Chapter 30: Tradition

October 20, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

After Vespers on Saturday night, I headed back to campus and found a note saying the gang had gone to see Thief of Hearts and would be back around 10:00pm. I was dying to know if Clarissa and Sandy had received their letters from McKinley, but it looked as if I'd have to wait a few hours to find out.

Given that my close friends were out, I really didn't have much to do, so I picked up my guitar and played, though I didn't sing. I started messing around with variations on songs, similar to how José and I riffed on his Spanish songs. I'd been playing for about ten minutes when one of the Freshmen, Tracy Vaughn, who was majoring in history, came to the door.

"I heard you playing," she said. "OK to listen?"

"Sure."

She came into the room and sat on the other couch.

"Where are your friends?"

"At a movie," I replied. "I was at church. They'll be back in about ninety minutes, I guess."

"Are you guys doing a concert next month?"

"Yes, but just here in the dorm, not anything formal. It'll be on November 16th. We usually do a couple of concerts, but I've been really busy this semester because of medical school interviews."

"I heard you got engaged, so what's with the wedding band?"

"Traditionally, both the guy and girl wear engagement rings in the Orthodox Church, and they're just simple bands like the one I'm wearing."

"No diamond?"

"No diamond."

"Why would you get engaged even before you graduate?"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Tying yourself down when college is supposed to be fun!"

"It has been fun, for the most part," I replied. "And I don't feel 'tied down'. I mean, you're what? Eighteen or nineteen?"

"I'll actually be eighteen in January. I graduated a year early."

"I can see not wanting to be tied down as a Freshman, but in about seven months, Seniors who aren't going on to a graduate school of some kind are going to get jobs, get married, and probably start families. How old were your parents when they married?"

"Twenty-two, but they're not exactly normal!"

"That's about the age my parents and my friend Jocelyn's parents got married."

"No, I meant they don't have a normal marriage," she corrected. "They think it's dumb to tie yourself to one person for life."

"Uhm, then why get married?"

"Because they want to live together, but they want to fool around with other people."

"Interesting," I replied evenly.

"You don't think it would be boring only being with one person for the rest of your life?"

"The idea that sex could be boring has never even entered my mind!" I countered with a grin.

"I broke up with my boyfriend earlier in the week because the sex WAS boring!"

"If you want to fool around with just anyone, why have a boyfriend?" I challenged.

"For regular good sex, then other guys provide variety."

"Nothing personal, but I wouldn't be happy with my steady girlfriend fooling around with other guys. And I've never met a girl who thought it would be OK for me to fool around if we were a couple! Well, before you, I guess."

"My sister dated a guy who always has two or three girlfriends: one main girlfriend and then two or three others. He's also allowed to play around, and he was awesome in bed!"

The drift of the conversation finally dawned on me. I realized I was still a bit clueless, or maybe a lot clueless, but eventually, I figured things out, though sometimes it required Clarissa or Jocelyn to point me in the right direction. In this case, I was a 'target of opportunity' because the gang wasn't around.

"Well," I said. "that's not me, and it'll never be me. This," I held up my left hand, "is an absolute promise to never violate my wife's trust. And given what betrothal means in the Orthodox Church, I'm fully committed to her, permanently, with zero wiggle room. There are plenty of other guys on this floor and other floors who might be interested."

Tracy shrugged, got up, and left the room. I shook my head and went back to playing my guitar. She was cute, and I suspected she'd be fun, but even without Elizaveta, I wouldn't have been interested. My entire approach had changed over the Summer, and even if, God forbid, something prevented me from marrying Elizaveta, I wasn't going back to my old ways.

About an hour later, Clarissa, Jocelyn, Sandy, Lara, Robby, Lee, Sophia, José, and Sarah came into the room.

"How was the movie?" I asked.

"Pretty good," Clarissa replied.

"Did you guys get any acceptance letters today?"

"Indiana for me," Clarissa replied. "And Cincinnati for Sandy."

"McKinley and Indiana for me," I replied. "Looks like it's falling into place. We're all assured of UC, so now it's just a matter of you two getting your McKinley acceptance letters."

"Did your letter from Indiana have scholarship money?"

I nodded, "Yes, and a personal letter from Doctor Barton. It's certainly tempting, but for my own reasons, McKinley is my preferred option."

