About that time, we heard some music start, and a bit later, Muddy turned to Lucy and asked "Lucy, if Boomer isn't going to ask you to dance, I sure will. Would you like to join me on the dance floor?" – catching her completely off guard. She looked at me, and I nodded, before she told him "Muddy, I'd be delighted". She stood up, and he gently guided her to the dance floor where he guided her around for a couple of slow ones. When he brought her back, he excused himself again, and Lucy watched him leave before telling me "You wouldn't think it from looking at him, but he's incredibly light on his feet – best dancer I've been with in a*long* time!"
I smiled, and said "Oh, I'd believe it. You forget, I served with him, and I know how light he can be. You didn't hear him when he walked up to the table, did you?" – and all three of them got thoughtful looks on their faces.
I excused myself, and headed for the men's room; when I got back, Muddy was there, telling them stories – apparently about me, judging from the looks I got. As I was sitting down, he finished one by saying "So when the Colonel asks us why we blew up the bridge the training brigade used to cross the river, Boomer tells him 'Because it was ugly, sir!'" – earning laughs from all of them – before adding "Cost me a month's pay; but it was sure worth it to see the expression on the Colonel's face!"
Here, I chipped in with "Whatever he's telling you, it's a lie. You can tell cause his lips are moving. It wasn't me, it was my evil twin, Cedric." Robyn and Sandra giggled; Lucy gave me an appreciative look and said "What he's been telling us is what a good guy you are."
"See? That proves my point", I said.
Muddy just grinned at me, and excused himself again.
The girls just looked at me as Lucy said "One of these days, you're going to have to tell me just what it was you*really* did in the Army."
About that time, another waiter showed up with our steaks – the largest, about 12 ounces, to me; the next, perhaps 8 ounces, to Lucy, then a couple of 6-ouncers to Robyn and Sandra. They were still sizzling from the grill, and were accompanied by baked potatoes topped with real bacon bits and cheddar cheese, and salads.
We were left alone while we ate – something that I appreciated, since it meant that I didn't have any distractions from savoring and memorizing every bite I took. I don't know what he did to it, but that was the best steak I'd had in*years* – flavorful, juicy, and actually tender enough to cut with a fork. None of us was interested in conversation – we just wanted to get ourselves wrapped around the food.
About the time we were sitting back from our meal, Muddy turned up again, asking if everything was okay. Lucy and the girls could only stare at him in wonder. I volunteered "Well, it was something of an improvement over barbeque grubs."
Muddy all but fell over, laughing, before explaining to the others "We were out on a mission, and it kinda ran long, so we ran out of food we'd packed along. Pickings were kinda slim, so we finally had to settle for some grubs we'd found in an old, dead tree. Understand, we were ready to eat them, but weren't real happy at the idea, okay?
Boomer, here, he comes up with the idea of trying to do something to add some flavor to them – kinda disguise the taste, right? We all see what we've got to flavor them with, and about the only thing we've got left is some little packets of ketchup, and some pepper. So I mix some extra pepper into the ketchup to kinda make a barbeque sauce, okay? We dump the grubs in, cook the whole mess, and chow down while it's still plenty hot – thinking that if our tongues are scalded, it won't taste so bad. It didn't help much, though. Anyway, after we get back, a bunch of us are out drinking, and get hungry. We wander into this barbeque joint, and Boomer here asks them why there aren't grubs on the menu. They get upset, and we finally wind up in a fight. Ever since then, we need to compare food to something, we say it's better or worse than barbeque grubs."
Lucy and the girls had made a few faces during the story, but were laughing pretty hard there at the end. Even the headwaiter and poor Ricky were smiling, and looking at their boss in a new light.
Muddy gestures at Ricky, and a minute later, Lucy and I have a cup of fresh coffee in front of us; Robyn and Sandra get hot chocolate. Then Muddy says he'll give us a few minutes before he brings out dessert.
Lucy and the girls try to protest, but he just looked at them and smiled before disappearing into the kitchen.
About the time we finished with our drinks, Muddy came out again, Ricky right behind him with a tray. As Ricky put the plates in front of us, I can see that we're getting strawberry cheesecake. Lucy eyes it for a second, then picks up her fork to cut off a bit. She put it in her mouth, chewed once, and her whole face lit up – prompting Sandra and Robyn to follow her example; right down to the smiles of delight. I took a bite, and must have smiled, too – all of them grinned at the expression on my face. It was strawberry cheesecake, all right. With*fresh* strawberries (not in season), and the cheesecake was the lightest, tastiest thing I'd ever had. The next bite came a little faster.
Muddy just sat there, enjoying the expression on our faces as we made short work of the delight he'd provided us. As we were deciding whether or not to lick the plates, Ricky appeared again with more coffee and hot chocolate, distracting us from embarrassing ourselves.
Lucy told him "That was incredible. Can I get the recipe?"
Muddy looked embarrassed (first time I'd ever seen it), and told her, apologetically, "Sorry, Lucy, I just can't do that. But if you'll give me a call, I'll be more than happy to get one to you any time you ask."
Ricky brought Muddy a cup of coffee, and the five of us sat there at the table, chatting about almost nothing of consequence for probably half an hour or more. Finally, though, I knew that we had to leave, if only so that Muddy could try to make*some* money off that table that night. I started to reach for my wallet when I didn't think Muddy was looking. Without moving he said "Boomer, I sure hope you're reaching for a sandwich, cause whatever you pull out of that pocket, you're going to eat it."
"C'mon, Muddy, you know I don't take freebies."
"Ain't no freebie. If anything, I owe YOU. So just put your hands back on the table where I can see 'em, and don't be making any fuss."
"How many times I gotta tell you, Muddy? You don't owe me anything"
Muddy looked at Lucy, and said, "This here is one stubborn dude.
Saves my life, and keeps telling me I don't owe him anything."
Lucy looked at him in surprise and curiosity; Robyn and Sandra just kept switching their stares between Muddy and me, as if waiting for us to fight.
Muddy saw the expression on Lucy's face, and told her "We were out on a mission – the last one we were together, as it turned out. Things got messed up, pretty bad. A mortar round lands kinda close, and messes me up some. Boomer here, he patches me up real quick, before anything serious falls off or slides out, and drags my black ass half a click to our base camp. As if that isn't enough, he's dodging enemy troops, and plugging the rest of the holes in me along the way. I didn't know till later that a mortar fragment hit him in the leg so he could barely walk by himself, never mind dragging me all over hell and gone. Anyway, he gets me back, and then goes out and pulls in a couple of the other guys, too. Man, that was some kinda screwed up mission."
Sandra and Robyn were looking at him, and when he noticed it, rolled up his shirtsleeves to show them a few scars before opening his shirt a little ways and showing them some more, telling them "It looked a lot worse, back then", with a grin.