Page 125 of A Light in the Dark
“I’ll be back for those lessons.”
After she showed me how to confirm which mode the car was in, I started the engine, giggling at the engine’s growl. “Oh, that sounds lovely.”
“We’ve found that our owners enjoy when their engines growl, purr, or roar. This model will do all three for you, but you’ll get a nice little growl when you start her up, and then she’ll purr for you while driving in economy mode.”
I pressed the economy button, made use of the navigation panel’s rear assist camera, and backed out of the spot, pleased with how the car responded. Taking Joel’s advice, I braved the streets of Stonecreek, choosing to drive around the block and conquer one of the nearby steeper hills for a better idea of the vehicle’s handling.
The car handled every task with grace and offered me comfort while I did it, which did a good job of convincing me to travel the city-state in a blaze of orange glory. “Please tell me basic maintenance is less than five thousand a year.”
“Basic maintenance will run you between five hundred to fifteen hundred a year depending on how much work needs to be done. Every thirty thousand miles, you’ll be in for a large maintenance bill, which averages between two to three thousand dollars.”
“Cost per tire?”
“Seven hundred a tire will get you excellent tires, but you can go as low as three.”
“How good are the tires on her right now?”
“They cost five hundred each, and they are a good tire for this time of year. I recommend buying winter tires and storing them with us, a service we offer for free, and then buying your higher end summer tires for next year when you swap on your winters. We have a program to donate tires to those with financial woes.”
“That sounds great. Thank you.” I headed back towardsthe dealership. “I’ll need to get insurance set up at the dealership.”
“We have twenty-four hour service with all the major insurers, so we can handle that while they’re preparing your car.”
“Give me the best price you can for this, and it’ll be the easiest sale you have all year,” I replied.
Jinny laughed. “I’m sure I can pull out a coupon or two for you and work to get you out of here as quickly as possible. Is there anything else you want?”
I pointed at the pair of cup holders. “I’m going to need a matching pair of drink containers for this vehicle, because if I don’t have coffee or tea in the morning, it’s bad news.”
“We sell travel mugs. Once we finish the paperwork, we can explore the stock. We also have coffee for customers, so you can head home armed with a warm beverage.”
I loved that Stonecreek was open all day and night, allowing me to indulge in shopping at weird hours without worry. “Please tell me there aren’t going to be any dealbreakers. I think I might cry if I can’t take this car home with me.”
“Everything will be fine, and I’ll work to make certain that you’re out of here with minimal fuss,” Jinny promised. “You have enough to worry about without buying a car costing you the rest of your sanity.”
I eyed the woman with interest. “They’ve been passing my picture around, haven’t they?”
“They?”
“The reporters.”
The woman laughed. “I’m afraid so, but it was clear you’re here to buy a car. I’m here to sell you a car. I think wehave the foundation for an excellent relationship in place, personally.”
“I’m glad, because honestly, if anyone else uses a title on me today, I might start crying.”
“I’ll warn the rest of the staff to call you Valerie, and I’ll make sure you get some tea and some decompression time while waiting for them to finish preparing the car. The paperwork won’t take long since you’re purchasing in cash. I should have that done in thirty minutes, and that includes getting the confirmation from the bank and getting your insurance situated. You just try to relax while we take care of the rest. We like making buying our cars a pleasant experience, and while some customers want the bells and whistles, some are more like you and just want the process to be over as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“And we appreciate everything you’ve done and the price you’ve paid for doing it. The least we can do is make your car buying experience a pleasant one.”
As promised,thirty minutes after returning to the dealership, Jinny completed my paperwork, leaving us with an hour and a half to blow before my car was ready to take home. We spent forty minutes buying accessories, including a safety kit and first aid kit Joel insisted I needed. I picked two travel mugs, one for me and one for him. According to my phone, there was a bookstore down the street, closeenough I decided we could walk to it, buy a book or two, and then return to pick up my new baby.
We did just that, and I purchased four new books, all action-adventure fiction titles I would enjoy reading in my window niche. Joel bought two non-fiction books for himself, thick tomes that would take him an eternity to read.
“What are they?” I asked, trying to make sense of the titles, which had symbols instead of letters.
“These are books about magic theory. Legacy in Moonriver releases these books every five years, and this set just released last month. I was going to get them sooner, but I kept skipping my trips to the bookstore—or when I went, they weren’t for sale.” Joel sighed at his acquisitions, which had cost him over a thousand dollars each. “I thought I was going to have to special order them; this is the sixth bookstore I’ve been to.”
