Chapter 7

Wednesday, 27 Feb. Early Evening

Stan said as he reached for his gun, "Bob, just who I needed to see..."

That is when I passed out. Thank goodness I had already set my cocoa mug down on the coffee table. Otherwise, it would have been all over me, the couch, the carpet, and possibly Brenda too. I woke up with all three Leroys looking down at me, trying to see if I was alright. I stuttered out, "I ... ah ... saw you ... reach ... reaching for your gun ... and..."

Gabriela turned to Stan and said, "You scared the poor boy to death reaching for your gun like that. What's wrong with you, Stan?"

"I was only reaching for it to take it off, you've seen me do that a hundred times, and you never complained a bit."

"Yeah, but what did you say to him as you reached for the gun, answer me that, you big lump? Between you reaching for that damn gun and saying he was just who you were looking for, what did you think he would do, reach up and shake your hand? Just go put that thing away and come back here and apologize to this poor innocent boy. Now get."

Stan left mumbling and Brenda kissed me and said, "I'm so sorry about daddy, he sometimes forgets that he acts without thinking. Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes, Brenda, Gabriela, I'm fine. I was just so frightened that I just shut down. Gabriela, we have hot cocoa for you and Stan in the kitchen. I just need to pour the hot water on it. Did you want marshmallows; Brenda found some nice mini ones? I'll go do that now so I can shake the cobwebs out."

"You will do no such thing. You sit here and relax, I'll tend to that. I may not even give the big lump his until later. Brenda, see if you can make Bob more comfortable, I'll be right back."

I took a sip of my cocoa and boy did that taste good. After my sip, Brenda hugged and kissed me again, and said, "Are you sure you're alright? I mean I have sat here watching TV a hundred times and seen my dad take his gun belt off and he always grabs the gun and undoes his belt, but he usually says something like 'Hi Punk'in' or some other nonsense like that. Needless to say, daddy will be in hot water for a while over this one. Are you sure you want to stay and talk about what we decided?"

"Yeah, Brenda, I'm fine now. It just hit me wrong with the words and the actions your father made when he came in. I think I will be very glad his gun is put away before we tell them what we decided."

"Why would you think that, Bob?"

"Well, we are going to say that we feel something very strong between us and we want to eventually be steady boyfriend and girlfriend, yet I get to go out on three dates with Sam and I have a 'meet the parents' meal with two more girls. That doesn't sound much like steadies, does it?"

"No, I don't believe that is what going steady means Punk'in. I have to agree with Bob on this one. Bob, can you repeat what you just said about going steady with my daughter yet still dating three other girls," asked Stanley.

Gabriela was back now with two mugs of cocoa, so Stan and Gabriela sat down and listened as I explained the whole story about what we feel for each other and professed our love for each other in front of witnesses. Then I explained about my prior commitments to Sam, Gail, and Kathy, and finished with, "That's about all, that is what we had to tell you two tonight. Also I wanted to see if we could set up a meal at our house for maybe the 10^th of March; that is, if you guys are not too upset with me."

"Now, why in the world would we be upset with you about this? I for one am thrilled that Brenda and you have seen what others seem to know about you two already. Stan and I have already discussed the fact that when you two are together, you both seem to glow. I can't explain it any better than that, but you two seem destined to be together. Now, about all this with the other girls; Bob made a commitment to them; for three dates with Sam, and dinner dates with Kathy and Gail. What kind of a man would Bob be if he suddenly cancelled those plans? He would be considered a selfish and inconsiderate person. So I think keeping your commitments, Bob, is very mature and commendable. I also think that you two are too young to be committing to each other, but it is very obvious that you are in love with each other.

"I would suggest a semi-steady relationship, more of what you have been doing in the past, and as Bob described so brilliantly the last time he was here. Take it slow and easy, see other people. Bob seems to have no problem with that, but Brenda, Darling; you need to see others too. I know about Paul from last year, but he was your only boyfriend since the 3^rd grade. You need to see if someone else makes you feel like Bob does right now. This can't be a one-way street. It needs to work both ways."

