Chapter 8

Robert White Feather knocked on the door at exactly seven. He carried a small bouquet of flowers to give to his hosts. He nervously rocked from side to side unsure of why he had been invited. He jumped when Sarah answered the door. She smiled at him and said, “Hello, cousin.”

“Hello, Sarah.”

“Come in, they are expecting you.”

Robert entered the house and looked around. It was just as he remembered it. Sarah led him to the formal living room in which the entire family had gathered. Ed stood up and greeted him, “Welcome, Robert.”

Robert nodded and said, “I brought some flowers for all of you.”

Ling came over to him and accepted the flowers. After smelling them, she said, “Oh, these are lovely. They’ll look great in the dining room. Excuse me for a minute while I put them in a vase.”

Sarah stopped Ling and said, “Allow me to do that for you, Ma’am.”

Ling handed the flowers over to Sarah. She turned to Robert and said, “Sometimes, I forget my place. Sarah always reminds me, though.”

Robert didn’t quite know what to say. He remembered his grandmother’s advice that when in doubt, a nod can mean anything. He nodded to her. Ling took his arm and led him to a chair. She said, “Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

John asked, “So, Robert, how are things at the Native American College?”

Robert answered, “Things are working out really well, there. My grandfather says that the number of freshman students has doubled this year.”

Beth asked, “Is there any indication that the students are taking the cultural aspects seriously?”

Robert felt a little more comfortable discussing this subject and answered, “Yes, there is. I have heard that several of the older medicine men of other tribes are now teaching others the older knowledge. It’s a good sign, as the tribes will have a future when the old ones die.”

“That is good news. I’m glad that it’s working out,” John replied. He added, “We are doing the same thing for Druids. I hope we can get some advice from your grandfather. His experience is invaluable.”

Robert smiled at John’s deference to his grandfather. He said, “He will do what you ask. He’s still amazed that Sarah is attending college now and visiting the reservation to learn the old ways.”

Beth asked, “Are many people returning to the reservation?”

“Yes. In fact, I will be going back in two months to join the tribal police as a detective.” Robert grinned as he said, “In a way I have you to thank. All of those attacks here gave me invaluable experience in assessing a crime scene.”

Ed looked a little disappointed, but he realized that Robert was following his desire. He asked, “Are you looking forward to returning to the reservation?”

Robert nodded as he answered, “Yes, very much so. There’s a young lady there that I’m interested in knowing.”

Kelly smiled and said, “That’s so nice. I was wondering if you were dating anyone.”

Ling sat up and said, “Tell us all about her.”

Robert looked a little embarrassed, but he answered, “Well, she’s graduated last year with a masters in family counseling. She’s coming back to help fight alcoholism and the destruction of the family unit.”

“Silly, I want to know the good stuff. What’s her name and what does she look like?”

Robert laughed and said, “I’m not sure I want to tell you. You’ll try to bed her.”

John laughed at the suggestion. He said, “No, we’ve got too many women around here as it is. Ed may be a super-stud, but I’m human.”

Ed laughed and said, “I’m not a super-stud either. We need another man or two around here.”

Robert asked, “Have you got any candidates in mind?”

John answered, “We had one, but he’s not going to work out. Seems he has other plans.”

“That’s a shame.”

Ling asked, “So are you going to ask her to marry you?”

Robert felt a little uneasy at discussing private matters and said, “I think so. She’s a great woman. She’s very smart and has a good heart. She really wants to help the tribe. The best part is that she’s used to being around cops. You don’t know how important that is in a relationship.”

Beth smiled and said, “Oh, I think we know. John and Ed occasionally go out and play FBI agent. We were there when they both got shot going after white slavers.”

Robert nodded at the reminder and said, “I had forgotten that. You do tend to walk on the dangerous path at times. I recall a couple of assassination attempts.”

Ling said, “The last attempt was a major disaster for them.”

Beth added, “That was when Rover was wounded.”

John was quiet as he thought back to his days with Rover. He missed all the cats, but Rover was the first one and had been around the longest. Ed noticed John’s quiet mood, “John, I know you miss the cats, particularly Rover.”

John nodded, “Yeah, that was a great cat.”

Marguerite entered the room and announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, dinner is ready.”

Robert’s nervousness instantly returned. He expected a fancy meal with dozens of eating utensils. He was shocked when Marguerite brought in a huge plate of fried chicken, French Fries, and corn on the cob. By each plate was a stack of small towels for wiping the hands. As Robert immediately relaxed, John asked, “I hope you don’t mind all the finger foods. We enjoy being casual as much as the next person.”

Robert made a gesture of holding his hands out to the side and said, “To tell the truth, I was terrified that I was going to have to figure out all of the silverware.”

Ed laughed at the comment and said, “This old cowboy hasn’t figured all that silverware out yet, either.”

Kelly hit Ed in the side with her elbow. She said, “This nurse knows how to use all the silverware, but still prefers to eat in a much more casual atmosphere.”

John laughed and said, “I’m still used to eating out of a camp cook set.”

Beth pouted and said, “I like eating formally on occasion.”

Robert accepted the plate of chicken from Ling who was sitting on his left. He put a breast on his plate and passed the plate on to Kelly. Ling looked at his plate and joked, “Ah, I see you are a breast man and here I thought you were a leg man.”

Robert looked confused for a minute and then realized she was teasing him. He decided two could play that game. He said, “Breasts are to be enjoyed to the fullest, you just look at legs.”

