Good Medicine Junior YearChapter 65 Developing A Relationship
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November 2, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
“With that rigid lattice of carbon atoms on your finger? On the couch, and clothed?” I asked with a grin.
“I think you might be the first guy to NOT want to see me naked!” Milena said with a smirk.
“It has nothing to do with ‘want’ and everything to do with ‘should’.”
“I know, and yes, obviously, the couch. And ‘rigid lattice of carbon atoms’?”
“That’s ‘diamond’ to you liberal arts types!”
“Leave it to a scientist to make a diamond sound ordinary and boring!”
We sat down on the couch and she turned so she was partway across my lap with her head on my chest and with my arms around her.
“What’s bugging you?” I asked.
“Just the usual — fear of the future.”
“You’re marrying the love of your life!”
“The key word there is ‘marrying’.”
“And only having one sex partner for the rest of your life? The one you WANTED? Poor baby.”
“Hey!” Milena protested. “If I needed grief, I’d get it from my mom!”
“I take it you’re hearing the same message from her?”
“Eerily similar, as if you two cooperated!”
“How about we both know you?” I suggested. “And I know what you like with regard to intimacy. Slow, gentle lovemaking, and then cuddling naked and talking for hours. What we’re doing now, except we’re not naked and there won’t be any lovemaking.”
“Marriage doesn’t scare you?” Milena asked.
“No, quite the opposite. Not marrying scares me. I don’t want to be alone. Freedom doesn’t hold any appeal for me, and to be honest, I think freedom is a trap from which you can never escape.”
“But you believe in free will, right?”
“Moral free agency, yes. But I think pure freedom damages the soul because it provides no boundaries and no limits. The risk of pure hedonism and the total focus on self. To be truly human, you have to love and you have to give of yourself to others. And I don’t mean give physical pleasure, though that can be part of it; I mean dying to self for the sake of another. Not literally, but sometimes that’s actually necessary. In the end, pure freedom is about selfishness, and selfishness is the quickest, easiest road to hell.”
“Damn,” Milena sighed. “Where did that come from?”
“The wisdom of the Church Fathers,” I replied. “I can’t remember which Abbot or Monk said that, but I’ve heard those concepts a number of times from priests and the bishop.”
“Are you talking about sin?”
“Indirectly. In the end, you either serve yourself and Satan, or you serve others and God. I think I can take it a step further than anyone I’ve heard speak, and say that, in the end, ALL sin is selfishness — putting your wants, your desires, over those of your fellow man or God.”
“Doesn’t that make you a doormat, then?”
“Serving others isn’t about simply doing whatever they ask or giving them whatever they want. All that would do is feed THEIR selfishness. So it’s a matter of balance. We’re called to feed the hungry — I can do that by giving them food, or I can teach them to farm or help them get a job. The former is perhaps necessary in the very short term, but ultimately, it’s not good for them.”
“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
“Exactly. And you take into account the person’s situation and their actual needs.”
“I’m curious, if a bum asked you for money for food, would you give it to him?”
“Probably,” I replied, “though I’d be much more likely to take him some place where I could buy him a meal. If I couldn’t do that, then, yes, I probably would.”
“And if he used the $5.00, or whatever, for booze?”
“My obligation is giving alms, not what the recipient does with them! But my way takes a bit of the onus off them.”
“But if you can’t, you would give him the $5 even if you know he’s going to buy booze?” Milena asked.
“That’s the dilemma, and why I prefer my solution. But I don’t recall ever running into a bum in Harding County. Even the poorest of people have houses of one sort or another. I know the cities are different, but I don’t spend a lot of time in big cities, and McKinley has only about 25,000 people in the city limits, not counting the college.”
“Have you actually been to a big city?”
“Only if you count Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, or Pittsburgh. Other than Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, I’ve only been in Florida, and that was one time for Disney World. Well, I suppose you can count Tennessee and Georgia, though it was only stops for food and gas when we drove, which was also the case for Indiana when we drove to Naperville to see my grandparents.”
