Chapter 50: Unexpected Behavior

December 11, 1987, McKinley, Ohio

“That was unexpected!” I said when Kari broke the kiss.

“Is that good or bad?” Kari asked.

“Good! Very good, in fact!”

“Then you’d like another one?”

“I would!”

The second kiss was as equally searing as the first, but this time Kari wrapped her arms around me and pulled our bodies together. She broke the kiss after about a minute, and as quickly as she’d stopped for the kiss, took my hand and began walking towards the dorm. She’d surprised me by abruptly stopping and kissing me, and then again by abruptly resuming our walk. Nothing was said until we reached Rickenbacker.

“Are we going out on Monday?” Kari asked.

“We could. I’ll need to arrange for a babysitter for Rachel.”

“Why don’t you bring her?” Kari suggested. “We can have dinner.”

“That sounds good. What time does your last class end?”

“At 4:00pm. Pick me up around 5:00pm?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

She smiled, gave me a quick peck on the lips, and went into the dorm. I walked to the parking lot, got in my car, and headed to my in-laws’ house to retrieve Rachel. As I drove, I considered the surprise kiss and what it meant, but I was positive the only way to find out was to discuss it with Kari on Monday.

“How was she?” I asked Anna when she brought me Rachel.

“Perfect!” Anna declared. “She slept, and when she was awake, she was happy. I only wish Viktor Gennadyevich was as happy all the time as Rachel Michelle is!”

“Did Yulia spend any time with her?”

“Yes, about twenty minutes; Viktor felt that was enough. They went to bed early.”

“Thanks for watching her.”

“It was my pleasure!”

I bundled Rachel into her Winter coat and hat, then carried her out to the car. Once I had her settled in her car seat, we headed home.

December 12, 1987, McKinley, Ohio

“I thought you’d learned your lesson!” Serafima said accusingly when she and Elias arrived on Saturday morning.

I knew what she meant, so I’d acknowledge it, but felt it was better to simply let her say her piece and not act defensively.

“You’re referring to Kari?”

“Obviously,” Serafima said flatly. “But also that girl who shows up at church sometimes with her baby. Don’t think I didn’t notice!”

“I didn’t plan either of those,” I replied. “Sheila is just a friend. As for Kari, I met her, we talked, and I asked her out.”

“Why are you seeing girls who aren’t Orthodox? There are at least three eligible girls at Saint Michael, at least two at Holy Transfiguration, and I know girls of the right age at the Cathedral, too! Not to mention Tasha, Lara, and Maryam, or even Katy Malenkov who will be home in a week or so! What IS it with you?” she asked in exasperation.

I didn’t feel she actually wanted an answer, so I waited. Serafima put her hands on her hips and continued.

“Tell me what’s wrong with Debby, Oksana, Britney, Johanna, Viktoriya, Sara, Katherine, Katrina, Irina, Susana, Macrina, Natalie, Tasha, Lara, Maryam, and Katy!”

“Several of those girls aren’t even eighteen,” I countered. “They’re too y...”

“OH GIVE ME A BREAK!” Serafima interrupted fiercely, sounding annoyed. “You and Elizaveta were betrothed when she was fifteen, and married just after she turned sixteen! None of those girls is under sixteen!”

“And I’m twenty-four now,” I replied. “Not twenty-two. And I have a baby!”

“So what?! Did you even speak to Oksana or any of the other girls? No! It’s just like what happened with Elizaveta!”

“I have spoken to Tasha,” I said. “And Lara. And Maryam and I have had tea.”

“Yes, but you invited Kari to join the gang last night!”

“In my defense, neither Lara nor Maryam were available, and Tasha and I talked things through, just as we did the first time, and concluded the same thing we did before.”

“Fine, but that doesn’t explain why you haven’t even spoken to any of the eligible girls! I could understand it if you weren’t seeing anyone, but you brought an outside girl who isn’t even a Christian to our group dinner!”

I’d obviously missed someone asking Kari where she went to church.

“What part of me speaking with Tasha, Maryam, and Lara did you miss?” I countered.

