ERNIE AND ERNESTINA: The Writer, His Wife, and their Afterlife

Book One, Part Two, Chapter 75: Raising Money

“I just sold my ’67 P-1800 Volvo on e-bay for thirteen-six,” Joshua tells me. “The bidding was stuck at thirteen-five — a bidder from Chile. A last-second bid came in from a California man. Thank goodness. I talked to the DMV yesterday. They’ve had a lot of trouble with cars going out of the country. I don’t need that headache.”

Stress. Joshua’s been on overload for months.

“I’ve sold my BMW motorcycle, my Moto Guzzi motorcycle, my First Appearance of Spiderman comic — only twenty-five hundred of those in existence — a pinball machine, and now this Volvo. That’s almost sixteen thousand in profit. A lot of work. It’s taken me seven months to get the two bikes and car in shape to sell. And all for the Charles Street house. I hope it’s worth it. I hope the repairs don’t leave me cash poor. I don’t even have a car now.”

Joshua lives in L. A. and doesn’t have a car. That’s a non sequitur, isn’t it?