“You really do need to see more of the country. No, strike that, of the world. If you simply go to McKinley Medical School, do your Residency at University Hospital and live in Harding or Hayes County, I think your worldview will be far too limited to be the man I think you can, and ought, to be.”
“You aren’t the first person to say that.”
“At a minimum, find a way to travel,” Milena insisted.
“I’ve considered a Eurail pass for the Summer after graduation.”
“Do it. Find a way to save the money for airfare and the rail pass, and do it. You can sleep very cheaply at hostels and eat cheaply by going to street vendors for food, or the small places the locals go which don’t try to gouge tourists like the ones on the main streets. A month in Europe will do you a LOT of good. Take Clarissa with you.”
“That was who I talked to about doing something like that. We got the idea from Glenda. But that’s a big chunk of money.”
“For an experience you’ll never regret and one you can’t repeat when you’re forty and have kids. I know this might be contrary to your very conservative approach to money, but borrowing a bit more for medical school is a trade you can make. Think of it as using your future income as a doctor to do something now which you can’t do in the future. Maybe it means waiting six extra months for the Mercedes or BMW. It’ll be worth it.”
“Porsche,” I grinned. “There is no substitute!”
“Just don’t dump it in the lake!”
“No kidding,” I chuckled, recalling Risky Business. “How did we get to talking about me instead of talking about your fears?”
“Deflection,” Milena sighed.
“Joel is the man you want to be with, to grow old with, and to have kids with. I know it. Your mom knows it. He knows it. And most importantly, YOU know it. So you sowed your wild oats, or whatever? Who cares? So you and Joel had a night or two of uninhibited sex which you think was a mistake? Big deal! So you slept with a score of guys or however many? Irrelevant! None of that means a damned thing compared to the fact you love Joel, Joel loves you, and the two of you belong together. And I’ll bet you anything you care to wager, Joel doesn’t give a damn about what happened from, say, two days before he left, until you found him again.”
“He said that.”
“Shocking,” I said dryly.
“Don’t be smug.”
“I reserve the right to be smug when it’s warranted!”
“I know it’s not my place to ask, but are you and Tasha simply lovers?”
“Yes, but also, no. It’s complicated. I guess the thing to say is we planned to marry, then realized we were being foolish, decided to become lovers, and are developing a proper adult relationship which might, or might not, lead to marriage. I’d say the odds are slightly tilted away.”
“Why?”
“I think you misunderstand — we moved from ‘marry’ to ‘never marry’ to ‘lovers’ to ‘maybe marry’. In other words, ‘slightly tilted away’ means it is far more likely than when we first became lovers.”
“Do you do ANYTHING the conventional way?” Milena asked.
I chuckled, “That’s the same question my priest asked when I introduced Kimiko on Sunday morning.”
“Is she the real deal? Or just another lover?”
“That is the burning question, which is difficult to answer at the moment. I like her, a lot, but a marriage would require her to decide to stay here when her family goes home, get a proper visa, and become Orthodox. None of those things are even remotely certain.”
“Have you talked to her about them?”
“Absolutely, though her way of thinking bothers me a bit. It’s not quite submissive, because she’s very much in control of herself. I suppose I’d call it deference, though I’m not sure that’s strong enough. Her culture basically insists she accept what amounts to the culture and traditions of her husband’s family. In Japan, that would mean the various «kami» they gave honor to, and their shrines, and so on, and with deference to his father over her own.
“Kimiko sees that, in our context, that she would adopt American culture, albeit with a somewhat more conservative bent than even I have, including what she considers American religion — Christianity. In Japan, religion is inseparable from the rest of the culture, and as such, she sees the US that way. So any conversion would be, well, almost of convenience. She’d say and do the right things, and behave the correct way, and would act the part of a good, Orthodox wife, albeit through a Japanese lens.
“As for staying here, I have the distinct impression, both from things she’s said and things she’s implied, that if I were to tell her I loved her, in the Japanese sense of that word, she would feel compelled, I guess is the right word, to say ‘yes’ and stay here, assuming she could get the necessary visa.”
