We are now alone in the living room, and I am half expecting him to start pecking my head over my break up with Parsley. Them being Cousins, he is bound to have something to say.
"Just spit it out Tap. I know you are dying to say something!"
"You should take a chance on Crimson and tell him!" he surprises me!
"Why?" I frown at him "Just how much of what I said to my Dad did you hear?"
"Probably everything you said about Crimson." he smiles then starts laughing "Trust me you two seriously need your damn heads banging together."
"Why do you say that?"
"Crimson has had a mad crush on you for as long as I can remember." he laughs
"Don't talk shit Tap!!" I snap at him
"On my life, I am not talking shit!!" he chuckles quietly "Honey and Storm told me originally, but I have since spoken to him about it. He has never had the guts to grow a pair and tell you." he laughs "Parsley found out about how Crimson felt, years ago. He and Crimson had a right punch up over it, the first time you two were together. You might not have known about that time, but I am sure you know about their second punch up." he frowns at me "Do you remember when Crimson battered Parsley quite badly, just after everyone found out that he had been cheating with Straw behind your back?"
"Yeah, I remember. Crimson beat him up for sleeping with his Sister."
"No!! It had nothing to do with Straw. Crimson beat Parsley up for what he had done to you!!" he laughs "Crimson has always had it pretty bad, where you are concerned!! Trust me I am telling you the truth."
"You can't be!!" I stare at him wide eyed "Why has Parsley never said anything?"
"What, and tip you off to another guy fancying you!! Like anyone would!!" he laughs "He has always felt very threatened by Crimson, especially lately. Crimson has been there in his face, while the four of you have been hanging out together. He might have been there with Wisty, but it was you he was watching, when he thought nobody was looking!! Wisty knows it too, and was always giving Crimson hell over it!! Affair, who is sandwiched between the three of them, just finds it all very amusing."
"I don't get it ... how do I not know?"
"It happens ... just like I did not have a clue about Honey being obsessed with me, until we .... well you know!! he laughs quietly to himself.
"Yeah we do! Vanilla, because you didn't take precautions." we laugh at each other "Why has Crimson never ... said anything?"
"Like you have never said anything about liking him." he raises his eyebrows at me "Mint you have always been so blinkered!! As far as we were concerned, Parsley is all that you could ever see. You have appeared to be constantly moping over my stupid Cousin since you broke up in high school. Who is going to risk making a fool of themselves, and probably ruin a good friendship, by telling you they want to be more than just your friend. Especially when he thinks you are so hung up on someone else, he thinks he doesn't stand a chance!!"
"I ..." I am stunned into silence
"Seriously, you need to tell him and put him out of his misery!!" he laughs "Put yourself out of the misery!! Forrest is right. You two should be together, not with my useless cousins who are only ever going to hurt the both of you!!"
His phone starts to buzz in his pocket, which makes him start to get irritated.
"I swear if that is my Dad again!!" he pulls his phone out of his pocket and frowns at the screen before turning it to me "Who is that?"
"It is your Mom." I smile at him
"Yeah, I bet it is!!" he laugh sarcastically as he makes a dramatic display of switching his phone off.
"Seriously Tap!!" I frown at him "You have just turned your phone off on Lilly!!"
"How often do you get phone calls off my Mother? She never uses her phone, she hates it. Most of the time she keeps it switched off. That is my Dad trying to be clever, he is using Mom's phone to get to me, because he knows I am intentionally ignoring his calls. He forgets I have fallen for that sly trick before!!"
"Why are you ignoring his calls? What if it is important?" I frown at him "It could be Crystal, she might need you."
"Crystal will phone your Parents, you or Crimson if she can not get hold of me. If it was important - everyone at home, especially River, would be after me, not just Dad." he laughs "It's not Crystal, it is just Dad being an annoyance!! He doesn't know where I am or what I am doing, and I won't tell him. So he automatically thinks I'm up to something I shouldn't be!!"
"So Crystal knows you are here?" I frown at him "Does she know why?"
"Yeah she knows. She knows all about Sunny's gay lies and double life." he rolls his eyes "She wanted to come with me to support Crimson, but I thought it might be a bit too much for her. With the pregnancy, I don't want her getting too upset trying to comfort him."
"Yeah Forrest feels the same way about Mom and her baby bump." we both laugh
Tapestry sits grinning at me mischievously.
