Chapter 65: Defining Relationships

March 1, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"I have a meeting with the Dean to get permission to put up the flyers this afternoon," Kurtis said at lunch. "We'll only be escorting girls from our dorm. I talked to a couple of guys in other dorms who will organize theirs. I figured we couldn't take care of everyone without some help."

"Cool," Clark said. "Did anyone hear any more about the investigation?"

"The Times said the police didn't have any suspects but were following leads," Jeannette said.

"What leads?" I asked. "Let's assume they got some kind of forensic evidence. They can't go around typing everyone's blood to match anything they found. Or even if they found hairs or whatever. And the description was the same. About 5′10″ with brown hair. Not even what they were wearing."

"Actually, the paper did release more details. Blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and tennis shoes."

Jason shook his head, "So about a third of the male students here at Taft and who knows how many guys from McKinley or the surrounding area."

"We had a situation like this back in Cleveland," Carter said. "There were nine rapes before they finally got the guy, and that was only because the potential tenth victim had a concealed carry permit and canceled his ass. Permanently."

"Now THAT is the right way to end it," Bill said. "Saves the taxpayers a TON of money keeping the bastard in jail for life."

"Unfortunately, they don't STAY in jail for life," Jeannette said. "Between plea bargains and reluctant witnesses, they often get out in ten years or less."

"There was a case in Cincinnati around Thanksgiving," Marie said. "They busted the 'Seven Hills Rapist' who was attacking girls at UC. This sounds eerily familiar."

"It makes sense if you think about it," Melody said. "A couple of thousand girls, many of whom are alone at some point."

"I had an evil thought," Larry said. "What if this motherfucker signs up to be a safety escort?"

"Shit!" Kurtis said. "I hadn't thought about that. I think that means two escorts has to be the norm. That makes it more complicated."

"Does it?" Pete said. "If the desk keeps a list of who they send and who called, the SOB would be nailed instantly."

"At the risk of another girl being raped," Marie said.

"Two escorts unless it's totally impossible to do so," Kurtis said. "I'll make sure the desk knows. There are enough guys signed up that we can do it."

"Next evil thought," Larry said. "Somebody calls, but the rapist has things staked out, you know, he knows his victim's pattern. He shows up and claims he's the lone escort."

Pete nodded, "Then she'll see him, but we can even go one better. Have the desk give the girl the names of the guys who'll show up. She asks for their names. There is no way in hell he's going to know that unless he's some supervillain like Dr. No in the first Bond movie. If it's not the right guy, she calls back."

"I'm sure we can continue to concoct scenarios," Kurtis said. "At some point, something will fall through the cracks. The point is to basically limit the targets if you will. And to protect as many girls as we can."

"If the guy is really determined, he will find a girl alone somewhere," Marie said. "Which is why we all need to be super careful until they catch him."

"It's too bad they don't allow mace," Jeannette said. "That would solve the problem pretty quickly."

"So would my dad's .45," Pete said. "But I don't think carrying a gun is a good choice on campus."

"I think we have a good plan," Jason said. "Let's run with it."

Everyone agreed, and when we finished lunch, most people headed to class, but I had more than an hour before calculus, so I headed back to the dorm to relax. I grabbed an RC and, as nobody else was around, I put on Joe's Garage, Act I, and shut the door to my room. A few minutes later, there was a knock, and the door opened, as the sign I'd taped up said it was OK to come in after knocking if the door wasn't locked.

"Zappa!" Melody said. "Your guilty pleasure?"

"We talked about it the other day, and I had the chance to listen because everyone else is in class or elsewhere. Well, except for you."

When Catholic Girls started, Melody laughed.

"I'm not Catholic," she said mirthfully. "And you sure aren't Warren Cuccurullo or Vinnie Colaiuta!"

"This isn't the CYO, either!" I laughed.

"I'm still shocked you listen to Zappa."

"I have Sheik Yerbouti and Apostrophe (') on the shelf. I'll get more of his stuff when I have extra money. My music budget mostly goes for new releases."

"So what else do you do that's edgy?" she laughed.

"Not much, I'm afraid. I'm pretty conventional and conservative. Except with my music."

