to get on the road by 6:30am so we can be in Philadelphia by 10:00am.” We both quickly showered and dressed, then we met Jocelyn in the hotel lobby. We went across the street for breakfast, and from there, straight to the car so we could get on the road. We followed US 30,...
July 1, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “Are you OK?” Clarissa asked on Friday morning as we lay in bed together. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “You seemed a bit out of sorts last night. Did that kiss bother you?” I smiled, “Not the way you mean. It was just, well, to be blunt, fighting a reaction. And losing.” Clarissa laughed softly, “I know. I felt it when I spooned. I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I liked the kiss. The other reaction is kind of involuntary. As I keep saying, testosterone knows NOTHING about...
July 5, 1983, McKinley, Ohio As I showered after karate, I wondered exactly what Angie had meant when she said that she’d changed, and what that meant for the future. Angie had told me that her counselor had advised against starting a relationship, so perhaps this was just Angie’s way of telling me that what Clarissa had suggested might be true — that Angie was playing the ‘long game’ and this was simply the next step. That made more sense than anything, but it also meant I needed to be...
April 8, 1984, McKinley, Ohio “Natalya Vasilyevna Antonova, please meet Larissa Sergeyevna Federova,” I said. I laughed as the two girls instantly switched to Russian and I had to focus to catch everything that was said. Clarissa smirked and rolled her eyes, and I just shrugged. The gist of the conversation was hometowns, parents, churches, majors, and to Tasha’s obvious shock, Lara’s age. “Perhaps we should switch to English so Sveta isn’t left out,” Tasha said in English. “Mike looked...
June 18, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “Becky, this is my friend Milena; Milena, Becky.” “Hi!” Milena said. “I hope I’m not intruding.” “Hi,” Becky replied. “You aren’t. Mike told me you were going to hang out with us tonight.” “Do you drink wine?” Becky laughed, “My pastor would have a cow, but he’s not here!” Milena laughed, “And shacking up with Mike, THAT would be OK?” “Well, no!” Becky laughed, blushing slightly. Milena uncorked the bottle of wine while I got three glasses from the...
August 28, 1983, McKinley, Ohio When I got up on Sunday morning, I showered and dressed, and then Kristin and I left my room and I found a note from Angie on the corkboard next to my door. It said she was getting a ride to church from the same woman who had picked her up the previous night and I shouldn’t wait for her. I shrugged, locked the door, and gave Kristin a quick kiss. She headed down the hall towards her room and I walked over to the elevators and pushed the ‘Down’ button. An...
February 25, 1984, Rutherford, Ohio “Hi!” Emmy gushed when she opened the door for Clarissa and me on Saturday morning. “Thanks for letting Clarissa hang out here while I take care of this for Liz.” “You’re doing the right thing, Mike. I have to go to work in a few minutes, but Clarissa can buzz you in when you come back, and then if you just lock the door when you leave and bring the key to Lou’s everything will be cool.” “You’re a sweetheart, Emmy Nelson!” “I know!” she giggled,...
August 27, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio “Tasha,” I said gently, “you made me promise to keep you pure until we were married, or at least betrothed, no matter what you said! In other words, you made me promise not to do it even if you changed your mind! And I made that promise!” “I can’t change my mind?” “You were very clear that I was responsible for you NOT doing that.” “But isn’t that up to me?” I nodded, “As an adult, in charge of her own decisions, it is. But you extracted that promise...
October 14, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “I’m worried about Angie,” I said as Clarissa, Melody, and I made our way back to the dorm from the Chancellor’s office. “I know you told the detective that you have no idea where she might be, but do you have ANY thoughts?” Melody asked. I shook my head, “If she wasn’t with her friend and she wasn’t at church, and her counselor hadn’t heard from her, then no, honestly, I have no idea. I mean, she could have gone home, but I’m sure someone called there to...
December 21, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” I said. “Afraid you’ll lose?” Violet asked. No, I thought, I wasn’t afraid of losing at all. In fact, I was sure that win or lose, I’d win, from a certain perspective. “No, that’s not it...” I started. “Then let’s play!” “Are you sure?” She nodded, “I can’t think of a more fun way to celebrate my birthday!” I could, and I was sure that what I was thinking was exactly what she was thinking, and she was just...
January 8, 1984, McKinley, Ohio “Is it always like that in the morning?” Clarissa asked. “Pretty often, but it doesn’t have the urgency, if you will, and it goes away pretty quickly once I get out of bed.” “Do you have ANY control over it?” “Limited,” I chuckled. “It pretty much has a mind of its own.” “That has to be difficult.” “Think standing in the altar, wearing acolytes’ vestments and seeing Tasha walk into church in a sundress.” Clarissa laughed softly, “She is gorgeous!” “And...