"Bob, do you know of other girls that you have feelings for," asked Stan.

"Yes Sir, I have some deep feelings for another, my sister, but those feelings are totally different from what I feel about your daughter. They are somewhat similar in the fact that I would do anything for them, but the real deep down feelings are somewhat different. I hope that answers your question, Sir."

"That is very commendable, young man; most siblings are at odds with each other, especially if they are close in age like you two are. I say at odds with each other, sometimes it is hate and rage that manifests itself between close aged siblings. It could be brother and sister, sisters, or even brothers. I know for many of my teenage years, my brother and I hated each other with a passion that bordered on obsession. We did make up with each other, but that was years later. So, yes, a relationship like what you have with your sister is to be cherished."

Gabriela said then, "Did I hear something about us having a dinner at your house, Bob?"

"Yes, Mrs. Leroy. I wanted to invite you three to our house for a Sunday dinner, maybe on the 10^th of March, unless that is inconvenient."

"No, Bob, I think that sounds great, I have seen your father around town, but not enough to really speak to him," said Gabriela.

"We usually get back from church about 12:30 or 1:00, so maybe 1:00 or 1:30 would be OK, wouldn't it?"

"Sure, that way we get to go to church too. Then we can just come out to your place from there, we usually get out shortly after noon. Do you know if we need to bring anything," asked Stanley.

"I don't think so, but I will know more later, after I talk to my folks and see what we plan on for dinner. Do any of you have any foods you can't or won't eat? I know I don't like spinach, eggplant, or liver, but I'm good about anything else."

"Gabby, finally a man after my own heart; Bob, those are the foods I just cannot stand either. These two will eat just about anything."

"Yeah, Stan, my family is much the same. A while back, I made a killer meat sauce for some spaghetti when my mom and sister were sick. My mom loved it. It was nothing like yours, Gabriela, but it was quite good. I'll have to see what my mom wants to fix for our meal."

"Bob, I would like to try out this killer recipe you have for meat sauce sometime. What all was in it?"

"Just some stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh garlic, oregano, and some other spices we had in the cupboard. I mixed some browned ground sirloin in with it and then we had some buttered bread with garlic powder on it that I warmed in the oven. It was nothing special, but I tried a little of this and a little of that and it turned out great. Of course, I seasoned the meat as it cooked too, so who knows what the secret was."

"If your mom and sister were sick and you fixed a meal for them, then a lot to do with why it was special was the effort you made for the meal," said Brenda.

"Yeah, that could have been the reason, but when we warmed some up the next day it was still good."

"You made enough for more than one meal?" said Gabriela, incredulously.

"Sure, I opened up four cans of stewed tomatoes and 2 cans of paste and then added two garlic buds and the spices. My dad had cooked up two pounds of meat, so what else was I to do. I even had to use the whole package of pasta to make it all spread out. My dad had the meat out and was already cooking it when I got started on the sauce, so I had to improvise. I think we had two big meals and then mom and dad took what was left for their lunches one day. Sometimes, when we cook special meals, we make more than we want right then and freeze the rest. Like chili, we make about 2 gallons of the stuff, have it one night, then divide it up and freeze at least two containers so we can have it sometime later. We do the same with ham hocks and navy beans."

"Who cooks most at home, your mother or you," asked Gabriela.

"Except for the weekends, Suzie or mom make up some plans for the week, you know like pot roast from the crock pot on Monday, Tuesday is macaroni casserole, baked pork loin or chops for Wednesday, then maybe pizza or Mueller's barbeque on Thursday, then maybe Shepherd's pie or baked fish sometimes on Friday. Nothing special really, we just eat good healthy food. We sometimes eat out during the week, but that is mostly saved for the weekends. Why, was there some reason you asked?"

"Well, Bob, you seemed to know quite a lot about cooking, but you don't do much of it yourself, do you?"

