Sunday 1 July 2018

Chapter 66a - Gen 2 - Mint


The last few days have been hell, and I need something to switch my head off from it all.  So I decided to go to the library, in search of a new book to read.  Hoping that I will be able to lose myself in a world of fiction, for a while, and block out the reality of my life.

As I walk into the dingy library, the stale musty smell always hits me and turns my stomach, but I know after a while of breathing in the horrible smell, my nose will get used to it.  It would help if they opened the windows occasionally and let in some fresh air, but I don't think they ever do, not even during the summer months when it is sweltering in here.

I have to laugh sometimes, because I think I am the only person who ever uses the library in this town.  I glance over at the old woman sat behind the desk and smile to myself.  My smile is wasted on her, because as usual, she is fast asleep, probably because of the boredom of her job.

All I generally hear in this place is the ticking of the clock, which is occasionally drowned out by the sound of her snoring.  I always wander how she sleeps at night when she spends her whole day sleeping at work.  I don't even bother to wake her up any more to check books in and out.  I do it myself.


As I round the corner and walk past the main book cases in the centre of the library, I hear a clicking sound and somebody coughs.  This tells me that unusually, I am actually not alone in this place like I normal am.  I follow the sound to see who else is in the library with me.

I spot that one of the Shine twins is in here, sat on the old computer in the corner.  I can not tell which one because the twins both look exactly the same all but their eye colour, and I won't know which one it is, until he turns around.  As I stand and watch him, I realise it has to be Carmine, because Maizie is still in the hospital after his surgery.  I am very surprised that he is even out of the house so soon after his Mother's death, and because of the circumstances, I'm very nervous about facing him.

I have half a mind to just turn around and walk out of the library, to avoid him and save the hassle, not really in the mood to have him kicking off at me.  I have already had quite a few mouthfuls off Strawberry over the last few days, and they weren't pleasant ... anyone would think, I have faded her Mother hearing her carry on!!

Before I get a chance to walk away, he looks casually over his shoulder, like he could sense me standing here.  I am very surprised when he actually smiles at me, which I didn't expect, so I nervously smile back.

         "You can relax Mint ... I am not going to bite your head off!"  Crimson laughs at me as he swings around in his chair a little.

I am a little shocked that it is actually Crimson, and not one of the twins.  For a split second seeing the yellow eyes I was thrown and thought it had to be Mazie.  However, hearing his voice and taking a good look at his face, now I can tell it isn't one of the twins.  Crimson is wearing his hair in a different way, exactly the same as Maize and Carmine normally do, tied up in in two pony tails.  I can't help but stare at him, seeing how different he looks ... a hell of a lot cuter than I already think he is!!
 

        "I am not as stupid as my baby sister ... neither are the rest of us!!!"  he smiles at me  "I've already had Bay walking on egg shells around me because Straw has been kicking off at him, and like I told him, we know whatever Alpine has done, is not any of your faults .... so don't stress."
         "I'm relieved you feel that way ... I really can't face anyone else kicking off at me over it!"
         "Both of our families have enough upset going on over the Gravel bomb, especially because of Mom and Alpine.  The last thing we need to be doing is fighting between ourselves."  he smiles at me again  "She forgets your lot are suffering too, but you know Straw!!"  he rolls his eyes  "She has to kick off just for the sake of it, because she loves the attention and to let everyone know she feels hard done by!!"  he smiles at me  "I'm sorry she has kicked off with you."
          "I think it was inevitable, as you know I have always been her punch bag because of Parsley."
          "If my memory serves me right, you have always been her punch bag, even before Parsley."  he chuckles  "I heard you two have broke up and you are back at your Moms.  I'm sorry!!"
          "I'm not sorry!!  I was mad to go back to him in the first place!!"  I smile at him and try to change the subject with the first stupid thing I can think of to say.  "What have you done to your hair."
          "Oh don't."  he laughs with embarrassment as he runs his fingers through his hair  "It's Saffy and Carmine, they have been playing ... they reckon I look too much like Dad with how I normally wear my hair.  I'm upsetting them, especially Saffy, apparently."  he rolls his eyes
           "It suits you."  I smile at him
           "Thanks.  I see you've changed your hair too."  he laughs  "Although, every time I see you, you have it different.  What do you do, change it every day?"
           "Pretty much."  I laugh at him as he takes a quick glance at the computer screen then starts thumping the keyboard in temper.


