Chapter 5: A Good Way Forward

July 2, 1982, Cincinnati, Ohio

"Hi!" Angie gushed as I climbed out of my Mustang just past 8:00pm on Friday evening.

"Hi!" I replied.

We exchanged a brief hug, and I grabbed my bag from the back seat of the car, then shut and locked the door.

"I've missed you!" she said, looping her arm in mine. "I don't like running, praying, and going to church alone."

"I've missed doing those things with you, too."

"Come on inside. Mom has you in the spare bedroom."

"Cool. Were you able to get tickets for the Reds?"

"They're in Atlanta until Monday, so we probably can't see them."

"Bummer."

We walked into the house, and she led us upstairs to the spare bedroom, which was just across the hall from hers. I dropped my bag on the bed and then asked for the bathroom. It was just down the hall, and after I used it, Angie took me downstairs, where she offered me a Coke. I accepted, and we went to sit outside on the patio in their backyard.

"Where are your parents?" I asked.

"They took my little brother Kenny to see Firefox. They'll be home in an hour or so."

"What's that one about?"

"Stealing a top-secret, mind-controlled Russian airplane."

"Interesting," I said thoughtfully. "I wonder if the plane understands English or if he has to think in Russian!"

"That's right! You speak Russian, don't you?"

I laughed, "Sort of. If you think about how a little kid speaks English, that's about how I am with Russian. My mom is fluent, but my dad doesn't speak any at all. You've heard me use maybe a dozen words at church when I greet people."

"And when you swear, which isn't all that often. You had that one word you used for the psychiatrist..."

"Let's forget that, please. It's in the past, and I want it to stay there."

"How is your sister doing?"

"She has a new best friend named Mindy, and she manages to see Emmy by meeting her places Emmy would usually go, like the public swimming pool. Her grades were OK, and she seems more or less normal."

"And your friend Becky?"

"She seems to have come through the whole thing with her parents OK. She's going to Central Michigan in the Fall."

"Do you mind if we have lunch with my friend Anna tomorrow?"

"Not at all."

"Cool. She'll bring her nephew, Kyle, with her. She babysits him for her sister. I asked her to go to the fireworks with us, but she's going to a party in Milford with the guy she's been seeing off and on for a few years who's going to school in Chicago. They're going to fireworks straight from the party as a group."

"Is this a party you would have gone to if I wasn't here?" I asked.

Angie shook her head, "No. I don't know any of those people. I haven't even met the guy. Anna doesn't see him much because she's going to Ohio University, and he's in Chicago, as I said."

"OK. Where are we going to see the fireworks?"

"Down by Riverfront Coliseum. They shoot them from a barge in the Ohio River. You don't mind if my parents and my brother come along, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Did you want to go to Vespers tomorrow?"

"How far away is the church?"

"It's about thirty minutes north on I-275 to get to Loveland. If you took Route 50, you got on I-275 in Milford, which is about halfway between here and the church."

"Sure. That will give me a chance to talk to the priest so I can receive the Eucharist in the morning. What did your parents have to say about you deciding to convert?"

Angie smiled, "They were OK with it. As my dad said, it's not like I was going to a 'crazy Bible church'. I guess Roman Catholics don't have a big problem with the Orthodox Church."

"There have been some pretty big disputes over the years. When you go to catechism class with Father Nicholas and Deacon Grigory, you'll get the full story."

"How are things with Jocelyn?"

I took a long drink from my bottle of Coke and then set it down on the table.

"Complicated."

Angie cocked her head and looked at me, "Are you breaking up with Melody?"

"I don't know what I'm doing," I said, shaking my head. "Things between Jocelyn and me aren't simple and never can be because of how close we've always been and because of what happened last Summer."

"Because you love her so much?"

I nodded, "But it's weird, you know. It doesn't feel like I'm in love with her, you know, all romantic and stuff."

Angie laughed, "You aren't exactly the romantic type, Mike! I mean, you know how to treat a girl like a lady and stuff, but you're way too logical and rational to be truly romantic. She's your best friend, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, and she has been since kindergarten. And that's part of the difficulty. I mean, not that she's my best friend, but what it means for when she comes to McKinley."

Angie nodded in understanding, "It's going to wreck things with Melody no matter what you do."

"That's my fear. I'm going to want to do stuff with Jocelyn and sometimes just her and me."

"And us?" Angie asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"Part of the difficulty as well. Not because I want to change things but because I don't want to change things. I WANT to keep running together, and saying prayers together, and going to church together."

"Jocelyn doesn't want to do those things?"

"Running is one thing she can't do. She has an exercise program her physical therapist gave her, but running would be really hard on her hips and pelvis because of the repairs they did. She might come to church with us from time to time. She's been to my church a few times, and she's OK with it."

"Would she convert?"

