Heartbreak Highway 1 Read Free Page A

both of them caught up in the silent thoughts of a crazy old man who had made both of their lives bearable for so long.
    * * *
    When the kids were gone, Vierra shuffled his walker over to the door in the far corner of his office. He pushed it open and said,
    “They’re gone.”
    The man who had been hiding inside stepped out and said, “It looks like they bought it, huh?”
    “It looks that way; I hope you know what you’re doing.”
    “Oh lighten up; this’ll be an adventure they’ll never forget.”
    “But when they’re done, will they ever speak to you again?”
    The other man shrugged and said, “It was a chance I had to take. Those two kids belong together. I could tell ‘em that, but it won’t work unless they both see it for themselves. Ain’t nothin’ better than a road trip to put things in perspective.”
    Vierra shook his head again and said, “This is your ruse, Henry, I guess you’ve thought it through. By the way, whose ashes are they picking up?”
    Henry looked sad and then he said, “Granny’s. She always wanted to be buried in California. I was too selfish to let her go so far from me when she died, so I had her cremated and kept her captive. As long as the kids are going on the road to discovery, they can set Granny free for me at the same time.”

Chapter 3
    M arshall and Eva picked up the ashes from Larry at the crematorium. Larry issued his condolences as Marshall reverently carried the sealed urn to the car. It was brass, significant of his grandfather’s balls, no doubt. The lid was held on by some kind of sticky glue and there was a note attached that told them how to open it when the time came. Marshall laid it in the backseat carefully and they both stole glances at it over their shoulders on the way home. When they got to Eva’s house Marshall turned to her and said,
    “Is your Mama going to give you a hard time about this?”
    “No, she’s too busy planning her wedding to notice me these days,” Eva told him with a smirk. Marshall tried to keep a straight face, but finally he said,
    “She’s not getting married in the next two weeks is she?”
    “No,” Eva said, “Not unless she’s afraid he’ll back out, and then she’ll drug him and prop him up with a broom or something.”
    Marshall had to laugh at that. Then he said, “Well, that’s good. You’ve been at all the weddings so far. I’d hate for you to have to miss one.” Eva had told Marshall a long time ago that her mother had been pregnant with her when she and her father got married. It was always the source of one of their biggest fights, her father would scream at her that she had “trapped” him and her mother would scream back that she wasn’t the one who had stuck his dick in her pussy without a raincoat. It was quite disgusting to listen to when you were ten years old. Eva had learned to laugh at it all, without a sense of humor, life would have driven her mad by now.
    “Yes, I’d hate to miss one,” she said, “I still have space for photos in my “Ma’s wedding’s” album.” She stepped out of the car and said, “What time will you be back?”
    He looked at his watch, it was just after six p.m. “Eight?” he asked.
    “Perfect, see you then.” Eva watched him drive away. She was heartbroken over the loss of Henry, but she couldn’t help wondering if Granddad had done this specifically to get them to spend more time alone, together. She turned to go in the house and let out a little laugh. Poor Henry would turn over in his urn if he knew that Marshall also planned on taking the evil Simone along.
    When Eva walked into the house, her mother who was sitting at the dining room table looked up excitedly. Once she saw it was her daughter, she looked disappointed and went back to her text message. Eva sighed; there must be trouble in her mother’s new found paradise.
    “Hi Mama,” Eva said.
    “Hey baby,” her mother said, without even looking up.
    “You okay?”
    “Doin’ fine,