Meet the characters
Calvin Lafayette
Calvin Lafayette was born and raised in Louisiana. The greatest influence in his life was his grandfather, a handyman who raised Calvin and taught him everything he knew. Calvin joined the Marines during the Second World War, at least partly to escape the restrictions and injustices of the Jim Crow South.
After the war, Calvin was mustered out of the Marines in San Diego and chose to remain in California with his wife, Clara. They have a daughter, Grace. Tall, thin and handsome, he is rarely seen without a warm smile. Calvin works as a cook at Kate’s Diner, but his ambitions reach further. He believes California will give him the kind of life for his family that was not possible when he was a boy.