"So Mint ... How do you fancy getting yourself some green hair dye and spending a week out in Rainbow with me and Rocky?"
"What? Why? When?" I frown at him
"Next week. We have three Rocky Storm concerts in Rainbow. You should come with us!!" he smiles at me "You won't have to worry about accommodation or anything, I'll sort it all."
"Next week?" I frown at him "What about Ruby's funeral?"
"The funeral is at the beginning of the week, we don't fly out until the weekend, two days after the wedding." he starts to really laugh "Crimson could always tag along too, if you want to make your fake relationship look realistic. You know ... after all the drama you are whisking him away on a romantic get away!" he smirks "Hopefully by then it will be a real relationship, not a fake one!"
"Ha ha, very funny Tap!!" I laugh at him "Why do I suddenly feel like everyone is playing match maker?! Granite, Dad, now you!"
"Probably because we are!!" he sniggers "In all seriousness, after everything Crimson has been through lately, he could do with the break!! He is the oldest and everyone is leaning on him. Both of his parents have faded and left him loads of shit to sort out. He has hardly had a break since Sunny faded, now Ruby has gone and followed him. He has already had all the shit from the Gravel baby bomb and Ruby's ridiculous Will to deal with, which is forcing him to sell the house. Straw is causing trouble all over the place which Crimson is having to deal with, and I dread to think what else might be coming from Ruby. He is worrying himself sick over Saffron and Scarlet, and now on top of that he now has all of Sunny's shit again!!!"
"Yeah he told me about her Will." I mumble "I agree, Crimson could definitely use the break away from all this shit, but I don't understand. Why you are asking me to go with you?"
"Well seeing as you get all of my exclusive news and interviews and basically are my unofficial personal press representative ... which needs to be made official." he grins at me "Me and Rocky think you should come on tour with us, in a professional capacity. Rocky Storm needs a Press Agent, and so do me and Crystal ... the job is yours if you want it."
"Are you joking?" I start to chokes
"No, I'm being deadly serious." he grins at me
"Wow!! I don't know what to say!!" I am seriously speechless
"Say you'll take the job!!" he grins at me "It is your line of work, and this job will open the coded world up to you, as you will be trailing us around, for things like tours, concerts and promotional work. Obviously you will be paid a hell of a lot more than you get from the dead beat paper you work for. I need someone I can trust, and I can't think of anyone better than you. We are family and I have known you all my life. I know I can trust you to have my back!" he smiles at me
"Won't it be awkward, me being a mixed berry?" I mumble "I am caged in this town!!"
"No!! We can get you a licence to travel freely out in the coded world. As long as you keep your hair dyed nobody will question you being pure or not. The only time anyone will know is if you have to show your identification, but as long as you have your licence with you, or you are with us, you'll be fine." he grins at me
"It is ridiculous!! We should all be able to get a licence, not just a privileged few!!" I tut
"I know." he rolls his eyes "Me and Rocky are trying to shake things up, we are trying to force their hand into making changes to their ridiculous colour code!! We are basically trying to show them up for the hypocrites that they are!! Ziggy and Creed are on board with us too, they are both mixed berries."
"Are they really!!" I am shocked "I didn't know that!!"
"Oh you would be surprised." he chuckles "There are a lot more mixed berries out in the coded world, hiding behind hair dye and coloured contacts. than you might think!! The more we can let out of their cages the better!! Which is what I am trying to do for you."
"What about when I move to Berry?"
"That is not a problem. Rocky is in Berry and I spend a lot of time out there in the recording studio, and I intend to move out there eventually. Our Colourblind Charity is also being run from Berry, which we will want you to get involved with too. Part of your PA job will be the PR for the charity." he smiles at me.
"So you are definitely doing it then ... the charity!!" I grin at him
"Yes!!" he grins at me "We have already registered the charity and got two big sponsors. Grape and Apple." he grins at me "Grumpy has given us a really fat donation to help kick us off, as well as one of the Grape planes to use for the charity work. Blaze, Ziggy, Creed, me, Rocky and a few others have all put money into it. We are looking for property to lease, rent or buy now. We've already bought Winters house in Rainbow, and I have got my eye on Gravel's house. I want it to be the Sugar Valley Shelter for the colourless." I frown at him quite nastily. Just the mention of that house turns my stomach. It is where my Brother was shot, which ended his life prematurely. "Seriously Mint, I am not doing it to hurt anyone. Nobody is going to want to buy that house to live in after everything that happened there. So we may as well turn it into something that will do some good!! I'm sure Cinnamon would approve." he smiles at me
"Yeah I think he would!" I smile back at him
"I thought the police had seized that house along with everything else of Gravel's."
