Irish pt. LI
We head over to Ramona's RV.
"Now what's this? Pete Moss got hit by a car?" says YoYo.
"Yes, yes, yes. He's in General Hospital on Potrero. That's all I know. He called me. He's hurt, but he's alive!" says Ramona.
"Well what about his family?" I say.
"He doesn't have any family! I'm his family!"
"What do you want us to do?" says YoYo.
"We have to bring him to San Diego so I can take care of him!" says Ramona.
"What?!" I say.
"You really think you can do a better job of taking care of him than the trauma professionals at General Hospital?" says YoYo.
"Of course I can!" says Ramona.
"In this RV?" I say.
"No. Of course not. We need to rent a house. In National City or Chula Vista," says Ramona.
YoYo and I look at each other.
"That sounds really costly," I say.
"I have money," says Ramona.
"OK. So how do we get Pete Moss to San Diego? How bad is he hurt?"
"Some broken ribs. A concussion, nothing serious. We drive to SF and pick him up in this RV."
Ramona is calming down. She realizes that it will take some planning and coordination to get done what she wants done.
"This thing will make it to SF and back?" asks YoYo.
"How about we fly to SF and rent an RV up there?" says Ramona
YoYo and I again lock eyes. A thought passes between us: 'Ramona is really crazy about this dude.'
"There is money for this?" I say.
"Of course there is. I've been hoarding money for twenty years," says Ramona.
"Let me talk to her," says YoYo, to me.
"Good luck," I say.
YoYo and Ramona step out of the RV. They're gone for maybe ten minutes.
When they come back I look at YoYo.
"Ramona and I are going to SF and rent a brand new RV and drive Pete Moss to San Diego. You will stay here and hold the fort 'til we get back," says YoYo.
"Am I supposed to be looking for a place to rent in the South Bay?"
"No. We'll do that when we get back," says Ramona. "Right now we need a ride to the airport."
So I give Ramona and YoYo a ride to the airport.
They're gone four days and it's kind of peaceful while they're gone.
But then they're back.
Pete Moss is black and blue and hobbly. But he is oddly energized.
We get him transferred to Ramona's RV and then go to return the rental to some place in Oceanside.
Ramona wants Pete to stay in bed but when we start up a Scrabble game he gets out of bed and insists on playing.
It's a four person game so the tiles run out fast. I do manage to get in a question that's been bugging me.
"So what happened?" I say.
"Pffft. It was the weirdest thing. I was out in the Ingleside. I went for a soak at the hot tub at my gym. On Ocean Avenue, by Plymouth, by the library there?"
Pete assumes we have an exact picture of this obscure neighborhood in our minds. Like everybody who's anybody knows every square inch of San Francisco.
"By City College on Phelan?" says YoYo.
"Yeah, two blocks west from Phelan," says Pete. "I went into the liquor store to get a beer. I come out. I slip the beer in my courier bag. I get on my bike. I ride off. I go to cross Ocean Boulevard and this car comes out of nowhere."
"A drunk driver?"
"I don't think so. I heard him gun the motor. Then he comes right at me. It was like, on purpose."
"Oh god!!" says Ramona. "You are not going back to that insane place ever again!"
"Drive the RV to SF and pick him up. He can lay in the bed in the back while we drive him down here."
Larry and Desiree are back from Big Bear. They wound up staying a week.
Larry looks at Pete. "You go into a fight with brick wall and the brick wall won?" says Larry.
"A car. A Peugeot," says Pete.
"What are you doing in San Diego?" says Larry.
"Pete and I are moving in together," says Ramona.
"Ah shit!" says Larry.
The next day Ramona walks over to the trolley and hops the green line. She's gone all day.
When she gets back she has a bag full of brochures.
"These are all for downtown condo buildings," says YoYo.
"I thought you wanted to rent a house in South Bay?" I say.
"Yeah, I thought about it. But then I was downtown and this one building was having an open house and I toured a couple of units. There was a two bedroom jobbie on the 35th floor. It has a balcony. We could put a grill out there. Pete loves to grill. There's a really spectacular view. The agent says you can see Catalina on a clear day. The building has a pool and a hot tub, that will be good for Pete to recuperate..."
"Whoa whoa. Don't those downtown condo towers get like three grand a month for a two bedroom?" says YoYo.
"Yeah and aren't there dickhead HOA boards spying on you and dictating every move you make? They might not even let you put a grill on the balcony..." I say.
"It will just be a little grill. Nobody will notice." says Ramona.
Pete comes out of the back bedroom.
"Hi sweetheart," he says.
Ramona goes up to him and gives a hug and they get all smoochy. Then Ramona says: "Look what I got!" and shows Pete the brochures.
Pete looks at the brochures. "What are these for?" he says.
"For us. So we can move in together."
"Move in together? When. I mean...Aren't I going back to SF as soon as I'm healed up?"
"You are not! You're staying here with me in San Diego!"
Pete looks at me. Gives me one of those 'Help me out here bro' looks.
"The lady sounds pretty determined," I say, with a shrug.
"What you going to do with the RV?" says YoYo.
"I dunno, you want it?" says Ramona.
"Betchor ass!" says YoYo, without a split second hesitation.
"And you can give Yoda your van," says Ramona.
"Hold on there!" I say. "That's my van. You can't tell a man to get rid of his truck just like that."
"You don't have to get rid of it. Just let Yoda live in it while we live in the RV. C'mon, look at this thing! It's a palace. We'd be mobile dweller royalty in this thing!" says YoYo.
Things are moving awful fast.
"Why do we need two bedrooms for?" says Pete.
"I want to use one of them for a study. I've been thinking of writing another book," says Ramona. "I mean, if I can some place to publish it that's not all high pressure literary razzle dazzle."
"Ya know...."
"What?" says Ramona.
"I know a guy? named Wil Forbis. Runs a little website. Might be what you're looking for."