"And that makes it my preference as well," Clarissa replied. "And if you looked over the materials from McKinley, there are grants available, and we have those lists we received from Doctor Norris as well. I think Indiana is just trying to get ahead of the curve."

"Why are the acceptance letters staggered?" Sophia asked. "You three all interviewed at the same time!"

"No idea," Clarissa answered. "All the schools had our scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation when we went in. But we were warned it could take until February. No offense meant to Sandy, but with the MCAT scores, Mike and I had, we'd be at the top of their lists unless we failed the interviews miserably. Sandy got into UC; it just took a bit longer for her to get her letter."

"As Mike said, we're all in," Sandy said. "And that is the key. I'm sure I'll get into McKinley, given I got into UC."

"What did you do tonight, Mike?" Jocelyn asked.

"I went to church, of course, then came back here, found your note, played my guitar, fended off a seduction attempt, and now I'm talking to you."

"Tracy?" Sarah asked with a smirk.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"She's working her way through the floor. You're mostly never alone, so she never had the chance."

"Now I'm doubly glad I declined!" I grinned.

"As if there was a real risk of you doing that!" Lara said with a smirk.

"No, but I am glad I declined nonetheless!"

"Could you and José play a bit?" Sarah asked.

"I'm game if he is," I replied.

"Let me get my guitar," José said with a smile.

October 23, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

"I'm glad to hear your parents will attend your wedding and ordination," Viktor Kozlov declared after we placed our orders.

"Me, too. Things aren't resolved by any means, but I did make some good progress with my mom."

"Elizaveta wouldn't say what the exact issue is, but she did say the problem is with your father and sister."

"Which is about all I can say," I replied.

"I did some checking on my own, and I suspect it has to do with you helping her fiancé get a job and his criminal record."

I nodded, "You spoke to Mr. Zhuravlyov. He was aware of the issue."

Mr. Kozlov grinned, "Let's just say that Yuri Valentinovich is only kept in line by his wife!"

I smiled and nodded, "I got that idea. He flirted, at least as much as he could, with my friend Clarissa. And made the comment he should be so lucky as to have young girls interested in him."

"That old goat would have a heart attack if he had such an opportunity."

I shook my head, "He wouldn't because dead men can't have heart attacks!"

Mr. Kozlov laughed, "Our wives do keep us in line! Anyway, I'm assuming your dad objects to that relationship?"

"Yes. And he's not particularly thrilled with my betrothal to Elizaveta and our plan to marry in May."

"Because of her age?"

"Yes."

"When I look at the things which are happening in society, and see what the young men and women are up to, as a father, I think it's much better for Elizaveta to marry than suffer all the temptations which arise. I would never tell her I felt that way, as I wouldn't want to pressure her, but as I said, she came to me and told me what she wanted. Fortunately, you were amenable and thus saved your first life!"

"Second," I replied with a grin. "The first was in fourth grade when I helped a female classmate who was bleeding profusely from a very bad cut. That's when I decided I wanted to specialize in trauma."

"That's right, Elizaveta mentioned that. She said you were in the newspaper?"

"Yes. My mom has a clipping in a scrapbook, along with the ticket stub from the Reds game the girl's family took me to as part of their 'thank you'."

"Commendable! Back to the present — how are things going?"

"Just fine, I think. School is challenging, as usual, but not overwhelming. The real challenge is our Senior project, but that's on track, and Doctor Stanton, who's my advisor, is pleased with our progress. As for church, Elizaveta and I are going to Columbus on Sunday to see Vladyka ARKADY. And we've talked about my family. Other than that, we're leaving the wedding plans in the hands of your mother and mother-in-law. I know enough to keep my nose out of that!"

"Life is much calmer and much happier when you let the women do the things which they believe are rightly theirs to do!"

"My female friends are probably going to throw a bridal shower for Elizaveta sometime in early May, and my male friends are going to throw a bachelor party for me on Friday night after our last exam. I'm assuming your father is arranging the party for Saturday night?"

"As is traditional, though I think we'll take it easy on the vodka in deference to your self-imposed limits."

"Thank you. I don't mind having a celebratory drink, and I'll probably do that through my career, but I have to be exceedingly careful."

"I completely understand. I know the rules from sitting on the Hospital Board. A friend of mine who is a retired Navy pilot has similar rules for when he's going to fly. He flies for TWA now. And on that note, is there anyone who's not Orthodox we should invite?"

