Fallout (Crank 3)

Is your life so god-awful now?

How to answer? Not bad. Not

great. But headed steadily toward

god-awful, mostly because of

the sudden appearance of the very

people in this room? TMI. “It’s okay,

I guess. No real complaints. But I have

a right to know who my parents are.

Even if I end up disappointed.”

We both look at Trey, who throws

his hands in the air. This is your idea.

Maureen shrugs. I guess you do.

And you very well may end up

disappointed. It’s against my better

judgment, but I’ll loan Trey my car.

On one condition. When you come

back through California, you stop

in Sacramento and visit me for a few

days. Don’t forget, I’m your family too.

And so it’s decided. Maureen will

fly home. We’ll take the Cadillac

on a long, boring drive to northern

Nevada. Reno. Where I was born.

Will it feel like home? Does the city

or town where you’re born imbed

itself in your psyche? I only lived

there three years. Will the altitude-

influenced temperature better suit

me? Will I breathe the air easier?

Will the scent of high desert