* * *
After the boys had finished with
class and Mr. Montgomery left late about one p.m., the boys helped Rosa and Yolanda
finish fixing lunch. Yolanda had put on a big pot of Tex-Mex
chili early that morning, and the boys except for Carl cut up
vegetables and lettuce for a side salad and poured drinks of
choice. William sliced up a couple loaves of French bread.
Carl didn't help with lunch because it was his turn to feed Casey. After he warmed the bottle of formula, he
gently picked the baby up out of Rosa's rocking cradle and sat in a
kitchen chair holding him. Removing his pacifier and positioning the bottle the way Kevin
had taught him, he fed the child as he crooned to him in a sing-song
voice.
"Don't sing to the kid," Mark Carson told Carl, peering over the boy's shoulder. "You'll give him gas."
"Shutup," Carl said.
"Seriously, you'll give him the colic," Mark said.
"Don't talk to me. I mean it."
Casey was hungry, and emptied most of the bottle over the next few minutes.
Carl shifted the child to his shoulder, towel in place on it, patting his
back until Casey let go with a good, healthy burp and was ready to
sleep again. Kneeling,
Carl put him back in the rocking cradle, gave him his pacifier again, kissed his head, and covered
him up. Mission accomplished.
By then the other boys had the chili dished up and put on the dining
room table along with the salad, bread and drinks. Everyone gathered
around the table, and Catherine asked Carl to offer thanks. The
grace he offered was, in its way, a reiteration of what Catherine, Ian
and Mary had been saying to one another earlier in the study.
"Father, we thank you for Casey, the new life we have in our house. We
ask your blessing upon him and upon all of us, especially our brother
Berto right now. We're grateful for all who care for
us and love us. Help us to do the same for others as we receive
this food with thanks to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
They all made the sign of the cross, and Carl seated Catherine and Ian seated Mary.
"Good one, dude!" William said to Carl about his prayer, giving him a dap. "Thanks."
They began eating, the boys talking back and forth.
After she had a few bites of chili, Catherine got up and went out to the breakfast nook, where Yolanda and Rosa were eating.
"Yolanda," she said, "the chili is really good! Thanks for
fixing it for us today. And thank you for moving here with us and
helping Rosa and all of us out. We really appreciate it."
"De nada, Dr. MacKenzie," Yolanda said. "I happy to be
busy again. This is good family. Too much work for Rosa
alone, so I help."