"It is being released, as it was purchased with inheritance money, not with Gravel's ill gotten gains. Granite is getting Power of Attorney papers drawn up, so he can handle anything of Gravel's that is released. He is going to sell the house to me when it is released, and split the money between Scarlet and Clay."
"He is selling it to you?" I frown at him
"Yeah, I am buying it for the charity to use. I guess one day in the distant future the charity can pay me back, when it can afford to." he smiles at me
"So will they all be coming to Sugar Valley." he frowns at me "The homeless and colourless that need use of the shelter?" I frown at him
"No." he chuckles "We have rented property in Cherry and Rocky has bought property in Berry, for the charity to use. So the colourless will be spread between the three towns. Our first priority is setting up the three colour mix towns first, for the colourless, then we will work out into the coded world from there, for the homeless. Our main worry starting up is the colourless. We have to have at least two shelters set up and ready, which they nearly are, before we start to really push the charity. Once we do all the childrens homes and the police will be given the charities number to phone if they get any abandoned colourless children. The colourless will obviously have to be brought straight to one of the colour mix towns." he smiles at me.
"What about the homeless?"
"The homeless are not so much of a worry, we can start picking them up off the streets once we have accommodation for them, but in the mean time, we are working on "Soup Kitchens" for them. Basically we will be able to feed and cloth them until we can put a roof over there heads. We want to keep the homeless and colourless separate. So it is highly unlikely that any of the homeless will be put into the colourless shelters. Once the donations start coming in, we can rent property out in the coded world, and set up homeless shelters. A place for them to be housed temporarily, so they can get back on their feet. We will run that part of it like how Denim runs the house in Rainbow. He takes them in, helps them get themselves straight, then he helps them to get their own place to live." he smiles at me "I will get River to show you all the plans and paperwork.
"Wow it all sounds awesome, and really well thought out!!" she grins at me "Do you honestly think that people will bring their colourless babies to your charity, for re-homing, rather than abandoning them?"
"We damn well hope so!!"
"We are giving them a choice and an opportunity, to do the better thing for their child - giving them a chance of life. We are even given them the chance to stay with their child and move to a colour mix town where they won't be shunned attacked and ridiculed just because their child is colourless. At the moment the only option they have is to dump and abandon them to fade." he smiles at me "Crystal is doing a lot to show the coded world that there is nothing wrong with colourless people, just by being out in the public eye with me. She is showing them that the colourless can live a normal life, have children and be just like the rest of us. Snow too is going to be a good example of what can happen to an abandoned child. Just like Rhythm and Rhyme, Rocky's two adopted colourless boys. The more exposure they get, the more that it will sink in. We are even toying with the idea of having Crystal as the face for the charity." he chuckles "Crystal is probably drawing more media interest than I am at the moment because the wedding dress modelling job that she did has gone down far better than we could have ever expected. Suddenly everyone is very curious, mostly because of what she is, rather than who she is."
"Yeah, I have seen the magaizine. She looks amazing in some of those dresses. She could actually be a model, she has the face and figure for it!!"
"I have been banned from seeing the pictures! They gave her one of the dresses, to wear when we get married. Free dress for us, advertising for them. She thinks it will spoil it if I see it, even if I don't know which one she has." we both laugh "She does actually have a constant stream of modelling job offers coming in now. Which obviously she can't do because she is pregnant." he chuckles then grins "Which will be one of your first jobs as PA. We have managed to keep this pregnancy under wraps from the media so far, with her being on bed rest all the time. However, it is going to come out eventually and we want it done properly. Us having quads is going to cause a media storm. I want a press release putting out, as soon as I go out to Rainbow, hopefully to stop the bedlam a little here. Hopefully the press will follow me into Rainbow, as I'll be the only one of us out in the open. Which will also help to bump up the concert publicity." he grins
"Clever move!" I laugh at him
"Rocky Storm, me, Crystal and the charity will keep you plenty busy. I suspect a little too busy at times, so you can bring in staff to work under you if you need too." he raises his eyebrows at me "There is also Shadow too."