          "So what are you up to, besides trying to break the keyboard?"
          "I am trying to hunt down my Mothers family, but I don't have a clue where they might even be.  I think they at least have the right to know she has faded and be given the opportunity to attend her funeral.  However, this old piece of shit is not being very cooperative.  The keys keep getting stuck down."
           "Probably because it rarely gets used."  I chuckle  "I thought you would do that sort of search at the station or at  home."  I frown at him
           "I'm on compassionate leave, and they don't really like us doing personal stuff at work.  If Cinn was here or El wasn't on maternity leave, then I probably would have done it at work, with their blessing.  The stand in chief is a right ass, so I dare not even ask!!"  he laughs quietly  "I have sneakily printed off a load of criminals with my Mothers maiden name off the data base, but I am hoping it is none of them."  he rolls his eyes  "I could have done it at home.  However home, as you can imagine, is very depressing right now, especially with Straw's carrying on!!  I just want some peace and quiet."  he grumbles.
          "I guess that was a hint for me to take a hike, and leave you in peace."
          "Hell no!!  Don't go!!"  he jumps up out of his chair, strangely he seems a little panicked.   "Peace from the tart and all the crying, is all I meant.  You are welcome to stay and keep me company, as long as you don't want to cry on me, talk about baby Cinnamon, Scarlet's biological Dad, Mom or Alpine!!"
          "It's fine by me!!  It would be nice to take time out from all the drama!!"  I smile at him
          "I doubt I am going to get anything done on that old computer anyway.  The noise it is making is putting me on edge ...  I am actually sat there waiting for it to blow up on me."  he chuckles
          "You could always come back to mine if you want some peace and quiet and a decent computer to work on.  I have a laptop you can use, and Forrest has just bought me a new desk top.  I also have a printer.  It beats you sitting there struggling and writing it all out by hand"  he smiles at me

     
          "I could even help you with your search, if you want, I have got nothing better to do.  I was only going to get out some new books and do some reading just to take my mind off everything."
          "Is it wise me coming to yours under the circumstances ..."  he raises his eyebrows
          "Yeah why not.  We are family remember, now even more than ever now we share our new little Nephew.  You are right, we shouldn't be fighting between ourselves."  I smile at him  "Even after everything that happened and was said, my Mom is just as upset over Ruby as the rest of us.  You won't get any trouble at ours!!  Mom is really worried this is going to split the extended family up ... so us hanging out together, we will be doing our bit for world peace."  I punch the air as I grin at him
          "Oh you idiot!!"  he starts howling at me
          "Anyway, Mom and Forrest are out with Meadow, they are driving around Apple, Raspberry and Sugar Falls looking for Alpine.  So we will have the house to ourselves for a while."
          "Lucky them!!  At least they can get out of this dump without breaking the law, because they weren't created from their parents sin!!"  he mumbles as he starts packing away the papers he has in front of him and shutting down the computer.
          "I guess you feel the same way as I do then.  I HATE being a mixed berry!!"
          "That makes two of us!"  he laugh quietly then grins at me  "Yeah I will come to yours if you don't mind, and your offer of help is appreciated ... Saffy, Maize and Carmine think I'm barking mad even looking for Mom's family, seeing as they turned their backs on all of us because we are mixed berries."
          "Yeah, as you probably know my Mom's family have done exactly the same."  I smile at him  "So I guess we might have this very same dilema to face one day, but I know where my brown Grandparents are roughly ... they are in Rocky Falls."



As soon as we get into the house, I ask him if he is hungry.  Even though he says he is not hungry, I feed him anyway.

We sit at the kitchen table eating a sandwich, while we chat about random stuff, avoiding our taboo subjects.  I laugh to myself as I watch him munching through his sandwich quite enthusiastically.

