Free Jackie's Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs Page B

it before.”
    Cody crumpled. “Don’t talk about that, Shannie!”
    â€œOkay,” I said. “I just mentioned it to show you it’s still bothering me, too. As for your dream, it just shows how much you care about Uncle Neal. Of course you don’t want him to get hurt.”
    â€œIs it okay if I tell him not to go up on any roofs?”
    â€œMaybe sometimes he needs to.”
    â€œWhat if I ask him not to just for today?”
    â€œHe’s not going to. It’s raining.”
    The rain kept up through the morning. It was still raining when we got on the road. “This is more like it!” Uncle Neal exclaimed as we took off. “I’ve got some genuine Seattle weather to show you. The beat of the wipers is music to my ears. We get nine months of this!”
    â€œI’m sure glad we came in the summer,” I said.
    â€œThe dry season is for wimps!” the Midnight Rambler declared as he swerved off the road and into a drive-through espresso. Neal waited with the window open. His sleeve was getting wet but that didn’t seem to bother him.
    Neal took the hot paper cup and cradled it in his hands. “Before people ever drank these, they used them for hand warmers.”
    â€œHe’s goofy today,” Cody said from the back.
    â€œNo, I’m Pluto. I feel good, you guys.” Neal took a long sip from his coffee, then set it in the cup holder. “Ahhh…I’m on top of the world, I’m the king of the world! Liberty snatched a herring right out of my hand this morning. With vigor. Sun, sun, go away, there’s nothing like a rainy day.”
    â€œDoes that mean she stood up?” I asked hopefully.
    â€œNo, but…”
    I quickly changed the subject. “Uncle Neal, remember the first time you visited back East, before Cody was born?”
    â€œI remember it well. You were five.”
    â€œThat’s right, and I remember sitting on the park bench at the end of the block with you. Dad was pointing out the famous skyscrapers: the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the…”
    I hesitated, on account of Cody, then finished my sentence anyway: “…the World Trade Center towers.”
    From the backseat, a very loud silence.
    â€œIt’s okay to talk about them,” I said over my shoulder. “It would be sad if we didn’t remember them. Cody, you’ll like this. Uncle Neal started telling us how the skyscrapers in Seattle are covered with moss, from all the rain. I remember that, trying to picture it.”
    â€œHa! That’s a good one!”
    Neal found Cody in the rearview mirror. “Come back in October, Cody. That’s when the rains kick in and the moss starts to grow. Why do you think people here call it the Emerald City?”
    I said, “Mom told me the real reason. She said people from Seattle hype the bad weather so it won’t get too crowded.”
    Uncle Neal laughed. “So you’re on to us. Is that so bad?”
    â€œBumper sticker!” the kid in the backseat yelled. “Uncle Neal, get closer.”
    â€œCody, we’re going seventy,” I said. “You want to tailgate, in the rain?”
    Neal did edge a little closer.
    â€œWhat does it say, Shannie, what does it say? Something about a toilet!”
    â€œCody…”
    â€œI got it! POLICE STATION TOILET STOLEN—COPS HAVE NOTHING TO GO ON. That’s the best of all time!”
    â€œWrite it down so you won’t forget it, Cody.”
    â€œI’m writing it down now!”
    Uncle Neal reached for his coffee. “The rest of the summer will be downhill from here.”
    â€œI’ve got one,” I nearly shouted. “It applies to you, Cody. ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU’RE UNIQUE—JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. ”
    Neal drove us to a golf course overlooking Lake Washington. Our mission was to free a hawk that was tangled in a net on the driving range. It was