"Yeah, I was going to ask about him." I snigger
"There won't be a lot of work as far as he is concerned. Just new release promotion. We are trying to keep everything around Shadow as low key as possible. Total media silence, to keep his identity a secret, and the longer that lasts the better!!"
"Aren't they badgering you for his identity, what with you having a single in the charts with him?"
"Yeah, we were a little stupid with that. Doing that basically told the world that I know who he is. So the press are constantly on my back, trying to find out his identity!!" he rolls his eyes "We needed to do what Rocky did for me ... basically springboard him out there. I am new hype at the moment, so he was going to be heard!! It was the quickest way, and it worked. His solo single is now flying!! They love him!! he squints at me "Have you worked out who he is yet?"
"Oh I have, and so has my Dad. I'm not sure how many others of us have!!" I grin at him "With the single you two have in the charts at the moment, it is pretty obvious, when I see you two with your heads together all the time. Who he is makes sense of why he is being kept in the Shadows!! Besides, I have also heard him singing to his babies." I snigger "You know his brother is still TOTALLY oblivious which is cracking me right up!!"
"Good and we need to keep it that way. He is a washer woman!! The minute he finds out, the whole world will know!!" we both start laughing
"So who does know his identity?"
"Besides me, Rocky and Grape ... Prelude, Cherry, Crimson, Crystal, My parents, River and Winter." he chuckles "Mace worked it out straight away, so Granite and Mace now know." he frowns at me "You and Forrest will keep it to yourselves won't you!!"
"Of course we will!!" I grin at him "So, I take it you have some big plan as far as Shadow goes!"
"Oh Yes we do! Unfortunately you are not privy to that information ... YET!! Rocky Storm staff only!!" he grins at me "So what do you think Mint? Are you up for the job?"
"Yes I think I am!" I grin at him "Becoming a Press Agent is something I NEVER thought I would be able to do living in this dump!! There are also too many things about this particular job that I like. The whole music scene, the charity ... helping Prelude to keep you in check and on the straight and narrow ..." this has him howling "I would be an idiot to turn the opportunity down!"
"Great!! No doubt my Dad will approve of you joining my team of baby sitters!!" he smirks at me "You will have to come back to mine with me, so that River can go through everything and sort all the paperwork and stuff out with you ..." he grins
"Tapestry, you are a bloody genius!!" Forrest suddenly interrupts our conversation.
Forrest is laughing as he comes almost bouncing down the stairs and back into the living room. My Mom trails behind him laughing quietly to herself. They both look highly amused.
"I'll make us all a brew." she laughs as she makes her way into the kitchen
"What has you two so amused?" I frown at my Dad
"Thanks to Tapestry's quick thinking, we have already found Ruby's family." he smirks at Tapestry "Your friend Cane Blaze is only Ruby's younger Brother ... can you believe it!!"
"You are joking!!" I laugh
"No. We found both Cane and Abel, on the Red County data base. They have exactly the same parents as Ruby." he frown "Gabriel Blaze though, we can't find him."
"Cane is Ruby's Brother ... I am speechless!!" Tapestry starts to laugh "Oh Berry!!"
"After what you have told us about Blaze ... doesn't this proves Ruby was lying. Didn't you say Blaze colour mixes himself!!"
"Yeah, he does!! He doesn't have a problem with colour mixing or the colourless! I have even heard him talk about moving to Berry!! He is also backing the Colourblind Charity. Abel too. Ruby was definitely talking shit when she said they turned their back on them because of the colour mixing. They wouldn't!!" Tapestry looks annoyed "Which makes me wander why she was lying and hiding!!"
"Crimson is going to be gob smacked, when he finds out that their Uncle is none other than Blaze!!" Forrest laughs "Hopefully that will help to soften the blow of Ruby's lies and whatever else she was hiding, a little!!"
"Didn't you tell him?" I frown at my Dad
"No, he has cried himself to sleep. We didn't want to wake him." he smiles at us
"Oh fudge!!" Tapestry laughs "Are you sure that Cane is Ruby's brother?"
"As sure as I can be." he smiles at me "The only thing we can do is ask him."
"Yeah and I guess that is my job ... to ask him!" Tapestry mumbles
"Yes. You know him, plus you have his phone number ... I presume."
Both me and my Dad start howling at the expression on his face.