When Crew Slut started, Melody laughed again.

"This is just too much, given what I know about you. You know what's going on, right?"

I chuckled, "Of course. Mary just gave Larry a blowjob. Are you into leather?"

"Is that what it'll take?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No. I'm conventional, I guess."

"Don't you think that would get boring eventually?" Melody asked.

I grinned, "I'll let you know when I've had enough sex to possibly think it's boring!"

"Don't you think after thirty years of doing it with the same person, you might be bored? Or want something different?"

"Do you? For me, it's a lifetime commitment, and being bored or wanting someone else doesn't change that."

"See, that's what scares me about marriage," Melody said. "That you get one shot to get it right."

"I also think I understand more about why you're so hung up on making sure the sex is good at the outset. You're really worried about that long-term. Do you know someone that happened to?"

"My aunt. Her husband got bored with her and had an affair with a secretary at work."

"Did they divorce?" I inquired.

"Not after THAT affair; after the next one."

"I don't know what to say," I said. "All you can do is really get to know the person and watch for any warning signs."

"Yeah. So, have you decided?"

"If we do this, what kind of birth control are we going to use?"

"I'm on the Pill, but if you don't trust me, we can use rubbers, too."

"I wouldn't ask you to go to bed with me if I didn't trust you!"

"ARE you asking me to go to bed with you?"

"We're getting there," I grinned. "What would the terms of this deal be?"

"Well, Sunday evenings will be a LOT less expensive," she teased. "But in all seriousness, I don't have any rules or demands. It's casual, you know?"

"Hidden or public?" I asked as Wet T-Shirt Nite started.

"I figured you wouldn't want to upset Angie, and I don't either, but you hang out with her so much, it's going to be difficult to keep it private. I don't mean we'd hide it from her, but I don't want to be blatant about it. Don't take this the wrong way, but she's done her best to make sure you don't have time for anyone else except your study group."

"Nancy mentioned that when we were dating, but she was negative about it."

Melody laughed, "Of course she was! Angie has neatly boxed out all the competition except for your Friday dates and whatever you do when you're home. And you have NO problem with it because you're both very patient and very much in control of your libido."

"She's not threatened by you," I said.

"But she is threatened by, what's her name?"

"Katy. Nancy told me that, too."

"It's not often the obsessed, stalker-types are honest about it!"

"Do you really believe that about Angie?" I asked. "I mean, that she's a 'stalker-type'?"

"No, I don't. I told you what I think. She took as much as you were willing to give, and she could handle. If she was ready for sex, you two would probably be a permanent item."

"How do you think she'll react to us?"

Melody laughed, "I honestly think she'll be relieved. If you're getting it from me, you won't need to look elsewhere."

"That just strikes me as really odd," I said.

"She's seeing a counselor, right?"

"She told you?"

"Jeannette did. I know it might be violating a confidence, but Jeannette thought I needed to know. Until Angie is ready, she'll put up with you dating or even fooling around because she's sure you'll commit to her as soon as she asks."

"I sense a conspiracy," I grinned.

"Conspiracy?"

I nodded, "You, Jeannette, and Marie, ensuring I'm there for Angie when she IS ready."

"Busted," Melody said grimly, sagging back into the couch.

"Why the long face?" I asked with a smile. "I wasn't offended or upset. I'm totally not surprised that Jeannette and Marie would do something like that. But I need you to tell me straight — have you been straight with me in everything we've talked about?"

"Yes. My roommate did get on my case, and only then did I talk to Jeannette."

"But the dating bit?"

"I didn't think you'd be interested in a casual relationship, and I knew you wouldn't date me if we couldn't get past the religion thing. And honestly, I WOULD be happy with you as a boyfriend if we could get past that."

"And you'd surrender me to Angie willingly?"

"Willingly? No. But I know you would go with her if she asked. But there was one thing I said that I'm not totally sure about."

"That Angie may actually never be ready for sex."

"You know?"

"Of course! I'm not totally blind to reality. I talked with Doctor Hart, and I accept she may never get to that point. That's why I'm dating. If I was SURE Angie would be my girlfriend, I'd just wait it out. But I'm not sure. Are Jeannette and Marie sure?"

