Chapter 9: Jos and Mik

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» (nekulturny), yes, of course! It's difficult to miss a pretty girl with a nice body!" ("rude" or "uncouth"; Lit. "uncultured")

"Thank you! But do NOT say that around my dad! He'll never let you see me again!"

"So the answer is 'no'?"

"I think it's the fighting," she said with a smile, "not the uniforms."

"Bummer," I said.

"Could you come to dinner tomorrow?"

"Sure. Is it OK with your parents?"

"I already asked my mom. She said it was fine."

"You remember I'm relatively hopeless in Russian."

"Boys are hopeless in general!" she teased.

"And just what are we good for, then Natalya Vasilyevna?" I protested.

"Ask me Wednesday!" she said with a smile.

"I will. I need to go meet my friends."

"Have fun! See you for dinner tomorrow!"

We said 'goodbye', and I walked over to my mom to let her know I was invited to the Antonov's house for dinner on Sunday. Once I confirmed it was OK, I headed to my car. As I left, I saw my mom pushing Liz towards the front of the church for confession. That was NOT going to end well. I hoped Liz could keep it together long enough to not make Mom even angrier.

I needed to go to confession and had planned to go right after Vespers, but I was so sure Mom would push Liz to confession that I decided to wait until Wednesday. That wasn't going to be fun, either, but I could at least show that I'd taken what Father Herman would call positive steps. If he asked me about intent, well, then I'd be in trouble. I was still struggling with the whole concept of pre-marital sex, and I knew what the church taught backwards and forwards. I just didn't agree. I put that out of my mind because I didn't want to be preoccupied with self-analysis when I picked up Emmy.

She'd warned me the previous night that I needed to come inside to pick her up now that we were 'going together' as her mom had put it, so I parked my car in the driveway and went up to the front door. I rang the bell, and Mr. Nelson opened it and invited me in. I went into the living room, took my place on the couch next to Emmy, and waited for the interrogation to begin.

"Tell us about these friends of yours, please," Mr. Nelson said.

"I've known Jocelyn since kindergarten. She's one of my two best friends. We've hung out together since she asked me to be her friend on the very first day of school. She's been dating Carl, her boyfriend, for close to two years."

"You two never dated?"

I shook my head, "We're like brother and sister. The other friend is Dale. I've known him since second grade, and he's my best guy friend. We play chess most Sundays and have hung out with Jocelyn since she and I met him in second grade. He's been dating Stacey for about a year. Both Dale and Jocelyn are going to college."

"And where do you usually go?"

"Always dinner, but what we do after varies. A&W in Rutherford is our usual hangout. Dale can't get enough root beer floats. After that, bowling, a movie, skating — either ice or roller — or mini golf."

"And none of you have ever been in any trouble?"

"I haven't even had a speeding ticket despite having a sports car. Jocelyn has a lead foot and has a couple of tickets, but Emmy will ride with me. Dale's like me, no tickets. Otherwise, no drugs, no alcohol, and no smoking. That last one is why we only bowl once a month or so. None of us really like the smoke."

"You and Emmy are seeing a lot of each other, and I'm a bit concerned about her getting so serious with a boy at fifteen."

"Daaaaaddddd!" Emmy whined. "You promised!"

"Dear," Emmy's mom said to her husband, "We talked about this. You said she could date. She's dating a nice, church-going, well-mannered young man who is going to be a doctor."

"Well, I don't like it!" he said.

I was in the middle of a 'Family Feud', and Richard Dawson was nowhere in sight. The ONLY thing I could do was keep my mouth shut. Anything I said had the potential to cause trouble.

"Dear, we talked about this. You have two choices. Tell her she can't date or let her go out with Mike. You already said she could go out with him."

"If he touches her..." he growled.

Emmy ran from the room in tears. Her dad was doing his best to try to poison the well, but his problem was, and I was pretty sure his wife realized it, that if he tried to prevent Emmy from seeing me, she'd find a way, and we'd be doing what my sister and her boyfriend had been doing. The funny thing was, if he had just left it alone, it could well be YEARS before Emmy was ready. I didn't think so, but he was betting on the wrong horse, so to speak.

"Mike, would you go see Emmy?" her mom said. "Upstairs, first room on the left. I need to talk to my husband."

"He is NOT to go in her room!" Mr. Nelson protested.

"Mike," her mom said firmly, "stand in the door to her room and ask her to go out with you. Have her home by her midnight curfew."

"Yes, Ma'am," I agreed.

I quickly left the room and heard an angry, hushed argument begin. I went up the stairs and looked into Emmy's room. She was on her pink canopy bed and had her face buried in her pillow. She was sobbing.

"Emmy," I said. "Will you go out with me? Your mom said it was OK."

She kept sobbing, and I wanted to walk in and rub her shoulders, but I wasn't going to do a THING that might cause more problems.

"Emmy," I said. "Come on. Let's go out. Please."