           "You did not do too badly for someone who said they weren't hungry!"  I laugh at him as he stares down at his empty plate.
           "Yeah."  he glances up sheepishly  "I have not really eaten much over the past few days ..."  he mumbles then laughs  "Not because I can not feed myself, I just haven't been able to face it!!"
           "I can imagine!!"  I smile at him sympathetically.
           "I didn't realise how hungry I actually was until I started eating this."
           "Your stomach growled when I mentioned cheese and ham, so I knew you was hungry, even if you was saying you weren't."  I smile at him  "Do you want me to make you another sandwich?"
           "No I'm fine."  he smiles at me  "Maybe I can order us in a pizza later, or I could take you to the Bistro ... a thank you for helping me with the search."
           "The Pizza sounds good as long as its ...."  he holds up his finger and buts in
           "Ham, Mushroom and Pineapple, I know!!"  he chuckles  "I've heard you and Parsley arguing over pizza toppings many times remember!"
           "Yeah that's my favourite!"  I grin at him, very surprised that he would even bother to remember what my favourite pizza toppings are.  "Not that I used to get it very often with him around!!" 
           "Forget him, you will get your favourite today!"  he smiles at me  "Thanks for making me eat!"
           "You are welcome."

Crimson, gets up and takes our now empty plates over to the sink and washes them up.  Unlike Parsley, it looks like Crimson is house trained!!

He comes back over to the table, and sits down opposite me, to finish drinking his coffee.


           "I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but I need to ask you something."  I look at him sheepishly.  "When they do find Alpine ... what do you think the police will be doing with him."  I ask him nervously, expecting him to snap at me for bringing up one of our taboo subjects, but he doesn't.
           "He will only be charged with involuntary manslaughter.  Coal and Maize have both said they don't want to press charges.  I highly suspect, because of his brain damage, that he will be sectioned under the mental health act, rather than be punished by the law."  he looks at me glumly
            "So he is going to end up getting locked up either way."  I mumble
            "Unfortunately yes!!  However, he won't be going to prison, which is a blessing with his brain damage.  He will be placed in a mental institute, they are not the best places, but it will be a lot better than the alternative.  It will be more like he's in permanent hospice care."  he smiles at me  "Don't think because my Mother faded as a result of his actions, that I will be gunning for him!!  Regardless of what Straw is stupidly saying, we do all know it was purely just an unfortunate accident.  It doesn't seem right that he has to be punished at all." 
            "I am surprised to hear you saying that!"  I smile at him
            "Honestly I don't blame him for kicking off ... I kicked off at her myself and said some awful things.  Gravel of all people, and it has totally ripped us all apart and destroyed some of us."  he smiles at me thoughtfully   "I have known Alpine all my life, and I can't imagine that he would have deliberately faded Mom, even after she did provoke him to lose his mind, reminding him that Cinnamon has faded!"  he rolls his eyes
            "Yeah Tapestry told me about that ... what was she even thinking?"
            "Berry knows, but my Mother has always had a very selfish and spiteful streak!!"  he tuts  "The words came out of her mouth and I seriously hated her in that moment.  Before he even reacted to her words, we all knew what the consequences would be ... Alpine completely losing it!!"
             "It is all such a mess!!  Strawberry isn't helping screaming her shit!!"