Elias looked pained and appeared to be looking for a place to hide.

“Don’t give me that bull!” Serafima exploded. “Fine, you ‘spoke’ with them! But you aren’t doing anything except seeing a girl who is not even a Christian! She’s never even been to ANY church, let alone ours!”

“Are you finished?” I asked, mildly annoyed.

“NO!” Serafima growled.

“Serafima,” Elias protested. “Too far.”

She turned and looked daggers at her husband.

“Don’t you dare defend him, Elias Gregory Gronov!”

I almost laughed at the use of the parental ‘three names’, but managed to avoid doing so, as I was positive that laughing was not conducive to continued good health. Elias wilted, as I often had in the face of eruptions of Mount Kitten.

“Serafima,” I said, “I need to go to band practice.”

“We’re not through by ANY stretch of your imagination, Michael Peter Loucks!”

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” I replied, amused, but suppressing even a smile out of fear for my life.

I walked away before she could say anything more, and could feel the daggers in my back. I went upstairs, kissed Rachel goodbye, then went downstairs and put on my hat, coat, and gloves. I went to the study where I slung my balalaika over my back, my music satchel over my shoulder, and then picked up my guitar. Serafima glared at me as I walked past, and Elias and I shared a look of commiseration, as I was sure he was going to hear it from his wife about interfering in what she clearly felt was her domain.

As I walked towards campus, I thought about her complaint, which actually was accurate, at least to a point. Where I disagreed with her most directly was about the girls who were under eighteen. I felt the age gap was too wide, and while Elizaveta had been very mature, we’d also had two years together before Rachel had been born. That was a far cry from a sixteen-year-old walking into an ‘instant family, just add ring’ situation.

Of course, that only eliminated two or three of the girls, as I wasn’t sure about exact ages, though I knew grades. Sara and Katherine were both Juniors, which certainly meant they were under eighteen. The same was true for Natalie at Holy Transfiguration, who I thought was a Sophomore. Serafima did have a point about the other girls, and it was, in effect, identical to the point Elizaveta had made when she’d confronted me at church with a combined dressing down and proposal.

Where Serafima was mistaken was that I had, indeed, considered certain eligible young women at church — Tasha, Lara, and Maryam. It was entirely possible I’d end up with Lara or Maryam, though I was still in no emotional state to make a lifetime — and life-changing — commitment. My emotional state was improving, and I didn’t think it would be too long before I felt ready to begin a serious relationship, but I had to be careful about it.

The question I had to ask myself was, once again, why I had more or less ignored the young women at church, including those who had graduated High School. I wondered if, as I’d read in my psychology texts, if it had to do with familiarity. One of the odd things about, in effect, growing up close to someone was that it often led to ignoring any possible romantic ties.

That had been true for both Jocelyn and me, despite how close we’d been from kindergarten on. Looking at it one way, it made no sense, but looking at it another way, it did. She’d made the comment that I was like her brother, and I understood exactly how that could be the case. Applying that lesson to my relationship with the girls at church made sense of things, not to mention that I’d been their Sunday School teacher for four years, which also affected the dynamic.

The girls at the Cathedral were different in that I hadn’t grown up with them as I had the girls at Holy Transfiguration, nor taught them as I had the girls at Saint Michael, and the phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind’ seemed to best describe why I hadn’t given any real thought to any of the girls I’d met in Columbus. It was also the case that my schedule made spending the necessary time to get to know them extremely difficult.

There was no doubt that Serafima saw Kari as a threat to her friends, some of whom likely had thoughts of a relationship with me, if not outright designs on me, similar to the ones Elizaveta had when she first approached me. The question I had to answer was what I was going to do about it, if anything. Actually, another question had to be factored in — what was Serafima going to do about it?

I didn’t feel, even with Serafima’s obvious annoyance, that I should stop seeing Kari. Granted, Kari had a number of hurdles to clear, but the surprise kiss had telegraphed something very important — that she was willing to try. I’d encouraged her to do so, and made it clear that I was interested, assuming she could clear those hurdles, so it felt wrong to simply break things off with her.

