“Anyway, we have lots of work to do.” Mel climbed up the ladder and pulled down the tarp that was covering their sign. “What do you think?” Mel waved toward their café triumphantly.
Sophie looked up at the sign that was on display for the world to see. “Wow. It looks amazing.” Bold lowercase letters spelled ‘eat my cOOkie!’ It made her smile to see their vision brought to life. The two o’s in the word cookie looked like two large chocolate chip cookies.
“We will talk more about the whole Lucinda thing later but we have a store to put together before your Mom’s wedding tomorrow. Come on.”
Sophie grabbed a sign they had made up with the opening date and set it out on the sidewalk before she walked back inside to tackle the set up now that the renovations and painting were complete. They were ready to put the final pieces together and make it presentable for opening day only a week away.
***
“That’s it. I’m buying a car!” Sophie announced when the bottom of the box gave out and all of the contents dropped onto the floor of the bus on their way home.
“For the love of god, yes!” Mel agreed as she began collecting their papers scattered around their feet. Mel and Sophie had worked all day and the store was now ready to open. The shelves were stocked with supplies and everything was lined up and prepared for opening day.
“What a day…so tired,” Mel moaned as she sat down and leaned her head on Sophie’s shoulder. Sophie looked around the bus and noticed the other people sitting around them. Most kept to themselves, tuned into their phones and computers and oblivious to anyone else around them. She made eye contact with a man sitting on the other side of the bus, whose eyes were already on her when she looked his way. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a ragged looking T-shirt. Sophie gave him a polite smile but turned her attention away quickly when he in exchange gave her a very suggestive, creepy expression. It was all she needed to put her plan into motion.
When the bus pulled up to the next stop, Sophie stood up. “Come on.”
“What are you doing?” Mel gasped in surprise. “This isn’t our stop.”
“I’m going to buy a car,” Sophie said in a determined tone.
“Right now?” Mel questioned in confusion.
“Right now,” Sophie confirmed.
“Okay. This is exciting!” Mel said, following Sophie off the bus. “This is so unlike you…but I like it!”
“Yeah.” Sophie smiled at Mel. “Someone told me that I need to do what makes me happy. Right now, a car would make me happy.” She winked at Mel.
“Does that mean you’re gonna call him?” Mel asked hesitantly, her eyebrows raised in anticipation.
“One step at a time,” Sophie said.
“What happened to using Mrs. Money’s car?” Mel skipped beside Sophie.
“I feel guilty using Margaret’s car when I’m not working. She pays me way too much as it is, I’m not taking her car. Besides, that thing is worth more than I’ll make in my entire life. I’m nervous driving it down the street when I have to pick up her dry cleaning.”
“What does guilty mean? I don’t think it’s something I have ever experienced before.” Mel smiled her signature mischievous smile.
“I’m going to give Peter a call and see if he has any advice for buying a car. I think the pair of us will be the perfect equation to be deceived by a sleazy car salesman.”
“Sophie? Is everything okay?” Peter spoke quickly on the other end of the line. Sophie had never called Peter before, so she understood his initial response to assume something was wrong.
“Yes. Everything is good. Are you busy?” Sophie suddenly felt nervous.
“No, Sophie, what’s up?” She heard the relief in his voice.
“I am standing in Dan’s Cars lot, trying to buy a car but I realized I don’t know what I’m doing. Mom is as clueless as me when it comes to cars…I was hoping…”
“I’m actually not too far from there,” Peter broke in. “Give me twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Peter.”
“Sure thing,” he said before he hung up.
“Peter said he would stop over in twenty minutes. Well, we might as well go see what Dan has for us today,” Sophie said as they walked into a car lot with a banner ‘Dan’s Cars’ overhead. There were rows and rows of cars in every color and make lining the square of pavement that designated the used car lot. It looked strangely out of place surrounded by tall office buildings.
“Ooh…look at this one.” Mel leaned down and ran her hand seductively over the hood of a faded gold colored car. It looked decades old with oversized dice hung from the rearview mirror. “We would look like porn stars driving around in this beast.”
“It looks more like a boat than a car.” Sophie shook her head. “I’m going for more of a sophisticated look.” Sophie laughed as she continued to eye the cars. It wasn’t long before a man in a suit sauntered out to ask them if they needed any help. He wasn’t that much older than them. His charm was turned on and he was ready to impress.
“Hello, beautiful ladies. How can I help you today?” The man’s face was covered with a few days’ growth and his thick wavy hair would make any girl jealous. He had a slyness about him that seemed appropriate for the typical car salesman persona she pictured.
“I was hoping you could show me what my options are.”
“It would be my pleasure. I’m Dan.” He held out his hand and Sophie took it.
“I’m Sophie, this is Mel. Would you be the Dan from the sign?” Sophie pointed behind her.
“That Dan is my father. I’m the new and improved version.” He winked playfully.
Sophie followed Dan around the lot as he showed her different options. Mel loved Dan’s attention and she made sure he noticed her. Sophie tried not to giggle at Mel’s attempt to seduce the best deal from him. Sophie didn’t know the first thing about cars or whether to trust the smooth talker in front of her. She was grateful when Peter’s police car pulled into the lot.
“Hey kiddo.” Peter stepped out of his car in full uniform.
“Hey, Peter. Thanks for coming.” Sophie smiled.
Peter engaged with Dan and quickly narrowed Sophie’s options down based on what she had in mind. Before Sophie knew it Peter had found her a great deal. Peter insisted on having his own mechanic confirm the condition of the vehicle. He was the closest thing she ever had to a father. It was nice having his support.
Once the deal was finalized Sophie opened the door of her new car and slipped in behind the wheel. “It’s official. I am a car owner.” Sophie beamed.
Peter chuckled. “You look good behind the wheel but no speeding,” he warned jokingly.
“Yes, Officer,” Sophie laughed. “Peter?” Sophie’s tone suddenly turned serious. Sophie looked in her rearview mirror to see that Mel had moved on to flirting with Peter’s partner. She had to admit Mel had a talent. She turned back to Peter. “I wanted to say thank you for being there for my mom. I know how much she loves you.”
Peter reached in through the window and placed his hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “I love your mother very much and I will always be there for her as long as she’ll have me. That goes for you too, Sophie. I like that you called me today.”
“Me too.” Sophie squeezed his hand, still on her shoulder.
“I have to get my partner out of here before he gets in trouble,” Peter chuckled, nodding toward Mel and him.
“Good idea,” Sophie laughed. “Thanks again.”
Peter smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I was nearby. Be safe and I’ll see you tomorrow for the big event.”
“Bye Peter!”
Mel jumped into the passenger’s seat a moment later. “This is awesome,” she squealed.
“I know.” Sophie ran her hands over the steering wheel before she turned the key in the ignition. She buckled her seatbelt.