  
           "Seriously Mint, just ignore her, everyone else is!!  Nobody is taking a blind bit of notice of her rambling.  All she is doing is making a fool of herself as usual!!  Unfortunately, she is her Mother's daughter, in virtually every way!!"  he rolls his eyes again
            "So only she thinks he faded Ruby on purpose."
            "Yes, she is the only one!!  If Alpine was here he would be just as upset as the rest of us, and how it happened, it was obviously accidental.  He didn't mean to fade her, its not like he beat, strangled, stabbed or purposefully went for her ... him throwing the furniture around in the room he was doing in anger.  Both he and Tapestry are well known for smashing things up when their heads go."  he chuckles  "It was just unfortunate that my Mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  If it hadn't been for Coal, it could have been both of our Mothers.  I'm glad Caramel only got off with a few bruises, stitches and she didn't lose those babies."  he smiles at me  "It could have happened to anyone of us in that room, Bay, Maize, Granite, Turrmeric, Coal, your Mother, Tapestry while he was getting Scarlet and the baby out of the room, me ... I was there too remember.   So I know he didn't do it on purpose and everyone who was in that room has given the same witness statement and said it was just purely an unfortunate accident."  he smiles
            "We are worried that the police might think he has done a runner and is hiding out.  Especially if it takes them a while to find him."  I tut  "They might even think that we are hiding him!!"
            "You don't worry about that, we know you aren't hiding him!!"  he smiles at me  "Both me and El know about his condition, so the force are well aware of it!!  We know he has just had one of his outbursts and breakdowns, over the baby and Gravel, and everything Forrest had to tell him about himself and his parents, with the blue coming out in the baby.  He was very upset, which is understandable.  It was a lot for anyone with a normal head to deal with, without having brain damage.  It was inevitable that Alpine would blow."  he smiles sympathetically
            "I just wish we knew where he is and why he isn't coming home.  It makes it look suspicious, like he is hiding out!!   He hasn't had his meds for two days either, it is worrying us sick!!" I mumble as I start to get a little upset.
            "I can imagine!!"  he reaches for my hand across the table.  I am a little surprised by the way his hand feels on mine.  My skin is tingling where he is touching me, and I can feel sparks of electricity running up my arm.  I wander if he feels it too as he quietly stares at our hands for a moment.

  
            "If he hasn't had his medication, he is probably wandering around somewhere not even knowing his own name right now, and that is probably the reason why he isn't coming home.  I doubt it will be long before he gets picked up.   The police don't think he is hiding out, because he doesn't even know what happened after he stormed out of the room does he.  He doesn't know Ruby faded, or that Coal and Maize were seriously injured."  he smiles at me  "Don't worry, I'm sure he will be home soon, safe and sound."
            "Has anyone ever told you how nice you are."  I laugh at him
            "Not lately."  he laughs back at me
            "Anyone else would have been kicking off in your position."
            "Only Straw is kicking off Mint, and what is the point!!  It was just an unfortunate accident and all the kicking off in the worlds is not going to change what happened or bring my Mother back is it."  he smiles at me
            "Wisty must have been pretty damn mad cheating on you and letting you go!"  I say out loud, not really meaning too.
            "Yeah well, it happens as you know yourself - Straw and Parsley.  I am never taking her back and Mr older married man dumped her too - so Wisty got exactly what she deserved."
             "Did you find out who he was?"
             "No, and to be quite honest I'm not interested.  It is probably someone in Rainbow who I will never have to know or see.  I put money on it being one of her Uni lecturers."  he smiles at me  "So what happened with you and Parsley?  I thought you loved him."
             "To be honest, I'm not even upset, and whatever feelings I had for him, are now completely out of my system.  I was stupid to go back there, and I am relieved it's over!!"  I roll my eyes  "We are just too different, it would never have worked.  He is lazy and has got no drive, and I don't think he will ever cut the apron strings and move out of his Dad's place."  I laugh  "I'm moving to Berry Shores and he isn't interested, so I quit on our relationship sooner rather than later.  Besides Straw is bugging him again and he doesn't get rid of her quickly enough for my liking  ... Strawberry is welcome to him!!"


