V8 Engine

We both parked our cars and the sales agent, Paul, came out to greet us. Paul announced, "That's a beautiful truck you have Hank, and I am excited to have it in my lot." I had put a lot of time and money into modifying my truck, but it was time for an upgrade. The most important part of this step was getting 30 days to leave the country without registering it. I said, "I am looking forward to the upgrade." Paul looked at Roxane. "You must be Roxanne, and that must be your car. It's a cute little thing, and between the two, we shouldn't need a big loan, if any." Before I could discuss the loan, Roxanne said, "We don't want to have a loan and would rather buy it outright right now." I wasn't used to having a woman in my life who could effectively take the reigns, and I liked it. Paul exclaimed, "Fantastic. Do you want to test drive the new truck?" I responded, "Let's do it." All three of us climbed into the massive truck. It was about twice as big as my last one. I looked at the price tag, and it was 5,000 more than the online price. I asked, "Why is this price more expensive than online?" Paul looked surprised. "It's because the truck you had your eye on got sold, and this one has a lot more safety features." As Pual continued to explain the fancy crap this truck had, I was becoming pissed off that he tried to pull a fast one, but before I could say anything or put the truck in gear, Roxanne seemed to be on the same wavelength as me and asked Pual, " What makes you think that we are okay with you trying to sell us a different truck than Hank talked to you about?" Paul attempted to compose himself but made the near-fatal error of appealing to my ego. "Honey, why don't you let the men figure this out." I thought, "This guy's insides will decorate the inside of the truck, and his balls will be hanging from the review mirror."

I looked back at Roxanne; her brown eyes had shifted to black, and Paul's face turned pale white. He stammered, "I'm sorry, miss. That was a rude comment. I'll go talk to my manager about a price drop." Paul got out, and I said, "I appreciate the loving gesture, but we should keep our special tendencies to a minimum so as not to attract attention." I wasn't sure how that comment would be received, but Roxanne cried, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't like that fat bastard messing with us." I felt bad about my comment because she was trying to stand up for me. I climbed into the back with her and hugged her. I reassured her, "It's okay. I will never be mad at you." She looked up at me with her puppy dog eyes and said, "I love you." I didn't hesitate. "I love you too." I kissed her on the head, and I could see Pual waddling up. I climbed back into the front right as Pual opened the passenger side door. Paul asked, "Hank? You stated in the email that you both previously worked in the healthcare industry." I nodded. He continued, "Okay, that's what I thought. I talked to my boss, and if you guys sign the papers today, you can have it for the online price contingent upon you like it after the test drive." I said, " Sounds like a plan," and I started the truck. It roared to life with its powerful V8 engine, and the teenager in me grinned. 

Paul asked, "I can tell your inner man loves the engine." He turned to Roxanne, "This truck has all of the safety features, such as collision warning, backup sensors, a reinforced axle, and it has the best in class crash test survivability rates. It'll be perfect if you two have kids someday." I thought, "Oh god. I just got past being able to say I love you without gagging, and now kids." Having kids was another sensitive topic for me. I thought for sure that I would be a helicopter parent, and I didn't want more stress. I saw a lot of kids with mental health issues at the hospital and a few times when parents dropped off babies with special needs, only never to return. I always wondered how I would handle being told my kid had special needs, but Roxanne's beautiful voice interrupted. "That would be great." I disliked ambiguous statements, and that was the definition of one. While exiting the driveway, I was trying to do the math in my head of the probability of Roxanne already hinting about kids, but the truck's sensors started beeping. I looked around for what they were referring to, and a truck was pulling out of a driveway 50 yards away. Paul laughed. "Right now, the sensors are turned up to the highest possible setting and can be adjusted." Paul continued, "Take your next right." I turned right, and it was a dirt road. Paul said, "One of the primary thoughts behind the design of this truck was its off-road capabilities. Press that switch with a picture of a rock." I pressed it, and the truck's height rose. I said with a smile, "Shit, that's cool." Paul egged, "Punch it." My foot hit the floor like I was trying to kill a roach, and the truck exploded forward, throwing the three of us to the back of our seats. The engine was hungry and wanted to eat the road for breakfast. Despite us flying down a bumpy dirt road, the truck barely wavered. I stopped the truck and looked in the review view mirror to see a dog with two tails smile on Roxanne's face. Paul said, "This puppy was made for you." I stated, "We will take it.