She turned over and reached for a tissue, and blew her nose. She got another one, dabbed her eyes, and then got off the bed. I smiled at her, and she followed me downstairs and out of the house. I opened the door to the Mustang and let her into the passenger seat, then shut the door and went around to the driver's side and got in. I started the car, backed out of the driveway, and drove away at the speed limit, wanting to put distance between us and her dad.

"What the heck?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "My dad was fine until this afternoon."

I tried to think about what might have changed and thought about one VERY important thing.

"Emmy, have you talked to Liz today?" I asked.

"No. I called and left a message. She hasn't called back."

"She's grounded. She used the 'F' word with my mom."

"What?! Why?"

"She told my mom to mind her f-ing business. About Liz having a secret boyfriend."

"What are you talking about?" Emmy asked.

"You don't need to cover for her. I know everything. Liz accidentally said something to me when she was upset, and my mom overheard."

"Oh my God!" Emmy gasped in horror. "What happened?"

"I told Liz she needed to grow up, and she said that me saying that was funny because she'd already had sex. She realized what she had said, covered her mouth, and blushed. It was bad timing because my mom heard her say that."

"How bad is it?"

"Grounded until school starts for using the 'F' word, which is actually not as bad as it could have been. Some words are just NOT used in our house. I said that in Russian once. I think I can STILL taste the soap."

"Blech," Emmy said, screwing up her face.

"It certainly got the point across because I've never done it again. But, because Liz was sneaking around, Mom put her on what amounts to 'double secret probation' — 9:00pm curfew once she's no longer grounded, and complete details of who she's with and where she's going. That'll last a good long time, I'm sure. I'm going to try to get the grounding modified after Liz and I talk on Monday night."

"Man. So your mom knows everything? That he's twenty-four and married?"

I almost swerved off the road. Twenty-four was bad enough, though I'd decided to wait to talk to Liz more before doing anything. But married? Holy crap!

"I don't think my mom knows any details," I said evenly. "I knew how old he was."

Emmy gasped, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Mike! Please, please don't say anything. Liz will KILL me! I'll do anything! Please!"

"Relax," I said, trying to maintain my cool. "I'll get that information from Liz directly. She promised to talk like we used to, which means she'll tell me everything. But now I understand why she was so upset about us dating. You were her cover."

"Oh no! Do your parents know THAT?"

"No. Liz covered for you. Because, believe it or not, she thinks we belong together. Wait! I wonder if my mom or dad called your parents to check up on whatever story Liz gave them."

"My dad did suddenly freak out this afternoon. Everything was cool until about 2:00pm. They were just going to ask you about Jocelyn and Dale and their dates. Then all of a sudden, my dad started freaking out about us getting 'too serious, too fast'. My mom didn't flip out, though."

"Your dad and my dad shoot darts at the same bar a couple of nights a month. They aren't really friends, but they know each other, and my dad and his friends and your dad and his friends have a friendly competition. I wonder if my dad called your dad."

"But why?"

"Because if Liz was sneaking around behind my parents' backs, they might have been worried about you sneaking around. Or maybe they wanted to check whatever cover story Liz used. What cover story DID Liz use?"

"Usually the library. I could just do my homework while she was, uh, fooling around. Or school plays or concerts. We'd go, and she'd leave. I could watch the play or concert with other friends. She'd come back before we were supposed to be picked up."

"How did she meet this guy?" I asked.

"I'm not sure I should say anything more."

"You're right," I said. "I'll talk to Liz on Monday when I take her to dinner."

"My dad is going to be impossible if he knows Liz was having sex," Emmy sighed. "I guess I need to talk to my mom. I can truthfully say you're the only boy I've ever kissed, and that's all we've done. Very GOOD kisses! But only kisses."

"True."

"This stinks," Emmy groused.

"For all of us," I agreed. "I'm not upset with Liz for having sex. Only she could decide when she was ready. I wasn't even too bothered by it being an older guy, but I probably should have been the more I think about it. She was only fourteen, and he was ten years older. But married? I may have a use for my bolt-action .22."

"Don't do that, Mike! It won't fix things, and you'd be in jail!"

"Now there's a thought," I said. "I should turn the guy in. They could charge him with statutory rape, which could put him in jail."

"Don't do that," Emmy said quickly. "He has a little boy."

"Oh, it just gets better and better!" I sighed. "Do you know this guy? No names, please."

"I met him once. He's a total hunk. Liz says he's nice."

"Do nice guys cheat on their wives?"

"Uh, no."

We arrived at the A&W in Rutherford, and I shut off the engine.

"Let's drop this for the evening and have a good time, OK?" I suggested.

"I'll try," she said, but her heart didn't seem in it.

I leaned over, and we shared a quick kiss, then we got out of the car and walked over to where Jocelyn, Carl, Stacey, and Dale were waiting. We all said 'hello' and then went to order our food. The dinner conversation was strained — Stacey wasn't happy with me because of Carol and Emmy was in a bad mood because of her dad and because of Liz. I wasn't in the best of moods either. Both Jocelyn and Dale noticed — I could see it in their eyes — but they didn't say anything.

"Roller skating," Dale said when we finished dinner. "We haven't been skating in over a month."