"Great!" he mumbles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Forrest has hit Canes phone number, I sit nervously staring at my phone, which is sat on the coffee table on loud speaker. We are listening to it as it start ringing, and wait for the call to be picked up.
After only a few rings, the phone clicks
"Hello" Cane snaps quietly into the phone, almost like he is irritated.
"Yow Blaze!!" I laugh nervously
"Yow Storm!!" he laughs back very quietly
"Are you sober and on a level?"
"As a judge mate!!" he chuckles as I hear a door close.
"I am not calling at a bad time am I? Only you didn't sound too happy when you answered the phone."
"No it is Okay! I could probably use a bit of adult conversation right now!!" he chuckles "I'm Sorry Tap, I didn't mean to snap!! I have only just got Pheonix off to sleep after he has thrown one of his thirty minute, I can barely keep my eyes open but I'm not sleeping tantrums. I really don't know why he fights it!!" he tuts "I was putting him in his cot when the phone started ringing, I didn't want it to wake him up." he laughs quietly
"So have you got Nix for the weekend?"
"No. I have finally got permanent custody of Nix. So I will have to be on my very best behaviour from now on!! No more drink or drugs. I have had to cut all that crap out!"
"That is great!!" I laugh "Rocky told me about the custody battle, but I did not think that it would be all over and done with already. I am really glad it worked out for you!!"
"Yeah well, the bitch was only out for the money. It never went past mediation!!" he mumbles "She decided to put a $5 million price tag on our Son's head. She handed him straight over to me when I said I would pay her what she wanted!! She was even smiling when she gave him to me, and walked out with a grin on her face, like giving up her Son was nothing!!" he tuts "He doesn't need a Mother like that in his life!! Heartless money grabbing bitch!! I swear she set me up for exactly this from the beginning, and Nix was her golden ticket and just a pawn in her game!! Rocky warned me, he told me she was one of those, but I didn't listen!! Turns out he was right!!" he mumbles "This is where you and Rocky are both very lucky ... you were with your women before the fame hit!! You both know they want you for you!! Whereas I will never know if it is me or my money and fame that they want!!"
"I'm sorry!!" I mumble not quite knowing what to say.
"On the bright side ... it is finally over! I won't have to endure the hell I have been going through, just to get to see my boy, any more!! The bitch is out of my life and I have got my Son. She no longer has any rights to him whatsoever. She signed all her rights to him away when she took her cash!!" he laughs
"That's good I guess. At least she can't come back at you when all the money has gone!"
"No she can't, and I doubt that money will last her very long, the way she likes to spend it!! She was very high maintenance!!" he is laughing loudly "Soooo Tap, I now have a dirty big hole in my bank account, and I need to rake it back ... what do I have to do to get you to come and twist my shit up!! It is about time you stopped sucking Rocky's dick, and came and sucked mine instead."
"Twisting your shit up and sucking your dick!! Cane, do you know just how wrong that sounded!!" I start to laugh hysterically "Especially when I have you on loud speaker!"
"Oops!! I hope you have no kids in the room!!"
"Luckily no!"
"Yeah, I guess I could have phrased it better, but it so worked tho didn't it!!" he starts howling "So are you coming to suck my dick or what?!"
"You won't catch me sucking anyone's dick, especially not yours. You are a slut and I don't know what I might catch!! Half the time you can't even remember where you've been poking it!!"
"Very true. Although I will from now on, because I will be level headed, and I have sworn off women!! It is men only from now on!! At least I can't knock them up and give them the opportunity to fleece me!!" he starts howling "Anyway, more fool you if you don't take advantage of the sluts and bitches who throw themselves at you. You don't know what you are missing."
"Oh I do ... Crystal not dumping me and STD's!!"
"Seriously Tap, we need to do something with you, you are way too squeaky!! he starts howling
"Squeaky doesn't have me catching nasty painful rashes, does it Cane!!"
"Oh I guess Rocky has told you. Yes, I have had a dose of those, more than once!!" he starts laughing
"Yeah, he has mentioned it." I laugh "As for me twisting your shit up, you know I can't, or Grumpy will be cutting my nuts off!! You being the enemy and all that!!"
"I know, I'm only messing with you Tap. Grumpy is very scary when he gets angry, and it wouldn't just be you he would come after!! The last thing I want to do is start a fruit war!! The big Apple and Grape fight dirty when they bump heads!!" he chuckles "However, I am seriously considering what our teal friend suggested. A change of scenery is probably what I need right now. My Apple feels pretty stale right now!!"
