Milton then said to me, “Doug, you want in on this?” and Fielding said, “Doug can’t be in on this, Milton. We’ve got three wagers on three men. What is Doug going to do, bet on Herbert and Patrick?”

“Oh, yes. You’re right.”

Fielding suggested, “Doug can hold the pot. Is that all right with you, Doug?”

“Sure.”

“Everyone give Doug twenty dollars.”

In this way I came into a modest short-term loan. I tucked the money into my billfold for safekeeping. By then we had made it, our little group, to the oak table and dinner, and so it was time for us to go separate directions in search of assigned seats. What I mean is that Milton, Pierce, and Fielding all went one way, while I headed another through the crowd.

This then was that part of the evening when we all came together as a family at last around one table.

As always before dinner, Jeremiah was directing traffic and losing his patience when people neglected to sit, or refused to sit, where the seating chart required.