"Some friends from school — José, Robby, Lee, and Jocelyn's boyfriend, Bill. I wish my friend Dale could be here, but he's going to have a tough time making it here for the wedding, let alone the party the night before. He has to fly in from Madison on Saturday, then fly back on Sunday evening. And I'd like you to invite Paul Reynolds, please."

He made notes in a small notebook he pulled from the pocket of his sports coat.

"If we invite Paul, will your dad come?" he asked.

"Isn't that really up to my dad?" I asked. "I'd feel wrong not to invite my sister's husband."

"Well, we have several months for that to work itself out. Did your friends receive their acceptance letters?"

"We're all accepted to UC, and Clarissa and I are accepted at Indiana. Right now, everything looks good. We're confident Sandy will get into McKinley."

"Is there anything at all that you need assistance with?"

"Not at the moment. Basically, I need to finish my degree and prepare for the wedding."

The waiter brought our food, and after I gave the blessing, we began eating. The food was good, as always, and when we finished eating, I headed back to campus for study group.

October 25, 1984, McKinley, Ohio

"That's it, then!" I declared. "We send back the signed acceptance letters."

Sandy and Clarissa had received their acceptance to McKinley, which meant the three of us could attend medical school there together.

"Agreed," Clarissa said.

"All for one and one for all!" Sandy added.

"Athos, Porthos, and Aramis," I replied with a grin. "Does that make Fran d'Artagnan?"

"Could be!" Clarissa replied. "It sure makes things work better for her and Jason. The only question is Pete."

"He'll be fine," Sandy said. "He already talked to Doctor Norris, and he should have no trouble getting into Taft. He might even do a PhD with Jason."

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "We'll have our core study group together right from the start."

We all signed our acceptance letters then walked to the Post Office to mail them back. Personally, I would have driven to the medical school to deliver them, but the US Mail was explicitly stated in the letter as the only permitted way to return them. We headed back to the dorm, where we found Jocelyn waiting for us. We told her where we'd been, and she asked to speak to me in private, so we went into my room, and Clarissa and Sandy stayed in the lounge.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What do you think of Bill?"

"I think he's a nice guy. Why are you asking?"

"Why do you think?"

"You do not need MY permission for that!" I protested.

"I'm not asking permission! I'm asking your opinion as the guy who knows me best; the guy I grew up with; the guy who's my closest friend."

"I think if you're asking me, you aren't ready because if you were sure, you wouldn't be asking me."

"How did you decide?"

"You do NOT want to go there," I chuckled. "My decision-making process in that regard, with one very specific exception, was fatally flawed. And YOU were the exception."

"Wait! You regret every other encounter?"

I shook my head, "No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying my decision-making process was seriously flawed."

"Do you regret any of them?"

"A few, including the threesome. Also the fact that the number kind of got out of control because I let my desire overwhelm my discretion. I guess my advice for you is that you have to figure out why you're unsure. May I ask a very personal question?"

Jocelyn smirked, "Asks the man who has cum in my mouth!"

"We're at a different place in our relationship," I replied. "And soon enough, conversations like this will have to be done very carefully."

"For the reasons we talked about in the past? The risks of a stress-induced failure?"

I chuckled, "An interesting way to put it. My question is about how far you've gone, and you obviously don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"I'd call it light petting," she replied.

"Over the clothes only, right?"

"Yes."

A stray thought crossed my mind, and I decided to voice it.

"Jos, are you concerned about your scars?" I asked gently.

"A little, but I don't think that's the reason."

"You do realize you're beautiful and have a VERY sexy body, right?"

"You're biased!"

"My bias is based on repeated, thorough, and detailed investigation with multiple data points!"

"Thank you."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I guess it's that same conversation you and I had about how many is too many."

"Jos, this would be your second unless you've kept something from me."

"No way, Mik! I made THAT mistake once, and I'll never make it again!"

"Then I'm going to tell you the same thing you told me — let your hair down, have some fun, and don't worry too much about it. You are attracted to him, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"And you liked him touching you?"

"Obviously."

I shrugged, "Then just have fun, Jos. It's not like you're hopping from bed to bed. In fact, I'd never expect you to do that. If I have any regrets, it's how far I let it get out of control. I don't see you doing that."

