Ugly(95)

“You were having such a good time trying to wake me I thought I’d just leave you to your fun.”

“Jesus. You could’ve told me you were awake.”

“Who am I to deprive you of your entertainment? I was simply enjoying my breakfast.”

Liam squints at me, and I can’t help but laugh out loud. “You really are a chicken butt.” He moves into the kitchen and begins making breakfast. “I’m making breakfast in bed for Shayne,” he says as he gets a frying pan out of the cupboard and begins breakfast.

I hear a knock on the door, and know Dale’s here. “I’m out of here.” I wash my bowl, place in it in the strainer and go give Liam a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you when I’m back.”

“See ya.”

I answer the door and Dale is already walking toward his car. “Good morning, Lily. You ready?” he says as he looks over his shoulder at me.

“I am. Just give me a second to get my bag.”

“I’ll wait.” He gets in the car, and starts it while I run into my room and get my bag. “Bye,” I shout to Liam as I run past him, out the front door and into Dale’s car.

We make small talk on the way to the dealership, and Dale can tell I’m nervous. We’ve already established a payment plan before today, and got the insurance for the car all sorted so if the dealership has a Taurus in the yard, I’ll be driving it home today (or rather, someone else will). The payment arrangement is more than generous and if I can I want to try and make double payments in order to halve the time I’ll be paying. Instead of it taking me four years to pay off, I’m hoping on having it done as close to two years as I can.

“Larry, good to see you,” Dale says once we’re out of the car and inside the dealership.

“Here’s a man who kicks my ass on the golf course every time we play. And now, he’s here to kick my ass in my showroom, too,” Larry says to me, as he shakes Dale’s hand. “You must be Lily. Pleased to meet you.” He lets go of Dale’s hand, and extends his to me.

“Please to meet you, Sir.” I shake his massive, warm hand.

“Pffft. Sir is my great grandfather, I’m just Larry.” Larry has to be pushing sixty years old, but he’s physically quite fit and his body stands easily a head above Dale. “Come into my office.” He guides us over to his office, and I notice on the door is his name with ‘President’ below it. “Now, Dale said you’re in the market for a car. What are you looking at?”

“I’ve done some research and I like the Taurus.”

“Good respectable car, they are. What features do you want on it, so I can see what type of deal I can do for you?”

I go to speak, but Dale slightly touches my leg and shakes his head. I shut my mouth and watch them talk business. “Are you seriously going to try that salesman crap on me? Larry, I’ve known you and Sue for how many years?’

Larry’s lips curl up into a very controlled smile. “I need to know what the young lady wants. It’s only fair.”

“She wants the top of the range model. The SHO, with every possible extra there is.”

“They’re forty thousand dollars, and come with everything.”

“They’re forty thousand for regular folks. Not for me, who can easily make one phone call to Sue and get her to have you doing yard work, even in this snow.”

Larry laughs and sits back in his chair, placing his hands on his head. “This is why we’re friends. You should come work for me, Dale. I think you’d be great on the floor.”

“I’m not working for a grumpy, old bastard like you.”

I’m smiling, but trying hard not let out a huge belly laugh. “See what I have to deal with, Lily? See?”

I say nothing, because, Dale is here to negotiate something for me. “She’s not going to help you, Larry. Back to the car, now give me a price on a SHO.”

“Forty thousand,” Larry quickly says without missing a beat.

“No, I don’t care if you have to lose money on it, which I know you won’t. I want it no higher than in the twenties.”

“What? That’s a ridiculous price.”

“I’ve bought Betsy’s last two cars through you, and if you want me to upgrade mine next year to a car from you, you better get the Taurus in the twenties.”

“I can’t do that price. That means I’ll be in the red.”

The negotiations continue like this for close to forty minutes. Back and forth, minor playful insults, threaten to call each other’s wives and more trash talk on how bad the other’s game is on the golf course. The entire time, I sit quietly, chuckle when the insults are funny, and I listen.