May 6, 1984, Rutherford, Ohio “I’m curious,” Clarissa asked quietly, “but what about a patronymic in this case?” “Sasha hasn’t said,” Tasha replied. “Technically, it would be some form of Timothy, because Timmy Aston is the baby’s father, but I don’t think she’ll do that. She really could pick anything.” “What happened with the baby’s father?” Clarissa asked. “My dad, Timmy’s dad, and two attorneys worked out the deal. Timmy’s going to college and really can’t afford to pay child support,...
June 5, 1983, McKinley, Ohio My alarm rang on Sunday morning and when I reached over to shut it off, Milena groaned softly, stretched, and turned to face me, her glorious breasts rubbing against my chest. “Hi,” she said sheepishly. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing! That’s just it. Nothing is wrong. I slept, naked, with a guy and literally nothing happened except a ‘good night’ kiss and spooning.” “And you think something should have happened?” She kissed my nose, “No, not at all. I mean, we can...
September 3, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio Tasha was very quiet on the drive home from Jackson Lake, and I wasn’t sure what to say to her, so I stayed quiet as well. When we arrived at my house, we exchanged a perfunctory kiss. “Are you OK?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow at church.” I got out of the Volvo and went into the house. I said ‘hello’ to my parents, then asked Clarissa to sit on the patio and talk with me. We went to the kitchen, got glasses of lemonade, then...
September 5, 1983, West Monroe, Ohio “Now that you’ve had time to sleep on it, have you had any new thoughts?” Clarissa asked as we walked along the road from my house towards ‘downtown’ West Monroe on Monday morning. “Should I have new thoughts?” I asked. “Let me put it this way — if you’re going to change your mind, do it NOW, today. If she shows up in McKinley expecting two passion-filled nights and you back out, it’s going to be VERY ugly.” “Why would I back out? You and Liz made very...
December 17, 1983, Rutherford, Ohio After Vespers, Clarissa, Jocelyn, Tasha, and I went to Lou’s diner in Rutherford for dinner. “Is this Mike’s nightmare?” Jocelyn teased. “Or Mike’s ultimate fantasy?” “The three of you would be a nightmare,” I said flatly. “It’s bad enough to have ONE woman telling me what to do! But three? Kill me now!” The girls all laughed. “He knows women are in charge,” Tasha said primly. “Even the bishops cower in the corner if the women of the church are...
January 5, 1984, Columbus, Ohio “Master, Bless!” I said to Vladyka ARKADY when he greeted me in his office. “The Lord bless you, Subdeacon Michael,” he said as I kissed his hand. “Anthony, would you please bring the tea?” “Right away, Vladyka,” Subdeacon Anthony said. “Sit, Subdeacon. We’ll use the comfortable chairs so we can have a quiet chat.” I sat in one of the very comfortable wingback chairs and the bishop sat in a second chair which was very close. Subdeacon Anthony brought in a...
January 14, 1984, Loveland, Ohio On Saturday morning, after breakfast, I’d said goodbye to Clarissa and gotten in my car for the drive to Loveland. The ninety minutes in the car gave me my first real time alone since returning to campus. Clarissa was doing OK, and I’d managed to spend a few hours over the course of the week with Sophia, and had a chance to be the octopus for Kimiko. It was an interesting dynamic, because Kimiko and I hadn’t been going out as a couple, so to outsiders, it...
April 5, 1984, McKinley, Ohio Students from all over campus came up to shake my hand, pat my back, or offer thanks. When Clarissa and I, and our close friends, left the auditorium we were confronted by Reverend Saddler. “I’ve never seen a more disgusting performance by an alleged clergyman in my life!” he declared. I shrugged, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you’.” “That is...
July 4, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “It’s OK to flirt with Maggie when your sister and the girls arrive.” We were in the kitchen packing a picnic basket for a day at Milton Lake with Liz, Maggie, Emmy, and Mindy. Milena, Deb, Blaine, and Royce would join us as well. “Maggie and I don’t really flirt,” I replied. “It’s more like trying to agree on terms.” “Of surrender?” Clarissa laughed. “Of her virginity?” I laughed, “Those terms are well-known and agreed — engagement ring, wedding ring,...
July 22, 1983, McKinley, Ohio It took me a minute before I could think straight, and another minute to formulate a semi-coherent response. “Angie, I can’t make the commitment necessary to do that,” I replied gently. “I know, and I’m not asking for one. I just think it’s the only way forward.” It was obvious that she felt, based on everything that had happened, she had to prove to me that she COULD have sex. But I wondered if it was more than that. As I quickly thought about it, I was SURE...
October 11, 1983, McKinley, Ohio “So what are you thinking?” Clarissa asked as she and I sat together on my couch after lunch on Tuesday. “I’m thinking you and Glenda are conspiring, that’s what I’m thinking!” “Kimiko?” “Kimiko.” “All I did was talk to her about you, Petrovich. I didn’t make ANY suggestions. And while we were talking, she asked about the other girls she knew you saw from time to time. At this point, it really is only Tasha, because Maggie is in what amounts to solitary...