Page 59 of Rigid

She wrinkled her nose. “What’s it for?”

“Pin it up on your wall.” He shrugged. “Or take it to school and show your friends, hell, I don’t know.”

I reached for the picture. “What is it? A picture of a Volkswagen?”

She handed me the picture. It was a photo of an old-school Volkswagen Beetle in remarkable condition. The picture was taken beside his beloved Old-School Harley, obviously taken in P-Nut’s driveway.

I wrinkled my nose and looked at Nut.

“Engine’s locked up, but other than that, it’s perfect. Old lady in Encinitas had it. Took me four hours and half a pot of coffee talk her into selling it. Figured by the time you were old enough to drive it, you and your dad could pull the motor and rebuild it. Fits your personality.”

She gasped. “It’s mine? Like, that’s my car?”

P-Nut nodded.

She jumped from her chair and opened her arms. “I love you, P-Nut. Thank you.”

He stood and gave her a hug. “Love you too, Ed.”

I shook my head and swallowed pridefully. P-Nut was a great friend to me, and somewhat of an uncle to Eddie, but he was also her friend.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “You bought her a car?”

He nodded. “Volkswagen.”

“I saw the picture,” I said. “She can’t drive for another year.”

He shrugged. “We can get it towed over here, and you’ll have a year to get the motor fixed.” He motioned toward the box. “There’s a Best Buy gift card in there, too. Go pick out a stereo for it. Got to have tunes if you’re going to roll in style.”

Eddie hugged P-Nut again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Did you wear that little hat?” I asked.

“What?”

“When you went to talk to the old lady. Did you wear that goofy little hat?”

He reached for the hat. “No, I got this fucker at the Wal Mart on my way here. You know, that place is full of a bunch of fucking weirdos, but when a 1%er walks in, he gets all the stares.”

“They’re not staring at you as a 1%er, Nut. They’re staring at you because you’re weird.”

“Nobody can tell if I’m weird or normal by lookin’ at me.”

“You’ve got a tattoo of Goofy on one arm, and Mickey Mouse on the other. It’s pretty clear.”

He looked at his forearm. “It’s Pluto. Pluto. Pluto. How many times I told you that?”

“Pluto. Goofy. What’s the difference?”

“Pluto’s a dog with a collar. Goofy wears boots and clothes and shit. Big difference.”

“I’ll try and remember that,” I said. “And, thanks, Brother.”

He gave me a nod and then shot Eddie a smile. “She only turns seventeen once.”

After the excitement of the car faded, Eddie opened several gifts that P-Nut and I had bought her, none of which were earth-shattering. After everything had been opened, I reached into my kutte, and pulled out the last one.

“Oh, wait. There’s one more.”