Chapter 29: The Plant

After High Quiggles closed we spent some time bouncing between different dispensaries. It was hard to settle down at a new place after Mrs. Quiggle had set the bar so high.

One day I received a random text from Carson:

"Hey come over to my house today, if you can."

I text him back and said:

"I am on my way."

Majority of the year, Carson was up north working on the Santini farm. He was only usually home in Hermosa for about four months each year. Since his house was near the beach, I rode my bike and planned to go for a beach cruise afterwards.

When I got to Carson’s house, he presented me with a weed plant.

"I am leaving to go back north in a few hours. I have been growing this special weed plant on my back patio. It's a new cross breed I made myself. A mixture of Snowcap and Sour diesel. I call it Snow Diesel. Jody calls it Mr. Plow. Now that I am leaving, I know my family will not take care of the plant properly and I don't want it to die." Carson told me

"Do you want it?" he added.

I could never grow weed at my house. I must admit though being around Jason and Carson made me wish I had a few plants of my own.

"Maybe I can convince John to take it." I told him.

I knew John had a big backyard, and his mother never went back there so I called him up and talked him into taking the plant. John’s younger brother Matt also had a medical marijuana certificate so in the eyes of the law he could grow at least six plants. At the time Matt was away at college though.

"Good luck, I'll see you in the fall." Carson told me.

I had to take the plant right then and there. So, I put the plant in a garbage bag carefully and then rode my bike two miles to John’s house.

It was a mission to say the least. Technically I did have a medical card so legally I could own a weed plant. Could I legally ride around in public on a bike carrying a weed plant in a garbage bag? Probably not.

A few blocks from John's house I was stopped at a stop light when a local cop pulled alongside of me. I am sure I must have looked suspicious riding a bike and carrying a trash bag awkwardly. The two officers sat in the squad car looked over in my direction and made eye contact. I had no idea what else to do, so I just smiled and waved.

The cops waved back and smiled. When the light turned green, they drove off done the road. I made it safely to John's house with no trouble after that. It was hard to ride a bike one handed up hills though.

"Damn, I thought you were joking!" John said looking over the plant.

"Dude, this is a special rare strain. I don't think anyone has this anywhere. Snow Cap crossed with Sour Diesel. Carson calls it Snow Diesel." I told him.

"Where am I going to put this? It already smells." John asked.

"Just put it in your backyard out of view. Your mom never goes back there." I told him.

"I want at least half of it." John replied.

"Of course, man. It's our plant." I told him.

John handled the daily care of the plant, but I tried to come over as often as I could to help out. If we needed any nutrients or a bigger pot and soil I paid for it. Between Jason and Carson, we had plenty of people to give us daily advice or troubleshoot any problems.

As I started dating Sara I had less and less time to spend with my friends. Sara was at my house after work every day during the week and spent the weekends at my house full time.

When I cut back on drinking after quitting taking my medication years ago, John continued to drink the same amount. In the time that had passed he had only gotten worse. John would drink a cheap bottle of E&J brandy every morning by lunch. The rest of us referred to that brand and bottle size as the hobo special. It was the cheapest bottle of alcohol that got you the most intoxicated. It was like drinking rubbing alcohol.

After lunch John typically would pass out and take a nap for a few hours. Then he would get up around 3pm and start drinking again. He would find some underage kids and buy them alcohol and then drink it with them or charge them a fee. He would look for friends who wanted to party at his house.

John did not have a job and spent all day at home. He lost his baseball scholarship when he kept showing up to practice drunk. The minor league teams stopped calling him. His life had fallen apart, and he just fell backwards into an endless bottle. The two of us drifted apart in this way because I was no longer drinking the same alongside him. In a lot of ways, I felt guilty like I had helped create this monster.

When I was busy with Sara, John hung out with people like Lil Ron. Lil Ron was always just looking for somewhere to go. He had burned every bridge in the beach cities. Nobody wanted to even associate with him. Despite being a known nark, he still sold pills like E and Xanax. John and Lil Ron would take pills and get drunk together.

If John was hanging out with Lil Ron, I avoided him. I developed a deep dislike for Lil Ron. Everyone in the neighborhood knew he was a nark. I was once in the same position as him, given the opportunity to get out of trouble in exchange for cooperating with police. I didn't nark. I took the fall for my own mistakes and suffered the consequences. I had zero respect for Lil Ron. I had zero trust in him. I knew if given the opportunity he would turn on John or anyone else in a heartbeat.

I knew that Lil Ron couldn't find out anything about Jason in New York or Carson on the farm. I constantly reminded John not to say anything. I frequently reminded him Lil Ron was a nark and to be careful. If Lil Ron found out where Jason was or knew about Carson's family farm, he might be tempted to tell the police next time he got busted.

The Snow Diesel plant grew tall. We had lots of good advice from Jason. We took regular photos and emailed them to him. Jason was growing Carson's Sour Diesel, and we joked that his plants were our plant's uncles.

Four months in, the plant was just starting to flower. We were all getting excited. We did not know 100% what we were doing. It did not matter if the weed even turned out good, all that mattered was it was ours. We grew it ourselves.

One day I am at work, and I receive a text message from John.

"Hey you want to buy any weed brownies? I can give you a good deal."

"Where did you get weed brownies from?" I text back.

"Lil Ron and I made them from the Snow Diesel, yesterday." John replied.

"What do you mean you made them from the Snow Diesel? The plants not even ready yet. There's barely any flower on it!"

"Lil Ron said it was ready, so we cut it down. We didn't get much smokeable weed. It's gone already. But we made THC butter from the stems and leaves." John relied.

"I will give you a good deal. We are charging everyone else $10 a brownie. I will give you them for $5 each if you buy a few." John added.

"Dude, What the fuck?! I thought that was our plant? I brought you that plant on a bike. I helped you on a weekly basis and paid for everything the plant needed for almost five months. What the hell John?" I text back angrily.

"You were my best friend, and you fucked me over dude!" I text him.

"Sorry bro I need money for brandy." John text me back.

I didn't respond. John and I stopped being friends after that. John's drinking and drug use only got worse. He ended up crashing his Chevy Nova while drunk and received a DUI. Things went even further downhill from there.

Chapter 30: Tangerine