Chapter 14: Damage Control

June 16, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio

"Mike, it's Mom. Open up, please."

I'd been sitting against the door with my knees pulled up to my chest for close to an hour, trying to figure out where I could go for the next two months. I hadn't come up with a solution, and I had begun to worry that my dad would refuse to contribute any money towards my undergrad degree. If THAT were to happen, I didn't know if I could attend college.

I slowly stood up and opened the door.

"That didn't go well, did it?" Mom asked.

I shook my head, "He forbade me from seeing Jocelyn, Dale, and Emmy if I live in the house. I couldn't agree to that, even as a delaying tactic."

She nodded, "I know. Please don't do anything foolish. Let me work on your dad."

"I came to my room. I didn't storm out of the house, threaten anything, or even lose my temper. I'm not going to do something dumb, Mom."

"I know that, but you're very emotional right now, and sometimes that messes with your usual level-headed behavior. I know it does with mine."

"So now what?" I asked.

"Go to work, have dinner with Tasha tomorrow, and stay in this weekend as we discussed. Call your friends and talk to them. They'll understand."

"But Mom, what if he won't budge?" I sighed in despair.

"Let's worry about things that actually happen, OK? He's agitated and very emotional right now. He will calm down. He always does."

I shook my head, "I'm not so sure. I haven't ever seen him like this before."

"I have. I can't go into detail, but I've seen him like this twice since I met him at UofI. I'm taking your sister for a complete physical and a gynecological exam in about an hour. Tomorrow, she's meeting with someone from Children's Protective Services, which is part of Family Services, and a psychologist."

"Why?" I asked. "She wasn't abused."

"According to the law, she was. These things are all required. You set it in motion when you told Deputy Kessel about it."

I sighed, "I did, didn't I?"

"Mike, this is why you needed to talk to us. You didn't know how this would play out. I'm not saying we did, but we could have consulted an attorney or someone who understood what would happen."

"Mom, Liz is going to tell them she was, well, the predator, and he was the prey."

"I know. And that's going to set your dad off again. Maybe even worse than now."

"I want to say something I'm not allowed to say. Please?"

Mom smiled and nodded, "I think you might learn something from doing it. Once."

"Fuck!" I growled.

"Feel better?"

"No."

"So..."

I laughed, "You win."

Mom smiled, "I know. Using those coarse words never helps. Why do it? Did it make you feel like a man?"

I shook my head, "No, of course not."

"Did it help you deal with the problem?"

"I get it, Mom! No need to belabor the point."

"Why don't you mow the lawn? It's going to need it, and it'll keep you and your father apart while I'm gone."

"I'm sorry you have to play referee."

"It comes with the territory of being a mom and a wife. We've just been lucky that for eighteen years, I've rarely needed to do it. Your grandmother was always amazed by that."

"I take it you and Granddad had your disagreements?"

She stepped into my room and pushed the door shut.

"I've changed my mind; I'm going to share something with you that I think you need to know. I think you're mature enough to hear this."

"Go on."

"I was a bit wild when I was in High School. This was back in the late 50s. Granted, what passed for wild then was a bit different from now, but the point is the same. Your grandfather caught me smoking and drinking, and I was also engaging in otherwise unladylike behavior. I hope I don't have to draw you a complete picture."

I nodded, "No. And I don't think I want you to!"

She laughed, "It was 1956, and I was in High School. Given the time, it should be no surprise that he was scandalized. Your grandmother, bless her heart, played referee, and we worked it out. But it took my entire Senior year before I was allowed to do ANYTHING other than go to church and have Mrs. Nikatopolis over to the house."

"You knew her back then?"

"She's been my best friend since eighth grade. And she still is, even though she married a Greek guy!"

I chuckled, "You married a Dutchman!"

"Yes, I did!"

"With an Irish temper," I said.

"True, but we rarely see it explode because he goes to his workshop to cool off. Your father didn't know about any of that until after we started dating. When he found out, he became very moody, just as he is now. He has a very Dutch Calvinist view of the world, and while it's been tempered by being in the Church for twenty years, it's still there. You're seeing it for the first time."

I got the picture. And I could guess the second time.