"No, Gabriela, I just do it on special occasions or like when both my sister and mother are ill. You know, kind of like that. I suppose I could cook and live off my cooking, but I would probably get tired of it after a while. Oh, it just hit me; does Brenda not cook at all?"

"Oh no, you don't, Bob. I'll have you know my mother has taught me everything she knows about cooking and I usually cook most of the meals during the week, just like your sister does. You are not going to live that one down very soon."

"Hey, don't blame me; I just wanted to know why your mother asked me about my cooking. A co-worker of my Dad's was married for four years to a woman who refused to learn to cook, so he divorced her. When they were engaged he always had these great meals when invited to her house. It came to his attention after the marriage that all those meals were cooked by her mother or was takeout that she served on plates. So between that and your mother's question, I wrongly assumed that you couldn't cook. I'm very sorry about that assumption."

I asked, "So are we alright as far as you two knowing our plans and you have no objections."

"Yes, Bob, I think we are fine with the fact that you both seem to have some deep meaning to each other, but as you said, you are kind of young to make a decision that could affect your whole life. I know I would feel better if my daughter would try to see if someone else can make her feel what you do, but she is kind of stubborn like me. We will try to talk to her about that. I also like the fact that we will get to meet your family so we can get to know one another better, if like you say, you will be a couple later on. So I guess you could say that I think this went well tonight, well except for right at first. Bob, I really want to apologize for scaring you like that when I came in. It is just second nature for me to grab my gun when I take off my belt. I guess you couldn't see my other hand as it was behind Gabby. Now do you need a ride home or is someone coming for you?"

"Thank you, Mr. Leroy, but my mother is supposed to pick me up after she picks up our supper in town. I accept your apology and want to forget the whole incident."

It was a little after six by now, and Mom should be by shortly. I hugged Brenda and said goodnight to Stan and Gabriela and went out on their porch to await my mother. Stan walked me out, shook my hand, and said, "Thank you for loving my daughter, I think you are good for her, and I also think she is good for you. Have a good evening." After saying that, he went back into the house and Brenda came out to wait with me.

"Bob, I'm so sorry about my dad, but he means well. I will try to see if I can date some more nice guys like you to be sure of my love for you. I think we need to cool it at school for a while. That way, maybe I can get some guys to be interested in me."

"Listen, Brenda, there are lots of good guys out there that would love to go out with you, but I think that they are reluctant to ask you since you have been a big part of my entourage. I get the feeling that they think you are my girl and mine alone. It's like your mother said, when we are together, everyone somehow knows we are together. It's probably subtle things we take for granted, but others see it. We may even have to kind of stay apart from each other for people to understand that you may be one of my girls, but you are free to date others. I know that doesn't make much sense, but there it is. Can you accept that and not be upset with me?"

"Yes, Bob, whatever it takes to prove to each of us that we are destined to be together; then I can do it too. I love you."

I kissed her then, and during the kiss, my mother pulled into the driveway. She didn't honk or do anything to draw undue attention to herself, but I could tell when she was there. We finally broke the kiss, we said our goodbyes, and I ran to the car.

Mom asked, "Did you get everything straightened out? How did her parents take it?"

I explained everything that happened, even about the fainting, then most of what we talked about. By the time we got home with pizza, mom had a pretty good idea of where I stood with the Leroy family. She thought the Sunday dinner was a great idea and was naming off some possible meals.

Mom was so excited about the dinner that she imparted much of that energy and enthusiasm to the rest of the family once we got home.

