Page 41 of Code Violation

FIFTEEN

Forrest – Saturday afternoon

Forrest liked having Nero in the passenger seat. It felt right. He was almost as proud of the truck as he was the farm.

Painted a dark purple, the truck even had wooden slats along the bed. Purple Phaze Farm was painted in a funky font across the doors. As a final touch, the tops of the L and the H were lavender fronds in different stages of bloom.

“This is damn cool,” Nero commented, running his hand across the dashboard. “Original radio too, wow.”

“Thanks.” Forrest grinned over at him. “It’s my pride and joy.” He patted the steering wheel. “But I did just buy a 1963 GMC Greyhound bus. It has an incredible custom paint job, almost magical. Sea creatures, mermaids, all this underwater shit. Blues, pinks, and purples. It even runs. I can’t wait to get it over here.”

With everything that had happened, Forrest hadn’t had a chance to make plans to pick it up yet.

“What are you going to do with a bus?” Nero asked. “Your farm isn’t big enough for a driving tour, is it?”

“Nah.” Forrest turned left onto the highway and began heading south back into town. “I might turn it into a shop though. The kiosk is great and I’ll keep it, but I want to sell other stuff too. Might put an espresso machine in it, maybe have some seating for customers. It’s a behemoth.”

“I’d love to see it.”

For a mile or so, they were both quiet, Forrest feeling guilty as they passed Levi’s place. He didn’t know what Nero was thinking about.

“It’s a shame about Cooper Mansion,” Nero said, breaking the silence. “Have you ever been inside it? I know it was donated to the city in the 1980s.”

“Yeah, that’s a no fucking thank you very much. Gramps forbade it.”

“And I can tell you always listened to what he had to say. Why didn’t he want you inside there?”

Forrest didn’t have an answer. Ernst Cooper had never lived there himself, his father having moved out before he was born.

“You’ve got me there. But the mansion was one place I at least stayed away from. Maybe other kids, the ones who had baby teeth before being told scary stories, checked it out.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Dina believed in scaring the shit out of me.”

“Can I ask you something?” Nero asked.

“You just did.”

“Ha, ha.”

“Go ahead.”

“You seem to only refer to your mother by her first name, not Mom or Mother. Is that your preference or was it hers? Was Witt the same?”

“I called Witt ‘Papa.’ Dina insisted on her first name and by the time Lani and I moved in with Grandpa, it was just how I knew her.”

“Did Lani call Dina mom?”

“We don’t talk about her much, but I guess sometimes. Why?”

A quick glance told him Nero was staring out at the glimpses of ocean that could be seen through the stands of trees. “It’s just odd, comparatively. Most kids use Mom, Dad, whatever.”

“Dina certainly wasn’t most parents.”

“Doesn’t sound like it. Let’s stop at the library first. I want to see what R. Fernsby has to say.”

“Sorry, no can do. I was banned from the library when I was fourteen.”

---