            "Are you really moving to Berry?"  he grins at me for a moment.  "So am I, isn't that mad!!  Saffy and Atlas are moving out there after the trial, Maizie is going with them and taking Poppy, so I decided I'm going too.  There are far better job opportunities out there for me.  I can't go much further with my career in this town, and Berry is a lot better than this dump so I've been told."
            "Exactly why I'm going - especially the better jobs."  I smile at him
            "Are you going on your own?"  he frowns at me
            "No, I thought you would have heard ... the idea was Mom relocating because there is no hospice in this town for Alpine when he eventually needs full time care.  Me, Fudge, Mosaic, Mom, Forrest, Meadow, her kids, and Alpine .. were all supposed to be moving out there together.  Coal has said he also wants to come with us too."
            "Oh, so I suppose that won't be happening now, with what is happening with Alpine."
            "Oh yeah, we are still moving, regardless of what is happens to Alpine ... if he gets locked up, Shale says we can apply to have him transferred out there.  But I guess we might have to delay going for a while, until they find him and sort all this mess out."
             "Why have you suddenly started calling him Alpine?"  he frowns at me
             "Now if I say Dad, everyone asks which one, and I'm getting sick of it.  It is just easier to call both Forrest and Alpine by their names when I'm talking about them."
             "Yeah we have had quite a week of shockers ... Crystal carrying quads.  Gravel being Scarlet's real Dad.  Coal being your half brother.  Caramel being pregnant.  My Mom fading.  Saffron trying to top himself.  The secrets Caramel, Alpine and Forrest have been hiding, especially about their relationships .... but Leafy NOT being gay, having a child phobia and being yours, Bays and Fudges real Dad ... is right up there!!  I'm not sure I'm ever going to get over that one."  he starts to howl  "Although, looking at you now, it is so damn obvious that Leafy is your Dad.  It is hysterical!!"  he grins at me
             "Yeah I know."  I grin back at him   "I don't think any of us bothered to look past the gay thing.  I look at a female version of his face in the mirror every morning and still even I didn't see it."

We sit laughing at each other for a moment.

   
           "So how far have you got with searching for Ruby's family?"
           "Not very far.  I had only really just got started when you walked in."  he laughs  "I am totally blind at the moment  ... I don't have a clue where her family might even be.  They were never really talked about by my parents.  I only know her family name is Red and that she has two brothers and I think a Sister, but I'm not even too sure about that.  I could have just imagined her siblings, because we all think different things. "  he rolls his eyes.
           "Don't any of her school friends know?"
           "No.  I have asked Mango and his parents, but they can't remember where Mom came from, and neither does your Mother or Ice.  Lilly obviously doesn't have a clue because of her amnesia and there is nobody else to ask.  Prelude can't remember either, he is the only other one now that was around and close to them when they all left boarding school and came here.  Jazz, Dad and Cosmic have faded, Alpine and Lime are Awol so I'm stumped."  he laughs
           "Have you asked Turmeric .... "  he frowns at me which makes me cringe.  I'm now regretting even mentioning it.  "I'm sorry ... but I'm sure you know T and your Mom .."
           "Huh, yeah.  Now we know where Straw gets it from!!  Gravel, Turmeric and berry knows who else!!"  he grumbles  "I didn't think about Turmeric actually, good thinking bat girl ... I'll give him a call."   he smiles at me as he pulls out his phone.

While he is talking to Turmeric on the phone, I give the kitchen sides a clean.  Forrest has a fit if we leave things lying around unclean and unwashed.  It is like living with Bay again, they are both obsessive neat freaks, which is pretty hysterical when my Mother in particular has to be one of the untidiest people I know.


            "No, no joy, he doesn't have a clue either."  he pulls a face at me as he stuffs his phone back into his pocket.  "Can you believe that guy is actually heartbroken!!  She never talked about her family to him either ... yeah I bet, they had far better things to do!"  he laughs sarcastically which makes me snigger.
           "Have you tried the boarding school?"
           "No there is no point .... we found out during Honey and Tapestry's abduction that the boarding school was closed down years ago.  I could apply officially for Mom's school records, but it will take time.  Time being something that we don't really have, its not like we can hold off her funeral forever."  he laughs quietly
           "I take it you are the only one who thinks you should find Ruby's parents and siblings, seeing as you are doing this on your own."
           "Only Cherry agrees that they have a right to know.  She has her hands full with the triplets, as well as she is worrying herself sick over both Saffron and Scarlet.  She is spending as much time as she can with both of them, so she doesn't have time to help me."
            "She is not coping is she, Scarlet."
            "No ... far from it.  It was always going to be hard for her with Cinnamon faded, but the Gravel bombshell just made it impossible for her to cope with.  Mom fading hasn't really helped much, especially as we were all livid with her when it happened."  he pulls a face  "I guess you know Granite and Mace are looking after baby Cinn right now, while Crystal, Saffy, Slate and Bay are trying to pull her out of the state she is in."
            "Yeah, I know she is at Taps and has moved in with Granite, which I was really surprised by at first, the last thing I thought she would have wanted was reminding of is that family."
            "Yeah well we all know that Granite and Shale are not Gravel, and they are a good family that have actually suffered from his evil madness more than most of us.


