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After Jerome left the house with Dr. Gillis, Vera visited Chuck's
bedside. If only she could think of a way to help her granddaughter. She would go
look for Charlie, herself, but she couldn't drive. If Jerome and the police refused
to search, Vera felt there was little more that she could do but to hope and wait.
Brisk, Autumn wind whipped into the open windows of the Clark Plumbing Service and
Supply van as it began its return trip from a job in Palm Springs.
Mike turned the van onto the highway back to Twin Yucca. Usually, Adam drove, but
the bandages on his right hand made it difficult for him to hold onto the wheel.
Beside Mike sat Adam, silently comforting himself with the thought that the last
of the bandages would come off the next day, for Mike's driving always made him a
little apprehensive. Mike sped up a little as he changed lanes to pass a car.
"Slow down, Mike," instructed Adam. "I'd like to reach home in one
piece." Mike adjusted his speed. He always thought his uncle drove too slowly,
but that was Adam-- never in a rush to get where he was going.
Chad sat in the passenger seat beside Adam, hanging his head out the open window,
taking in the cool desert air. When Chad had learned that his uncle and brother were
going into Palm Springs on a job later that day, he ran straight from school when
it let out, and jumped into the van just as it was pulling away. The nine year old
frequently tagged along on these drives, for he loved the company of Adam and Mike,
(though he would be the last to admit it out loud).
"This cloud cover is a good sign," observed Mike, noting the thick white
clouds that were casting their shadows onto the wide-open landscape of the Mojave
Desert.
"How so?" asked Adam.
"The cows are facing East today," Chad piped up.
"Clouds don't have a face," contradicted Adam, groggily.
"I wouldn't say that. If cows have their backs to the West, then it's a given
that they must be facing East," disagreed Mike.
"Yesterday, they were facing the other direction," said Chad, knowingly.
"The clouds or the cows?" asked Adam, half conscious.
"Clouds, of course. La Nina has a lot to do with it," Mike explained.
"Yesterday, the wind was blowing from the West," added Chad.
"See what I mean?" said Mike.
"I don't see any cows," disagreed Adam, opening his eyes long enough to
glance outside the window.
"La Nina affects the clouds every day, whether we notice it or not," continued
Mike.
"Which does it affect-- the clouds or the cows?" asked Adam. "Make
up your mind!"
"Cows always face against the wind, you know," explained Chad.
"Both," answered Mike.
"A cow cannot face two directions at the same time," informed Adam. "It's
physically impossible." |
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