After supper, I sat back and drifted over to Ft. Belvoir. The program I had started back at Walter Reed with the men and women I helped was giving back to their comrades in arms. It all transferred over to Ft. Belvoir Army Community Hospital where all the injured soldiers went to now. All the ones I helped turned right around and helped someone else. Soon, the doctors and nurses were doing it too. There were group sessions with many wounded heroes talking to the psychiatrists and each other, which turned the attitudes of the severely wounded around into productive citizens. When they get back home, a lot of them are also contacting their local state employment agencies trying to implement the same type of program that Texas has initiated for getting handicapped veterans back into the workforce. I felt a surge of pride that between: Cpl. Nathan Two-Feathers, Cpl. Herman Draper, SSgt. David Fletcher, SSgt. Jamal Johnson, 1Lt. Beverly Newman, LCpl. Thomas Dewayne, Capt. William Gage, Lt. Patricia LeBlanc, PFC. James Donnelly, 2 Lt. James Dooley, Sgt. Darrell Hollings, PFC. Melvin Corte, SSgt. Sean Fuller, and Sgt. Jonnie Reese, the newly wounded were getting help and talking to someone who knows their grief, their uncertainty, and their reluctance to go back home. Who could forget the doctors: Dr. Benjamin Casey, his son Dr. Walter Casey, Dr. Ernst Schulman, and Dr. Richard Dawkins, without whose help these guys and gals would never have had the chance to survive and be such a force for change. Wow, all this from a few visits to some wounded men and women who I thought I might be able to help.

I also checked all the local hospitals and saw the there were no people that I could help more than the doctors were doing right now.

I made a stopover in Memphis and the St. Judes Hospital there. This time I could see the auras of many ghostly helpers going about the business of making miracles a normal everyday occurrence at that hospital.

I came back home feeling emotionally full, knowing that I had a very small part in helping this along. Once I was back, Suzie helped me upstairs and off to bed for another day. Tomorrow was a work day and I would have to talk with Glinda. My major concern now was what to tell Brenda about Suzie and me. That could be a big problem, however I think that big surprise will have to wait for a while, like maybe a year or so. In the meantime what about Suzie and I; do we just quit, or what. I mean, we already know we have a hard time not sleeping together, since it was a nightmare for both of us when Ronnie was here. Well, that is a problem for another day. Right now, I am going to let my sister snuggle up to me so we can get some rest. Goodnight all.

Thursday, 28 Feb.

Upon rising this morning, I guess the enormity of yesterday finally sunk into this thick skull of mine. Did I really want to have a steady girlfriend, could I handle all the trials and tribulations of being a teenager in love? Then there is the question of how, or when, do I tell Brenda about Suzie? Can I keep that under wraps long enough and well enough that I don't get killed by any of the Leroys' or end up in jail? Also what is the deal with Glinda? Well, hopefully that will be revealed when I get to work this afternoon. The rest will just have to happen as it happens.

I can't lay here in bed all morning; it's time to get up and get ready for school. I woke Suzie and we started getting ready for school. Once dressed, we went down to breakfast where Mom and Suzie started planning what meal to fix for next Sunday. "Mom, Suzie, just remember that this is not a fancy dinner, this is just like the dinner we had with the Simpsons the first time. It is just a get acquainted dinner, this is not some big banquet or fancy showoff thing. It needs to be just a nice dinner where we can talk to get to know one another, that's all. OK?"

"But, isn't this girl important to you? I mean you did say that you loved her, didn't you? If so, then this is an important dinner. We need to let them know that we are a nice family and that we welcome them into our home and our lives."

"Yeah, Mom, that is right, but, and that is a big but, we don't want to give the impression that we always have a meal like I hear you two planning. I say something nice, I mean your fried chicken is great, or maybe just a nice roast with cooked vegetables. I mean we can get everything ready before we go to church and put it in the big crock pot and let it cook while we are at church. Then we make some gravy from the leavings and there we have a great meal, but you didn't put yourself all out to make it. I got the impression that the meal I had at their house was maybe a Sunday dinner type of meal, and I don't think Gabriela spent all day cooking it. I think she probably had everything made the night before and then had Brenda put it in the oven. Then when Gabriela came home, she cooked the pasta and took everything out to serve it hot. That's the kind of meal that would impress them. You might want a salad before the meal, but that is it, OK?"