"If we were going to be married, yes. It's kind of like the situation with Melody, though I'd have to change things less with Jocelyn than with Melody."

"I hope you realize Melody is going to do her best to draw you out of the Church."

I nodded, "I know. And that's what initially gave me pause about her."

"And you fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Angie said, shaking her head.

"That's not how it developed," I said. "She wanted to fool around right away, and I refused. It was only later, once I was comfortable with the relationship that we started being together that way."

"That doesn't change my assessment," Angie said firmly. "If you stay with her, she's going to do what I say."

"And your point?" I asked slightly testily.

"Mike, relax!"

"Sorry," I said softly. "It's just I keep hearing from everyone how I shouldn't be with Melody."

"Maybe that should tell you something."

"Maybe."

Actually, it was more than 'maybe'. Everything that everyone was saying was lining up, and even though some of them might have an interest in seeing me break things off with Melody, it still made sense. And no matter what I did, I didn't think I could avoid a conflict between Jocelyn and Melody for my limited time outside of class and studying. I needed to talk to her about it, but I didn't expect that conversation to go well.

I was still thinking about it when I heard the front door open, and Angie's parents and brother came into the house. We got up to greet them and spent about fifteen minutes chatting before Angie and I went to her room, where she had a small icon corner set. We said our evening prayers, she hugged me, and I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

July 3, 1982, Cincinnati, Ohio

"Mike, this is Anna Wilson and her nephew, Kyle."

"Hi, Anna!" I said, then added, "Hi, Kyle!"

"Hi!" Anna replied. "Kyle doesn't say much yet. I've been trying to get him to say my boyfriend's name, but he hasn't quite got the hang of it."

"Angie says you're dating a guy from Milford?"

"Yes, but he goes to college in Chicago, so I don't see him as often as I want. I call him my boyfriend because there really isn't another way to put it, but we're not steady or anything. Maybe when we both graduate."

"He's a cute kid," I said. "Angie said he's your sister's son."

"Yes. Her name is Gina. She's not married, and she works, so during the Summer, I watch Kyle, which saves her the cost of babysitting and doesn't tie my mom up, either."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Kyle really likes Wendy's French fries," Anna laughed.

"That's OK with me, if it's OK with Angie."

"It is," Angie agreed. "We can walk, actually. It's not too far."

We walked from Anna's house to Wendy's, taking turns pushing Kyle's stroller. Anna was a very pretty, very sweet girl, and she doted on her nephew. It was very obvious from some things she said that she was completely enamored with the guy she was seeing.

"I could probably get you an invitation to the party in Milford," Anna said. "They have a huge house on a hill right over where Route 50 meets I-275. They even have an indoor pool."

"An indoor pool? Wow!"

"I, uh, think they're a bit too wild for my taste," Angie said.

Anna laughed, "They are pretty wild, especially his friend with the sauna. She's just plain crazy!"

"If Angie isn't comfortable, I think it's best if we don't go," I said.

"OK," Anna agreed.

We arrived at Wendy's and placed our orders. Angie knew my situation, so as she usually did, she paid for her lunch, and Anna paid for hers. When we received our food, we sat down, and after a quick prayer, we began eating.

"Angie has told me so much about you," Anna said as she handed Kyle a French fry to munch.

"I'm not all that interesting," I said. "Mostly, I go to class, study, go to church, and take karate lessons. I used to play chess."

"That sounds a lot like my boyfriend. He started taking karate when he moved to Chicago, and he used to play chess. He was on the Milford team, and I was on the Turpin team."

"The Milford team? You wouldn't happen to know the rules for 'strip chess', would you?"

Angie blushed slightly, and Anna laughed.

"My boyfriend's ex-girlfriend invented it! It's pretty simple. You get a kiss for each captured pawn and remove a piece of clothing for each captured piece. Winner gets oral sex from the loser!"

"That certainly would have made chess tournaments WAY more interesting!" I said. "Well, at least if there were girls on the other team!"

"They played on the team and used that to freak out their opponents. It worked, too!"

"And you've played?"

"Mike!" Angie growled. "That's totally NOT appropriate!"

"Sorry," I replied, chagrined.

I suspected that meant she had, and I certainly wouldn't have minded playing that with Anna in different circumstances. Angie was right about it not being appropriate to ask, but the ideas running around in my head had let my mouth run without thinking, something I very much tried to prevent.

We had a nice lunch and avoided the topic of chess or relationships, and when we finished, we walked back to Anna's house, where we said 'goodbye'. Angie and I got into my car for the short drive back to Angie's house.

"Sorry about that question," I said.

"It's OK. It's just, well, I think Anna made a huge mistake. I can't really talk about it, though."

"She seems like she's totally head-over-heels for this guy."

"She is. They had a falling out but then got back together. But she's blind to the reality of the situation. Sorry, now I'm talking too much."

