Chapter 5: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match?

May 30, 1981, West Monroe, Ohio

It was with more than a bit of trepidation that I drove home from karate class. I didn't really want to talk to April, but I knew I had to. The bottom line was church. It didn't matter to a lot of people, but it mattered to me. I feared that my conversation with April was simply going to go around in circles and end with her crying again. Unfortunately, I didn't see how that could be avoided.

"You should go see her," Mom said when I came downstairs after my shower. "Having that kind of conversation on the phone is too impersonal."

I sighed, "I know. It's just she's going to cry and beg."

"Mike, if you're mature enough to contemplate what you were planning, then you have to be mature enough to handle this responsibly and as kindly as possible."

"I broke up with her, Mom. I don't think 'kind' fits the situation."

"Do you think you were mean to her?"

"No, of course not!"

"And do you want to be mean to her now?"

"No. She's a nice girl. I like her. But she was expecting a commitment from me I couldn't make because of her views on which church she was willing to attend."

"So, be a kind, gentlemanly young man, and explain it to her as gently and nicely as you're able to. But face to face, Mike."

"OK," I said. "I'll call and make sure she's home."

I went to the kitchen, lifted the handset from the wall phone, and dialed each number in turn, waiting while the dial spun back. I was glad her number had mostly digits less than six, as it was faster to dial than our own, which annoyingly had three nines. I wondered, distractedly, who at the phone company hated my dad enough to give him a phone number ending in 9799.

"Nash residence," April's father said when he answered the phone.

"Mr. Nash, this is Mike. April left me a note, and I'm calling to talk to her. May I, please?"

"One moment," he said gruffly and with a tone that told me he disapproved.

That meant her house was a bad idea, and I didn't want to bring her to my house. Perhaps Grant Park would work. The weather was nice, and we could certainly find a quiet place to sit and talk. Assuming she wanted to.

"Hi," April said a moment later.

"I read your note," I said. "You asked me to talk to you, and I will. How about I pick you up, we get some Cokes at the Pony Keg, and we head to Grant Park?"

"I guess," she replied.

"See you in ten minutes or so."

"OK."

We hung up, and I went to tell Mom the plan. She nodded approvingly and wished me luck. I thanked her, grabbed my baseball cap, and headed out to my Mustang for the drive to April's house. She was waiting on the porch, and by the time I got out of the car, she was already at the passenger door and let herself in. I got back into the car, backed out of the driveway, and drove to Martin's Pony Keg, where I bought two ice-cold Cokes. From there, I drove to Grant Park.

After I parked, we got out of the car and walked towards a shaded area not far from where we'd spent Prom night. We both sipped our Cokes, but neither of us said anything. I didn't know what to say, and I wasn't sure why she was being quiet, but we weren't going to make any progress this way, and I had church and a date later in the day.

"You said you wanted to talk," I prompted.

April took a long drink from her Coke, then lowered the bottle to her side.

"Dad and Cassie are going out this afternoon," she said quietly. "We could go back to my house."

"April..." I sighed.

"What? It's what you want. It's what you always wanted. I just wasn't ready."

"That's not why I broke up with you," I said gently. "I told you the reason, and it's not that."

"Church?" she laughed derisively. "Seriously? You want me to believe that when I refused to go to the motel, that was OK, but when I refused to go to your dumb church, that wasn't OK? I'm not stupid, Mike."

I took a deep breath and let it out.

"No, you aren't. But in this case, you are mistaken. I DO want to, but if you'll never go to church with me, we can't be together, and it wouldn't be right for me to do it with you."

"Do you know how dumb that sounds? Church is more important than sex?"

"If I do it with you, I'm committing to giving you the engagement ring you want, and that means leaving the church. Sex would change everything and commit me to a course of action. One that meant not going to church as a family."

"You don't believe that! You don't believe you should only have sex with your spouse!"

"No, I don't. But I do know that's what it would mean to you. Be honest with me here, April. The reason you're offering is because you know what it means! You're sure if you can get me to make love with you, we'll end up married, have kids, and live happily ever after. But I can't live happily ever after without the Orthodox Church. And think about it: if you were right, I'd take you back to your house and make love to you."

"Why won't you?"

We were going around in circles, just as I feared.

"Because I want to marry someone in the Church, go to church as a couple, and eventually raise my kids Orthodox. If it was what you said, I'd do it. We're going around in circles here."

"But I love you!" she protested.

"You do, but not enough to go to church with me at least three times a week for the rest of our lives."

