Chapter Seven - part five

   It didn't seem possible, but another year was over and graduation week had arrived. That brought on a whole new set of challenges for James to deal with. The first of those was the arrival of his parents. Sarah had insisted not only on them coming to her graduation, but also on paying for them to stay at the same hotel where her family was staying. That was the other big challenge. James had never been introduced to her parents. Oh he knew her Uncle Bill. It would have been hard to forget a four star general. However, James wasn't looking forward to meeting Sarah's father any more that he had liked meeting her uncle. In fact he was dreading this meeting even more in some ways. James wasn't sure what he was going to do if her father didn't like him. James was now sure he was in love with Sarah. He still hadn't told her that and she had never said she loved him, but he knew how he felt. The only question left in his mind was how to make it work. Politics and religion were even more taboo than military and religion were. James was still facing a constant battle to maintain his faith without crossing any lines during his time at the Academy. How much harder would it be to avoid those lines if he actually became a part of a political family in addition to being an officer in the military?

   Sarah's parents arrived Thursday evening. James folks arrived Friday morning. James managed to delay any meeting with either family until Friday evening. Sarah had agreed that it would be better for everyone if the first meeting of their parents was on neutral ground. That neutral ground was the home of Richard and Susan Blake. While they had never met Sarah's parents they did know her Uncle Bill. They also knew James parents very well and it wasn't likely that there would be any major problems at their home from anyone. General Davis would also be there with his wife Patricia. Susan Blake had taken to Sarah the minute she saw her and together the two of them had planned out this first meeting. James wasn't certain if it would go according to their plan, things like this seldom did, but at least they had a plan. He had no plan at all for dealing with her parents. It was all he could do to deal with Sarah and the Academy, without involving her parents. James wasn't sure how this would work out, but he knew they had to figure it out before they could go any further with their futures.

   James still didn't have a vehicle at the Hill, but he planned to bring one for the coming year. They had just used Sarah's mustang when they wanted to leave the Hill. Sarah normally drove, but this time she had insisted that James drive them over to the Blake's for dinner. They pulled up and parked out front. Susan and Sarah had this all planned out. James got out and escorted Sarah to the door. Susan met them at the door and escorted them directly into the living room. That was where everybody else was waiting for them to arrive. James saw his father and mother seated on one side of the room with Richard Blake. General Davis and Patricia were seated on the other side of the room. Sarah's parents were already standing and coming forward to greet her and James.

   Senator Robert Davis of Texas was just a bit taller than his older brother General Davis and could have passed for him if he had a little more grey in his hair. He had gone to the Naval Academy at Annapolis and served in the Navy, but had left the Navy once his original commitment was finished. He had been in politics ever since. There had been talk of him running for president each of the last two elections, but so far he had refused to even consider that. His wife Mary Jane (Baker) Davis was shoulder high to him and Sarah was a younger image of her, only with her father's hair. Her mother had light auburn hair and green eyes. Jane went to her daughter, but Senator Davis stepped up to James first. James had been warned this would happen, so he wasn't surprised. He gave him a polite nod, but didn't have an opportunity to do more before the Mary Jane turned and spoke to James.

   "So you are him? I must say that you aren't exactly what I had expected and yet you seem to be exactly what I should have expected. Tall and handsome, though not a pretty boy kind of handsome, someone that doesn't jump out at you, but someone who you keep looking back at." She offered James her hand. He took it and gave her a firm handshake as he replied. "Thank you Mrs. Davis. You flatter me, but I am not much to look at. I have no idea why your daughter ever even looked at me." James might have said more, but her laughter cut him short. Mary Jane spoke to him again. "Well, I can tell you exactly what she sees in you. She sees a man of confidence, conviction, and courage. That is why people will turn to give you a second look and keep looking closer when they do. You can't hide what is inside you. Your eyes give you away." Then she smiled. "I saw the same thing when I saw your father for the first time. You are much like him and yet I think there is something different inside you too." She turned to his parents and continued. "I see why you are so proud of him. He shows remarkable poise and composure for such a young man; in addition to his good looks and manners."