"It's OK," I replied. "Let's talk about something else!"

"What did you want to do for the rest of the afternoon? There's a Putt-Putt on Beechmont if you want to play."

"Sure. Let's do that, then we can go to Vespers, then have dinner."

"There's a Frisch's Big Boy on Route 50 in Milford. It's more or less on the way home if we take Wards Corner and Glendale-Milord Road instead of I-275. It's only a few minutes longer that way, really."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.

She gave me directions, and a few minutes later, we were standing at the counter, paying for our clubs and golf balls. We had fun playing, though neither of us had much of an advantage over the other one, and Angie ended up beating me by a single stroke. After we returned our clubs, we headed back to Angie's house for showers, then dressed for church. We drove to Loveland for Vespers, and I spoke with the priest afterwards to receive permission to receive the Eucharist the next morning.

We had dinner as planned at Frisch's, then headed back to Angie's house.

July 4, 1982, Cincinnati, Ohio

On Sunday morning, Angie and I went to Matins and the Divine Liturgy, and when the services ended, we had lunch in the church hall. About 1:00pm, we headed back to Angie's house and hung out until dinner. Her dad cooked burgers on the grill, and when we'd had our fill and cleaned up, we headed to downtown Cincinnati in two cars. We parked at a garage on Plum Street and walked to the Riverfront Coliseum. We found good spots on the walkway between it and Riverfront Stadium and waited for the fireworks to begin.

After a fantastic fireworks show, we took a circuitous route to get home so that we could stop at Farrell's at the Tri-County Mall for ice cream.

"I'm glad you came to see me," Angie said when she and I got into my Mustang after having excellent ice cream at Farrell's.

"Me, too. I really do miss seeing you every day."

"I don't mean to upset you, but did you decide what to do about Melody?"

"Pretty much level with her about the time I want to spend with Jocelyn. Something I haven't said to you is that I'm basically considering not discussing long-term plans with anyone."

"So you wouldn't go steady with anyone?"

"Correct. My concern with talking to Melody is I'm pretty sure I should do it face-to-face, but there really isn't a chance for me to see her until we go back to school. But I talk to her every week, and it seems almost as if I'm misleading her."

"Because you're going to break up with her?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I hadn't really decided if I was going to do that, but I think you're right about church, and some of the things my parents have said make a lot of sense. The other thing I haven't told you is that Katy and I may stop dating. She's thought about the commitments I have to make, and she's not sure she can make the sacrifices necessary to be a medical student's wife."

"It is going to be tough from everything you've said. And I'm not sure anyone who is still a teenager can really understand what that truly means. And if they do, whether or not they can deal with it."

"I know," I sighed. "My problem is I don't want to wait until I'm in my thirties to have kids. And that's what creates a sense of, well, not quite urgency, but at least a ticking clock. If I found the person I wanted to marry, and we lived together for a few years while I was in medical school, then had our kids right after I graduated, that might work."

"Why not take a step back and just relax for a few years?"

I laughed hard, "Well, that makes it completely unanimous!"

"Mike, want to know a secret?"

"Sure."

"A girl who really wants to be with you will wait for you to be ready to marry and start a family."

July 5, 1982, West Monroe, Ohio

"Drive safely, Mike! I'll see you in four weeks!"

"We'll talk before then!" I said with a smile.

"Of course, silly!" she laughed.

Angie hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, then I got into my car. I rolled down the window, said 'goodbye', then backed out of the driveway. I waved, put the car in drive, then headed towards I-275. I drove at a leisurely pace, as I had more than four hours before dinner, and I wanted to think about what everyone had said. I turned it over in my mind for the two hours it took me to make the drive.

Ultimately, I agreed with what everyone had said, with one exception — my relationship with Jocelyn. In the end, if I took their advice about everything else, I had plenty of time to work through things in my mind. And plenty of time to spend with Jocelyn in McKinley.

"Hi, Mikey!" Liz called out when I walked into the house.

"Hi! How are things here?"

"Nothing really changes in West Monroe. I'm going back downstairs. Mindy is here; we're playing pool."

"OK. I'm going to call Angie and let her know I made it back safely, then call Jocelyn so I can see her tonight."

I took my bag up to my room, then went back downstairs to make my phone calls. They were both quick, and once I'd hung up after talking to Jocelyn, I went upstairs, emptied my bag, grabbed the hamper, and went back to the basement to start a load of laundry.

"Hi, Mike!" Mindy said when I walked past the pool table to the laundry room.

"Hi," I responded evenly, trying not to encourage her, which would only upset Liz.

"Need help?" she asked with a silly smile.

"Mindy!" Liz growled.

"I've been doing my own laundry for close to ten years," I grinned. "I think I have it."

"Mike, if you're going to take a shower and need help, let me know!" Mindy teased.