            "The Rocks are pretty tight as a family, and most families have a bad apple in them, unfortunately Gravel is theirs.  I think ALL of us are really struggling to look at that baby right now except for Granite, he has Clay too remember, and he is very happy to be gaining another Neice and baby to look after.   Scarlet and baby Cinn being with Granite is probably the best thing for both of them right now. Saffron, Bay and Slate are there, and when we were kids if you remember, she was pretty close to the three musketeers who are pretty much back together again.  Her being there is also giving Saffron something else to focus on rather than his own problems"  he smiles at me  "At ours, Straw would not have done Scarlet any good, and as far as babies go, I'm useless.  Being the eldest, I have a funeral to arrange and all her shit to sort out.  Maize doesn't stop crying, you know how over emotional he is.  For Maize this has brought Dads grief back with them going so close together.  He in particular is not coping very well with now being parent less.  So we wouldn't have been much help to Scarlet ... she is in the best place right now."
            "What is happening with the house now both Sunny and Ruby have gone?"
            "Strangely everything was left to only me, the house and money ... which I find very odd, even if I am the oldest!!"  he rolls his eyes  "I guess She couldn't even be bothered to put the effort into making a decent will!!"
           "That is strange, when there are seven of you!!"
           "Yeah, I know!!  I would like to believe that she was too upset to make a proper will straight after Dad faded.  He's only been gone a month.  Maybe she intended to do it at a later date, when she felt better.  None of us could have dreamt that she would follow him this soon!!"  he frown  "Although she has been acting very strange since Dad faded.  She was far from heartbroken, which you would expect after over twenty years of marriage.  Not that you could tell most of the time that they even liked each other, let alone loved each other!!"  he chuckles  "She has been very angry since he faded, and I haven't quite been able to work out why!"


            "So what are you going to do with the house and money.  I'm not sure, if I was in your shoes, that I would be comfortable with that situation. Especially keeping it all, when my siblings had nothing!!" 
            "No I am far from comfortable with it, and am annoyed that she has put me into this situation!!  Obviously all my siblings are upset!!  Not because they are bothered about the money, it is the principal of it and the message it sends.  They feel unloved and rejected by it.  It is like a final insult for them from her.  She probably thought, or knew, that I would not keep it all for myself, and that I would play the peace keeper.  The peace keeper being what I have always been in our family."  he rolls his eyes  "Me, Saffron and Maize don't need the house, with the three of us moving to Berry.  Scarlet is moving to Cherry Hill with Granite.  Carmine and Cherry have their own houses. That only leave Straw.  She is going to move in with Carmine, so I can sell the house and split all the money seven ways.  It is only right that all of us get an equal share of everything.  I was going to split it eight ways and give Vanilla Honey's share, but Tapestry has told me not to.  It is not like Vanilla will ever be short of money in the future with his career.  So I'm splitting it all between the seven of us."
            "You are cute!!"  I smile at him  "Most people would have just taken all the money and ran!  Legally you could as it was all left to you."
            "Yeah well, I'm not made like that.  The last thing I want is all of my Brothers and Sisters being upset and falling out with me!!  Now with Strawberry I can see the appeal, I would get some peace from the tart, but not all the rest!!"  I normally would have laughed at what he has just said about Strawberry, but something else he has said is bugging me.
             "Did you say Scarlet is moving to Cherry?"  I frown at him
             "Yeah ..."  he winces  "I'm sorry, I've put my foot in it haven't I.  I've obviously beaten Scarlet to it ... she was going to talk to your Mom about it today.  I'm sorry!!"
             "It's fine if she was going to tell Mom!!"  I smile  "I worried for a second that she is planning to move away without telling us and cut us out of baby Cinn's life!"
             "Hell no!!  She would never do that!!"  he smiles  "She realises moving to Cherry might make seeing him a little awkward for you all.  She feels really bad about it, but it is something she needs to do!!"