"Good! If you do, swap your manky Apple label for Grape, then I will be able to twist all of your shit tune up and it won't matter!!"
"Ouch!! Shit tunes?" Really?" he laughs
"You started it ... you are the one who said you wanted your SHIT twisted up."
"Okay, so I guess I did!!" he laughs
"I hope you do jump ship, because I could do a lot with your stuff. I can take out the hardcore heavy and tame it, twisting it down rather than twisting it up. It is something I used to do for fun before Rocky even found me. I have actually got quite a few of your songs already twisted. Maybe I should let you listen to them the next time we get together."
"Sounds good, I can't wait!! We will have to make it soon!! I am work free for the next six months, I'm taking time out with Nix, to help him settle in to his new life." he mumbles "I know you are very busy for a while, with the tour, so you will have to get Prelude to bump heads with Abel. They can get something pencilled into our diaries, for when you have time to squeeze me in."
"I'll speak to him later and get something sorted!"
"Rocky has told me your baby news ... Seriously Tap you kill me!!" he starts really laughing "People usually have one baby at a time - not FOUR!!" he is now really laughing "I hope you know, the media are going to have a field day with that one, along with your wedding!! I have to say you are one jammie git!! Crystal looks seriously hot modelling those wedding dresses, especially the tight fit ones!! I hope you realise she is now the latest thing with us guys. Your wedding is going to be a media circus, because of the both of you."
"Yeah I know!!" I mumble "I think we might have to run away to a deserted island and get married on the sly!! I really don't want the fuss and neither does Crystal."
"I guess you know, the bookies are running bets on which dress she will wear on the big day."
"I didn't until Grumpy told me ... he has even put a bet on." I start laughing "Its bloody stupid!!"
"Its the price of fame mate!! But you can always kick back ... a deserted island and a maternity dress would really screw the bookies right up!!" he starts howling
"Don't tempt me!!"
"So how are you feeling about the quads?"
"I am still in shock to be honest!! I think I am going to need more than six months off work, I can not really leave Crystal to handle four babies and two toddlers all on her own."
"Two toddlers? I have only ever seen Vanilla, I didn't realise you had another one." we can hear the question and confusion in his voice
"Yeah, I thought you knew, we have a colourless boy too, Snow. We found him abandoned in Sandy Shores, so we bought him home and adopted him. I don't take him out of Sugar Valley like Vanilla, he is still a little delicate. He was obviously traumatised and he has a lot of problems, especially with his sleep and speech."
"He is lucky you found him!!! I seriously don't understand how anyone can just dump their child like they do!!" he mumbles "Well I don't envy what you have coming!! I am struggle with just one toddler, especially when he starts throwing his tantrums" he chuckles "So you will definitely have your hands very full when, the others arrive!!"
"Just a bit." I laugh "Anyway, the reason I'm phoning ... I need to pick your brains."
"This sounds ominous." he laughs
"Your surname Blaze ... is it a common one?"
"Not really. I can't say I've ever met anyone with it, other than my own family of course."
"So you don't know any other Blaze's in Red County other than the ones you are related to?"
"No ... why?"
"I know someone who is trying to track down family with your surname. His family is red and originate from Red County, and as the name, colour and place fit you, I just thought I would try you as a long shot." I mumbles as I stare at Mint nervously. I don't want to ask him directly, even though I think I know that he is going to turn out to be Ruby's Brother!!! "I know about your two Brothers Abel and Gabe. Do you have any more Brothers and Sisters?"
"Yeah, two older Sisters, Ruby and Rose. They were identical twins, even though they were born a day apart Ruby on the 10th March and Rose on the 11th. As you know, Me and Abel are non identical twins. Gabe is not actually my Brother. He is my Nephew." he goes quiet for a moment
"You talk about Abel and Gabe a lot, but I've never heard you mentioning your two Sisters."
"No you probably wouldn't!! I avoid talking about them, because they are both a very sore subject. I have not seen Ruby for over twenty years, and Rose faded." he mumbles
"Oh .. so did you fall out with Ruby?"