"You and that dumb church! It's just a church! There are dozens within twenty miles. I'm sure we could find one we agreed on."

"I'm Russian Orthodox," I said. "I like icons, incense, priests, a cappella singing, Mary, and all the other things you think are 'too Catholic'. Do you want me to be unhappy for the rest of our lives?"

"You'd have me! A girl who loves you! Who wants to have your children! Who you think is pretty!"

"But who won't go to church with me. Come on, let me take you home. Neither of us is going to change the other's mind."

"You did it with her, didn't you? That girl you went to the Drive-In with last night!"

I remember Mom saying never to talk about things like that, but in this case, both Emmy's reputation and mine were being attacked, and I couldn't let that go.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, April! I did no such thing! I took her to dinner, we played mini golf in Rutherford, and then saw Urban Cowboy! After the movie, I took her straight home. Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I'll walk," she said, dropping her unfinished bottle of Coke in the grass and walking away.

"April, it's three miles to your house, and there are no sidewalks and no trails. Let me drive you home."

"No!" she screeched. "Leave me alone!"

Now I had a real dilemma — let her walk alone or walk with her. If I walked with her, I'd have to walk back to the park, and I'd likely be late for church. I couldn't let her walk alone, and there were no pay phones to call her dad, who might not even be home. I wondered if I could drive slowly along the shoulder of the highway where she'd have to walk. I decided I could, so long as I turned on my emergency flashers. I picked up her discarded bottle and carried it with me back to the car.

I made my way out of the park and to the main road. I pulled to the side, put on my emergency flashers, and waited. About three minutes later, I saw April come onto the shoulder about 500 feet further down the road, put the car in 1st, and slowly drove along the shoulder. I pulled up beside her, leaned over, and rolled down the window.

"April, please get in. Stop being foolish."

She ignored me and kept walking. I sighed and slowly followed her. I checked my watch and saw that at the rate she was walking, I'd be home about an hour before I needed to be at church, which would be fine. I turned on the radio to the Top 40 station and continued to drive along slowly. Cars slowed but were able to pass without crossing the center line, so I felt comfortable driving along the shoulder.

Things were fine for about ten minutes when flashing blue and red lights appeared in my mirror. I sighed, stopped, and put my hands on the top of the steering wheel as my dad had instructed me to do if I were ever stopped by law enforcement. I saw a Sheriff's deputy climb from the car and breathed a sigh of relief when I recognized Phil Kessel, who had graduated three years before me and had joined the Sheriff's department. I waited for him to come to the window.

"Hi, Mike. What's going on?"

"Hi, Phil. April and I had a fight. We were at Grant Park, and she refused to get in the car so I could take her home. I didn't want her walking alone, and I didn't have time to walk home with her, then walk back and get my car."

"OK. Let me talk to her. I'll take it from here. I don't want you driving on the shoulder for another couple of miles. It's too dangerous, especially around the bend that's coming up."

"You're sure?"

"Go on. I'll get her home."

"Thanks, Phil."

I put the car in gear, turned off the emergency flashers, and pulled away. I watched in the rearview mirror as he pulled up next to April, but then I was at the bend in the highway he'd mentioned and lost sight of them. When I arrived home, I emptied the Coke bottles and put them in with the other returns, then went up to my room to read. Mom was at my door about five minutes later.

"How did it go?"

"Oh, just perfect," I said sarcastically. "First, she accused me of lying to her about why we broke up. Then she accused me of having sex with Emmy last night. Then, when I told her I'd take her home, she refused to get in the car. I couldn't let her walk alone, so I followed her on the shoulder in my car and was pulled over by Phil Kessel for my trouble. Fortunately, he sent me home and said he'd make sure April arrived home safely. So yeah, perfect."

"You DID behave like a gentleman last night, didn't you?"

"You know, I'd say I didn't just to annoy Lizzy, but yes, Mom, I did. And I did my best to be kind to April today, but she was so upset that she wasn't hearing me."

"You did what you needed to do, Mike. April will need to come to terms with her own choices. Remember that in the future. Your choices will affect other people, and sometimes they won't like the choices you make. That's when you have to decide what's more important to you. Just like you did with April."

"I know," I sighed. "I just wish she'd believe me."

"I might be stating the obvious, but if you hadn't asked her to have sex with you, she probably would believe you. The choices you make have consequences, Mike."

"Can we drop the topic, please? I made a mistake, and I admit that."

"Then yes, we can drop the topic. Are you leaving for church at your normal time?"

"Yes."

"Did you check your messages when you came in?"

