Page 38 of A Light in the Dark

THIRTY-EIGHT

That is not one of the colors you wanted.

A fire orange car on the lot of a luxury dealership captured my attention, and while Joel wandered around in search of something in the colors I’d thought I’d wanted, I drooled over the beauty of a vehicle. Its sleek lines called to me, promising we could zip along the streets of Stonecreek while turning heads. It had the four doors I wanted, leather interior, and many buttons for me to press, all of which likely did something.

A salesperson, an older woman who eyed me through narrowed eyes, approached and asked, “Can I help you, ma’am?”

I pointed at the orange car. “Is this one for sale?”

“It is, ma’am.”

“Is it fully loaded?”

“This specific vehicle has everything except a moonroof.”

While I liked the idea of having a way to look out of the ceiling of my car, I wasn’t married to the feature. “Cruise control? Vented seats?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“How much?”

“This one is a hundred and eighty thousand.”

Ouch. My wallet—or Joel’s—would be crying. “Can you pop the trunk for me?”

The woman smiled. “I will return with the keys in a moment. Would you like to take it on a test drive?”

“Only around the parking lot to get a feel for it. I have a headache and won’t be driving anything more than that tonight. But a trip around the parking lot will be sufficient for my needs.”

I had a few simple criteria, which involved liking how my ass felt in the seat, my ability to peer over the steering wheel, and confidence I could reach the gas and brake without issue. While I could handle driving Joel’s SUV, I preferred being a little closer to the ground.

While waiting for the woman to return, I prowled around the car again.

Joel joined me, caught me licking my lips, and laughed. “That is not one of the colors you wanted.”

“I didn’t know cars came in this color,” I confessed. “Someone is getting the keys so I can putter around the parking lot to see if I like her. She’s one eighty. I am concerned I’m about to spend an offensive amount on a car, Joel.”

“I can afford one eighty, but I’ll have to wire the funds to the dealership, which means we won’t be able to finalize the sale until later unless my bank happens to be open and they accept confirmations. I don’t know if this dealership does. I haven’t bought from here before.”

“I’ve noticed a significant lack of SUVs on this lot.”

“This brand specializes in luxury family and sports cars. This is one of the luxury executive models, basically meant for frou-frou business people who want to drive themselves and their families around in comfort. This is a good car, though. You should like it, and it has plenty under the hood to deal with our hills.”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t buy this car, Joel?”

“I can’t think of any. As long as you like how it handles, it’s a good vehicle, and this brand has an excellent reputation for reliability.”

The woman returned, and she handed me a fob, taking a moment to explain what each button did. At her encouragement, I popped the trunk to have a look inside. It had more room than I expected, and it included a mesh barricade to help keep things separated. I pointed at it. “Does that come with the car?”

“Yes, ma’am. There’s also a fire extinguisher for the cabin and one for the trunk, but we keep those stored inside. The cabin extinguisher has a special spot underneath the driver seat for easy access.”

I stared at Joel with wide eyes. “But why?”

“People like modifying these cars to be sportier, and once you start plugging in some of those add-ons, the risk of fire becomes real. It’s always good to have an extinguisher. Is there a window breaking kit?”

“We sell a kit, but it’s not included, sir.”

“I’ll go shop for accessories for your new baby, Valerie. Go on a test drive, and don’t limit yourself to the parking lot. You’ll be fine to go around the block even with your headache. If you don’t feel comfortable driving, just pull over and let the nice lady take over. If you buy it and we can drive it home tonight, you’re fine to drive. Don’t fret. I’ll follow you, and if you become uncomfortable, I’ll phone a friend to drive my SUV home and I’ll drive your car.”

I could work with that. “Okay. Hi. I’m Valerie, and I really like this car.”

The woman smiled. “I’m Jinny. Pleased to meet you. Is this your first time buying a car?”

“It really is. I’ve never needed to have one before now, and I can’t steal Joel’s all the time, so I need to become independent and drive myself around as needed. Honestly, I could have gotten the cheapest car on some lot, but if I’m going to take the dive, I want to be fancy and get something I want to keep for years.”

“Will you be financing or leasing?”

“We’ll be paying in cash, probably by wire.”

Jinny’s expression brightened. “We have wire confirmation access with most banks, so if you’re paying in cash, you’ll be able to drive off the lot tonight if you’re willing to wait two hours for the service department to finish preparing her.”

“I can wait two hours,” I confirmed before unlocking the car and getting behind the wheel. The woman took the front passenger seat, and Joel abandoned me to go shopping inside the dealership. “Here’s what I need to know about this car. How much will she cost to fill her tank? Is her mileage tolerable? Can she romp around other city-states without running into any issues?”

“She’ll cost you about a hundred to fill at most stations. She uses premium gas. The cheap gas will clog your engine and make a mess of your day. Her mileage is on the upper end of average, and if you drive her in her economy mode, she gets excellent mileage. She has three modes: economy, normal, and sport.” The woman showed me the buttons and took a few minutes to explain the differences in how the car performed. “If you’re doing city driving on the hills, you want to be in economy mode. The car will have a preference for keeping in the lower gears, which is better for the hills. I honestly recommend either sticking to economy mode or sport mode. Normal mode is boring and doesn’t perform well enough to justify the extra gas. But it’s there for people who want a little sportier driving without going full sport mode. As for emissions, she will pass emissions testing by default in all city-states for the next three years, after which she will need to be tested every two years.”

I smiled at that, and I pointed at the navigation panel before digging my phone out of my purse and holding it up. “Is that compatible with this?”