“But that concerns you, doesn’t it?”
“It does. Her sense of duty and honor make certain types of decisions into obligations, and that makes me somewhat uneasy.”
“Then I have to ask if you’re making the right decision taking her as a lover.”
“Which was what I was thinking, but she made it very clear that she’s the one who decides when, and with whom, to become a woman, and that virginity isn’t something to be prized in and of itself. She explicitly stated that there is no shame in coming to the wedding bed with sexual experience, and that Shinto views sex as something natural, and most definitely not a sin.”
“That does put something of a different spin on it. Do you think your cultures and your innate beliefs about the world are compatible?”
“I think they are seriously divergent, yet interestingly, they’re also compatible.”
“The innate conservatism of both Japanese and Russian culture? And I don’t mean party politics when I say ‘conservative’, obviously.”
“Obviously, given that I’d call myself a Democrat, if I had to use a label, which I’d really prefer not to.”
“I’d say calling yourself a Democrat fits with your views about social responsibility.”
“And with Orthodox soteriology,” I replied. “What we say is that we sin alone, but we are saved together. The ‘nave’ of the church is the ‘ark’ in which all of us, together as the church, are saved.”
“Which fits right in with your comments before about selfishness.”
“Indeed. We travel to hell alone, but to heaven together. It was selfishness that led Lucifer to choose a dark alternative.”
“That is a VERY different take from what I’ve heard from preachers or priests in the past. And it’s interesting how you evangelize by not evangelizing. You just live your life according to the precepts, answer questions, and invite people to visit your church. No pressure, just authentic faith.”
“With a big pile of authentic sin, too.”
“You like to have sex; who doesn’t?! And that includes your lover, who’s a minister’s daughter!”
“It does include her, and that doesn’t make it right. It’s my weakness; I’m aware of it and I struggle with it. There are other things, too.”
“But you’re aware of them and you do your best to improve yourself, right?”
“Yes, of course. As one monk put it, ‘This is the Christian life: we fall down, we get up, we love God’. I’d say that about sums it up.”
“I love talking to you. I hope we’ll stay friends.”
“Count on it,” I replied.
November 5, 1983, McKinley, Ohio
On Saturday, after karate, Kimiko and I left the dorms to walk to Doctor Blahnik’s house. She had an overnight bag as well as a bag full of groceries which she had purchased. I carried the grocery bag and my overnight bag, and we held hands as we walked. I was very happy that Doctor Blahnik, Derek, and Milena would be away, as that gave Kimiko and I complete privacy for whatever it was she had planned. Well, beyond the obvious.
When we arrived, I unlocked the door and we went in. I took the groceries to the kitchen, then showed Kimiko the guest bedroom. We left our bags there, then went back to the kitchen. I helped her find the utensils she would need, and she began cooking dinner. I helped, when she requested, and about an hour later, we sat down to a dinner of fish, steamed rice, and steamed vegetables.
“«Itadakimasu»,” she said aloud.
“«Sōdesu ka!»” I replied.
We began eating, and I very much enjoyed the food. It was simply prepared, yet very tasty. We ate, mostly in silence, and when we finished, Kimiko served green tea and sweet cakes. After dessert, we cleaned up the kitchen, and when we finished she took my hand and led me to the bedroom. She shut and locked the door, then turned to me.
“I need to prepare the bath. Undress, please. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
She didn’t wait for an answer, but simply turned and went into the en-suite bathroom. I was surprised by what she’d said, but I suspected that despite her teasing, there WERE differences in Japanese and American sexuality of which I wasn’t aware. I heard the water running and I began to undress. I removed my rugby shirt, folded it, and put it on the chair. Next, I removed my socks, then my belt, and then my jeans, which I folded and put on the chair with my shirt. I stripped off my t-shirt, and then my briefs, put them on the chair, then sat on the edge of the bed to wait.
“Maikeru-san,” she called. “Please come to the tub.”