           "She needs to get out of this town and start a fresh life with her Rock family, who she has a right to get to know, especially Clay.  She will be out there with Bay, and baby Cinn's life will be a lot better in Cherry than it ever will be here.  The reason why Slate is taking Amber to Cherry and why Maize is taking Poppy out to Berry, to give them a better life than this dump ever will!!"  he grins at me  "Besides if your family are moving to Berry, Scarlet moving to Cherry actually makes the situation better.  You will be much closer to each other than you would be if she stayed here!!"        
          "Yeah, Forrest said it is only a two hour flight between Cherry and Berry.  It is even a drivable journey, if you don't mind spending a day doing it!"
           "See."  he smiles at me  "You and your family have nothing to worry about!!"
           "I guess not."  I smile at him  "How do you feel about the people that you will be leaving here when you move to Berry?"
           "Obviously I am going to miss some of them like crazy, family and friends ... especially Cherry!!"  he looks glum for a moment   "Just like I guess there are people that you will miss."
            "Yeah, it is going to be mad not having people like Mango and Tapestry around."  I chuckle  "What about your Grandmother?"
            "We did ask her if she wanted to come with us, but she is happy staying here.  She has Carmine, Cherry and Strawberry still, and it is not like we will never come back to visit or lose touch."  he smiles then chuckles  "Besides, according to Tap and Crystal, Gran has something going on with Tap's purple Granddad!!  Bed sharing and colour mixing has been mentioned."
             "Seriously!?"  I choke on a mouthful of coffee.
             "Don't say a word!"  he wags his finger at me  "I don't even want to imagine it!!"

We both sit laughing at each other.


         "So what was you actually doing on the library computer?"  I ask him
          "I was trying to search the birth, deaths and marriage register.  Mom and Dad got married in this town, so their marriage certificate should tell me something."
          "Her birth certificate should tell you her parents names and where she was born."  I frown at him  "Wouldn't it just be easier to look at that."
          "Yeah it would if I could find it!!"  he laughs  "We have turned the house upside down looking for it, but do you think we can find it.  We can't find any of Dad's papers either, their marriage certificate, their passports.  It is like they have all vanished, which is annoying!!"  he looks at me thoughtfully  "Like I said she has been acting very strangely since Dad faded.  It is almost like she has thrown it all away.  The only thing we could find is all of Honey's papers, which I've given to Tap for Vanilla."
           "What about her medical records?"  I smile at him and he starts laughing
           "I've already tried that one!!  I'm a police officer who has recently arrested and banged up his own yellow Grandfather for his crimes ... so Mango and Ice are very wary.  They wouldn't break the law to sneak a peek for me, without something official, and that takes time."  he rolls his eyes at me
           "I don't know if he would, but I could try asking Forrest when he gets back.  As long as you promise not to arrest him."
           "At this moment in time, I'm up for bending the law myself, if it helps me find them quickly."  he laughs quietly  "So no if Leafy does look for me, I won't be busting his ass, I will be grateful."
           "I guess we should go up to my bedroom then, and kill some time while we are waiting for Leafy to come home."  I laugh at him as he raises his eyebrows at me
           "Oh right!"  he smirks at me  "Is my luck in?"
           "My computer, printer and lap top are in my bedroom obviously ... "  I laugh at him  "I wasn't trying to drag you into my bed!!  So no your luck isn't in."
           "Typical!!  Always Mr unlucky me!"  he starts laughing  "Come on then, lead the way to your computer, Mini Leaf.  I have Grandparents to find."


                 "Don't you start ..."  I laugh at him as we both move away from the table.  "Tapestry is now constantly calling me Mini Leafy."
                 "Well you are." he laughs as we head towards the living room  "Some detective I'm going to make, if I never even spotted it.  Just like I never spotted that my own brother Saffron is gay!!!"
                 "You are not on your own with either of those two ... neither did anyone else."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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