“That's my kind of shopping.” Dar agreed. “Maybe I'll get a new laptop.”
“Oh I can see this is going to be an expensive day.” Kerry laughed. “Meet you in the shower?”
“Let's do it.”
An hour later they were dressed, and pulling off the ferry onto the causeway heading west. It was a beautiful day, cool and crisp and cloudless and Kerry almost felt like humming as she leaned back in the passenger seat of Dar's car, enjoying the splash of sunlight through the windows.
Chino was relaxing in the back seat, tail perpetually wagging, delighted to have been added to the excursion. “Growf!” She barked at a palm tree whizzing by.
“You tell em, Chi.” Kerry reached back and tickled the dog's paw. “We're going to take you to get ice cream when we're done today. What do you think about that?”
“Growf!” Chino was listening attentively, recognizing the name of a favorite treat.
Dar had her sunglasses on, and she was tapping the steering wheel with her thumbs, waiting for a light to turn green so they could proceed. “So where do we start?”
'Well.” Kerry hitched one knee up. “Foreign or domestic?”
Dar thought about that for a minute. “Does it matter?” She wondered. “I've had pretty good luck with both in terms of maintenance.”
“It matters in terms of narrowing down our traveling, hon.” Kerry said. “Otherwise, just go find some random major street and start driving and we'll stop at the first dealership we find.”
“Hm.” Her partner made a little face. “Okay let's do that.” She decided. “Let's let a little random fate into it.”
Fate, as it turned out, led them to an auto mall stretch with six different manufacturers stretched across both sides of the street as far as the eye could see. Dar pulled into the first one and parked. “Here we all.”
“Boy.” Kerry was peering out the window. “Got enough choices here for you, hon?”
“Mm.” Dar got out and opened the back door, attaching Chino's leash to her collar and standing back to let the dog hop out. They walked along the pavement to the first line of new cars, strolling between them and joining a number of other people doing the same. “Now, what in the hell do I want?”
Kerry peered at the cars they were passing. “The biggest thing I liked when I got my buggy was sitting up higher. Do you like that?”
“Yes.” Dar responded positively. “I like that, and a big engine.” She said. “And leather seats.”
“Well that narrows it down a little.” Kerry chuckled. “And honestly, I can't see you in a sedan, Dar. It's too boring.”
“I”l take that as a compliment.”
“It is.” Kerry agreed. “So let's get past this Acura dealer and head for where the Jeeps are.” She pointed. “Those are cute.”
They went from one lot to the other, and now were roaming among taller, boxier looking vehicles. “Hm.” Dar reviewed them. “Too squarish. They look too much like the one I have now.”
“True.”
They kept walking. Chino trotted alongside, head swinging from one side to the other, nose twitching.
“Ford. There's my Mustang.” Kerry observed. “It was a cute car.”
“Totally fit you.” Dar smiled. “I remember thinking that when I saw it that night.”
“It was fun to drive.” Kerry agreed. “But not enough leg room for you.”
“No.” Dar spotted a profile. “But hm... “ She diverted her steps. “What do we have here?”
Kerry regarded her partner's target. “Ah.” She mused. “An SUV married a pickup truck.” She followed Dar over to the Ford Sport Trac row, where her companion started nosing around a dark red specimen.
“What do you think of this, Chi?” Kerry peered in a window. “Nice big crew cab back seat for you to ride in.”
Chino hopped up on her back legs and Kerry just caught her in time to keep her claws off the paint job. “Ah ah ah.” She cradled the dog as she sniffed at the open window “No claws.”
Dar had gone around to the driver's side door and opened it, getting inside and looking around. “Leather seats.” She remarked, with a grin.
“And a decent size engine.” Kerry was looking at the window sticker. She let Chino down and leaned on the door jamb, watching Dar adjust the seat to her long frame.
It wasn't anything she would have picked for herself. Kerry looked back at the bed of the truck. “We can put the bike in there.” She said. “Not to mention, camping stuff. Hey.” She poked her head inside. “Could we pull this behind the RV?”
Dar had gotten things sorted out to her satisfaction, and reached forward to grip the steering wheel. Her motion attracted the attention of one of the roaming salesmen, and he came over to them.
“Good morning ladies.” The man greeted them with an amiable grin.
“Hi.” Dar responded. “Can we take a ride?”
Kerry had enough experience with her lover's mentality to know when it was on a track and chugging. She opened the back door and slid into the crew cab, moving over so Chino could jump up and join her.
The seats smelled rich and pungent even above the new car smell, and she stretched out as the salesman hurried back with the keys and got into the front passenger seat. “Uh.” He looked at Kerry. “We don't usually allow dogs in the cars... I mean, you know, for a test.”
“Won't matter.” Kerry told him with a kind smile. “Just give her the keys.” She patted Chino, who had curled up on the seat and put her head down on her lap. “Hi, I'm Kerry.”
“Tom.” The man handed over the keys. “Ah, you gals from around here?”
Dar started the engine and peered at the instruments. “Nice.” She said. “Uncluttered.”
“Ah, yeah. It's a nice truck.” Tom wrestled his priorities into place. “Got a six cylinder engine, yeah? This one's got the automatic package, but you can get manual too if you want.”
“I don't.” Dar said. “I usually need to use one hand for the wheel and one for a piece of technology.” She put the truck in drive and pulled out. “I have an SUV now.”
“Oh, yeah?” Tom looked at a page in his little book. “This truck's got a bunch of extras. The seats, the moon roof..” He pointed up. “Wheels, rims, but we got base models too if you're interested.”
“Four wheel drive?”
“Yeah.” The salesman agreed. “Some people like the 2 wheel better. I got a blue one in that.”
Dar turned onto the main drag and gave the truck some gas. The engine made a low, growly noise and responded, putting a grin on it's driver's face. She spotted a vacant lot on the next block and turned into it, going over the rocks and grass at a respectable speed.
“Uh hey.” Tom held on to the grab handle. “Take it a little easy, it's only got two miles on it.”
Dar felt the suspension beneath her handling the uneven ground, and turned the truck in a tight circle. “Hang on, Ker.”
“Hanging.” Kerry had one arm around Chino and one on the handle.” She glanced back through the window and saw gusts of dust churning up behind the truck, rocks bouncing out of the tire's path. “Got nice pickup, hon.”
“It does.” Dar got around to the entrance again and without hesitation she gunned the engine and bolted out across the six lane main street, turning left ahead of oncoming traffic and pulling into the flow going the other direction with smooth skill. The road was clear ahead of her and she accelerated, pleased with the power of the engine and the feel of the steering.
It wasn't a sports car. It wasn't an SUV. She'd always liked pickups. Dar glanced at the salesman who had his eyes closed, and his lips pursed and clenched. With a chuckle she aimed her direction back to the lot and turned into it, bumping over the retainer blocks and pulling into a spot in the front of the dealership. “We're back.”