Epilogue, Part 1
It was a typical family dinner, lots of discussion, opposing thoughts and surprising announcements. While they were eating dessert Danny described one of his cases this past week down in Little Vietnam. He talked about the great sandwiches the store had and that his partner made an astonishing declaration - she had never had a pickle. No one believed him but he insisted. He even went so far as to pull out his phone and call Maria and put the conversation on speakerphone.
"Danny, we're not catching today, what could you possibly need me to do?"
"Well, we're all here at the table and I was telling everyone the little detail you let slip out and no one believes me. Would you please repeat what you told me about pickles?"
"You called me about that? I was in the middle of a really enjoyable chapter in the book I'm reading, and you disturbed me for that? Are you nuts?"
"No, but no one in the room believes me and wants to verify that you have led a deprived upbringing. You do know that's almost Unamerican. Now, just say it and we can end the call and you can go back to your book. Unless you want to hear us while we eat dessert. Homemade pie and ice cream."
"Not fair Reagan, '' said Maria."
"I could bring you some, if you want…"
"What kind of pie is it?"
"Apple with some nice, rich, vanilla ice cream on top."
"Okay, Reagan, you've got a deal. As Danny told you, I have never eaten a pickle and don't know why anyone would eat pickles. Even though he offered to share his sandwich with me, I told him I'd rather bite him than eat a pickle."
Laughter ensued and Danny blushed. He took his phone off speaker and said "I'm gonna hang up now so you can't hear the razzing I'm getting." He stood up and left the table. "I'll call when I leave here with your pie and ice cream so you can make some coffee if you don't mind. I won't be here much longer."
"That sounds great, I'll see you soon. Sorry if…"
"You embarrassed me?"
"You know I wouldn't have said what I did, especially about biting you."
"That's okay, but they will never forget it so expect to hear that a few times over the next few months. Stay warm, I'll be there soon. It's a great way to end my week. Bye." He hung up and returned to the dining room.
"So, I was thinking we could have a whole meal of different sandwiches from the place in Little Vietnam. I think the owner would do a great job. The sandwich I had was great. Some of the food can be a bit spicy but I can ask him to hold back a bit. Maybe do this in two or three weeks?"
"That would give us two to three weeks to get ready,'' said Frank. "Sounds like a plan. Erin's packing up your pie and ice cream and Jamie and Eddie will drop Sean off at school. Enjoy, Danny. See you next week?"
"Thanks, everyone. See you next week." Danny walked off with dessert for two.
As promised, Danny called Maria when he left the family home and was almost at her house. He parked his car and ran up the walk to the front door. She had been watching for him and had the door open before Danny could ring the doorbell. "Okay, where's my pie and ice cream?" asked Maria.
"Hello to you, partner. Let me in and I'll give you your reward." He came inside and took his bundle into the kitchen. Maria got out plates, forks, and a spoon for the ice cream. Cups were waiting to be filled so Danny filled them. They took their mugs and plates into the living room and settled on the sofa.
"Oh, this is so good, thank you for bringing this to me. I might have to reward you after I finish."
"And what did you have in mind," asked Danny. He was almost finished with his pie and ice cream and was about to start drinking his coffee.
"I'm sure I can come up with something suitable, after all you came all the way over here to share this with me. Now let me think, what would you like? Hmmm, I think I know." She reached for the TV remote and found the channel she wanted. "Game is about to start; can I get you anything else?"
"No, just let me get the dishes into the kitchen and then I'll show you what I want. More coffee? he asked.
"I don't think so, I might not sleep tonight and then I'd have to call out. But, hurry, you don't want to miss the opening tip off." Danny rinsed off the dirty dishes, stopped in the bathroom and then rejoined his partner on the sofa.
"That's better," he said when he sat down again. "Now, I can enjoy the game." He pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and then pulled his partner in close. He covered both of them and leaned back. "Thank you, Maria. This is my favorite part of today. Being here, with you snuggled up close and a game on TV." He planted a kiss on her head. "And if I fall asleep, be sure to wake me up so I can head home."
Epilogue part 2, two weeks later
It's the beginning of the work week and Danny and Maria are reviewing cases from the weekend. There was nothing unusual other than the number of cases seemed to have gone down. Maria was reviewing the final numbers when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number right away but answered anyway. "Detective Baez" and she listened for a moment. "No, sir, I'm just reviewing cases that came in over the weekend. The numbers seem to be down a bit which is good and there's nothing extraordinary about the cases. How can I help you, sir?" She listened again and then checked her calendar. "Sir, that sounds fine, I look forward to seeing everyone again." She listened again and laughed. "Yes, sir, I'll be sure to tell him. And thank you for the pie and ice cream. It was delicious. See you next week. Bye."
Danny was staring at his partner. She looked at him knowing he wanted to know who that was on the phone. It became a staring contest until Lieutenant Gee called for them. Afterward, while walking back to their desks Danny finally broke down, "Who was that on your phone, my father?"
"No, it was the police commissioner inviting me to dinner this weekend. Says you have something special planned. Care to fill me in?"
"Not yet but I'm sure it will be great. It will be nice to have someone on my side at the table. I've finished my files, are you ready to bring your files?"