"And the second time was when he found out that you were, uhm, experienced before you got married."

"You're pretty smart, Mike."

"And Dad wasn't experienced."

She smiled again, "Precisely. He grew up in a very, very conservative church, and remember, we're talking the 40s and 50s here. The Pill didn't exist, and getting birth control was very difficult. It was even illegal in some places. And 'good girls' didn't do any of those things. A 'good night' kiss was about the limit. Your father was VERY proper. Personally, I don't know how he made it to that point without succumbing before I met him after I've watched you grow up!"

I chuckled, "TELL me about it!"

She laughed with me and gave me a knowing smile.

"Anyway, it happened long before I even started talking to your father, but he took it as a personal affront when he found out about it right before we married. I felt I had to tell him I wasn't a virgin. It was all I could do to keep him from breaking off the engagement AND hunting down the guy and doing heavens knows what to him. It was as if the man had stolen something from him, something he felt was rightfully his."

"Now I get it!" I exclaimed. "Now I know why you're telling me the story! From Dad's perspective, this guy stole Liz's virginity."

"Yes. Your father sees the pattern repeating itself."

"But Mom, it was Liz's to give away, just as it was yours."

"Mike, you're a very, very modern young man. Your father is not. He expected your sister to be a virgin on her wedding night. Well, probably even after knowing your dad. And he expected any suitor to ask his permission to see her. The sane as you with Tasha and Deacon Vasily."

I nodded, "Mom, do you know about Liz and Freddy Kramer?"

She smiled, "I didn't before this morning, but I do after talking with Liz. Your father has NO idea."

"I'd say that's a good thing."

"I agree. When did you find out about that?"

"After she made that slip up you overheard. A few weeks ago, I had a feeling that she was more experienced than I was, and I was right then. And now? Well, you know. We've talked about it."

Mom nodded, "May I make a suggestion?"

"Always."

"You and Jocelyn should go to Cincinnati for a few days when the time comes. Get away from West Monroe."

"How did you know?"

"The conversation we had. And the fact she was here for you last night. And again today."

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I think I'm in no position to judge you. You're both eighteen, and I daresay this has been your destination for the past thirteen years or so. You just figured it out before she did."

"No lectures about premarital sex? Or about what the Church teaches?"

"Mike, you should know me well enough to know I'm no hypocrite. I remember what it was like to be your age. Sometimes, I wonder if your father does. You're mature enough to make this decision. Liz wasn't."

"May I ask something?"

"Sure."

"What if it had been Freddy Kramer instead of an older, married man?"

"Well, your father would still be upset, just not about the same things. For me, I suppose it would have depended on the circumstances. We'll never know."

"Thanks for sharing all that stuff with me. I think I understand Dad a lot better now."

"Hang in there, Mike. Things will work out. Now, be a good boy and go cut the lawn while I take your sister to her appointments."

I hugged my mom, and we both left my room.

June 17, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio

"Are you OK?" I asked Liz on Wednesday morning.

"I guess," she sighed.

"What did Mom say when you guys were out yesterday?"

"Not much, really. Did you really tell Dad off?"

I chuckled, "Not as most people would understand that phrase, but given I've never said 'no' to his face before and refused to do what he said, I suppose you could call it that. Do you know what he said?"

"No. Mom wouldn't tell me, just that I should be careful what I said or did around Dad and that the two of you had a falling out."

"He told me I wasn't allowed to see Jocelyn or Dale as long as I lived in his house. Or date Emmy."

"What?!" Liz gasped. "But Jocelyn and Dale are your best friends since, like forever!"

"Why do you think I told him 'no'? I said the same thing about Emmy. I plan to keep seeing her. I'm staying home this weekend just to try to not set him off, but there's a limit to how long I can go without seeing my closest friends."

"Did you talk to them?"

"Yes. Last night, all three of them. I explained the situation, and they understand. Jocelyn and Emmy were here, so they know just how pissed Dad is. And Dale was totally understanding. You and I can spend time together as much as you want."

"I'd like that. Are you seeing Tasha tonight?"

"Yes. But otherwise, I'm just working and going to karate. And doing whatever you want to do here at the house."