Nobody objected, so we made our way to the roller rink in three cars. Once we had our skates, we skated around in pairs for a bit. My mood lightened, and Emmy seemed to be doing better.

"We usually trade off partners," I said to Emmy as we skated hand-in-hand. "When we were little, Dale and I used to take turns skating with Jocelyn. When we all started dating, we kept it up. Are you OK with skating with Dale and Carl? You know, holding their hands?"

"Sure. Holding hands is no big deal."

"Cool. Thanks."

"I'm the new person in the group, so I really can't object."

"You should if we do something that makes you uncomfortable."

"You'll keep me safe, Mike. I'm sure."

I squeezed her hand and smiled. We skated in silence for another ten minutes until I saw Jocelyn and Carl by the rail. Dale, Stacey, Emmy, and I skated over. Jocelyn held out her hand to me, and I took it. That put Emmy with Dale and Stacey with Carl.

"We've been doing this for thirteen years," I laughed. "Since right after kindergarten started."

"Man, that's a long time," Jocelyn said. "Except for my family, I've known you longer than anyone!"

"Except for some people at church, that's true for me, too. Dale is only a couple of years behind in that regard."

"So, what's with you and Emmy?"

"We like each other, but we're not going steady. You know I had dinner with Tasha from church last Wednesday. I'm going to their house for dinner tomorrow."

"She's still not allowed to date? Isn't she sixteen?"

"She doesn't turn sixteen until August. She won't be allowed to date in the normal sense," I said. "She'll be fixed up with someone, and it'll be like the dinners I'm having with her or group things with church or family."

"That is SO weird!"

"I agree, but she doesn't seem unhappy."

"So, you two are?" Jocelyn asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Friends."

"What happened with Carol?"

"Don't ask."

"Dale said he talked to you afterwards."

"It's all good. It all happened when I called to tell her I didn't want to see her again."

"She has a reputation."

"I know, and that's not the kind of girl I want, not even for THAT. What's up with you and Carl?"

"Nothing. I mean, we'll keep seeing each other until the beginning of August, I guess. I'm going to break it off with him a couple of weeks before we leave for college."

"Does he know?"

"I think he does, but I didn't say anything yet. It's not like we're THAT serious."

I chuckled, "You've made that quite clear. Repeatedly!"

"He's just not the right guy. It's not like I'm a prude or anything, but I'm not going to put out for just any guy! And we're going to be too far away to keep dating. So what would it be? Just a 'goodbye fuck'? I don't think so!"

I almost fell over laughing. I had NEVER heard Jocelyn use that word before. Ever.

"That was a bit out of character, Jos!" I said, using the name I'd called her in kindergarten.

"You haven't called me that in ages, Mik!" she said, using the name she'd invented for me at the same time.

"I never could get my tongue around 'Jocelyn' in kindergarten!" I laughed.

"Or any time since," she teased.

"Gee, thanks," I said, deadpan.

"I haven't forgotten what you said to me at graduation," she said quietly.

"And I haven't forgotten either," I sighed.

"I was mean to say that about the motel room and insensitive about saying it was like you were my brother. You really like me, don't you?"

"I have since we were little," I allowed. "But it was when I noticed that my best friend became a girl things kind of developed, so to speak."

"I was ALWAYS a girl!" she laughed.

"When your secondary sex characteristics developed," I said as clinically as possible.

"It sounds SO sweet when you say it that way," she said sarcastically.

"OK. When you became a totally hot chick with a great body and nice breasts."

"I'm not sure that's much better," she said, but she was laughing.

"That doesn't mean it's not true!" I protested.

"No, I guess it doesn't. You want me? I mean, really want me?"

"Well, duh! Dale has known for years! I thought you did, too, but the whole 'brother' thing put you off. My mom suggested we were too close to date. That sounds really weird, I know, but what she meant was we were so close, we were beyond that. We had a super-close relationship, and it wasn't 'like that'. I joked with my mom about asking you to marry me because I know you better than any other girl in the entire world. When I told her what you said, she said I should simply 'cross you off the list'!"

Jocelyn laughed, "Your mom is always practical and down-to-earth."

"Most of the time, yes."

"It's just I never thought about you that way. You were just Mike. You were always there. You were like my shadow and my bodyguard. When I fell, you picked me up. When I had my heart broken, you comforted me."

"And you've done the same for me, Jos. Since we were little."

We skated in silence for a bit, and I saw the other couples go to the rail. When I started to move that way, Jocelyn tugged my hand, so I kept skating.

"One more slow lap," she said. "So I can tell you something."

"What's that?"

She took a deep breath, "When I break up with Carl, you and I should be each other's first."

"What?!" I gasped.

"Doesn't it make sense? Are you closer to anyone? Even your family?"

"No, but..."

"Mike, I can't think of a more perfect guy for my first time. I just missed that fact for years. Not seeing the forest for the trees or whatever. I'm not promising it can lead anywhere because we'll be so far away from each other, but we'll regret it if we don't. We both know it."