I got up and walked into the bathroom to find Kimiko with a towel wrapped around her waist and her beautiful small breasts and their light brown, fully erect nipples, on full display. She looked me up and down and smiled.
“Please get in,” she said. “And sit down.”
I climbed into the steaming water, which was right at the limit I could stand in terms of heat. Kimiko picked up a pitcher, filled it with water from the tub, and poured it over my head. Next, she took up a large sponge and a bar of soap and began to bathe me, starting with the top of my head and working her way down to my chest. When I was covered with lather, she filled the pitcher and poured the water over me to rinse away the suds, and repeated that three times until all the suds were gone.
“Stand, please,” she commanded.
I stood up and Kimiko started with my stomach, and worked her way down, running the sponge over my groin as if it were just another part of my body. She worked her way down to my feet, and when she was finished, instructed me to sit down. She poured water over my back and front to remove any suds that remained after I sat in the water.
“Get out, please,” she instructed.
I got out of the tub and Kimiko took one of the large, fluffy, white bath towels and dried me. When she finished, she hung up the towel, bade me to wait, then dropped her towel. I marveled at her small, firm butt, and the neatly trimmed black pubic hair which covered her mons. She climbed into the tub and sat down, then quickly washed her body. She used the pitcher to rinse the suds away, then stood, climbed out of the tub, and dried herself.
I waited for my next instructions, but Kimiko moved silently to the sink, and returned with a bottle. She opened it, poured some into her hand, then set the bottle down on the edge of the tub. She began rubbing scented oil onto my body, starting with my shoulders and ultimately working down to my feet. I was once again surprised at the way she treated my groin, oiling my semi-flaccid shaft, but not touching any more than necessary to simply cover it with oil.
When she finished applying the oil to me, she proceeded to do the same for herself, finally putting the cap back on the bottle. She took my hand and led me back to the bedroom, then turned down the comforter and top sheet.
“Get in bed, please, and lie on your back.”
I did as she asked, and she climbed in and straddled me, her knees on either side of my hips and her slick labia resting on my semi-flaccid shaft. She leaned down and kissed me softly. She clearly had a plan, so I let her continue to lead. Our tongues touched, and as we shared a soft French kiss, Kimiko began sliding her labia along my shaft, which caused me to harden. A few minutes later, she whimpered softly and shuddered.
Kimiko broke the kiss and looked deeply into my eyes, then shifted so that her labia were pressed against my glans. She wiggled and squirmed, then moved down, my glans slowly spreading her labia. There was a hitch in her breath, and she moved just enough that the tip of my glans was pressed against her maidenhead. She leaned down to French kiss me, and pushed firmly downward, tearing her hymen, and gasped into my mouth.
We continued to kiss for a couple of minutes without any movement, and then Kimiko began slowly working me into her very tight, very slick folds. She eventually got me completely inside of her, broke the kiss, sighed, and put her head on my shoulder.
“«おおきい» (Ookii!),” she said with a deep sigh.
“Sorry?”
“It’s so big,” she breathed. “It fills me completely.”
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June 25, 1983, McKinley, Ohio I awoke to someone pounding on my door and calling my name. A quick glance at the clock showed it was 2:50am. I quickly got out of bed, pulled on shorts and a t-shirt and went to the door. I opened it to see a girl in a robe. “What’s up?” “Cecilia said to come get you. One of the girls is really sick!” “Did someone call for an ambulance?” I asked. “I don’t know.” “Call right now. Use my phone. Where are they?” “243!” I hurried down the hall into the...
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!...
Book Eight: Labyrinth of Love Chapter Nine: The Knight's Passion By mypenname3000 Copyright 2016 Knight Kevin – The Free City of Grahata, Yalut Island The night wore on as we stood our watch in the overgrown Labyrinthine Gardens. The trees and bushes were so thick, the stone buildings of Grahata were completely obscured. There was almost no light, the night sky half-overcast, the moon struggling to shine through black clouds. But our eyes had adjusted to what light there was. The...
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...