Mom came into the kitchen where Liz and I were and handed me the newspaper. I wasn't surprised when there was a picture of Paul Reynolds with the headline Local Man Charged with Multiple Counts of Statutory Rape. I read the article, and other than saying the girl was 'under sixteen,' there wasn't anything that could even remotely identify Liz. The bond hadn't been set but was expected to be very high, given the potential for dozens of counts.

"The prosecutor is throwing the book at him," I said, handing the paper back to my mom.

"So it would seem."

"How is that fair?" Liz protested, keeping her voice low so my dad, who was in the other room, couldn't hear. "I wanted to do it."

"The law says you can't consent, Honey," my mom said. "It doesn't matter in the end what you wanted because you aren't sixteen."

"So he goes to jail because I wanted to f ... uh, have sex?"

"He should have known better, Honey," Mom said, surprisingly ignoring the near-use of profanity. "He knew the law, I'm sure. Did you lie to him about how old you were?"

"No. I told him the truth."

"Why does that matter?" I asked. "If the law says you have to be sixteen?"

"Because if he could reasonably think she was sixteen, then he could have a defense. Your sister was pretty much developed by then, and it's not all that easy to tell the difference between an almost fifteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old. But because she told him, he doesn't have that excuse."

"So if I had just told him I was sixteen, he wouldn't go to jail?" Liz asked.

"Honey, a married man shouldn't be with a sixteen-year-old. Or a twenty-six-year-old, for that matter. In your case, he did something terribly wrong, and he's going to pay the price. And that's true no matter what you thought about it."

"That really stinks," she complained.

"Honey, there are laws on the books we might not agree with, but we need to follow them or change them. Sometimes, like with the Civil Rights movement, you purposefully break the laws, knowing you'll be punished. The point is to get attention and get the people behind changing the laws. But you can't break laws without expecting society to punish you."

The conversation had to end because my dad came into the kitchen, looking just as pissed as he'd been the previous day. He sat down at the table and picked up the newspaper. He started reading but then suddenly flung it across the room. Mom didn't move, so I simply let it go as well and finished my breakfast.

"I'm off to work," I said. "See you all before Vespers, and then I have my dinner with Tasha."

"Have a good day, Mike," Mom said.

Liz got up and gave me a hug, and I left the house to head for the hardware store. When I arrived, I went to see Mr. Orlov to talk to him about hiring Liz. He was agreeable and asked me to arrange for her to come talk to him. I said it would be early the following week because of some family stuff that was going on, and he agreed that would be fine. I asked for my tasks for the day and got to work.

I was stocking loose hardware when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see who it was.

"Hey, Dale," I said.

"How are things?"

"Pretty bad, actually. How are things with you?"

"OK, except for this crap about not being able to come over and play chess or pool."

"I know," I said. "My mom is working on it. Give my dad some time to calm down, and it'll be cool. What are you guys doing on Saturday?"

"We can't do our usual thing without you, so we're having an extra single date night. I'm taking Stacey out, and Jocelyn is going out with Carl."

"OK. It'll be cool one way or the other by next weekend. I'm voluntarily lying low based on my mom's advice."

"OK. I just had to come see you. Jocelyn said she'll stop by tomorrow. We're here for you."

"I know. Thanks."

We shook hands, and he left the hardware store. I wasn't surprised when, after lunch, Emmy came into the store. She found me refilling the bins with the paint color cards, a tedious and annoying job that needed to be done about once a week.

"Hi," she said quietly. "Will you get in trouble for talking while you're working?"

"No. How are you?"

"I lost my best friend and my boyfriend! How do you think I am?"

I looked around and didn't see anyone who might possibly say something to my dad, so I held out my arms, and Emmy threw herself at me. I hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"It'll be OK. I promise we'll work this out. My mom just needs to work on my dad a bit, but he has to calm down before she can really do that."

"What's his problem?"

"That his baby had her virginity stolen from her."

"Oh, please! She was itching to give it to someone!"

"I know," I said. "And so does my mom. But my dad is a whole different story. What would YOUR dad say?"

"My dad has twenty guns. I don't think he'd SAY anything."

"Which is why I had Dale take my rifle. I'm beginning to understand why we might need gun control laws."