it?” Her panic boomed through the phone.
“Bottom line, you need a new car. I have a few out front, if you want to see them. Honestly, if you buy one of these used cars, you’ll buy someone else’s headaches.”
Celia was silent on the other end of the phone.
“Kiddo, if I were you, I’d get a new car. Something with a few bells and whistles. You could have air conditioning that works in the summer and heat that works in the winter. It won’t cost you more than what you pay to keep this junk going.”
Celia cringed when he called her car junk. Maybe Brian and Kate conspired to make this happen? Coincidental they both used the word junk.
“You there, Celia?”
“Yes. I’m here.” She paced back and forth. “You’ve been telling me this for a while. I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Listen, it’s a car. Once you get behind the wheel of something jazzy, you’ll forget about this clunker. I promise.”
“I can’t handle this.” She finally stopped pacing. She lifted a spoon from the drawer and removed a carton of cookie dough ice cream from the freezer. “Should I get it fixed this one last time?” She exhaled and then dug the spoon deep into the carton.
“You’ll be throwing $1,500 out the window. You could use that money for a new car. If you’re too freaked, you could lease, but I recommend you buy. You keep cars for a while. Right?”
Celia made a decision. She would begin to think about buying a new car. She wasn’t going to actively shop for one; she was going to think about car shopping.
Abruptly, Celia’s plan was kicked into action when Kate stopped by unannounced.
“I got gas this morning and saw Brian. He told me about your car, and I’m here to help. Aren’t you lucky you have me as your friend?”
“Not in the mood.”
“Celia, sweetie, I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve changed our plans or missed out on something because you got stranded somewhere with that stupid piece of junk. I want you to look. You don’t have to buy anything right this minute. Come with me and we’ll browse around. We’ll make it fun. A little adventure! Sound good? Your car is not safe.”
Celia covered her ears. “I can’t listen to this.”
Kate glared directly into Celia’s eyes. She didn’t need to say a word. Celia knew Kate was right. She was about to be held captive in Kate’s car-searching mission. “I swear, I heard you sing ‘nyah nyah nyah’ when you covered your ears. Did you sing that?”
“No, I didn’t sing that.” Celia’s annoyance rang clear as the church bells on Sunday morning.
“Oh, I guess it seemed that way, because it’s so mature to cover your ears. Come on. We’ll have fun. I promise.”
“I can’t deal with car payments and decisions, and all that crap.” Celia knew Brian was right when he said the expense would be a huge waste of money. She wouldn’t admit that little tidbit of information to Kate.
Kate went into the kitchen for Celia’s bag. She walked to the sofa, grabbed Celia’s hand, and pulled her up. “Come on. Let’s go for a ride.”
The first showroom had two customers—AFTER Celia and Kate entered the room. Three different sales people, two men and a woman, pounced upon them.
“Just checking things out.” Celia made it clear she was not going to buy at this time. The men walked away, but the black-haired woman, wearing a pale-yellow suit that was too tight for her little round body, followed them throughout the showroom. They left after seven minutes.
“I don’t want that kind of pressure.” Celia pushed through the doors out toward the parking lot.
“I’ll admit being followed around is annoying, but there was hardly any pressure.”
“Did you check out that yellow suit?” Celia giggled.
“I know. Hideous color.”
“Do you think she got up this morning and saw herself in the mirror and thought that suit was a good choice?”
“Celia, you need to get serious about this. You have no transportation for work on Monday.”
“I can walk to the commuter rail. I don’t have to take the subway.”
“You know—you’re truly difficult. Your car is seriously dangerous, and you need a new one. I’m trying to help you. You know I’m right. You can’t keep that old junk of yours.” Kate shook her head and dramatically rubbed her forehead. “You know it’s not safe, right? Safety first! Let’s find another dealer. We can make fun of the yellow suit later. Or maybe not at all.”
The second dealership was less than a mile away from their first stop. The huge building was surrounded by colorful flags, which were attached to ropes strung between several light poles. The new cars were lined up diagonally along the side wall of the structure.
Celia and Kate walked down the row of cars and then back up to the first one. They were silent. Celia pulled the handle of the front car. The car was locked. Her nail broke and the skin at the top of her finger was pinched. “Shit!” She shook her hand up and down to shake away the pain. “Every car is locked. It’s not even possible to look inside without someone’s help.”
A group of salesmen stood smoking by the front of the dealership. They continued to smoke as they watched the two women walk among the parked cars. They offered no assistance.
“Can you believe they let their salespeople smoke by the entrance? Who smokes at work these days?” Kate whispered to Celia.
Celia scowled at Kate, her jaw pushed forward. “Yeah, who smokes these days? Oh, that’s right. I do.” Celia’s attitude had gone from resistance to bad to worse. Kate’s comment antagonized her and downgraded her frame of mind.
They roamed the row of cars and peeked through the windows of two or three.
“I’m out of here. I don’t appreciate being ignored. If we were guys, or maybe young hotties, they’d be all over us.” Celia turned away from the cars.
“First and foremost, we ARE hotties! And second, we don’t have to waste any more time on this new car nonsense.” Celia picked up on the exasperation in Kate’s tone. “I can take you home and maybe your cute little car will miraculously go for another couple of years without needing to be fixed once or twice a month.”
“I’m willing to look, but I won’t tolerate being ignored. How are we supposed to see them if they’re all locked?” Celia was frazzled. Her eyes became glassy. “I’m totally intimidated by this entire process. I don’t want to have to beg someone to help me. I don’t know what questions to ask.” Celia was more upset than Kate had seen her in a very long time.
“Celia,