I was positive that Father Nicholas would raise questions, as he had before Elizaveta, about what would appear to be ‘missionary dating’, as I’d heard it called, but this wasn’t that. Well, that wasn’t my intent, though it had worked out that way. A number of people had come to Orthodoxy through my efforts, and more might have, if not for external interference.

On that last one, I was thinking specifically of Maggie Schumacher, who last I’d heard was pregnant, though I had no idea about her due date, which might have already passed. I hadn’t asked Liz because I simply had no real interest in what was going on with Maggie. The same was true for most of the other girls I’d dated, including Nancy, Janey, and Kristin. I did, on the other hand, want to keep in touch with Kimiko, and she had sent a very sweet sympathy card after Elizaveta had reposed.

I walked into the music building, still trying to decide what to do about what amounted to a reprimand from Serafima and was once again surprised by something Kari had done. She was standing outside the music room where Code Blue practiced.

“Hi!” she exclaimed. “Doctor Blahnik said I should come listen to your band practice!”

Anicka was a troublemaker, I thought, though I had no objection to Kari following that suggestion. I decided I needed to have a chat with Anicka about why she was trying so hard to get Kari and me together, because it was quite obvious that she was.

“Hi,” I replied. “You’re welcome to listen, of course.”

“Cool!”

She leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the lips and then we went into the music room, where I introduced her to everyone as one of Doctor Blahnik’s students who was going to listen to our practice session.

“You did better today,” Kim said when we finished.

“Thanks. I should be ready for next Friday.”

“Good. There’s a chance to play at Stirred not Shaken for one of their live music nights. You’re OK with that, right?”

“Yes. It’s my schedule that’s the concern. What day?”

“February 12th, which is a Friday.”

“I’ll be on my psych rotation, but I won’t know my schedule until mid-January. Go ahead and book it, and I’ll ask Clarissa to cover for me if there’s a conflict, as usually there won’t be two Third Years on at the same time.”

“Cool. We have signed contracts for the gigs for the Goshen and Hayes County Proms — May 13th and May 20th.”

“I’ll add them to my calendar. I think I told you I’ll be on an internal medicine rotation, and again, I should be able to work around it.”

“Awesome! How’s Rachel?”

“She’s growing like a weed! She’s at home with some friends from church.”

“See you on Friday,” Kim said.

I packed up my things, said ‘goodbye’ to my bandmates and Dona, then Kari and I left the music room.

“You guys are good,” she said. “Want to have lunch?”

“A couple from church are at my house watching Rachel,” I said. “They’re expecting me for lunch. And you know I work this evening.”

“Yes. OK. See you on Monday afternoon!”

I walked her to the dorm, where I received another quick peck on the lips, then decided to walk to Anicka’s house. Lunch at home wouldn’t be until noon, so that wouldn’t cause any trouble, though it might annoy Serafima who was, I was sure, ready to continue dressing me down about my behavior. When I reached Anicka’s house, I let myself in, which was what Anicka had invited me to do at any time, and found her and Derek in the great room.

“Hi, Mike!” Anicka said. “How was practice?”

“We’re ready for next Friday. Do you have a moment?”

“I’ll go find something to do!” Derek declared. “Good to see you, Mike!”

“You, too!” I replied.

He left the room, I put down my instruments and bags, and went to sit on the love seat next to Anicka.

“Care to explain?” I asked.

Anicka smiled, “Kari?”

“Yes. You seem to be encouraging her to develop a relationship with me.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” I replied. “I’m just curious as to why you’re encouraging her.”

“What? You object to a Czech woman playing «бабушка» (babushka)?” (“Grandmother”)

I laughed, “Russian or Czech, Arab or Greek, they all have their motivations! Usually it’s trying to keep the kids in the church, and pairing off Orthodox teens is one way to do that. We lose more kids by marriage than we gain. But you aren’t Orthodox.”

“That’s true. Do you like her?”

“I do.”

