Chapter 11. After Dinner Conversations

Sunday September 7, 2008

Conversations with Pammie

After dinner, with the other kids listening, Pammie made a point of asking me if the “white scarf” and “family sharing” traditions would continue to apply in the future. She was being provocative. I assumed she wanted to present her own ideas with a potentially friendly interested audience listening. But I said that as long as the Patron was healthy I had no issue to decide in terms of keeping or changing past traditions.

“Including family sharing?” she asked prodding a bit more, with a glance at Sophia and Valeria. She was hinting I might expect Sophia or Valeria in my own bed. In the Tribe, offering one’s wife to a relative is how the pregnancy is announced. In the Colony retainers employ similar customs, since the children were in line to become Patron.

It was something that I, Martin and his two wives did not need to discuss, with him still alive and in my home we were predisposed against the idea. My uncle Martin lived in Western culture long enough to have some feeling of possession about his wives. Both of Martin’s wives considered the idea of putting herself in my bed as objectionable, even if I was a Prince. Plus, I had so many women. But how could I decline the long-held tradition without implying that the women were undesirable? Hurting somebody’s feelings seemed inevitable no matter what I said on the issue.

I answered Pammie by suggested that, here in the States, the custom is not to “go public” about pregnancy until the second trimester. The Patron might be here then, he was expected to visit here to return Cynthia sometime in November, traveling by charter or perhaps his own aircraft. He might invite a discussion at that time.

From her question I guessed that Tonto knew a little bit about both traditions. However, Pammie and Tonto would not be 18 until next year, so I did not expect Pammie’s “white scarf” to come up before then. It felt like Pammie was of two minds about it, she wanted the honor like she wanted every honor, she was that type of person. But she was embarrassed to seem like she wanted me before she gave herself to Tonto. She was also concerned about who might educate Tonto for his “first night,” which was part of the tradition. It could be Pammie’s sister Cynthia, as she was my Colonial baby-mamma. Somebody reminded Pammie that her mother Belen also qualified on that basis.

Both Pammie and Cynthia assumed that I would have Cynthia instruct Tonto if I spent the night instructing Pammie. They might be right. On the other hand, I could reasonably have Abril do the required instruction. Pammie did not know which choice would be worse from her viewpoint. Tonto might have very different opinions about his sister-in-law or smoking-hot Abril, but after making one mistake he was carefully neutral in the discussion. The point was, if Pammie was declared for the honor, they would have no choice about who Tonto got. Pammie liked the idea of control for such things.

Conversation With Tonto

I made a point to talk to Tonto alone, asking about his father. They were in touch, they had a system to keep communication secure. Irene had spoken to Tonto about his father’s performance in Yucatan in glowing terms. “He was the key to rescuing the Sister and her friend. Unlike wearing a motorcycle helmet and leathers in LA, he could have been recognized in a camp full of drug-crazed Aztexs. There were plans to back him up, but it could still have gone bad.”

Tonto had one other thing to talk to me about, his dad wanted to meet me for a talk, but it was a bit more complex than the last meeting, and time was a concern.

I thought a minute, then gave him an address and an office number downtown. “Have him come on the Ducati, the full outfit, with a courier bag. He is to use the parking garage, code with the office number then 49. Park on the third level down, spot 28. Wednesday around 1 in the afternoon give or take. Sound good?”

He agreed to pass the message.

“Traffic will be thick. He is to orbit the building, either direction, to get a look. Then he is to circle twice. Make the circle radius one block in each direction, so we are talking a three block by three block area. I will have observers watching for a tail. Got it?”