"No."

"But they want to make sure she has a chance."

"Yes."

"As for you, you had the idea you might end up with me if things didn't work out with Angie. But even then, I'd still have the question about church. So, I guess my question now is why you would do this."

"Remember, I was trying to date you from the first time we talked. You shot me down on our last date using pretty good logic. At the end, I was being flip about being lovers because I never expected you to actually want a relationship like that. Now that you're actually thinking about it, I thought it might be fun."

"Might be?" I asked, feigning being indignant.

"We haven't even kissed!" Melody laughed. "Remember, I wanted to have sex with you right off the bat. You put me off. Now you're interested. I still am."

"Aren't you playing long odds here?" I asked.

"You mean that you'll decide to yield on religion?"

"Or that you'll decide it's something you'd consider."

"I suppose stranger things have happened," Melody said thoughtfully. "And maybe there was a subconscious thought that somehow things could work out."

"And now that we have all of this out on the table, I have to go to calculus class," I said, checking my watch.

"Do you have an answer for me?"

"I think it's become way more complicated. If we do this, we're actually exploring a relationship and agreeing to delay a decision on religion. I'm not sure how wise that is."

"So it can't REALLY be casual now, can it?" Melody asked.

"No," I said carefully. "It really can't."

I got up and got my calculus book and put it in my bag, along with my notebook. I also grabbed my papers for my composition class, as I'd head there straight from calculus.

"Do you still want to go out on Sunday?" Melody asked.

I nodded, "Actually, I do."

"Cool!" Melody exclaimed. "See you at dinner."

She left, and I went to the elevator and waited for Clarissa, Carter, Pete, and Jason, and we walked to calculus class together. When class ended, they headed back to the dorm, and I went to the Humanities Building for my composition class. When that class ended, I headed back to the dorms to drop off my books, then joined the gang for dinner. Kurtis was in a foul mood.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The Dean refused to approve my plan because, and I quote, 'men have no business organizing a program for women'."

"What?!" Jeannette, Marie, and Melody exclaimed in unison.

"She said SHE would take care of it. I guess she's planning some sort of mass meeting tomorrow. I don't have permission to put up the flyers."

"Fuck her," Clark said. "She's the same bitch who tried to mess things up for Mike. We'll do it on our own with girls who want our help. Word of mouth."

"I agree," Larry said. "I honestly can't believe she turned you down."

"Oh, I can," Melody said. "I've seen that brand of feminism before. It's pure insanity. Kurtis, did she say what she was planning?"

"No. Just that something will happen tomorrow."

"Forget her, Kurtis," Jeannette said. "Let's implement your plan in our dorm in a voluntary way with as many friends as we can."

"How do we handle not being able to use the desk?" Marie asked.

"Sign-up sheets and a list of phone extensions," Pete said. "We'll make it work."

When we left the dining hall, we saw students putting up flyers for an 'All-Campus Anti-Rape Rally' on Tuesday at 5:15pm at the athletic field. We all agreed we'd attend.

March 2, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"As you all know, there has been a series of rapes near the campus," Dean Parker said as she took the podium. "The police, in their usual incompetence, have no leads and no suspects."

She droned on for several minutes, disparaging the McKinley PD and the Hayes County Sheriff but failing to mention their racist behavior towards my friends, which I thought was actually their biggest failing in the investigation. Given that there was very little evidence and no description of the rapist, I wasn't sure what Dean Parker expected them to do.

"We must band together to defend ourselves," she said. "And to that end, I am implementing a campus-wide safety escort system to ensure that no young woman needs to walk alone. It's a very simple system — a call to the campus police for either a planned or immediate escort will result in two young women showing up to escort you safely to or from or around campus. Those escorts will be equipped with bright orange and yellow vests, walkie-talkies, and loud whistles.

"Because we do not know who the rapist or rapists are, we cannot allow ANY of our male students to participate in this service, and I encourage the young women on this campus to NEVER be alone with a male at ANY time. You are ALWAYS at risk. To that end, effective immediately, no male student will be permitted on a female floor or half-floor under any circumstances. Violations of this rule will result in immediate suspension and recommendation for expulsion."

