Chapter 26: Family Secrets

October 10, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

"Subdeacon," Father Nicholas said when I arrived at church on Wednesday evening, "word got to the bishop about your parents not being at your betrothal."

"Wonderful," I sighed. "What was said?"

"He asked if I knew any details, but all I could tell him was that it had something to do with your sister and her fiancé. I told him I believed you were acting out of love. He was concerned, obviously, because for them to boycott your ordination would create a severe scandal, even more so than missing your betrothal or even your wedding."

"It's going to get worse."

"How so?"

"My grandfather is going to most certainly speak to Father Herman if he hasn't already done so. I'm not sure how much Father Herman knows about what went on three years ago, but I don't think that matters in the end. He's going to have to confront my parents, and that's where everything is going to go off the rails and probably get worse."

"This is about that deep, dark family secret?"

"Yes."

"I think you're going to need to talk to one of us — me, Father Herman, or Vladyka ARKADY and discuss what happened and why it's led to this rift. I'll leave it up to you to decide, but unless there is a resolution quite soon, it could create significant problems."

"If we do this in the context of confession, would that work?"

"We'd need to agree on how much I could reveal to the bishop, and it will have to be enough to allay any concerns."

I nodded, "I'm also going to have to work out what to say to my future father-in-law. He's been asking, and I've more or less said it's an internal family matter relating to my sister."

"We'll discuss it in confession after Vespers. I take it Tasha can give Lara and Clarissa a ride back to school?"

"Yes."

"Oh, before I forget, how did your interview at Ohio State yesterday go?"

"About like the first two," I replied. "We're leaving early tomorrow morning for Indianapolis."

"And the debate with the Reverend?"

"They're trying to come up with a mutually acceptable date, location, and format. I'm pretty much cool with anything, but he's trying to stack the deck."

Father Nicholas nodded, "I'd say you have him worried. Shall we vest?"

We put on our liturgical garb, and an hour later, when Vespers was finished, we removed it. I asked Tasha to take Lara and Clarissa back to campus, spoke for a few minutes with Elizaveta, then joined Father in the nave.

"We can sit on the benches and talk, then do the absolution, if necessary, afterwards."

"That's fine."

Father Nicholas said the prayers before confession, then we sat down on one of the benches which were along the wall, and he put his stole around my shoulders.

"Liz had an affair with Paul four years ago."

"She's eighteen now?"

"Yes."

"I can see why that might be a problem for your parents," Father Nicholas observed.

"He was married and had a son at the time of the affair."

"Lord, have mercy!"

"Which was the reason I called the Sheriff and turned him in. He served two years for statutory rape."

"And you're OK with your sister marrying this man?"

"Does it matter if I'm OK with it? I told her it was a terrible idea, but she claims to love him and to have always loved him. What choice do I have if I'm guided by love? I hope you see my dilemma."

"I do, and your behavior fits your entire approach to dealing with sin — to give your love and support for the person while doing your best to model proper Christian behavior and witness to the truth by your actions."

"What's the alternative, really? To do what Reverend Saddler did and scream and yell at Robby and Lee? To what end? They'll never set foot in HIS church, but they've been here a dozen times. Which is more effective?"

Father Nicholas smiled, "I'd say the answer is obvious, though you're aware of the potential for scandal."

"Of course. But the church is chock full of 'stinking sinners', of whom I am chief."

"You would be surprised as to how many people mouth those words without understanding what they mean."

"I'm not sure I grasp the full meaning," I replied, "but I do know that I'm in no position to judge anyone. I did point out to my mom that I was betrothed to a girl who is fifteen."

"There is quite a difference between that and what happened with your sister."

"Granted, but Elizaveta is underage at this point. And no, I am NOT trying to hint that anything improper has occurred or will occur."

"I should hope not, for what I also hope are obvious reasons. So, the bottom line is that your parents object to Liz's behavior and don't want to associate with her and her husband?"

"That's basically it. I invited my whole family; my parents chose not to come."

"You did know that by inviting Liz, they might not show up, right?"

"I knew that was possible, but I honestly didn't know what else to do."

