Chapter 28

Alice Olsen ... hey ... I had to ask to find out who she is ... Alice. Alice and I suffered through a winter in Pentwater ... on The Lake. That makes us natives. We didn’t run away. Alice didn’t run away because the boat needed work and I stay with Auntie Mom.

Three days of eating at The Antler is enough time for Frank and Ernie to learn our names ... If Old Frank and Old Ernie greet us by name ... that makes Pentwater denizens and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Alice and I are on first name basis with the card players. Mr and Mrs Olsen aren’t.

Next I had to explain my family. I hate doing that ... I get ‘looks.’ Depending on the person ... I might hear, “You poor thing,’ or ‘No ... really?”

Alice said, “Australian?”

And I said, “Yup.” “And New Zealander.”

And as a realization of Geography as taught in North America... “Aren’t they same thing?”

“Huh?”

Ma and Pa Olsen enrolled the Olsen twins in classes appropriate to their age. Seventh grade.

Pentwater is a small school ... like I mentioned ... the business owners abandon the place as soon as the season is over. The poor working folks are stuck in the snow. In the summer ... Pentwater’s population is in the neighborhood of eight thousand people ... in the winter she boasts a tick over eight hundred.

Of a Saturday, I asked Alice if she still wanted a boat.

“You mean ... of my own?”

“Yup.”

“I do,” and she hugged me.

“It just so happens ... I have an extra 3.7 kit and I’m at a stopping place with the Pitts.” I said, “let’s build you a boat.”

My stopping place was Verner ... I was ‘on the list’ for an engine but not in front. And I wanted a seven ... not a five. One hundred and twenty horsepower was kinda wimpy for a Pitts but I was young and wasn’t planing on air racing ... just flying upside down once in a while. If I could have done it with my DR-1 I wouldn’t be building the Pitts.

“Alice,” I said. “There are two groups of people in town who have the tools we need to build your boat.”

“Surprise ... and?”

“The Hispanics in the basement of the old department store.”

Alice said, “There are a lot of them, mostly in elementary school.”

This is true ... the elementary wing was top heavy with light brown skinned children. There were 100 families ... give or take a few ... tho were responsible for two hundred of ‘em ... not a few were ‘promising’ young girls. I predict the next 10 years were going to be interesting.

“The Hispanics will want ‘rent,’” I said.

Alice made that ‘say it’ motion with her hand.

“Surprise will want to help.”

“And that’s bad?”

“She’s picky.”

“No cuts ... long or short?”

“Yup ... it’s right or start over.”

“What happens when your Scarlett Seven finally gets here?”

“I’m back to building the Pitts ... and you’ll be working with mom.” I paused. “I’m not on the very bottom of the list ... but I’m about 30 out from delivery. They’ll let me know.”

“Mom ... I choose mom.”