   Robert Davis turned all eyes back to him when he began to chuckle. As James turned his eyes back to him, Robert extended his hand and spoke directly to James. "I am pleased to finally meet you. My daughter has told me a great deal about you and I have been looking forward to seeing such an amazing young man." James grinned and laughed as he shook his hand. Then he replied. "Sir, I wish I could say that she had told me anything about you, but she has said almost nothing about either of you. Honestly, if not for your brother, General Davis, I am not sure I would even have known who you really were. I hope that you won't find me too much of a disappointment, sir."

   Robert nodded but there was no smile on his face as he spoke. "That doesn't surprise me at all. I suspect you have already learned that my daughter is a very formidable young woman. She seems to have acquired a very potent mixture of traits from her family. She has my brother's sense of adventure and his skill at strategic thinking, she has my drive and political skills, but the most potent of all her traits is her beauty and diplomatic skills. Those came from her mother. I learned long ago that my brother could out think me, and my wife could dazzle me and then out maneuver me, but compared to my daughter... I fear they are both almost amateurs. Still that isn't all bad. At least you enjoy it when she defeats you, even if you didn't know you were even fighting until it is already over!"

   Sarah responded. "DADDY, you behave! Mom, please don't let him do this!" Mary Jane just laughed and shaking her head replied. "Sarah, you are lucky your father was willing to wait this long. Now hush. I think your young man finds this amusing." James laughed out loud before he spoke. "Yes Ma'am, I do." Then he turned back to Robert Davis. "Sir, I thank you for letting me know that you understand that I have not only been out planned and out maneuvered, but completely dazzled and disarmed as well. Would it be possible for us to form a temporary alliance, so that at least when we go down we won't go down alone? " 

   That brought a smile and an immediate nod from Robert Davis as he replied while putting his arm around James shoulder. "I think that would not only be an excellent idea, but the best chance we have to get out of this with our hides intact." He had turned them so that they now faced his wife and daughter. James put on his best smile. The two women were both giving them a look that left little doubt as to the danger they were both in with them. Then Mary Jane broke into a broad smile. Shaking her head she stepped forward to take her husband's arm and guide him back towards their seats. She spoke to Sarah as she walked away. "I think that perhaps you should reconsider your plan, Sarah. I think he may be a more skilled politician, diplomat, and strategist than any of us. He certainly diffused that assault and secured his position without ever firing a shot or taking a hit. Perhaps you should just leave this to him. He seems very capable of handling everything... even you!"

   That brought a burst of laughter from General Davis. When they all looked at him he just laughed even harder. Patricia was shaking her head at him, but she was trying very hard not to start laughing too. Susan Blake made no effort to hide her laughter. James felt his face getting hot, so he did the best thing he could think of. He went over to greet his parents, who both looked very amused. After that everyone exchanged greetings and took seats while Susan took Richard in to help her prepare the dining room for the meal. James and Sarah took a seat together. The conversation was pleasant and there were no more undercurrents in it. Mostly his parents did the talking, his father talking to the men and his mother to the women. They answered lots of questions about their lives and family. Often those questions had something to do with James. Sarah also joined in, but James remained silent unless spoken to directly by someone. It seemed to him like everyone was just watching and waiting. The question was... waiting for what?

   It wasn't long before Richard and Susan returned to call them in for dinner. The seating had also been carefully planned. Richard sat at the head of the table with Joshua to his right and Robert to his left. James sat beside his father and General Davis sat beside his brother. Sarah sat beside James with Patricia sitting directly across the table beside her husband. His mom sat beside Patricia with Sarah's mother seated directly across the table from her. Susan sat at the other end of the table. It was almost humorous to James. Women at one end of the table and men at the other and yet that wasn't the real purpose of the seating. It was fathers facing across the table at one end with, mothers facing at the opposite end, while James and Sarah were seated side by side between both set of parents.  James had to admit Susan and Sarah seemed to have thought of everything. As usual Susan had outdone herself on the meal as well. It was a meal fit for a king. Richard asked Joshua to say the blessing before they ate.