"Don't take this question the wrong way, but how did someone with such a low sex drive end up with so many partners and 'bed hop'?"

"Because it was about comfort, stress relief, and intimacy more than actual sex. And it varied between what I was using it for. Well, then there was Tasha."

Jocelyn laughed, "Pure, unbridled, uncontrollable lust!"

"Pretty much! I'm guessing your real reason for asking, when it comes right down to it, is you don't think Bill is 'Mr. Right', however, you want to define that."

"I guess it's more that I don't know if he is or not. I'm not saying he's not, but I'm not ready to say he is."

"But you're exclusive now, right? Neither of you are seeing anyone else? And don't intend to?"

"Correct."

"Then, honestly, I don't see a problem. Is this purely speculative?"

"The destination is pretty obvious at this point, and if I'm going to say 'no' or 'not yet', it needs to be now, not after things progress. It wouldn't be fair to lead him on."

"True. I think you should do what feels right to you."

Jocelyn smirked, "That ring on your left hand says I can't!"

"Thank you."

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Asks the woman who has had my tongue in her pussy!"

Jocelyn laughed, "Touché. Has Mindy bothered you at all? You were a bit worried about that."

"Word on the street has her enjoying the company of a couple of different young men in her dorm. Other than one half-hearted attempt during orientation, she's barely spoken to me. I do think it was a good thing we got her moved to the other dorm."

"I have to agree. Want to quadruple date tomorrow with Clarissa, Sandy, and me and our guys and girl? Bill and Pete want to see Terminator, and we girls acquiesced."

"I can't take Elizaveta to an R-rated movie," I replied. "I know it's for violence, but even so, I'm not her parent or guardian."

"Hmm. Our other option was Body Double, but that's 'R' as well. I guess you could take her once you married?"

"That's an interesting question. Effectively, she's emancipated by the marriage, but the rules don't take that into account. It's a question I'd have to ask, but that's next Summer, and in less than a year after we marry, it won't be an issue."

"How about having dinner with us?"

"That will work. Did I help you with your decision?"

"You did. Shall we invite the girls back in?"

"Yes."

October 28, 1984, Columbus, Ohio

On Sunday morning, I picked up Elizaveta from her house at 6:30am so we could drive to Columbus in time for Matins. We'd met the previous evening with Father Nicholas to work out our joint prayer and fasting rules, though we wouldn't really be able to pray together on a regular basis until we married. The prayer rule conformed fairly closely to the one I'd been following — morning and evening prayers with the addition of the Psalter and the lives of the saints commemorated that day. Our fasting rule was somewhat relaxed because of our circumstances as students — and we'd refrain from meat on fasting days, but dairy and eggs were permitted. I'd pushed back a bit, but Father Nicholas had been firm in not wanting us to be overly strict.

At the bishop's request, I served in the altar with Subdeacon Alexi and Protodeacon Seraphim. As was the norm for a subdeacon, I assisted the bishop with vesting and carried the dikirion, a double candleholder, while Subdeacon Alexi carried the trikirion, a triple candleholder. I also assisted the bishop in washing his hands and held his staff at the appropriate time. When the Divine Liturgy ended, Elizaveta and I joined the rest of the congregation for lunch, then went to the bishop's office for our meeting.

"I understand from Father Nicholas you and your friends were accepted to McKinley Medical School and decided to attend there."

I smiled, "News travels fast! I only told him before Vespers last night!"

"I want to keep abreast of important things which occur in the lives of my clergy," he replied. "Father Nicholas called last night. He also let me know that whatever the issue was with your parents had been resolved by Father Herman and that you had behaved in a proper Christian manner. And your grandfather made it clear you were not at fault."

I wondered who had called the bishop and told him my parents had boycotted the betrothal ceremony, but in the end, it didn't matter. It was something he needed to know, even if he didn't know all the details.

I nodded, "They'll be at the crowning and my ordination."

"Good. And I understand you've developed a good relationship with Elizaveta's father."

"Yes, with her grandfathers as well, though I don't spend nearly as much time with them as I do her father."

"Father Nicholas tells me you chose Alexey and Miloslava Sokolov as your sponsors."

I nodded, "It seemed like the right thing to do, as they're Elizaveta's godparents, and I work for Mr. Sokolov during the Summer and sometimes on breaks."