Chapter 61

Alice was full of information so I let her talk ... Let? I tried ... but ... I gave up, So, Naomi learned all about turning over a cat ... and why they fly when the wind is high. She learned that the sunk one eighty was buoyant when the 25 tons of deadweight was removed.

We learned that the school pool was where the boys are ... unless they’re out west at the lakes. April learned that Flintkote Industries worked a lot of truck gardens and hired Mexicans ... and Naomi was a second generation American.

A Truck Garden: vegetables by the truck load for sale to green grocers. Second Generation American: Grandparents who may or may not be illegal.

Evidently I’m an enabler. All that land I bought in the Twenties needed growers, irrigators and harvesters. My managers weren’t fussy about where the growers, irrigators and harvesters came from.

Listening to Naomi, I was beginning to see my employees were abusing my employees.

Auntie Mom not only hired illegals ... she swiped them from ICE ... and paid her illegals well enough that they bought the business. Instead of being deported ... they were business people ... and well respected in all of west Michigan. I expect Maria Braganza will be Mayor of Pentwater ... eventually ... and maybe congresswoman ... or whatever the Princess calls them. Maria Braganza knows organization.

I learned a lot from Naomi. My mind list required me to look in to the manner of which my managers managed. I needed lawyers and enforcement ... law enforcement.

The 9 o’clock rush started and Naomi had to go back to work.

Well ... today didn’t sound like much fun. We couldn’t go to the Uni pool ... we were already there testing. We couldn’t ride the 18 bus. We couldn’t go home ... We couldn’t go to Bud ... we were testing.

“We need a car,” I said. “A pretty good car. No rentals.”

“Generally,” Alice said. “Can’t rent a car until you are 25 ... no matter how many credit cards you have.”

“Bye, Naomi.”

She waved.

Up against the wall by the entrance was a bunch of free magazine racks ... mostly Real-estate offerings. But ... Auto Trader had a rack in with them. It was huge. So ... back inside, another round of coffee and two copies of the car rag.

If one wishes to be anonymous, one purchases a white or off-white four-door ... probably of foreign extraction. Texans buy Ford. Not a foreign car.

So ... we looked through the Ford section. We both found it at the same time.

“Here’s an interesting car.” Alice and I said ... like twins.

She showed me hers ... I showed her mine. Same car.

FOR SALE (Five black and white photos: left, right, rear, front and engine) Recent circumstances forces sale of beloved family Volvo 544. Extensive body off restoration ... looks new. Ford 9 inch rear-end. S10 six speed trans. 302 Cleveland. Tuck and roll interior. Looks stock ... beats Corvettes. Truckload of NEW parts, includes truck. 21 thousand. A phone number.

I called.

“Yes, I still have it.”

“We’re on bicycles ... how do we get there?”

“Where are you?”

“Whataburger.”

“Which one?”

“Near Tillery.”

“Tillery south to East 17th. Right on 17th. The car is in the drive. If you’re interested. Ring the bell.”

The yard needed mowing. We bought the car ... mowed the yard. She opened the garage door, drove out a 1934 Ford Tudor sedan, took us to the regional DMV ... transferred the title ... we bought plates ... Alice paid. I wasn’t old enough.

She took us to the Travis County Tax office and paid her back taxes.

Back at her house, we unloaded her nearly packed trailer and hauled it all in the house, she shook our hands and said, “Shoo.”

We shooed.

“Alice?”

“Tyche?”

“Do you feel like we just pissed a developer off?”

“Yup.”

We high fived,

“That was a sweet old lady.”

“Yup, now ... what are we going to do today?”

“I’m hot and sweaty ... Lake?”

“Water Park!”

“Whee!”