Tom opened his eyes and regarded her. “Okay. So.. you want to see something else?”
Dar pulled her wallet out and removed a card from it. “I'll take it. Give us a minute and we'll bring the other one over to trade in.”
Tom blinked. “You want to put a deposit with that?” He hazarded, taking the card.
“Nope. Put the whole thing on it.” Dar exhaled in satisfaction. “Whatever extras come with it, get them on, and have them shine it up. Okay?”
Tom eyed her with shocked respect. “Yes ma'am!” He got out of the car and carefully put the card into his little folder. “I'll be right back!” He trotted off towards the low, beige building nearby.
Dar turned around and looked at her partner. “This okay?”
Kerry chuckled. “Honey it's very you.” She said. “And I like it. Actually, I like it better than the Lexus.” She patted the seat. “It'll be great to travel with, and we can put all our camping stuff in the back of it.” She said “Let's go get your trade in and make this a done deal.”
Dar got out of the front seat and closed it, bouncing a little on her heels. “My dad's gonna love it.”
Kerry got out and waited for Chino to join her, and they started back to where they parked. “So far, so good today.”
“Yep.”
“Hope we get as lucky with my new camera.”
Part 4
It was an awesome enough day for her to mostly forget the previous evening. Kerry moved around to the front of Dar's new car and took another picture of it, pulling the camera back to regard her work in all it's instantaneous, digital glory. “Huh.”
The instant feedback was curiously charming and somewhat addictive. She focused on the front hood of the saucy truck and snapped another shot of it. “Y'know Chi, I really like this thing”
“Growf.” Chino was seated nearby in the grass that ringed the parking lot they were parked in, watching her with intelligent interest.
“You like it?” Kerry knelt and took another picture. “Know what I think Chi? I think we're going to end up driving this thing to Vegas instead of flying there. Would you like that? Drive across the country?”
“Growf.” Chino's tail wagged enthusiastically.
“We'll fix that crew cab up for you, right? Fold the seats down and put your bed in there.” Kerry went on with her planning. “And put all our stuff and camping gear in the back. That's going to work out nice.”
Chino got up and wandered over, snuffling at her knees.
“This is going to be cool.” Kerry put her arm over the dog's back and hugged her. “Hey.. where's mommy Dar?”
Chino's ears perked up, and she looked around, spotting a familiar figure approaching as her tail started whipping Kerry in the back.
“Ow.”
Dar had emerged from the Dairy Queen, holding ice cream sundaes for the two of them, and a cup of vanilla for Chino. She ambled over to her family and beckoned them over to the back of the truck, where she let the tailgate down and perched on it. “Comes with a table.”
“It does.” Kerry opened the front door and put the camera down on the seat, capping the lens and closing the door. She joined Dar at the back and took her sundae, hopping up to sit on the tailgate and watch Dar give Chino her treat. “That's so cute.”
Dar grinned, visibly in a good mood. “So. Think this was a good pick?” She indicated the truck. “For real, I mean, not just to save the salesman's mojo.”
“I like it.” Kerry swung her feet. “I mean, I really do. I think it's going to be perfect for our travels, and it's really cute and sporty.”
“Mm.” Dar gave a satisfied grunt. She let Chino finish licking out the cup, and then went on to her own sundae. “It was time for a change. I had that Lexus for years.. I think I bought it two or maybe three years before we met.” She messed with the sundae for a minute. “It was all right.”
“This fits your image better.” Kerry nudged her with an elbow. “I have to check when my lease is up. Maybe I'll get something more exciting this time too.” She mused. “Do you always just buy your cars outright? I thought that guy was going to trip over his tongue.”
Dar chuckled .”Yeah, I do.” She admitted. “I mean, I got a good trade in for that old beast, and I can afford it. The truck wasn't that expensive. I guess if I wanted to buy a Mazarati maybe I would lease it or whatever.”
“We always leased.” Kerry mused. “But come to think of it, you don't actually have a credit card, do you? Just the Amex.”
“Just the Amex. You actually have better credit than I do.” Dar responded mildly. “Since I own that condo, and we own the cabin, I don't actually have any debts.”
“So un American.” Kerry clucked her tongue.
“Yeah, well, credit was scarce when I was growing up.” Dar crunched contentedly on her chocolate shell. 'That's how I've managed to sock away most of my paycheck all these years. Not much to spend it on.” She glanced at Kerry. “Until now, that is. “
“Mutual spend.”
Dar swallowed her mouthful. “Know what?”
“What?”
“I'm in the mood for a dive tomorrow. You up for it?”
“Absolutely. Can we stop back at the camera shop to see if they have an underwater housing for this little Canon beast?” Kerry finished her ice cream and tossed the container in a nearby garbage can. “Let's give it a real workout.”
Dar closed the hatch and let Chino into the back seat of her new ride, then she slid into the driver's seat and looked around the cab with a sense of satisfaction.
Definitely a change. It was a more rugged interior than her previous car and like Kerry, she felt it really better reflected her. The Lexus had been fine, and she hadn't minded driving it, but there was always a sense that it projected a tiny bit of status seeking she didn't really think she possessed.
At least, she hoped she didn't. She remembered, vaguely, worrying if the car was equal to the ones her peers in the company were driving but after a while other things had occupied her mind and she'd gotten used to the big beast.
She started the engine and shifted into drive, her peripheral vision catching Kerry fiddling with her new camera unsurprised when her partner half turned in her seat and pointed the lens at her. “Run out of truck to shoot?”
“Heh heh.” Kerry let the auto focus do it's thing, and snapped the pix, getting a nice shot of her partner's profile.
They drove a few minutes down the road, then Dar pulled back into the photo shop's lot and parked. “Me and Chino will wait for ya.”
Kerry hopped out and trotted over to the store, while Dar adjusted the seat back a little and relaxed, idly watching the late Saturday afternoon passersby meander past.
Her cell phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID, then opened it. “Hey Alastair.”
“Dar.”
His vocal tone warned her. “Yeap. What's up?”
“Not going to dance around.” Alastair said, in a very quiet voice. “The board has instructed me to terminate your employment, and Kerry's. Right this moment.”
Dar felt a flash through of several emotions, a blast of heat, and then of cold, and then oddly of relief. “Okay.” She responded after a moment of silence. “So that's it? They're not going to offer me a package, or hand over pension or anything?”
“No.”
“Okay.” Dar said again. “That's what I get for being honest?”
“Yes.”
Dar could hear more emotion in those short syllables than she ever had from Alastair. “Sorry boss.” She said gently. “I didn't really deserve that, and neither did you.”
There was a very long moment of silence. “No.” Alastair finally said, a clipped, rough word that Dar could hear the tears in. “And that's the very last god damned thing I''m going to do for them because I just submitted my own termination at the same time. Fuck them all.”