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Sady picked up Harry in the morning, and he looked at the car skeptically. “Are you sure this thing is safe?” he asked.
“Absolutely not,” she assured him. “You wouldn’t want to drive, would you? I mean you’re so much better in the Motor City traffic...”
“No, I wouldn’t want to drive, but I will,” he answered with a smile.
“Just don’t drop the keys or you’ll have to crawl underneath to retrieve them,” she warned.
He laughed, but he wasn’t laughing when he tried to adjust the seat. “Move the cushions around until you find something that works,” she said. “Oh, and it’s been making a funny noise this morning. It sounds like something’s loose but I can’t figure out what.”
“What isn’t loose?” he asked. “Let’s get this over with.”
As Harry drove to Detroit a few cars passed, honking and swerving. “What has them upset?” Sady asked when one driver paused and gave them the finger.
Harry looked out the side mirror. “A piece of the side molding is loose and waving about six feet into the next lane. If I slow down enough the next semi that passes should take care of it for us.” Ten minutes later they were driver’s side molding free.
The rattling sound grew progressively louder the farther they drove. Suddenly there was a loud snap and the hood of the car popped up, bending back over the top like a banana. Harry swore a blue streak and swerved across the lanes, unable to see in front of him. He made it to the side of the expressway, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“Harry, I’ve never heard you talk like that before,” Sady squeaked in fright. It was the only thing she could think of to say.
“That’s because I’ve never been behind the wheel of this POS! Remind me to torture Matt before I kill him.” Harry's white face returned to its normal color. He pried open the trunk of the car, pulled out some bungee straps, and used two on the trunk. Then he did the same with the hood. By the time he got back in Sady was nearly hysterical with laughter. Harry grinned and was soon laughing as well.
“It’s a good thing we’re on our way to unload this thing,” he said. “Sorry, but I’m not risking our lives on the expressway any longer. We’re taking the back way.” Sady just nodded, grateful Harry had been driving when the disaster occurred.
Soon they rolled into the lot of the car dealership, one of several owned by the jewelry client. His whole crew came out to look and laugh at Sady's car. A salesman rushed out flapping his hands. “We can’t take that thing in on trade. What did you do to it, anyway?”
Sady handed him a business card and the keys to her wreck. He nodded at one guy, “Get this ready to haul for scrap.” He turned back to Sady with a smile. “Let’s go take a look.”
Sady grabbed Harry’s arm with excitement and pulled him along, stopping when the salesman waved his arm. “Can I test them all?” she squealed in delight at the many choices.
“That’s what the boss says.”
“I’ll start with that Torch Red one,” Sady pointed, and the salesman smiled.
“You like the pretty ones, huh?” He rolled his eyes at Harry, imagining Sady picked everything that way. Harry refrained from commenting.
Sady ignored the salesman’s implication, her eyes sparkling when she nodded.
“C’mon, Harry! My turn to drive.” Sady waited for the salesman to put on a magnetic dealer’s plate and she blew out of the lot in a 5.0 Mustang. Harry grabbed the dash and closed his eyes.
“Matt wasn’t exaggerating. Sady, CJ and I hope to have many years ahead of us. Don’t ruin that, please. Besides, I don’t think this color suits you. When you’re behind the wheel, it becomes Ticket Me Red not Torch Red.”
“Why are men such pansies when it comes to speed? But you may be right about the color.” Sady shifted and passed the expressway traffic while still in the right-hand lane.
“Uhm, you know that’s illegal right?” Harry asked.
“If you say so,” she said, flooring it and moving to the far left lane. “Happy now?” Harry shook his head, afraid he might blubber if he spoke. “Okay, I’ll take the salesman out for the next test drive.” She sped back to the lot and picked out another Mustang, Screaming Yellow in color. The salesman was white when Sady returned.
“Lady, tell you what. You just take home the one you think you might want and if there’s a problem we’ll deliver a different one to you, okay?” His voice trembled and the recovered Harry nearly asked him how he felt about pretty cars now.
Sady turned, looking undecided. “Okay. Harry, what color do you like the best?” she asked.
“Which one’s the slowest?”
Sady howled. “V6s are for old ladies. They’re all V8 5.0s, Harry. ”
“I was afraid of that.” He now shared a look of commiseration with the salesman.
“I want to look at that Sonic Blue one.” Sady pointed to one she hadn’t test driven yet. The salesman made the sign of the cross over his chest when Sady asked for the keys. “I just want to start it and maybe drive it around the lot. Is that a problem?”
The salesman shook his head, but when Sady roasted the tires in the lot and took off nearly sideways he screamed and jumped out of the way. Harry wasn’t far behind. “Just fill out the paperwork on that one,” Harry advised. “Once that’s done she’ll have to take it for now.”
Less than ten minutes later the shaking salesman threw the papers and keys at Sady, shoving her out the door. Then he wished Harry good luck, locked his door, and called his AA sponsor.
Sady walked around her new car and patted the hood. “What do you think, Harry? Not bad for a ten-year-old car, huh?”
“Sady, I think you’re crazy and I think we may need a new company policy. No gifts allowed. If you have an ounce of mercy in your soul, you’ll drive the speed limit back to Ann Arbor.” Sady launched herself at Harry, hugging him.
“Thank you! I’ll drive like a lady, I promise.” She almost kept her word.
When they got to the office CJ came out to admire the car. “Don’t,” Harry cautioned her. “And never ask for a ride, not if you love me.”
“What did you do to him?” CJ asked.
“Men just can’t handle the speed I guess,” Sady shrugged.
Matt looked out the back door and yelled, “Oh, no. She’ll kill us all.”
“See what I mean?” Sady asked CJ. “Any time you want to borrow it let me know. I don’t trust the men to drive it.”
CJ laughed and said, “I might take you up on that when I need to keep Harry in line. In the meantime, get ready for the Renaissance Festival. We leave early Saturday to walk over grounds site and talk with our client. The festival will open at ten in the morning. Are you going in costume?”
“I’m not telling. Once the festival starts, you can figure it out along with everyone else,” she said with a smile.