“Really?”
“Of course. I was a mailman for forty-five years. I’ve got a great pension,” he tells me, turning into the parking lot of the dock. “I’ve got plenty of money in the bank. Just not in that account you were snooping in.”
“You do?”
He pulls up next to my bike. “Yeah, you donkey.”
“Okay, well, I’m glad for you. Really,” I tell him, grabbing the door handle. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Worry less. I’ve got my shit covered,” he says.
“All right. Good to know,” I answer, getting out of the car.
“In fact, as of this afternoon, I’ve got your shit covered too.”
Feeling totally confused, I say, “What do you mean?”
“After the Coast Guard announced that today would be the last day of the search, Vegas was giving a thousand-to-one odds that you’d be alive,” he says with a smile. “But I knew better.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask, trying to sound nonchalant, even though part of me is already getting excited. “How much better?”
“A thousand dollars-worth better,” he says with a wide grin.
“A thousand?!” My brain scrambles to do the math, and when it does, it seems like too big a sum for me to be right. “But that’s…”
Grinning, he says, “A cool million.”
I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
I laugh some more, then reach into the car and give him a high five. “Way to go, Grandpa! Wow!”
After a second, I realize he could’ve just as easily lost that money. “But what if I hadn’t made it home?”
He shrugs. “Like I said, I have a lot of savings because I don’t buy stupid shit like brand new television sets.”
Chuckling, I say, “Yup. You got me there.”
“All right, I gotta go. If Violet’s still at the office, I’m going to see if she wants to go for a celebratory drink with me.” He waggles his eyebrows at me. “You get some sleep and don’t worry about Tweety. If she can’t be restored, I’llget you back up and running. Nothing new mind you, but something reliable.”
“I can’t take your money.”
“Sure you can. Without you, I wouldn’t have it.”
“Grandpa—”
“Shush it. The conversation is over, kid. Now, get out of here.”
“I just … can’t believe you won that kind of money,” I answer, shaking my head in disbelief.
“I knew raising you would pay off eventually,” he says. “I just didn’t know it would be this big of a payoff.”
I laugh some more, a sense of relief coming over me. “Okay, well, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. And call me tomorrow so I know you’re still alive.”
“Will do.”