“And you think she’s pretty, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re both musicians, right?”

“Also true. But there are tremendous hurdles, and she has more than most. She’s nineteen, isn’t Orthodox, is in college, and I have a timeframe much shorter than hers, given what she wants to do with her life. Not to mention already having a kid.”

“Are those insurmountable?”

“No, they aren’t, and I’m not objecting to you encouraging her to get to know me, I’m just trying to figure out why.”

Anicka smiled, “I see a lot of myself at age nineteen in her. I wish I’d met someone like you at nineteen.”

“May I point out that had you done so, Milena wouldn’t be here?”

Anicka smiled and shook her head, “And right there is the difference between a scientist and a romantic! You need to let your inner romantic out and keep the scientist in his domain! I’ve seen it, and so has Milena. The point I was trying to make is that Kari needs someone like you, even if the timing is inconvenient.”

“What is it that she needs?”

“Someone who is intelligent, who understands her, and who loves music. Someone who can support her career, be a loving partner, and a good dad.”

“But is she really ready for a relationship? One that requires her to become a wife and mom, as well as convert to Orthodoxy?”

“That’s up to her, isn’t it? All I’ve done is encourage her to get to know you and see what might be possible. In the end, though, it’s up to you, and if you think she’s worth the effort.”

“And therein lies the dilemma,” I said. “I can’t marry her before she’s Orthodox, and couldn’t really get engaged until she was officially a catechumen.”

Which reminded me of the situation with Kimiko, though I didn’t feel Kari felt obliged to convert as some kind of cultural duty.

“There’s no way around that?” Anicka asked.

“Not really,” I replied. “You know I won’t marry someone who isn’t Orthodox.”

“But is that a requirement?”

“As in dogma? No, it’s not. That said, I’m not inclined to ask for «ekonomia» to marry someone who isn’t Orthodox, and I seriously doubt I could get it for someone who’s not a Christian. Getting engaged to her would be making a bet that I can’t afford to make.”

“And two years is too long to wait?”

“That’s a long time for a baby to go without a mom,” I replied.

“May I give you some advice?”

“Of course.”

“If you set an artificial time limit, you’re taking a much bigger risk than the one you just said you wanted to avoid. You want to find Miss Right, not Miss Right Now.”

“A reasonable point,” I replied.

“More than reasonable,” Anicka said. “I believe you made the point about ensuring you were in a good emotional state, and also that your thinking was off because you felt ‘good mom’ was the only criteria to consider for a life partner.”

“True.”

“A fixed time limit is similarly bad thinking. Don’t rush into anything, Mike. Take your time, find the right young woman for you and Rachel, then get married. Rachel will be fine. You have a very good support system here, something you pointed out to Annette.”

“Until August of next year,” I replied. “Then Lara begins her student teaching.”

“Don’t let that force your hand. You can work out a solution, I’m sure. Just don’t allow an artificial timeline to dictate your future.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“Compared to saving a life in the ER?”

“When you put it that way...”

“What are you going to do?”

“Keep the dinner date Rachel and I have with Kari on Monday evening. I do need to get home, because Serafima and Elias are expecting me and I want to give Rachel her bottle.”

“See you Friday at the concert.”

“Thanks, Anicka.”

“If you need to talk, I’m here.”

“I appreciate that.”

Anicka walked me to the door, and I quickly walked south towards campus, then continued on to my house. When I arrived, I went in the front door and took off my boots.

“Did practice run long?” Elias asked.

“No, I stopped by to see Doctor Blahnik,” I replied.

“I need to apologize,” he said quietly.

I smiled, “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, seriously, Mike, I’m sorry.”

He was behaving oddly and before I could ask why, it became obvious. Serafima came out of the kitchen with Oksana Korolyov.

“Oksana will make your lunch, help you with Rachel, finish cleaning, and make your dinner,” Serafima declared. “Elias and I will see you at church tonight.”

I realized it was useless to protest, and this would have happened eventually, as the girls were all going to take turns. Serafima had simply accelerated her plan, substituting one of the eligible girls for herself.