Chapter 9: A Dinner of Surprises

Pete was released from the hospital for convalescence leave Friday and dinner was set for Friday night at the Cavalla's. The wound that Pete received was nearly healed which astonished the doctors. But, DPS was adamant that a person being shot in the chest take more than a week off. Susan was Pete's designated driver when he was released from the hospital. She claimed that due to his wound healing he had limited motion. Everyone knew she was just using that as an excuse to spend time with Pete.

The paperwork for Sean's adoption was completed late Friday. In a rare display of competency by Government Officials, Sean's release was approved Friday afternoon, too, so the Cavallas could legally turn Sean over to the Flynns. Sean's full name was officially changed to Sean David Kilpatrick Flynn. The nurses all managed to get Saturday night off by trading shifts with other nurses and Pappy rode down with Seth so the whole 'family' was there for dinner.

Pete felt a little self conscious when he followed Susan through the front door of the big house on that late September evening. The place was a mansion compared to anyplace he had ever lived before. Pete grew up in the bad part of Dallas, Texas. Black kids didn't hang out with white kids and his reticence to socialize with whites carried into his adult life. His home in Dallas was a three bedroom house with nine people living in it. His father's job as a janitor in the Dallas School District involved very long hours six days a week. The job didn't pay much but it was all that was available to an uneducated black man in 1950. His Grandmother was the moral compass for the home which included no lying and no stealing. She was the one that ensured he graduated from high school, with honors.

Pete's first real introduction to integration with other races was at Marine Corps boot camp. His four years in the Corps taught Pete a lot of skills, and a lot of things about life. One of the life lessons he learned during his one tour in Vietnam, was all races had red blood. A common saying was 'in the foxhole everyone is green and scared'. He also learned that skin color didn't determine if a person was a jerk, or a good guy. The whole race issue became a non-starter with Pete and he looked down on anyone, of any race, that wanted to act like race made a difference.

That didn't mean he felt comfortable going into a big, nice house, and sit down to dinner with a bunch of strange white people. Granted, he knew some of them, other than Susan. Martha, Liz and Sheila were all nice to him in the hospital. That still left the husbands and boyfriends. Pete knew from experience that sometimes white men felt very protective when black men were around their women. His comfort wasn't a consideration though, because everything boiled down to one thing. Susan wanted him there, and Pete would walk through the gates of hell for that woman.

There was also the strange event with Sean to consider. Pete wanted to know more about what happened. Susan had kept her word and taken him to a private corner in the cafeteria and explained what she could about Sean.

Pete was sure some of it was exaggeration and it troubled him because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Susan. It bothered him that she would tell him such an outlandish tale and expect him to believe it. At the same time, something did happen to him. He wasn't sure how much of her story he believed but for Susan's sake he would put acceptance aside until he had more information on which to base his decision.

Pete was pleasantly surprised when he was introduced to the men in the group. Seth Flynn seemed to be the leader of the men though he didn't seem to exert any authority. Pete had learned to recognize a leader in the Marine Corps. It had nothing to do with giving orders, and everything to do with the men around you ready and willing to follow your lead. Susan mentioned that both of them had been in the Marines and their handshake grew firmer and the traditional 'Semper Fi' verbal greeting between Marines was exchanged. Semper Fi is the Marines shorthand for the Latin phrase Semper Fidelis or Always Faithful. Seth was a tall, raw boned man with sandy brown hair. His eyes were a piercing blue and seemed to look right down inside you.

Ben Cavalla seemed to be the next in line in terms of authority. He was Liz's husband, and the hospital administrator at St. Josephs. Ben seemed to have the air of quiet command about him that Pete appreciated. Ben was several inches shorter than Seth and had a slighter build, but seemed no less competent.

BB was obviously a Native American and seemed to be connected at the hip with Sheila. He was one of the ranch hands on the Gordian Ranch, but the way he interacted with Seth and Martha made it obvious that he was considered much closer than a ranch hand. BB was nearly as tall as Seth but had a much heavier build and there wasn't anything fat about the man. He looked so strong Pete thought he could wrestle bulls single handed. Pete was instantly drawn to the man, but he couldn't say why. BB had a twinkle in his eye, and he always looked like he was on the verge of laughing at something.

The biggest enigma among the men was Pappy. Pete liked him, but Pappy just didn't fit any of the readymade niches most people try to slot people into. As a DPS officer, it was important that Pete be able to categorize people quickly to know how to react to trouble. Pappy didn't fit any of Pete's predefined categories. Pappy was an old Mexican that spoke without a trace of accent, unless he was messing with someone, which was often. He was of an indeterminate age, meaning he could have been anything from 50 to 100 years old. He reminded Pete of a gnarled old oak root. Despite the way Pappy good naturedly joked and prodded the other members of the group he seemed always to be ready to react to any trouble from whatever direction. Pete felt like Pappy was a good man to have on your side in any kind of trouble, and that he could be more than a deadly enemy. Pete was also puzzled by the way Pappy seemed to withdraw in some way anytime he was around the baby.

Liz called everyone to the table for dinner while Martha was putting a big platter of homemade biscuits on the table. The variety and quantity of food on the table looked like something a big family would put out for Thanksgiving. The table was large enough to hold the nine adults comfortably. Sean was put on the floor on a blanket and Pete noticed two animals immediately sat down next to him. Pete had noticed that an animal was always close to Sean. Not always the same one, but one of them was always there.

Pete hesitated when he sat down so he could follow the lead of the others. Every family and group has a protocol they follow when sitting down to a formal meal, and Pete didn't know what it was for this group.

Seth cleared his throat and said, "Would you all mind if I said a few words before we start eating?"

Ben chuckled and said, "Seth, it may be my house, but as far as Liz and I are concerned, you are in charge of this merry band. Say what you want."