"No, why?"

"Emmy called for you."

"Did she say what she wanted?"

"No, she just asked that you please call her."

I nodded and went to call. I saw Liz in the family room, so I went to the basement to use that extension, as she'd be less likely to hear me than if I used the wall phone in the kitchen. It also had the advantage of being 'Touch-Tone' instead of 'rotary dial', which made it much quicker. I dialed Emmy's number, and when her father answered, I politely asked to speak to her. She was on the phone a few seconds later.

"Hi, Mike!" she gushed. "What are you doing after church tomorrow?"

"I was planning to get together with Dale to play chess. Why?"

"I thought you might like to have a picnic lunch in the park! Could you?"

I could, but that would mean skipping lunch at church, which I didn't like to do. On the other hand, if Emmy agreed to 1:00pm, I could simply eat lightly and not have to leave early.

"I could, if 1:00pm works."

"I figured because I know Liz is usually at church until around then. I'll bring everything except Cokes! Can you get them?"

"Sure! I do need to be home by 3:00pm because that's when Dale will get here."

"No problem! See you tomorrow!"

We hung up, and I went upstairs and wrote my plans on the calendar. I was sure it would set Liz off once again, but I found that amusing. Not to mention that Emmy was hot, and I liked kissing her! I went back to my room to read until it was time to dress for church. About twenty minutes later, Liz came to my door.

"Quit trying to ruin my life!" she growled.

"Emmy called and asked me to have a picnic with her. I said 'yes'."

"But she's my best friend, and you're wrecking things!"

I got up, walked over to the door, and began to close it.

"I need to get ready for church," I said, then shut and locked the door.

I put on a black T-shirt, a black button-down shirt, black socks, black slacks, and black shoes. I didn't like wearing colors when I served at church; if they showed through the vestments, it would look odd, whereas all black would look similar to the cassocks we wore. I unlocked my door and, seeing Liz wasn't in sight, quickly went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. When I finished, I made a speedy escape from the house, got into my car, and drove to church.

As usual, I was the first one there, and after I put on a cassock, I set about filling and lighting the oil lamps and preparing for the service. I saw Deacon Vasily arrive, and because Father wasn't there, I had a chance to talk to him. I greeted him at the door.

"Father Deacon, I'd like your permission to ask Natalya to dinner."

He smiled, "I've known you from when you were born, Mike. You didn't need to send Mrs. Orlova to grease the skids!"

"I didn't, Father Deacon! She took the initiative and, after she spoke to you, suggested I ask your permission."

"Which is necessary, as Natalya isn't usually allowed to go on one-on-one dates, but if I were to say 'no' to the Senior Acolyte, a faithful young man, I'm not sure who I could ever say 'yes' to. You have my permission to ask her. I believe Mrs. Orlova spoke to her as well."

I nodded, "She seemed to think your daughter would be a good match for me."

"I believe she said 'an excellent doctor's wife', though I think that might be a bit premature at this point. You won't be a doctor for what, eight years?"

I nodded, "That's right. Four years at William Howard Taft, then four years in medical school. Of course, then I'd be an Intern for a year, and then a Resident, and eventually, about twelve years from today, an Attending. But there's a lot to do before then!"

"You've spoken to Father Herman about the parish in McKinley?"

"Yes. I'll probably visit there one Wednesday evening for Vespers before school starts so I can meet the priest."

"Good. I'm glad to hear you'll still be attending services regularly. Now, finish your tasks, and when my wife and daughter arrive, if there's enough time, you can ask. Otherwise, it'll have to be at the end of service."

"Thank you, Father Deacon!" I said with a smile.

Unfortunately, Tasha didn't arrive until a few minutes before Vespers was due to start, so I didn't get a chance to speak to her. She and her mother stood in their usual spot, which meant I could see her through the Royal Doors from where I stood in the altar. I was distracted by thoughts of her and almost missed my cue to hand Father Herman the censer, but snapped out of my trance just in time, as my 'autopilot' kicked in. I did my best to concentrate from then on, but my mind kept going back to Tasha. I was thankful when the service ended, and before I removed my vestments, I went to where she was standing.

I was fine until I got next to her. Almost immediately, my palms were sweating, and my knees were knocking, and it felt like I had cotton balls in my mouth. I swallowed hard.

"Hi, Tasha," I said carefully, hoping my voice wouldn't crack or my tongue would stick to my mouth's roof.

"Hi, Mike!" she said with a smile.

"Tasha, would you like to go to dinner with me?"