"No, when I was a child she ran away, we think, after she was expelled from the Strawberry Fields boarding school. They put her on the train but she never returned home to either Mom or Dad, and we haven't seen or heard from her since." he tuts "That girl has a lot to answer for!! It is her fault that Mom and Dad split up. It is her fault Rose faded. It is her fault that Dad lost his faith and turned into a broken drunk. She is the reason why Me, Gabe and Abel are so wrecked in the head!! Partly because we have spent the last twenty years looking for the spiteful, selfish bitch!!!" we can hear the anger in his voice.
I stare at Mint wide eyed like she is staring at me. I glance at Forrest who is sniggering behind his hand. There is no mistaking he is talking about our Ruby. her birthday and the boarding school story fits!! Now what the hell do I do or say ... I'm way out of my depth here.
"I am Sorry Tap!! It is just any mention of Ruby riles me and gets me angry. I doubt you want to hear about my wrecked family, or how much of a bitch my sister is!!" he laughs nervously "So, who is this guy looking for his family?"
"His name is Crimson ... he is looking for his Mother's family." I mumble "Crimson's Mother's maiden name is Ruby Red Blaze ..." I then tell him her Parent's names, and her date and place of birth. "She was expelled from the Strawberry Fields boarding school for smoking inside school, which burnt down the music room ...."
"WHAT!?! Those are my parents!!! You are talking about my Sister!!!"
"Yeah that is what we think ... "
"Tap ... if you know this Crimson guy, do you actually know Ruby?!"
"Yes I do ... she is one of my parents school friends."
"Where is she?" he snaps
"Here in Sugar Valley."
"You are joking me right?!"
"No." I mumble
"You have to be ... Sugar Valley, we have checked out that town quite a few times over the years, along with all the surrounding towns. We figured, a colour mix town would be the best place for her to hide, especially if she passed herself of as a mixed berry - hair dye and coloured contacts." he mumbles "We have kept on top of both Cherry Hill and Sugar Valley. Hang on one second, because we keep a book." he mumbles
"Why not Berry Shores?"
"Mom and Gabe live in Berry, so we know she hasn't been there." he mumbles away from the phone
We hear the phone crackle and a few different noises like draws being opened and closed.
"We keep a record of where we have been, when and who we spoke to .... hang on." he mumbles and we can now hear what sounds like pages being flicked through in a book. "Arrrrr here it is. Sugar Valley, Abel has been there twice, and we have spoken to the same police officer eight times over the years."
"Gravel I bet you!" Forrest snaps
"Detective Inspector Rock .... Do you know him?" this sets Forrest off laughing and Mint slaps his arm, which makes me laugh.
"Yeah we know him all right!!" I laugh "Gravel Rock ... he has to be the bent-est copper on this planet and we guessed he was probably covering for Ruby. We think he helped her to hide her real identity, by getting her a fake Identity. He is also the Father of one of Ruby's children."
"BERRY HOLE!!" he yells down the phone.
"My parents were at the boarding school with Ruby, and she came to Sugar Valley with them. Ruby is actually Vanilla's Grandmother."
"Now you are having me on ... your little girl is ... yellow."
"Ruby got herself expelled from the boarding school on purpose, because she was colour mixing and pregnant, that is why she came to Sugar instead of going home. All her children are mixed yellow and Red. Vanilla gets her colour from her Mom and Granddad, who were both completely yellow."
"How many children has Ruby had?"
"Eight ... four boys and four girls." he chokes for a moment
"I might have known that she would be happily getting on with her life after she has wrecked all ours and would have a tonne more kids!!" he chokes "Pregnant at school ... she always was a dirty little tramp with no sense!! that is exactly why she was sent away in the first place!!" he tuts "So this Crimson guy is one of her kids? I bet he is as he has the same name as our Dad."
"Yeah, Crimson is her eldest along with his twin sister Cherry." I mumble
"Oh, he isn't her eldest." he laughs sarcastically
"WHAT!?" I snap at the same time as I hear Mint swear quietly under her breath.
"Gabriel is her oldest ... but seriously never call him that or he will hang draw and quarter you!!" he chuckles "You already know Gabe don't you Tap?!"
"Yeah." I choke "Gabe is Ruby's son?!"
"Yeah he certainly is!! I guess she never told you about the baby she never went back home to." he tuts "She had Gabe before she was sent to the boarding school. Who she abandoned without a reason, just like the rest of us."
