Chapter 24: Enthronement

May 29, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

"What did Lara want?" Elizaveta asked when I arrived home.

"Just to catch up, mostly, but also to discuss Tasha. Tasha went to Lara because she couldn't come to me, or even to you, because of Nik. Lara is convinced you and Serafima are right in your analysis."

"Shouldn't Lara have gone to Father Nicholas rather than you?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion that Tasha wanted the information shared with me and knew that was the right path. That said, I don't think there's much we can do unless Nik, well, gets over himself."

Elizaveta smiled, "Jocelyn said the same thing about you! Well, when you first started at Taft."

"Jocelyn has a point," I replied. "Or had one. So I know, at least somewhat, where Nik is coming from. He basically made a bunch of assumptions that turned out to be wrong. Tasha assumed that she'd be able to bring him closer to how you, Serafima, Alyssa, or Katy think and act — conservative, but not rigidly so. And, I'll point out, without meaning to offend you, that you started out more like Nik than like Tasha."

"You mean because of how I reacted to things which I'd never encountered and offended my sensibilities?"

"Yes. The flogger seems to have gone a long way to fix that!"

"You!" Elizaveta objected, but she was laughing. "Anyway, how was the exam?"

"We all think we did very well, and the professor told us after the exam, she was grading on a curve. Of course, our study group likely wrecked the curve. That said, it'll probably help one or two people who were on the edge because I doubt any of us will have a perfect score. The test was THAT difficult. The only things comparable were the exams we had in anatomy when we were doing dissections."

"One more tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. I think our afternoon study was sufficient, so I'll just do a quick review in the morning after you leave for school. That means we have tonight free."

"How about a quiet evening at home?"

"That works for me!"

"What's the plan for next week?"

"Jason was supposed to hear from Pete today or tomorrow with the final details. Right now, it looks like Tuesday. Clarissa and I discussed leaving on Wednesday morning and coming back on Sunday morning, if that works for you."

"It does. What did Jocelyn decide?"

"They're still going to Seattle."

"How are we handling Sunday?"

"I was thinking we'd get a hotel room for both Saturday and Sunday nights, and drive up after Vespers on Saturday, then come home Monday morning. That makes things less rushed on Sunday, and we don't have to worry about driving home late. Also, if the funeral is on Tuesday, we could stay Monday night as well, given that Marion is north of Columbus. I'm sure we could find stuff to do in Columbus on Monday."

"Could we afford a room with a whirlpool?"

"Three nights in an upgraded room in Columbus have to be less than what our airfare and hotel would have been for Seattle. And the motel in Marietta was inexpensive, so I think we can. Let me call the travel agent to find out for sure. Clarissa was going to make reservations for Marietta, which we can cancel or change if we need to."

I placed the call to the travel agent who had booked our European tours, and he gave me three possible options. Given they were comparable, I asked him to book nights at the one which was closest to the Cathedral.

"All set," I said to Elizaveta after I hung up. "We can cancel the room for Monday night without a problem if the funeral ends up not being on Tuesday."

"OK. Why don't you practice your music while I start on dinner."

"Sounds good," I replied.

May 30, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

"I reviewed all the plates this morning," I said. "I'm ready for whichever dissection we're assigned."

"I wish we could decide who does what rather than have our roles randomly assigned," Peter groused.

"Me, too," Clarissa agreed. "But I understand why they do it."

"Oh, I do, too," Peter replied. "The group passes or fails, not the individuals, in this class. I am VERY glad I'm a part of this group!"

"Me, too!" Maryam exclaimed.

We split up to go to the locker rooms to put on scrubs, then met back in the anatomy lab. When the sealed exam envelopes were drawn from a large basin, Fran happened to pick the one marked '#3', which meant two others would precede us. We knew, from the advance information, that inside was a sheet of paper describing what we would need to do, along with six cards, which would assign our roles. Groups with only five, such as ours, would decide who would perform what was on the sixth card, but the other five were to be chosen randomly.

When it was our turn, Fran opened the envelope and read out the exam requirements.

"Expose and describe the cervical cardiac branches of the vagus nerve," she said.

She distributed the cards labeled #1 through #5, and we each opened ours. I was disappointed, as mine was to describe the function of the nerves we were dissecting, but when Fran opened card #6, it was for the final exposure of the nerves, and everyone quickly agreed I should do that.

"We lucked out," Clarissa observed quietly.

"Are you ready?" Doctor Nagle asked.

"We are," Fran said.

"Then begin, please."

That was my cue to describe the function of the nerves in question.

"The inferior cervical cardiac branches of the vagus nerve arise from the vagus nerve, on the right side, from the trunk of the vagus nerve, and from the recurrent laryngeal nerve, while on the left side, they arise from the recurrent nerve only. The inferior cervical cardiac branches descend behind the subclavian artery and along the front of the trachea, to join the deep part of the cardiac plexus.

