Chapter 10: Charges

March 4, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

After seeing Doctor Gibbs, I went to the main lobby of the hospital to wait for Elizaveta. When she arrived, we went to the auditorium, which was normally used for M & M conferences, where the memorial for Lee was being held. Doctor Gibbs and Doctor Simons had lobbied successfully for Robby to attend, and they, along with an ICU Resident, were in attendance to monitor his condition.

Sophia, Clarissa, José, and I would all speak, as would Chancellor Evans, and Sophia would read something which Robby had dictated to her. Sophia had arranged for a poster-board-size photo of Lee to be placed on an easel in the room, along with two similarly sized collages of pictures from Lee's life, many of which focused on his relationship with Robby.

I was happy to see every one of our friends in attendance, including Tasha and Nik, despite knowing that Nik was very uncomfortable with the situation. Father Nicholas was in attendance as well, at my request, because Lee had attended numerous services at Saint Michael the Archangel, though Father Nicholas wouldn't participate, as Lee wasn't Orthodox.

"Hi, Mike," Anicka Blahnik said, coming up next to me, followed by Derek, Milena, and Joel.

"Hi," I replied. "Thanks for coming."

"You're welcome," Doctor Blahnik said. "It's the right thing to do. I did submit my proposal to ban Faith Bible from using any campus facilities based on their advocacy of violence against students, and the Chancellor issued an order to that effect. We can't ban them from the sidewalks, but they can no longer hold Bible studies or prayer meetings in any of the buildings or in the stadium."

"They'll get around it," I said. "A student will simply apply and not reference Faith Bible."

"Obviously, but none of their pastors would be able to participate because advocating violence against an individual directly violates school rules, whether a student, faculty, or visitor."

"Not to mention being against the law!" Milena interjected firmly.

"Which is why it's possible to ban them," Anicka replied.

"Hi, Mikey," Liz said, coming up to me and hugging me. "I'm so sorry."

I saw Nik grimace, but Liz was my sister, and if he wanted to take her familiarity up with Father Nicholas or Bishop PAUL, that was fine with me. I suspected, in the scheme of things, that wouldn't matter, as what my grandfather had set in motion was more likely to land me in serious trouble.

"Thanks for coming, Liz."

"Mom is with me. She stopped in the ladies', but I didn't want to be late."

We all took seats, with Clarissa, José, and me sitting in the front row so we could have easy access to the podium. Elizaveta, Dona, and Abby sat with us as well, as did Anicka, Derek, Milena, and Joel. We waited until Robby's gurney was wheeled in, accompanied by the doctors, his parents, and Lee's parents. Once they were settled, Sophia went to the podium to begin the memorial service.

Sophia's eulogy was a beautiful retelling of her relationship with 'the boys' as she had always called them, though she left out the dare she'd once told me about. She managed to get through it, though just, as tears were freely flowing down her cheeks by the end. When she stepped down, Lee's mom hugged her, then Sophia returned to her seat.

Chancellor Evans spoke next, giving what I heard as an apology for allowing the hateful individuals onto the campus and then awarding Lee his Bachelor's degree. It was an actual degree, not an honorary one, and it was presented to Lee's parents, who accepted it from him to applause from everyone in the auditorium.

José spoke next and gave a warmhearted account of how Robby and Lee had worked so hard with us to make Code Blue the success that it was, and how they'd been great friends. It was touching but not overly emotional, and when he finished, it was Clarissa's turn, and she spoke of her love for the guys and her decision to come out publicly, based on their love for each other and their public relationship.

When she finished, it was my turn. I stood up, removed my lab coat, then my cassock, then put on my lab coat again, and went up to the podium. I'd struggled a bit with what to say, having spoken with José about who would discuss our time with Robby and Lee at Taft. In the end, I had agreed José should do it, and I focused my eulogy on the creative power of friendship and love, as opposed to the destructive power of hatred and animosity.

I concluded with the words of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. — 'We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools', then returned to my seat, put my cassock on, and sat down.

The memorial service was concluded by Sophia reading what Robby had dictated to her. When she finished, we mingled, with coffee, punch, and cookies being made available, courtesy of the University. By agreement with our study group, all of whom attended, we weren't meeting, so after mingling with our friends for about an hour, Elizaveta and I headed home to have a late dinner and spend a rare Tuesday evening together.

March 6, 1986, Lima, Ohio

Thursday was blustery, cold, and cloudy, which reflected my mood as Elizaveta and I got into the car early that morning for the drive to Lima. Both of us had made arrangements to miss class, and funerals were one of the 'automatic' reasons which allowed for any missed assignments to be made up or turned in one day late, and allowed for any quizzes or tests to be made up. For me, missing my physiology class was no problem, and Elizaveta had no quizzes or tests.

We'd eaten a quick breakfast, and I'd had a chance to read the newspaper, including an article which stated that Frank Bush had been charged with one count of capital murder and one count of attempted murder, in addition to the previous charges which had been leveled. In addition, Nadine Bush had been charged with one count of accessory to capital murder and a second count of accessory to attempted murder, and had been re-arrested. Because the charges were 'capital murder', both Nadine and Frank Bush had been denied bond.