"No she has never said!!" I mumble
"Yeah well that's Ruby!! Selfish to the core!!" he mumbles "She split Mom and Dad up because Mom had to move Ruby out to Berry Shores before the baby was born. Gabe is a mixed berry, so Mom has had to stay in Berry with him. Permanently seeing as Ruby never went back to raise her son."
"We seriously had no idea." I mumble "When I met Gabe, I had no idea who he was, I thought he was your Brother, because I heard him call Abel Bro!!"
"He may as well be my Brother, my Mom is the one who brought him up!!" he laughs sarcastically "Me and Abe treat him like a Brother, rather than a Nephew."
"You said he is a mixed berry. I'm colourblind so I just presumed he is all red, because I met him out in Rainbow."
"No Gabe isn't all red, that is why he and Mom have to live in Berry Shores. When he comes out to Red County or is out in the coded world with me, he hides behind the hair dye and contacts. He has grey hair and eyes, which makes no sense at all when there were no grey berries in Red County at the time. Hell, I had never even seen a grey berry before he was born. I don't know if you know how rare they are, they are almost extinct!!"
"So where did the grey come from if there are none in Red County?"
"We actually think the pregnancy happened while she was at Summer Camp."
"Oh Summer camp!" Forrest chuckles quietly "Ask him which one."
"Which Summer Camp did she go to?"
"Sandy Shores." he mumbes
"Oh fudge!!" Forrest chokes then he sits there with his head in his hands really frowning.
"Why did they send Ruby to the boarding school if she had a baby?" I mumble not knowing what else to say while I am wandering what has set Forrest off.
"So she could finish her education without the distraction of having a baby to look after." he mumbles "It was Mom's idea and Ruby was okay with it. She wasn't forced to go, she had the choice. Ruby spent all her time with her baby in the school holidays, and she seemed to love the kid!! She said she missed him while she was at school and couldn't wait to finish school so that she could be with him full time. We actually thought at first, that she had got herself expelled on purpose so she could get back to Gabe." he tuts "Mom and Dad never saw her disappearance coming. Dad has always blamed Mom for sending Ruby to the boarding school which she never returned from. It broke their marriage in the end."
"I'm sorry!!! I don't know what to say!!" I mumble
"There is nothing that can be said or done to repair the damage that she had done. Especially to Gabe, he's had to grow up feeling well and truly abandoned by his parents!!
"What about Gabe's Dad."
"We don't have a clue who his Dad is!!" he tuts "Ruby would never say. The only thing she would admit to is colour mixing, and that was only so our Parents could move her to a colour mix town, to avoid being locked up!! We had to wait until Gabe was born to find out what colour she had been mixing with." he snap "She is ridiculous!!"
"Yeah, that sounds like Ruby!!" I mumble
"Gabe has tried desperately to find at least one of his parents, but so far we have drawn a blank, especially as far as his Father goes!! We have scouted Sandy Shores and there are no grey berries there either. We thought it had to be one of the kids at Summer Camp. We applied for the attendance records for that year, and there were no grey berries there. So it is a mystery!! Berry knows where he came from!! In all the years we have been looking we have only found two grey berry families. His father was in neither family, we even went as far as DNA tests."
"You know we have a family of mixed brown and grey berries in Sugar, who have pure grey family that live in Raspberry." I mumble, and I am not really sure why I am telling him this.
"I need to come to Sugar Valley to check all this out!! I swear if Ruby has been hiding in Sugar all this time, I'm going to fade her and that Police Officer!!" he snaps "Tap can you pick me up from the airport." he laughs "Actually where is the nearest airport."
"Raspberry Hill. Are you catching a passenger flight?"
"No, I have got a pilot's licence and my own wings remember. I will be there first thing in the morning, I'm too tired and worked up to fly tonight." he laughs "I will have to bring Nix with me. Abel is out in Berry visiting Mom and Gabe, and I can not trust my Dad to look after him!!"
"Okay, just let me know what time you are landing and I will be there."
"Tap you need to tell him about Ruby!!" Forrest says quite loudly
"Who was that?" he asks
"A friend." I mumble "He is just reminding me that I need to tell you something important about Ruby."
"What do you need to tell me?" he mumbles
I just sit there staring at Mint. The words won't come out of my mouth.
"Tap? Are you still there?"
"Yeah. I am still here." I mumble quietly before I take a deep breath. "I hate to have to tell you this over the phone .... Ruby faded two days ago."
"Cane, I am sorry!!"
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Boolprop SimNano
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