"I assume you've tried to talk to your parents?"

"Several times since Liz made public her plans to be with Paul. I did something else, which you need to know about; I helped Paul get his job."

"You don't do things halfway, do you?" Father Nicholas sighed.

"Again, once Liz made her intentions known, how could I not do that? The Methodists run the halfway house, and we do have a prison ministry. It all fits together in the same way."

"Please don't take anything I'm saying as a condemnation of your actions; it's just that in the current circumstances, we're seeing the effects of the ancient proverb 'no good deed goes unpunished'."

"What will you say to Vladyka?"

"I'm not sure, really. You've behaved as a Christian, but your actions could be interpreted as scandalous by some. As we've discussed, Our Lord ate with tax collectors and sinners and was condemned for it. Honestly, the best possible outcome is reconciliation with your parents."

"I've tried, and so has my grandfather, to no avail. I'm willing to try pretty much anything, but I can't even get to the point where we can have an actual conversation. Their prerequisite seems to be completely abandoning Liz, and I just can't do that."

"Let me try setting up a mediation meeting. I take it you'll attend and exercise humility?"

"Yes, though the last time I talked to my mom, she accused me of being self-righteous."

"In what context?"

"Questioning whether she'd been to confession and accusing her of acting out of hate while stating I was acting out of love."

"And was THAT appropriate, Subdeacon?"

"Theologically sound but not respectful and not properly loving. And something Father Herman should have said, not me."

"If I can get them to meet with us, you have to refrain from doing that, even if you're correct in your assessment."

"Yes, Father. You might also want to speak to my grandfather because I'm not quite sure what he's going to do."

"I'll call him as soon as we're done here. Just so I have all the information — I take it Liz is not going to marry in the church?"

"Correct. They're going to have a judge perform the wedding on December 11th at the Harding County Courthouse. I plan to be there."

"I understand why, and I agree; just know that others may see that as giving support to her behavior."

"Very few people know the details. Liz's name never appeared in the newspaper, and all the records are sealed, with the exception of the plea agreement, which simply references a 'minor female'."

"Who does know?"

"Our immediate family, Liz's friend Emmy, and Paul. Nobody else knows the full story."

"Was that the real reason why your parents checked Liz into the hospital in Columbus?"

"No, it was because of drug use and risky sexual behavior after Paul had been arrested."

"Do you know what happened to his wife and child?"

"Only that she divorced him and has sole custody. She moved, and Paul doesn't know where she went."

"How much have you talked to him?"

"Mostly just to help him get the job. I also made sure he had the address of the county morgue and made him promise to keep it with him."

"The county morgue? Why?"

"So that in case he ever hurt Liz in any way or even thought about hurting her, he could drive himself there and save the county the trouble and expense of retrieving his body."

Father Nicholas laughed, "Coming from an avowed and committed pacifist, I think that might be quite frightening! I'm curious: how did you handle his criminal record?"

"Do you know Yuri Valentinovich Zhuravlyov?"

"Yes, of course."

"I told him Paul's crime was sex with an underage girl, and he responded that at his age, he should be so lucky."

Father Nicholas laughed and shook his head, "That does sound like him."

"I believe Mrs. Zhuravlyova keeps him in line. Mr. Sokolov told me that God gives us wives to make us better men."

"A truth you must never forget as a Deacon. Listen to your wife and heed her wisdom."

"Mr. Sokolov said that, too."

"Well, perhaps I'll simply leave the pre-marital counseling to him! Is there anything else you need to tell me about your family? Or anything else you need to confess?"

"No, Father."

"Then let's conclude with the prayers of absolution."

We moved before the icon of Christ, and Father put his stole over my bowed head. He prayed the prayer of absolution and made the sign of the cross over me. I kissed his stole, we exchanged a brotherly hug, and then I headed back to campus.

October 11, 1984, Indianapolis, Indiana and McKinley, Ohio

On Thursday morning, Clarissa, Sandy, and I drove to Indianapolis for our interview at Indiana University Medical School. We arrived about twenty minutes before our scheduled time, so we got coffee in the cafeteria before heading to the third floor of the medical school building.