   Once that was finished and everyone had been served Sarah's dad took control of the conversation immediately. He had barely looked at his plate yet, when he spoke to James. "Your father did a wonderful job with the blessing James, very short and direct, yet heartfelt as well.  It seems that this would be a perfect time for me to ask you about your own personal standing on religion. I understand it has been the source of more than a few, shall we say incidents since your arrival at the Academy." Nobody said a word. James could feel the sudden tension in the air and from the corner of his eye he saw Sarah stiffen.  This had clearly not been expected by her or anyone else. Even Mary Jane was frowning as she looked at her husband. James had hoped this would come up later, but he had known it would eventually have to come up. He was prepared.

   He smiled and spoke quickly before anyone could recover and say or do something to make the situation worse than it already was. "Actually I am glad you want to talk about my religion, sir. Most people consider me to be a very religious man, but I am not." That made eyebrows rise around the entire table. James continued with only a slight pause. "You see, I consider myself to be faithful rather than religious. While I do practice a religion and that is Baptist, that isn't the focus of my belief. Religions are created by man, and like man all religions are flawed. But faith, faith is created by God. Faith was perfect, but man can even make a mess of faith, if left to his own devices. I am a Christian and faith in Christ is my only true belief. I pursue the pure, perfect faith of God. I guess that would be my definition of my own personal religion." James dropped his head as he shook it slowly. Then he looked directly at Robert Davis before he continued. "Yes, I guess my faith or my religion if you prefer has caused more than a few incidents since I came here. Honestly, I would have much rather avoided those incidents, but I couldn't do that. There were only two ways to avoid the conflicts. I could have left or I could have forsaken my faith and with it my God. Neither of those was acceptable to me. Sir, I came here to serve my country, but I made the choice to serve my God long before I did that. As His servant, I must be willing to stand upon my faith while serving both my nation and my God."

   The table was quiet after James finished speaking.  You could have heard a pin drop. James held the eyes of Sarah's father with his own. After a moment her father gave a slight nod of the head to James and looking towards Joshua spoke. "Mr. Cooper, sorry, Joshua you have done a fine job of raising your son. I doubt that I could have asked the Pope that question and received a clearer or more convincing answer. I can see now why there have been incidents concerning his religion." He chuckled and looked at James. "Sorry, I should have said your faith. I must say you seem to have been well prepared for that question. I am certain my family wasn't. As a matter of fact, I am certain that Mary Jane and Sarah will both have a few choice words for me about it tonight." He smiled over at his wife as he said that. Then looking back to James he continued. "I was given very specific instructions concerning what we could discuss over dinner. Religion wasn't on the list."

   James laughed as he spoke. "That is too bad. I am more at ease when talking about my faith than most things. It is the most certain thing in my life. I have no doubt or fear when talking about it among friends." Robert Davis laughed and raised his glass in a silent toast to James before he replied. "I yield the table. I promise I will bring up nothing else that wasn't on the approved topics list. I believe we are indeed surrounded by friends around this table. We should both call a cease fire and enjoy a 'friendly' meal together. Mary Jane the floor is yours. Work your magic and smooth over any feathers I have ruffled once again." That brought soft laughter from everyone. The meal did indeed proceed smoothly after that. Though James had a distinct feeling Sarah was going to show her father more than ruffled feathers when they were alone. James and Sarah were the first to leave that evening. They both wanted to be back at the Academy early. This was going to be a very long week for Sarah. She would be spending most of the weekend with her parents, but tonight she had wanted to have a night away.

   She was furious and delighted at the same time about how things had gone. She finally agreed to not blow up at her dad about his question about religion. James wasn't sure she actually wouldn't, but she told him she wouldn't. They talked about the evening and the days ahead before separating to get some sleep. James knew that the interrogation was far from over, but he felt better about things. That was mostly due to the changes he saw in his parents over the evening. He didn't know Sarah's parents, so it was hard to be sure of how they were feeling about things. He had seen his parents slowly relaxing and actually beginning to enjoy the evening. That made James more confident that everything would all work out. It might take a good bit of time and he knew he would have to talk to Robert Davis alone before it was settled. That was to be expected. Sarah was still his little girl, even if she was a grown woman and about to start her career as an Air Force officer. James would remain a threat to that little girl until proven otherwise.