"What the fuck?!" Jeannette exclaimed, loud enough for plenty of people around us to hear her.

"Relax," Melody said quietly. "Let her rant. We can't do anything right now."

"And women-only escorts?" Kurtis complained. "Seriously?"

"Kurtis, just chill," Melody said firmly. "Let it play out. It's strident feminism. It's going to have to be girls who complain. If you complain, you'll dig yourself a hole with her so deep you'll never be able to climb out. And you'll make yourself a suspect."

"She already said all of us are suspects because we're male," Jason said.

Dean Parker continued, "I will also be establishing a joint student-faculty committee to suggest new rules and guidelines for dealing with sexual misconduct, as well as convening a faculty committee to review housing. It is my intention to ensure that all female students are safe, and to that end, I am asking the Chancellor to declare that the new dorm be reserved for female students in its entirety."

I totally wasn't surprised by THAT development, but all of us already had our written room assignments for the Fall. But her statement caused the growing dissension in the crowd to bubble over.

"Bullshit!" a male voice called out, soon joined by others.

I saw a number of guys turn and walk away with looks of disgust on their faces. I was happy to see a few female students also turn their backs and walk away. I thought about joining them but decided to stay to hear anything else the Dean said.

"And THAT response," Dean Parker continued, "simply proves the need for this action. Ladies, please contact the Campus Police Department as soon as possible to volunteer for our safety escort service! I will report back to all of you soon on our next steps. And remember, no male student is permitted on a female floor or half floor under any circumstances. Thank you."

There was a smattering of applause, and our gang gathered around Melody, who seemed to have some kind of plan.

"OK," she said. "I know I'm first-year pre-law, but I've read a lot and have talked to people about stuff like this in the past. Kurtis, you, Pete, and Jason should go to the Campus Police and register as escorts."

"She said girls only."

Melody smiled, "We're a state school. That makes her part of the government. And THAT limits the kinds of things she could do. If this were a private school, she could do a lot more. But she can't take away any of our rights."

"Why only them?" I asked.

"She already has it in for you, Mike. Sorry, but we don't need a lightning rod."

"Got it," I said. "What about the dorms?"

"We all have letters stating our room assignments, and university policy is that those can only be changed if we agree, or there is some 'Act of God' preventing us from moving into our rooms."

"So she can't unilaterally kick us out of our new rooms?" Clark said.

Melody smirked, "No, but we have another weapon. You, Larry, Carter, T, and Jefferson go to the civil rights compliance person and complain about racial discrimination in housing."

"But it's because we're guys, not black!" Clark protested.

"So?" Melody grinned. "They still have to investigate, which means the Dean will have to defend herself in THAT arena."

"Where did you learn all of this?" Jeannette asked.

"In addition to books, my uncle is a civil rights attorney. He works for the ACLU. I'm going to call him after dinner, but I'm pretty sure she can't do ANYTHING she talked about except have all-female escorts."

"But you just said..." Kurtis protested.

"The goal is to throw as much crap in her way as possible. Usually, it's the other way around — conservative school administrations discriminating against women or minorities or generally suppressing free speech. We'll just use the same tactics."

"Is that the kind of lawyer you want to be?" I asked.

"Sort of, but I'm more concerned with criminal law and how the Constitution applies. I'll do things like make sure suspects receive fair trials, ensure punishments don't violate the Constitution, that searches were legal, and so on."

"So, what about the rules about guys on girls' floors?" Larry asked.

"Leave that to Jeannette, Marie, Clarissa, Angie, me, and a few other friends. We'll go see the Chancellor tomorrow and lodge a formal complaint."

I nodded, "I think the gang has a new ringleader."

March 4, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"I have some updates," Melody said at lunch on Thursday. "First of all, for coed floors, things are going right back to the way they were. For non-coed floors, guys will need a specific invitation from a girl, just as they always have for the all-female dorm. I think that's a win. Second, the Chancellor, not Dean Parker, will determine who is on the student-faculty committee, and it will include both men and women, though I think nobody will be surprised that women will outnumber men."