After my cardiologist appointment, Ant’s [biological] father offered to take me out shopping for picture frames. It was fortuitous timing, when he offered we were actually in the same block. We picked up decent frames at ROSS… So now that painting of the Brooklyn Bridge is up by Ansel’s desk (how he misses NYC!) and the kitchen has a painting of the Tuscan earth. (I don’t think the neighbours appreciate me. I’ve been hammering away all day!)
That man, Ant’s biological father—he was destined to be an engineer! Were it not for the constraints of money—and his own mother—he would have been. He showed me the modifications he made to his van. Created and installed a sliding rail for the mounted solar panel atop, with a wind deflector to both prevent the panel from being lifted and to conceal wiring. A large battery pack that is charged by both the solar panel and the car’s own movements. A refrigerator and a mounted microwave in the back that can both be kept on for two days straight on a full battery charge! A variety of meters and remote controls. A camera on the passenger’s side mirror connected to a monitor he installed above the satnav that gives him unparalleled peripheral vision and perfect view of what’s behind the vehicle. He can’t turn his neck much anymore, the nerve pain has worsened—that additional view has become a necessity for him to drive safely.