"The superior cervical cardiac branches of the vagus nerve arise as two branches from the superior cervical ganglion. They run down the neck behind the common carotid artery and in front of the longus colli muscle. They cross in front of the inferior thyroid artery and the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The right branch joins the deep part of the cardiac plexus, while the left branch runs in front of the left common carotid artery and across the left side of the arch of the aorta to join the superficial part of the cardiac plexus."

That part done, Peter began the dissection, with Maryam reciting the steps as he performed them. He completed his part, then I stepped in to complete the dissection and expose the nerves, again, with Maryam giving what amounted to a 'play-by-play'. When I finished, Clarissa stepped in and identified each of the structures. When that was complete, Fran did the required drawings, then handed them in.

"98 out of 100," Doctor Nagle said.

"May I ask where the two points were lost?" Fran inquired.

He smiled, "Nobody has ever managed a perfect score. One point for the running commentary, one point for the initial incision. And please, do not fret about that. You're First Year, and anything more than 90 points is sufficient for honors, assuming the first part of your exam also qualifies. Those results will be posted outside my office once this is complete."

Unfortunately, we had to observe every group, and that meant we didn't actually finish until nearly 2:00pm. When we left, we went to the locker rooms to shower and change, and then the five of us went to Doctor Nagle's office and looked for our grade, which was 96 out of 100, which meant we'd made some kind of error on four questions. That was disappointing, but we had the highest score of any group, and we qualified for honors.

"See this?" Fran asked, pointing to one of the other group's scores. "They might fail."

"That would suck," Peter observed. "They'll have to repeat First Year unless the school grants an exception; anatomy is a 'required pass', unlike the rest of our classes."

"Well, it's not us," Fran declared. "See you all tonight at Doctor Blahnik's house for our party?"

"Yes," we all responded.

We'd considered not doing it out of respect for Sandy, but in the end, we'd agreed that, in effect, life had to go on and that, despite our loss, we had something very important to celebrate. Jason had consulted Pete, who had agreed we should go ahead with the gathering.

"One year done; one week off; then back to it again!" Clarissa declared, shaking her head.

"But no anatomy lab," Peter replied. "And we're all officially Second Year!"

"With the real exam coming a year from now," I observed. "But we're all in a great position to pass. Anatomy is the most difficult thing we have to do until our Fourth Year."

We left the medical school, and I headed home, arriving before Elizaveta. I made myself a sandwich, as I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. As I munched on the sandwich, I thought back over the previous year and everything that had happened — graduation from Taft, marriage, a European vacation, ordination, my parents' divorce, a wide-ranging church scandal, and the tragic deaths of two close friends. And all of that was in addition to medical school, where our team had earned honors.

I'd now completed five years of the eight necessary to become a doctor, though I'd still be what amounted to an apprentice for several years after graduation — working under the direct supervision of more senior doctors until I was, in effect, fully admitted to the guild, instead of provisionally. But there was still a long way to get there, including two years of clinical experience.

As I reflected on the past five years, I realized just how much my life had changed and how different things were from how I had thought they might be. I absolutely hadn't expected to be married or ordained, but I couldn't imagine being without Elizaveta, and that had only occurred because I'd agreed to be ordained a deacon. The saying was that God worked in mysterious — hidden — ways, and that absolutely seemed to be the case, though I didn't believe the outcome had been predetermined in any way.

I finished my sandwich and, as there was still time before Elizaveta would arrive home, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. I'd spent so much time indoors that getting outside when I could was important. That was something I wanted to do while we were in Marietta — just be outside as much as possible. I timed my walk to arrive home at about the same time as Elizaveta and walked in just as she was putting away her school books.

"How was your exam?" I asked after we greeted each other with a kiss.

"It was in math, and I'm pretty good at that, so it wasn't a problem. How was your anatomy exam?"

"We were fully prepared, so it wasn't too bad. We earned honors in all our courses."

"And I have straight A's!" Elizaveta declared happily.

"What are we doing for the next few hours?" I asked.

"How about we get some ice cream, then come back here and relax until it's time to go to the party?"

"Sounds like a plan!" I agreed.

We headed to Verner's, and, as usual, I ordered a single scoop of chocolate in a sugar cone.

"Seriously?" Elizabeth protested. "THAT is how you celebrate making honors?"

"I always get a single scoop of chocolate in a sugar cone! It's my tradition!"

Elizaveta shook her head, then ordered a turtle sundae. I paid for both our ice creams, and we took them outside and sat on a bench in front of the shop.

"What's wrong with always getting the same thing?" I asked.

"Doesn't it get boring?"

"Hmm..." I smirked.

"Michael Peter Loucks!" Elizaveta growled in disapproval. "If you think sex with me is boring, you are in BIG trouble!"

"You're the one who objected to me ordering the same thing every time, even though I enjoy it! Not to mention, YOU said it was boring, not me!"

Elizaveta screwed up her face the way she usually did on those rare occasions when I was right.

"Just eat your ice cream, Kitten," I soothed.