"You must be Michael, Clarissa, and Sandra," a pretty strawberry blonde who was a few inches shorter than I was said.

"Yes," Clarissa replied.

"I'm Jessica Wilton, a second-year student. These are my classmates Jerome Katz and Diana Baum. We're going to take you on a tour, and then you'll begin the interview process."

"Who's who?" Diana asked.

"I'm Mike," I grinned.

"THAT was blindingly obvious," Jessica replied, rolling her eyes.

"This is Clarissa," I said, nodding my head to her, "and this is Sandy."

"You're all from Ohio, right?" Diana asked.

"And you three?"

"Texas for Jessica, Kentucky for Jerome, and New York for me," Diana replied.

"Have you picked your specialties?" Sandy asked.

"Trauma surgery for me," Jessica said. "Internal medicine for Jerome and Diana. How about you?"

"Pediatrics for me, emergency medicine for Mike, and internal medicine for Clarissa."

"There are badges on the table for each of you," Jessica said. "Please put them on, and then we'll begin the tour."

We put on our badges then followed the three medical students down the hall. The medical school was very similar to McKinley, UC, and Ohio State, as was the hospital. When we finished the tour, the medical students gave us each our schedules and led us to the appropriate rooms. I had my application review first, then my physical followed by my psych eval. After the psych eval and a trip to the bathroom, Jerome led me to the panel interview.

"Good morning, Michael," a good-looking man in his mid-40s said. "Please take a seat."

"Good morning," I replied and sat down opposite the panel.

"I'm Doctor Albert Barton, and I'm a trauma surgeon. Doctors?"

"Doctor Richard Hicks, and I'm a general surgeon."

"Doctor Frank Winslow, and I'm an internist with a subspecialty in pulmonology."

"Doctor Nancy Beard, and I'm a pediatric oncologist."

"Doctor Steve Lincoln, Chief Attending in the ER."

"Do you go by Mike or Michael?" Doctor Barton asked.

"Either one, depending on context. 'Mike' is fine."

"Mike, we have your application materials and test results. We're very impressed by your MCAT score. 98th percentile is good enough to get into any medical school in the country. Why are you interested in Indiana University?"

"The medical school has a very good reputation, especially in emergency medicine; it's in the Midwest, which is where I'd like to stay; and Indianapolis seems like a good city."

"You're from a small town about an hour east of Cincinnati, right?"

"Yes. And I'm enrolled at William Howard Taft, a public university in McKinley, which is an hour east of there."

"Are you applying to any schools outside the Midwest?" Doctor Hicks asked.

"No. I have a real desire to stay in the Midwest, both for medical school and for my Residency. I did consider applying to Stanford and Emory but elected not to."

"Would you tell us about yourself?" Doctor Lincoln inquired.

From that point, the interview proceeded along the same basic lines as the three previous interviews. I gave similar answers, and the follow-up questions were nearly identical to the ones asked at McKinley and OSU. I felt the interview went well, and when it was over, Jerome took me to meet the others in the cafeteria for lunch.

"What do you think?" Jerome asked.

"That we're going to have a tough decision if we're accepted by more than one school!" Sandy said.

"We?" Jerome inquired. "As in, you're a 'package deal', so to speak?"

"We'd like to go to the same school, if that's what you're asking," Clarissa said. "If one school accepts all three of us, that's where we'll go."

"You're all friends?" Diana asked.

"Close friends," Sandy replied. "We've had a study group since Freshman year and have done our research projects together. Are you three friends?"

"Classmates," Jessica replied. "We were assigned to do this."

"Ignore her," Jerome said. "Jessica is the teacher's pet, and she knows it."

"Jerome," Diana warned carefully.

"Which professor?" I asked.

"Doctor Barton," Jerome said. "He's probably the best trauma surgeon in the Midwest, at least according to the Third and Fourth Year students and the Residents we talk to."

"Do you have time in the hospital already?" Clarissa asked. "It seems like you know it pretty well."

