Room-maid(27)

“This is your circus,” he said. “I’m just here to watch the show.”

That made my heart flutter. I really appreciated what he’d said. My parents would never have let me make my own choice here. They would have talked over me and selected a different car from what I actually wanted. My decisions wouldn’t have mattered to them.

Larry ran back with the keys and gave them to me. He opened the driver’s door. “You did say your name was Madison Huntington, right?”

Why was he checking? Did he think my ID was fake? “I did. That’s me.”

He nodded and handed me my license. “Great. Let’s go so you can see what this car is capable of!”

I grabbed the keys and climbed in, adjusting the seat and mirrors. I caught a glimpse of Tyler sitting in the back seat and he shot me two thumbs-up. I smiled, shaking my head as I clicked my seat belt into place.

Once Larry was situated in the passenger seat, I pulled the car forward. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be checking for, but the car went forward when I pushed the gas and stopped when I depressed the brake. The signal lights also seemed to be in order.

Larry carried on a one-sided conversation listing all the car’s safety features and something about horsepower. I understood only about half of what he was saying.

I wanted to listen, but I kept getting distracted because Tyler, sitting in the back seat, was having very expressive responses to Larry’s monologue. Whenever I checked my rearview mirror, I tried hard not to giggle as Tyler alternated between rolling his eyes, raising both eyebrows in mock surprise, and flashing me impish grins.

I didn’t drive very far, as my answers as to whether the car ran had been answered. Everything else was just icing on the cake. When I got back to the parking lot, Larry asked, “So tell me, Madison, what can I do to get you to drive this car home today?”

It was nice that Larry didn’t address himself to Tyler and talked solely to me. It was a heady experience to be treated like an actual adult capable of making a decision. “Here’s the thing, Larry. I’m going to be blunt. I’ve done my research. I have a cashier’s check in my purse that’s for four thousand dollars less than your asking price. It’s what I can afford. I can’t go any higher. Do we have a deal?”

Larry seemed to consider this and then nodded. “Sounds good. Deal.”

Wow, that had been much easier than I expected and went against everything I’d read online about how this exchange was supposed to go down. “Really? You don’t want to go get your manager or something?”

“I am the manager and you caught me in a good mood. Let’s go inside and fill out the paperwork.”

Larry got out and I turned around and let out a squeal of excitement to Tyler. Why had all my friends complained about this process? Getting what you wanted was either much easier than I’d been led to believe or I had some secret ninja negotiating skills.

“You did it!” Tyler said. “High-five on that one. You handled that guy like a boss.”

I slapped my hand against his. “I can’t believe it worked.”

“Yeah, I wish my business deals went that smoothly. Come on, let’s go in and get this process started. This is going to take a long time.”

“You don’t have to stay,” I told him. I mean, I was probably going to get lost several times on my way home, but I’d find it eventually. I hated the idea of taking up more of his Saturday by sitting in a car dealership.

“No way. You’re stuck with me. I have to see how this ends.”

“It ends with me having a car.”

“Possibly. Let’s go find out.”

He made it seem like some kind of grand adventure, which in turn made me excited to see if things would actually turn out the way I thought they would. “Lead the way.”

“Nope. You’re the boss here. You go keep Larry in line. We can’t leave the circus until the lions have been sufficiently tamed. You’ve got this.”

Grinning, I headed off toward the dealership offices. I liked feeling as if I could conquer every obstacle around me and tame all the lions in my path. A girl could get used to a guy who made her feel like she could take over the world.



What should have been a mind-numbing and thoroughly boring afternoon spent at a car dealership turned out to be one of the most fun in recent memory. Tyler and I got on so well. Talking to him was easy, uncomplicated, and beyond enjoyable. We talked a lot more about traveling, then about Pigeon and the progress I’d made in our relationship, and about his job. There were no awkward silences or trying to decide what to say next. I loved how new it felt, how I wanted to know everything about him, but at the same time how it seemed comfortable and familiar, like we were good friends just continuing an old conversation. Finally the last paper had been signed, my ownership papers and temporary license had been handed to me, and it was finally (finally!) time to go home.

After I explained my inability to follow a GPS, Tyler carefully led the way home and when we got back to the apartment I pulled into the spot next to his in the parking garage. He was waiting for me when I climbed out of my car.

“So how does it feel to be driving your own car? A car that you own?”

“It feels fantastic! Like I want to celebrate.” I realized a moment too late how that might have sounded. As if I were insinuating that I wanted to celebrate with him. I was about to correct myself when he pulled out his phone, checking something.