Chapter 31

I grinned. “Thanks, Ma.”

“For?”

“For calling me a young person, finally.” I pushed the covers completely off. “So I guess I’m off to Big Sur then. Monroe is already asking around down there and hopefully staying out of trouble. If Bing really is still there, then that’s where I need to be as well.”

“We,” she said before jumping off the bed to retrieve her coffee.

“We what?” I asked, hungrily eying her mug. Or thirstily, as was the case.

“We are going to Big Sur,” she told me, and rather emphatically. “We’re already into this shit up to our elbows; might as well go all the way to our chins.”

“Your poetry has taken a turn for the scatological, Ma,” I told her, with a frown. “Doesn’t paint a pretty picture.” I pointed to my noggin.

“Be that as it may,” she said, “get dressed, get packed, Dad is already out walking Chompers.”

“I’m confused.”

She downed her coffee, not even bothering to offer me a sip. “Seems like a trend, Jack,” she said. “But what are you confused about now?”