Chapter 80

I arrived for dinner as close to seven as humanly possible, and I managed to do it without circling the block or anything else. As I approached the gate, it began rolling open for me before I could press the talk button on the intercom. Someone was watching.

Kelli was waiting for me in front of the door where I'd picked her up only days earlier. She was alone and ran around to my side of the car as soon as I pulled to a stop.

"Park over here," she said, pointing to a pullout at about the 10 o'clock spot on the circular drive. There was room for at least four cars there, but it was empty. I pulled into a spot and climbed out of the Wrangler. Kelli was in my arms the moment the car door was closed behind me.

"I miss being in your arms, ' she said once our kiss ended.

"I miss having you there," I answered.

"Come on in, everyone is dieing to meet you."

"I suppose cousin Roberto is here?" I asked.

"No, father has banished him for the evening," she said with a huff.

"Really?" I asked.

"Well, not in so many words, but he found someplace Roberto needed to be on business. It is the same thing. Daddy would never send Robert anywhere on business unless it suited some other purpose. He's just not that good a representative for our family interests, despite his opinion of himself."

"I see," I laughed.

Dinner was surprisingly mellow. Mr. Montoya was much more down to earth when he was around his family and gathered around the table for a meal. It was easy to see just how much Kelli was the apple of his eye, and how much effort she made in return ensure he was proud of her.

The questioning was good-natured, but thorough. I talked about conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq, without discussing any of what I did while I was there. One of the younger cousins began to ask a question about who I killed when Mr. Montoya interrupted him.

"Hector, that is no topic for the dinner table," he reprimanded.

"Si Abuelo," the boy said, head down.

"Besides, I am sure that Mr. James is not allowed to talk too much about what he did, isn't that true?"

"That's right," I said. "I'm sorry, but the only things the government lets me talk about are the dusty, dirty, boring parts, like trying to keep the sand out of my socks," I made the joke, and it worked causing the boy to forget the reprimand and the unanswered question he hadn't been allowed to ask.

Later the adults sat in the living room and had drinks, though all I had was iced tea, since I was driving, and we talked about this and that, business mostly to start with.

"You are the head of FiberDyne its called?" Kelli's Uncle Carlos asked.

"I am, though its something of a figurehead position for the moment," I answered.

"Why is that?" Mr. Montoya asked.

"Well, I'm the majority shareholder, thanks to my parents, and the other stockholders have voted me into the position. The business is on solid ground and has a contract with the department of defense that is very lucrative, but limits our business opportunities. We cannot sell anything we make to anyone else without their permission."

"Oh," Aunt Fidelia began. "What does the company make then that's so valuable to the government?"

"We make very high tech fabrics, using nanotechnology and graphene-based materials. Graphene is a material made of carbon atoms laid out in a sheet only one molecule thick."

"I see," she said, not really seeing.

"I think you understand it better than we do, but not so much, eh?" Mr. Montoya commented.

"You are exactly right, sir," I nodded. "They like my military background and my clean cut features more than my business sense."

"Well, everyone has to start somewhere," Kelli added, laughing. "Cooper tells me the other people there are very nice, and were close friends of his parents."

"It was too bad about your parents," Uncle Carlos added, shaking his head. "These gangs are a blight on our community."

This threatened to turn into a semi-political conversation at that point, so I asked Mr. Montoya how the resort business was.

"Ah, we are new to the resort business, as you are to yours, though with a little more knowledge and experience that will prove helpful."

"We have been in the hotel business for several generations," Kelli added. "But the housing and real estate markets, and the low interest rates have made the resort industry more attractive."