After we left home, we first drove into town to fetch Clarissa, then headed to Maryam's house to pick her up, before we headed north to Lima, where the funeral services would be held. I'd been a bit surprised at Maryam's decision to attend the funeral, but once Fran and Sandy had both said they were attending, Maryam had decided that it was appropriate to be there to support her friends. Peter would be there as well, though he was driving on his own.

I was silent most of the way, though the girls carried on a conversation which I mostly ignored, choosing instead to focus on the jazz stations that I found on the radio as we moved in and out of range of the various FM stations. When we arrived in Lima, Elizaveta read the map and helped me navigate to the funeral home. We parked in the lot and went into the building, where a man dressed in a black suit directed us to the correct room.

Lee's parents had opted for a closed casket so there wouldn't be a viewing. We signed the 'condolence book', then went to greet Mr. and Mrs. Fields. After that, we went to where Sophia was standing with a small group of people I didn't recognize. She introduced us to four friends from High School, and after some small talk, Elizaveta, Clarissa, Abby, and I took seats to wait for the ceremony to begin. Fran, Jason, Sandy, and Pete arrived soon after, as did Peter, and all of them joined us, either in the same row of chairs or in the one behind us.

The memorial service was similar to the one at the hospital, with Sophia speaking, in addition to several of Lee's friends from High School, as well as one of his teachers, who announced that a tree would be planted and a bench placed in the High School courtyard, as a memorial to Lee, paid for by his friends and former teachers. When the eulogies were completed, I picked up a purple flag with a suction cup to attach to the roof of my Mustang, and we went outside to wait for the cortege, which would take us to the cemetery.

The drive was about fifteen minutes, as the long line of cars wound its way to the cemetery, with the police stopping traffic at several intersections so the cortege could proceed unhindered. At the cemetery, there was a brief eulogy from Robby which Sophia read, and then the casket was lowered into the ground. I, along with others, moved past, throwing in a handful of dirt, and a provided rose, then, thinking about it, tossed in a second handful of dirt and a second rose on Robby's behalf, before moving to stand with Elizaveta until everyone had filed past.

The ceremony concluded, we got into my Mustang to head back to campus, electing not to attend the meal which was being served that evening, as we had our regularly scheduled dinner with Doctor Gibbs. We'd discussed the decision with Sophia, and she'd agreed with our choice.

March 7, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

On Friday evening, Elizaveta and I joined Jocelyn, Gene, Dona, José, Alyssa, and Mark at the Chinese restaurant. As was usually the case, we ordered a number of dishes to share, with two of them being fasting-acceptable.

"So what happens at a preliminary hearing?" Dona asked after we placed our orders.

"It's basically what the attorney my mom works for calls 'case management'," I replied. "The Prosecutor has to turn over any evidence they have, and both sides present a basic list of witnesses they plan to call. There might be discussions of a plea agreement, but mostly, those occur privately between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. The State already announced they intend to seek the death penalty for Frank Bush and the maximum penalty for Nadine Bush, which would be life imprisonment."

"When would they have a trial?" Alyssa inquired.

"In four to six months, according to the attorney. It could be quicker, but the defense is given time to review what they call 'discovery', which means all the evidence, including police reports, and then there could be subpoenas or search warrants issued by one side or the other. And, of course, they could come to a plea agreement. Mr. Winston, that's the lawyer my mom works for, says he's sure Frank Bush will agree to some kind of deal to avoid the death penalty, because the case appears to be ironclad."

"Are you OK with that?" Dona asked.

I nodded, "I don't believe the death penalty is ever appropriate. It eliminates any chance of future repentance."

"But it takes decades to actually carry out a sentence, from what we've seen."

I nodded, "And every day you remove from a man's life is one less day for the Holy Spirit to work in his heart. That's not something I could ever be party to. Life in prison is appropriate and sufficient to protect the public from a murderous psychopath."

"It's also cheaper to imprison someone for life than execute them," Jocelyn said. "We learned that in one of my criminal justice classes. There are so many potential lines of appeal, and so many opportunities to appeal, that a talented lawyer can put it off for decades, as Dona mentioned."

"How is that even possible?" Mark asked.

"First, you have all the regular appeals," Jocelyn said. "You know, claiming some kind of error by the police, the prosecutor, the judge, or even your own attorney. Once those are exhausted, which can take years, then the habeas corpus petitions begin, and those can be about just about anything, really, and take years to complete, and there are no actual limits to the number of habeas claims which can be made, though eventually, the courts will begin denying them out of hand.

"Eventually, you get an execution date, and the last-minute appeals begin, usually about some technical problem with the death warrant, the method of execution, or some other thing like age, mental capacity, and so on. Those nearly always fail, but some of them do succeed in delaying execution, while a few actually stop it altogether. In the end, anywhere from ten to twenty years elapse.

"There's one other consideration with regard to the plea bargain, and that's what Lee's family thinks the appropriate punishment should be. If they are adamantly opposed to the death penalty, that can influence the Prosecutor's decision, though it doesn't control it. In the end, the Prosecutor decides which will earn him more votes in the next election, and goes with that."