"Doctor Barton insists that medical students should be in the hospital as soon as classes start," Jessica said. "He believes it's integral to truly learning medicine. Most schools don't let you near a hospital until your third year, but that's changing, albeit slowly."

"That's one of the cool things about this school," Jerome added. "I'm really glad I came here."

"Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?" Clarissa asked.

"UK in Lexington."

"Diana?"

"Stony Brook, in New York."

"Jessica?"

"UT Austin."

"Did the three of you know each other before you started college?" Jerome asked.

"No, we met at WHTU in McKinley," Clarissa said. "What's your biggest challenge?"

"Too much to learn and not enough time!" Jerome replied. "Basically, you have NO life. Mike, you're married?"

"Engaged," I replied. "I'm Russian Orthodox, and we exchange rings when we get engaged."

"That's one way to keep a guy honest!" Diana laughed. "It looks like you're married and off-limits."

"Effectively, we are. Once you have the betrothal ceremony, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that you'll marry, even more so than a normal engagement."

"When will you marry?"

"Right after graduation," I replied.

"I hope she knows what she's signing up for," Diana added.

"She does," I confirmed.

We finished our lunches, and then we went back to the third floor to meet with the financial aid representatives. Once we completed those, we turned in our badges, bade our hosts goodbye, and left the building. We walked to my car, got in, and headed East.

"I like the idea that first-year medical students get into the hospital," I said as I merged onto I-74 towards Cincinnati.

"Me, too," Clarissa agreed. "But, ultimately, you're tied to McKinley, Columbus, or Cincinnati because of church. And I'm not complaining, just stating a fact."

"What was with the strawberry blonde?" Sandy asked. "She seems like a real cold fish."

"Or a focused medical student who wants to be a surgeon," I replied. "And you both have heard how rough it is for females to get into surgery."

"True," Sandy replied.

"Four down and one to go," Clarissa said. "Are we going to Pittsburgh if we hear before then?"

"I think we should," Sandy said. "It's a couple of hours away, and I'd rather have all our options. Mike?"

"I agree," I added. "We said we'd interview at all five schools. It's basically another tank of gas and a day of our time next Thursday. We're in good shape with regard to our research project and our classes."

"All true," Clarissa agreed. "This semester is actually pretty easy."

"Don't jinx it!" Sandy said quickly, causing Clarissa and me to laugh.

Our drive back to McKinley was uneventful, and when we arrived, I found a note asking me to call Father Nicholas, which I did right away. He had arranged a meeting with my parents, Father Herman, and me at 9:00am Saturday morning at Saint Michael the Archangel. That had the potential to interfere with lunch at the Kozlovs', so I called Elizaveta to let her know.

"Just come over when you're finished," she said. "We'll make something which will keep if your meeting goes long. How was your interview today?"

"Pretty much like the others. We have one more next Thursday."

"I remember! What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Dinner, for sure, but there's nothing playing at the movies that I really want to see. What about you?"

"Not really. My brother saw Red Dawn and thought it was really dumb. A bunch of High School kids take out Russian, Mexican, and Cuban invaders."

I chuckled, "I'm not sure which is more unbelievable — that those three countries would jointly invade the US or that a bunch of High School kids kicked their butts!"

"We can figure out what to do when you pick me up if that's OK."

"It is. See you tomorrow evening."

We said 'goodbye', and after I hung up, I went to join the study group.

October 13, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

On Saturday morning, I headed to church early so I'd have a chance to pray before the meeting with my parents and the priests of both parishes. I chose not to wear my cassock into the church, as I was meeting with my parents as their son, and I didn't want to give appearances of 'hiding behind the bishop'. As I stood in the nave, I reminded myself that I needed to remain calm, not be snarky, and show my parents respect, no matter what happened.

When I finished my prayers, I sat on one of the benches along the wall and gathered my thoughts. A few minutes later, Father Nicholas came into the nave, and I rose to greet him and receive his blessing. We went to the small meeting room next to his office to wait for the others. They arrived just before 9:00am, with my mom looking grim and my dad looking very unhappy. After greetings all around, we sat down around the circular table.