Been working on 11F almost nonstop the last few days.
Down to the last of it now.
Sent ZM a message earlier.
“Bike’s almost done.”
“Come back when you’re ready.”
Still haven’t heard back.
The Legion guy from the fish fry stopped by the shop today.
Said he wanted to tell me something before he forgot it again.
Said there used to be some younger guy hanging around my grandfather once in a while toward the end.
Not military.
Didn’t fit in there.
One night they got into an argument near the back hallway outside the banquet room.
Didn’t remember all of it.
Just pieces.
Said the younger guy kept pushing him about somebody.
Then finally my grandfather snapped and yelled:
“Yeah, I knew the man, so what?”
Apparently the whole hallway went quiet after that.
I asked him:
“What man?”
Old guy shrugged.
Said:
“Hell, I don’t know. Penny... Penderton... Pennington maybe. Something like that.”
Think my stomach dropped about three inches when he said it.
Then he said my grandfather followed it up with:
“Kid, this is Jules Verne bullshit. Let it die.”
Asked him if he remembered who the younger guy was.
Said no.
And the kid never came back.