"When did YOU become cynical?" I challenged.

"About the same time you did — first contact with the legal system, though mine was in class."

The waiter brought our food, and after I said the blessing, we began eating.

"Your fasting gets serious starting Sunday, right?" Jocelyn asked.

"Monday, but yes," I replied. "No meat until Pascha, though fish is allowed on a few days, such as Palm Sunday. Then, no dairy or animal products from the following Monday. But Father Nicholas assigned us a less rigorous fasting rule because I married a teenager!"

"I'll 'teenager' you, husband!" Elizaveta threatened.

"I do believe that is exactly what he wants!" José said with a smirk, causing everyone else to laugh.

"Careful, Mister!" Elizaveta declared, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't worry, Elizaveta," Dona said. "If he doesn't behave, he's going be very cold tonight!"

"Sorry, «amorcita»," José said. ("sweetheart")

"I need to learn how to do this!" Alyssa declared.

"Another «babushka» heard from!" Jocelyn declared mirthfully.

"What do you think, Gene?" I asked.

"I knew who was in charge from the moment I met her!" he declared.

"So did Mike!" Jocelyn said, causing everyone, including me, to laugh.

"What she said," I chuckled. "Being Orthodox, I've just always assumed that the women are in charge. It's made life MUCH easier!"

"Now THERE is a role model!" Dona declared, causing the other girls to nod in agreement and the guys to groan or roll their eyes.

"On a more serious note, does anyone know if Robby is going to graduate?" José asked.

"I haven't heard," I said. "He'll be out of the ICU tomorrow, but he'll be in the hospital for at least another week. Then, rehab for his shoulder, arm, and leg. Sophia looked at her options, and she spoke with McKinley Medical School because, as she put it, all her friends are here. In the end, I think whatever decision Robby and his parents make will determine where Sophia goes to medical school."

"Can she get into McKinley at this point?" Jocelyn asked.

"They'll make an accommodation for her," I said. "Chancellor Evans spoke to Doctor Warren, the Dean of the medical school, at the memorial service. I'm pretty sure Robby wants to stay here until all the criminal cases against the Bush family are resolved, so I think there's a possibility of them actually staying in the area. But I'm just speculating now."

"Not to be insensitive," Mark said, "but what about emcees for Code Blue?"

"We haven't really talked about it," I said. "José and I will just do some patter at the Prom because the kids there aren't looking to be entertained; they just want to dance. And we have a bit of time before the Summer concert to figure it out. I also want to talk with Robby before we make any decisions in that regard. Hopefully, once he's out of the ICU, I'll be able to spend some quality time with him."

"Jocelyn, is everything set for law school?" Alyssa asked.

"Yes. And Gene's transfer was approved, so we're all set there. We'll live in the married dorms at Ohio State. He'll finish his Master's and start work on his PhD while I support him!"

"I do NOT mind being the kept man!" Gene said with a grin, earning him a 'love tap' on the shoulder from Jocelyn.

"Alyssa, how are the wedding plans coming along?" Elizaveta asked.

"Mom has talked to several of the women at church, so I think she has it in hand. We're doing the same thing you did — letting our moms deal with it and staying out of it. Fortunately, Mark's parents left Faith Bible, so we don't have THAT problem to deal with."

"They've been very active at Our Savior," Jocelyn said. "As Mike used to say growing up — there are none so zealous as converts!"

"Nobody is more zealous than Mike!" Mark protested.

I chuckled, "Be glad you have NO idea about why that's not true!"

"Those monks you mentioned?"

I nodded, "That's right, I did talk to you about the Old Calendar Greek monks who think I'm a heretic and too lax in my practice."

"That's nuts!" Gene protested.

"Oh, I know. And if you want to take it to an even worse extreme, combine that with the gnostic idea of 'Toll Houses', and you get something that makes my church look like a bunch of modernists!"

"How would you be a heretic?"

"Sitting at this table with two Lutherans, a Roman Catholic, and an atheist, would make me guilty of the 'pan heresy of ecumenism'! That is, even associating with non-Orthodox is sufficient to make me not Orthodox enough for the Old Calendarist fanatics."

"Old Calendar?" Dona asked.

"Julian versus Gregorian," I replied. "Because twelve days were skipped when the calendars were fixed to match the Sun and seasons, which happened in the British colonies in North America in September 1752, they claim that the eternal cycle of feasts was broken irreparably. I see their point, and, actually, the church calendar was harmed by it, but, in the end, I follow my bishop. Not to mention that the calendars would go more and more out of whack as time progresses."

"So that's why I hear about 'Russian Christmas' or 'Old Christmas Day'?" Dona asked.

"Exactly. It's in January on our calendar, and the calendar difference explains why the October Revolution in Russia occurred in November — a difference of calendars."

"I remember that vaguely from European history class," José said. "We celebrate Three Kings Day — Epiphany — on January 6th, the same day as Old Christmas Day, in many Latin countries."

"That's actually just a coïncidence between the calendars," I replied. "It'll change as the calendars move further out of sync. That feast, by the way, is Theophany for us — commemorating Jesus' baptism in the Jordan and celebrated on the same day. The association with the Magi developed much later in the West."