"I was thinking I should get a new dress for Sunday. I have a black one for the funeral, but on Sunday, I should wear something festive rather than the usual navy blue or black."

"That's up to you. We actually have time to do it before the party, if you want."

"Sure. There's a place just outside of town that sells last year's dresses at a steep discount, and it's not like I'm worried about being in style."

I agreed, and when we finished our ice cream, we got into my car and headed for the dress shop. The store, Linda's Last Year's, was nothing but rows of dresses which were all marked down significantly from what was claimed to be the 'original price'. Having never bought a dress in my life, I had no idea what a 'good' price was, though Elizaveta seemed to think the prices were excellent.

After about thirty minutes of searching and trying on dresses, Elizaveta found two which she liked, and which, together, cost less than $50. I paid the clerk at the register, and we left the store to head home. After hanging up her dresses, we listened to music and cuddled for about forty minutes before leaving for Doctor Blahnik's house.

Our entire group of friends from Taft and the medical school had been invited, and everyone except Lara, who had left earlier in the day, showed up. That included Pete, who came at Jason's insistence. We had a great time, and as was nearly always the case, Milena asked me to sing with her, and we entertained our friends with music at several different points in the evening. When the party broke up at about 1:00am, Elizaveta and I headed home.

May 31, 1986, McKinley, Ohio

Saturday morning was occupied with band practice and shopping, and the afternoon with Jocelyn's graduation from Taft. After the ceremony, we spent time with Elizaveta's parents and grandparents, as well as Geno and Anna. Anna was due any day and was uncomfortable, so they left not long after we arrived. With no study group, the entire afternoon was free, so after a few hours with her parents, Elizaveta and I decided to play mini-golf, and afterwards, get ice cream, before heading to Saint Michael for Vespers.

"Are you prepared for tomorrow, Deacon?" Father Nicholas asked after we said our entrance prayers.

I nodded, "I believe so. I've reviewed the order of Laying-on of Hands in the Great Book of Needs, as well as the order of service which I received from the Archdiocesan Office. Tonight, I'll review them again.

"You're still planning on driving up tonight, correct?"

"Yes. We'll be away until Tuesday evening because Sandy's funeral is Tuesday morning in Marion. Then, on Wednesday morning, we'll leave for our short getaway in Marietta, with a plan to be back on Sunday by noon. Class starts again a week from Monday."

"I'm sorry you couldn't go to Seattle."

"Dale understands, and as much as I wanted to see him, I felt I needed to go to Sandy's funeral."

"How are you holding up?"

I shrugged slightly, "OK, I guess. At times, I feel as if I'm being coldhearted, but other times, I realize I need to press forward, and my vocation doesn't really allow me to stop and smell the roses or allocate much time to myself. If I didn't have my responsibilities here, well, never mind."

"Did you ever work two jobs?"

"Not the way you mean," I replied. "I was RA and worked at the Quick Mart. If you're saying that I have too many irons in the fire, I don't disagree, but I don't know of any way to fix that, at least now."

"Sorry, I was simply trying to point out why you've had to shelve your emotions, so to speak. As we discussed, you'll need to be able to do that in the Emergency Room, and the key is not having it affect your relationship with your wife, first and foremost, but also our parishioners and your friends. That said, everyone mourns differently, and you tend to do so internally while showing a stoic face. I have a similar demeanor, but occasionally, I have to let the emotions escape so as not to come across as uncaring. The real problem is the one you identified — insufficient time for yourself."

"And there really isn't anything I can do about it, as I said. That said, we're likely to keep our reduced study hours, at least for now."

"That's a good thing. How is Elizaveta handling it?"

"I properly set her expectations, so that's made it easier for her. I think, though, that might change when we have a baby."

"That will upend everything in your life. Far be it from me to tell you what to do in that regard, but think carefully if next Summer is the right time to have your first child."

"I agreed to leave the timing of that up to Elizaveta," I said. "But I promise she and I will discuss it before October."

"Planning for July?"

"Roughly, yes. The target is sometime after she graduates at the end of May."

"I'll leave that to you, then. If you run into a conflict, make sure you sit down with the Sokolovs."

"We will. I do have one thing to discuss with you, and that is that Lara approached me about Tasha and Nik. I just wanted to ensure you're aware."

"All too aware," Father Nicholas replied with a heavy sigh. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Other than Nik joining the 80s, and I mean the 1980s, not the 1880s, I don't have any. I think he expected her to be very much like her father, and she's much more like her mother."

"There's a story there I haven't heard and probably shouldn't! Shall we vest?"

"Yes," I agreed.

An hour later, Elizaveta and I headed home, packed our bags, and set out for Columbus.

June 1, 1986, Columbus, Ohio

Elizaveta and I were up bright and early on Sunday morning and elected to take a walk before we had our showers and dressed for church. We'd very likely be inside for the vast majority of the day, and it was nice to be outside, even if it was in the middle of the city.