Kelly laughed and commented, “I like the way you think.”

After everyone’s plates were filled with food, Ed said, “Dig in everyone.”

The group started eating with great appetite. John was feeding Ling and Beth with French Fries. Occasionally, he teased them by moving the fry away from the mouth as they leaned in to bite it. Ling burst out laughing when she almost fell out of the chair chasing a fry. Robert watched the antics and grinned in amusement. He laughed aloud when he watched Ed and Beth try to eat the same ear of corn at the same time. Kelly offered him a fry, but when he went after it she moved it out of the way and popped it into her mouth. She smiled at him and said, “You’ve got to be fast around here.”

Robert retorted, “A teenage dream of mine has just come true, I’m sitting at a table full of fast women.”

Kelly giggled at the joke and said, “Just for that, I’m going to run as hard as I can when you start to chase me.”

Robert laughed and said, “I think my girlfriend will hunt me down if I chase you.”

Beth asked, “So what kind of marriage do want?”

Robert looked around the table and answered honestly, “I want a conventional marriage. I don’t think I would be happy in the kind of marriage that you have.”

Ed asked, “Really?”

“Yes, really. I don’t mean to offend you, but in a way I feel like none of you have actually made the deep kind of commitment to each other that is in a conventional marriage.”

John chuckled at the suggestion that he might be offended. He said, “We aren’t offended. You are telling us your thoughts on the matter. We agree with you to a certain extent. Our kind of marriage is not for everyone, but it works for us. We do have a deep commitment to each other, but that is very easy for someone to miss.”

Robert was surprised by John’s statement. He asked, “You don’t think everyone should live in a group marriage like this.”

“Heaven’s sakes no. We know many people that would wither and die in this kind of marriage. No, we think it is up to each person to decide what kind of marriage suits them best. When they find another that they love, they should be honest and discuss their marriage.” John was quite passionate about that. He added, “People’s needs change over time and they should talk about their marriage frequently. If what they are doing isn’t working for them, they should feel free to change it.”

Robert was taken aback by the passion and asked, “You take a rather pragmatic view of this subject. So how would you counsel me on marriage?”

Beth stated, “First, it’s necessary to learn what you expect from it. Do you expect to be the primary wage earner? Do you expect both of you to work? What will you expect when she gets pregnant? There are so many questions that you have to answer. No one else has the answers for you.”

Remembering how upset she had been about the business-like fashion John and Ed had talked about marriage, Kelly preferred to consider the more personal areas. She picked up, “Then before you propose, you need to talk to her about what she expects from the marriage. You also have to tell her what you expect. The important point is that you each have to listen to each other.”

Ed said, “There is a danger to this. You could easily learn that the two of you have very different ideas of what you want to get out of the marriage. If you get married, one of you will be unhappy. A marriage won’t last long if that is the case.”

John nodded his agreement and offered, “However, more often than not you will find that you want the same things out of a marriage. Then it’s time to propose.”

Ling added, “Of course, you’ll always have to talk about the marriage. Are you each getting out of the marriage the things you need? If not, what changes can you make in the marriage to improve the situation?”

Robert listened carefully. He had never had anyone present the process of getting married in this fashion. He realized that most people rushed into marriage making all kinds of assumptions. He wasn’t surprised by the kinds of marriage problems that occurred. As a cop, there was nothing worse than approaching a domestic disturbance. He had often wondered how such people ended up marrying. He gave voice to his thoughts, “I’ve often had to respond to domestic disturbances. Why do you think they are so common?”

Beth answered, “I think it’s because they came into the marriage with unrealistic expectations. When those expectations fail to materialize, then they grow to hate each other. It is disappointment.”

“I think you are right.” Robert looked down at his plate, surprised to find that it was empty. He hardly remembered eating although he did remember loading up his plate with seconds. He said in a voice full of wonder, “Wow, that was a great meal.”

“Thank you,” replied Marguerite. She was filling the table with plates of cupcakes and sliced fruits. All of men reached for the cupcakes at the same time. At the same time, the women reached for the fruits. Everyone realized what happened at the same time and burst out laughing. Marguerite laughed and said, “All of you are so predictable. This job has lost all of its challenge.”

John snickered and said, “Let’s see you make a better soup than that canned stuff we all like so much.”

Marguerite snorted and said, “You ... you ... You drive me crazy!”

Beth smiled at Marguerite and said, “Just ignore that culinary infidel.”

Robert sat back watching the exchange while eating his cupcake. The dessert was delicious. As he watched the interplay among members of the family, it was clear that they really did form a cohesive whole. There was a subtle imbalance that he couldn’t place, but the harmony in the room went far beyond anything he had ever seen.

John asked, “So, Robert, tell me your impressions of our little family.”

“Well, you get along better than any five people I’ve ever met. You have fun together and really know how to communicate with each other.”

Ed noted there was a little something he was holding back. He asked, “And the negative?”

“There is a very slight imbalance here.”

John said, “You are as perceptive as always. We are looking for the right person to bring things back into balance.”

“So do you have any candidates?”

Ed looked around the table seeing that everyone was in agreement. He answered, “Not at the moment.”

Marguerite came out of the kitchen with Greek Coffee. She filled the little cups distributed around the table. John watched her work; she poured each cup carefully making sure that everyone got liquid and not just grinds. John appreciated the aroma of the coffee. She quietly left the room after filling the last cup.