"Yes, let's go make his day!" They gathered all the files and carried them to the lieutenant's office glad to be done with this onerous task. Now, perhaps, they could tackle some real police work.
The week flew by faster than normal. Danny spent each afternoon perusing the options in different restaurants but decided on the one he had already tried. His final choices included two different appetizers, a vegetarian summer roll and a shrimp and pork summer roll. He would offer three different sandwiches that included beef with lemongrass, curry chicken and a vegetarian option. Dessert would be a choice of corn pudding, taro pudding or mango cake. And a large salad would also be on the table. Danny called the owner, Bao Pham, and arranged to pick up his choices after church on Sunday. Jamie and Eddie would bring Maria from church and Maria was assigned to bring wine. She picked a deep, full flavored red that she had discovered recently and hoped it would complement the meal.
Church seemed to drag on for Maria. Her anxiety was getting worse; she was sure Danny was planning something she would never eat but would he subject his family to something like that? After an interminable period, communion was finished, and the Monsignor was giving the final blessing. The family stood and waited their turn to greet the Monsignor on their way out of the building. The family split up into the various cars with Sean electing to help Danny pick up the food he had ordered. Everyone else headed to the family home to prepare for the repast.
Danny arrived and Erin volunteered to help him get the meal ready. Although it took less than ten minutes, to Maria it seemed to be hours. The family gathered and took their normal places. Jack, Erin's ex-husband, was joining them as he had also never tried this cuisine. Jamie, Eddie, Erin, and Jack were on Frank's right side while Maria, Danny and Sean were on his left side. Before eating Henry asked what everyone knew about pickles and the pickling process. No one present knew why people had been using pickling for over one hundred years. Henry described the processes used as a method of food preservation before there was refrigeration in most homes. The homemaker would process fruits and vegetables when the harvest was collected so the family would have food during the time that food was not grown in the winter in this area. Meat typically was either smoked or salted to preserve it and last through when hunting wasn't done. At last, it was time to eat. Grace had been said and Danny explained what each plate contained. Maria took small portions of each item and tried each selection.
"We'll start with the appetizers; we have vegetarian summer roll or Bo Bia Chay and shrimp and pork summer roll or Goi Cuon. The sandwiches I chose are curry chicken or Banh Mi Cari Ga, beef with lemongrass or Banh Mi Bo Xa, and a vegan sandwich or Banh Mi Chay. Everyone, dig in."
Danny watched very closely to see Maria's response to the various choices. "Danny, this shrimp and pork roll is really good, the vegan roll is okay. The beef option was really good, the chicken was a bit spicy and the vegetable one was not my favorite. And now, I must apologize. Pickles are not so bad after all. But where my family came from, we didn't have a problem with growing food year-round, so we weren't concerned with preserving food for winter. Thank you for getting me to try something new. How does everyone else feel?" Frank enjoyed all the choices along with the wine while everyone else had mixed feelings about the spicier items. Henry enjoyed all three sandwiches but the appetizers he probably wouldn't order. Sean loved everything and had plans to add this cuisine to his dining options while at school. Maria and Erin cleared away the remains and packed it up for another meal. Erin made coffee while Maria removed the desserts from the refrigerator.
Once the coffee had perked, they brought dessert to the table. Danny again told everyone what the items were. "The first item is a sweet corn pudding called Che Bap, a taro pudding called Che Khoai Mon and a mango cake called Banh Xoai. Coffee is our traditional coffee; I wasn't sure we were ready to try Vietnamese coffee yet. Over there, coffee is a way of life beyond what we have. Enjoy."
Everyone tried each of the desserts and along with the coffee and their conversations continued for another hour. Everyone seemed to enjoy the corn pudding and the Mango cake but not the taro pudding. Sean asked what taro was and Maria was able to explain how it was used in Hawaii and how it was a staple item there. Most visitors to the islands felt as the family did about taro.
Maria and Jack had been delegated to do the final cleanup with Henry's help. He would supervise while Maria and Jack did the actual work. This gave Maria a chance to learn something about the ex-brother-in-law who was trying to get his spot back. He and Erin had taken a few short trips together, would frequently have dinner together and were planning a week-long trip out to San Francisco to spend time with their daughter. Henry declared the work completed and they went off to find the rest of the family. Danny, Jamie, and Sean were watching a game while Frank, Erin and Eddie were talking shop in the living room. Maria decided to watch the game while Henry and Jack joined the other group.
Once the game ended Danny had Sean get his things together so he could take his son back to school and Maria back to her home. Sean asked for and received some leftovers to help reduce costs. They packed up Sean, his laundry and leftovers and headed for his school dormitory. Getting Sean settled in his room only took moments and Danny and Maria were on their way back to her home.
"Danny, thank you for today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be with the different cuisine, and we can even go there for lunch occasionally. But, for me, I really felt like a member of your family tonight. And it's a great feeling. One I haven't had for a long time." She waited till the car was stopped at a traffic light. Then she leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Drive a little faster, Danny, please? So, I can thank you more properly."
"Yes, dear, whatever you want…"