“It is, and we sell the cable you need to plug the phone in. This car can work with your phone wirelessly, but I recommend being plugged in. That will spare your phone’s battery.”

“Excellent. Is this one of those cars that can switch from manual to automatic transmissions?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. We also offer complimentary lessons for those who are new to manuals.”

“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 towards the 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 we have 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, close enough 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.”

“With how much they cost, they better contain the secrets of the universe,” I muttered. “How many of these volumes do you own?”

“I’ve been getting them every five years for the past sixty years,” he admitted. “Each one addresses new material, too—it includes all major new discoveries since the last release. I also have the older volumes. I have the entire collection. I needed to learn when I was starting my company, and I’ll use everything I can from these volumes to improve my sigils. If you hear me crying, it’s because I’m trying to make sense of these.”

“If I hear you crying, I’m going to become alarmed and try to rescue you.”

He smiled. “I appreciate that, but it is a necessary pain. I’ll be reading these while you’re working for the next two weeks. Honestly, once my employees find out I have gotten these, they’ll adjust my schedule so I have the time to read them. I hate just doing nothing. As reading is a good activity while you’re recovering, I can be productive while you relax.”

The sun had gone down not long after we’d left the dealership, and I enjoyed the quiet walk. While nothing in Stonecreek truly closed, sundown often meant dinner, and most of the city retreated to their homes for a while before the night owls came out and the day dwellers went to bed. I loved how there was a time for everyone, and nobody judged those who preferred to do their work in the evening while most of the population slept. Sometimes, the economics of the night stores baffled me, but it worked out. “How is it places like the car dealership can stay open all the time?”

“Enough people shop at night for it to be worth the while. I have night workers at my company, too. Some people just like the hours, and the night workers want their shoring done while they’re doing their jobs. I don’t have as many evening slots for shoring, but they are available, and people are willing to wait for a crew. If we have a lot of requests for night work, I’ll open overtime shifts to the entire employee base. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to work an extra shift when their employer pays them double time for the hours worked. Your company does night shifting, too.”

“I always liked that I could work the night shift if I wanted to, but I’ve never liked being busy at night. Night is for reading and dinner.”

“Luna moths hate working the night shift. We want to be fluttering around, glowing, and sniffing flowers at sunset. We like working during the day so responsibilities do not interfere with our evening activities.”

“That’s sensible. I like it. Do you think I made the right choice with my car?”

I’d insisted Joel be on the insurance policy for it, and as I’d decided to play hardball with him, he’d forced me to accept being on the insurance policy for his. It had simplified the process for me, however, as Joel had opted to make use of his policy to jumpstart getting my car properly insured.

“I know you did. You saw it, you loved it, and you bounced into the dealership after the test drive. You also gave your car a kiss on her roof.”

“She’s a sweet angel, and she deserves to receive little kisses on her roof.”

He laughed. “Are you going to give her a name?”

“Her name is Blaze.”

“That’s a very nice name for a sporty family car. I like it. And where will we be taking Blaze tomorrow?”

“To pick my parents up?” I suggested, regarding him with wide eyes. “I can show them City Hall once we get in, do my three hours, and take them on a driving tour of Stonecreek!”

“My parents have already invaded your parents to pick up the larvae. They might be in Watercrest or on the way to Stonecreek now for all I know.”

I narrowed my eyes. “When we are at the dealership, we will call our respective parents, and we’ll arrange to pick mine up. Yours has to feed all the baby luna moths.”

“The town will make sure the babies are all fed if my parents come to Stonecreek, but to start with, we’ll bring your parents over. I’ll make sure my parents get the keys to your parents’ place and take care of their place while they’re gone. That’s easy enough to arrange. So, you want to take them to City Hall while you work, then host them at your place?”

“My place needs to be exposed to guests, and it recently received a great deal of love. You can resume being my hostage as soon as our vehicles are parked in your garage.” I heaved my saddest sigh and regarded him with my most disappointed expression. “Apparently, I cannot seek out intimate attention from my neighbor, whom my other neighbors so kindly sacrificed to my wicked ways.”

“I’m sorry the bacterial infection is enforcing abstinence.” Joel grinned at me and nudged me with his elbow, careful to keep from dropping his tomes. “I’ll make it up to you once you’re clear of illness. It wouldn’t do for me to disappoint everyone on our street. But to add to the absolute scandal, I’ll come out of your house wearing an apron and being domestic the next time I spy one of the gossips outside.”

That would be a joy to observe. “Excellent. This is already turning around. What about the gaming tournament?”

“Honestly, now that you’re on enforced bedrest, I’ll ask everyone if we are good to start over the weekend. Your parents can watch us, and we can set up our computers in whatever room you decide will host our gaming thrones. And if they want to play, we can hook them up with laptops and set them loose on the live servers.”

“They don’t have internet in town capable of gaming, Joel. It can barely handle downloading books.”

He shuddered. “You told me that before, but it’s so horrific I purged it from my memory.”

“Do you think they’ll move to your hometown if they are luna moth shifters, too? ”

“Probably. Luna moths gather in flutters for a reason. We get pretty despondent when we’re alone.”

“If luna moths are so good at procreation, why aren’t my parents having kids all the time?”

“That only happens after the first shift. After the first shift, luna moth shifter females get pregnant early and often. We’re careful, else we’ll have huge families and take over the city-state.”

I snickered at the thought of luna moths abandoning their birth control and taking over the city-state through a population boom. “But think of the number of households with roses, Joel. We’d become a nation of rose lovers.”

“If we started encouraging all luna moths to grow roses, we’d become Stonedcreek, Valerie.”

I spent the rest of our walk back to the dealership laughing my ass off.