In the four plus years of driving to Ed's place, I had never seen another vehicle there. I was a bit puzzled by this. The old man never had guests, and was not the social type at all.
 
     I entered the driveway, pulled to the right and on the grass, as to not be rude and block Ed's visitor in. The big truck looked amazing. It was a brand new Ford truck. Temporary tags, four wheel drive, fully loaded, all the bells and whistles already added. As I passed by, I noticed a fifth-wheel hitch in the bed. Damn! This was a work horse. Although I had never been fond of Ford pickups, this baby was a jewel. My old Chevy had been dependable, but to own one of these? "Ok, stop dreaming" I said to myself, then continued to enter the 2nd gate.
 
     Ed wasn't inside. But this was not unusual. As I went on to the rear deck, he was lounging, tossing bread crumbs to the birds. "Nice truck out front. Whose is it?" As he was getting out of his seat with a grunt, he replied "We have to use it today. I'll tell you about it on our way."
 
     Not much was said about the truck on our trip. He simply asked me to drive to City Hall to take care of some paperwork. I thought nothing of it. This was normal procedure for Ed. Asking to be taken somewhere, without giving me a clue of what the fuck was going on. Just before I reached our destination, he asked me to make a right turn. This led straight to the fire station. All that I could think at this point was "WTF?"
"Get out, and bring the keys with ya."
 
      What was about to take place, I had no idea. But it would change my life even more.
 
     We entered through the double glass doors, took a right down the hall, and into a small office. Ed introduced me to Pam. She invited us to have a seat. The old man told her he would be down the hall, and asked her to call him when he is needed. With eyebrows raised, I asked Pam what the hell was going on. "What is this?"
 
     In a matter of seconds, she had forms spread in front of me on my side of her desk. "So, you're the owner of a new truck, huh?" Then it hit me. Pam is a notary public, and Ed had all of this planned. "I don't know what's going on" I said, before being interrupted. "Oh, he didn't tell you. Ed is transferring ownership of his new truck to you today." Holy shit. Different thoughts entered my mind. Why was he doing this? What was in it for him? Where was Ed, and what will be my next few words to him when he returns? I was in a daze, to say the least.
 
     Tags, title, annual insurance payment, taxes. All paid in full.
 
     Pam called another extension and asked someone to send Ed back to her office. As he entered, he showed an old, wrinkled grin. He could see the appreciation on my face. "Is that all you need from me?" he asked Pam. He wrote a check and pocketed the forms. "See you next week. I should have everything ready by Friday" she said.
 
     We hopped back into the big truck. Ed took his time climbing in, but I didn't mind. As he buckled in, I tried to think of the words. What the fuck do you say to someone after something like this?
 
     He took the forms from inside his jacket and put them in the glove box. "The tags are 30 day temps, and the insurance is the same as you have now, liability only" he told me as we headed back into the hills.