15/46
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//--> An Official Daughter, pt 1.
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Karl pulls the car into the Eucalyptus Senior Living roundabout. A well-dressed woman peers in from a curbside bench.
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“Are you Darryl?”
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“No. I'm Karl. Are you Blanche?”
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“Yes. I'm sorry, I might have ordered two cars. Not good at using this app thing yet.”
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“No problem, they'll just cancel if you aren’t here. Going to 8912 Canyon Road?”
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“Yes, Starlight Theater.”
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Karl loads iMaps and veers the car onto the road. He was getting good at it. Pick ups were becoming seamless.
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“Why are you going this way? You should have made a right.” The voice is firm with a hint of concern.
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“I'm using GPS. This is the fastest way, trust me. We should be there in 6min.”
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“Do you know the Starlight Theater?”
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“No. I don’t.”
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The ride is short. Karl navigates thru the parking lot to a small dot in the center of the shopping mall. Confident, he surveys the signs looking for Starlight Theater.
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“Why are we here?”
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“This is the address you put in the app.” “No, it isn’t. Don’t you know where the Starlight Theater is?
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He is caught off guard. The app didn't make mistakes.
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"Its on 215 and Charleston. This isn't 215 and Charleston. Take me there.“
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Thats not the address you gave. I'm only supposed to take you to the address in the app.”
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“Listen, I’ve lived in this country... I’ll miss my bus. I'm going to a concert at the Wynn. I paid a lot for tickets...”
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“Are you sure it’s on Charleston?" Karl knew that area well and didn't recall ever seeing a Starlight Theater.
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He looked at Blanche in the rearview. Where was her family? Was she abandoned? Cam'el had said a high percentage of elderly here live alone.
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Their children, young professional in California or the midwest would eventually return to pack up belongings and ferry them home, sometimes only after money had run out or signs of dementia were undeniable. Abuse scams were common. Why had Eucalyptus allowed Blanche to leave by herself?
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"Okay, 215 and Charleston."
