Chapter 10

Saturday. Nothing to do and all the time in the world to do it.

I check my phone; an email from Ashlee is the first thing I see.

Hey Paul,

Give me a call. A couple of friends of mine are going out this afternoon and you are coming with us. Don't ask, you are coming along. Here is my phone number 913-555-1234. Call me, we are leaving at noon.

Later,

Ashlee

Ok, looks like I have something to do today. Breakfast, shower, ring ring. There goes my phone again. "Hello."

"Paul Johnson please."

"Speaking."

"Mr. Johnson, this is Gary from the dealership. Have I caught you at a bad time?"

"No, No." YEAH!! Maybe my jeep is done. So much excitement!! "I'm just fine. I was just getting my day started. What can I do for you?"

"Hey, I have great news for you. We got your Rubicon done early and I wanted to call and ask when you want to come down and pick it up."

My level of excitement just shot through the roof. "Sure, that is great! I can be down to see you all in just a few hours. I just have to get dressed and I'll be right over. This is great!!"

"You are welcome, we were all so glad to be able to help you fulfill this dream of yours. We all can't wait to see you."

"Ok. I'll see you in a bit."

"Ok bye."

"Later."

Wow, how cool is that? I can't wait to see it. I hope it is everything I wanted. I finish with my morning and then jump into the rental. I pull out the paperwork for the rental and swing into the agency. I stroll in light as a feather with a smile on my face. "Good morning sir, how can I help you today?"

The bright young face behind the desk smiling as I walk up and hand her the keys. "My new truck is done and I am done with this rental."

"Wonderful. How did the car work for you Mr. Johnson?"

"The car is just fine. Ran well and got me back and forth from work and such. But right now, I need a ride to pick up my new Jeep. Do you have someone who could give me a ride?"

"Yes we do." She turns and sticks her head through a door and tells Jeff to come and give me a ride. When she returns she finishes the paperwork and has me swipe my charge card and sign my name on the little data pad and it was all done. Jeff comes from the back of the office and leads me out of the office and into the car I had just returned.

"Which dealership are we going to?"

"The Jeep shop on Noland road. They are expecting me."

"Ok. Here we go." Jeff drove off and within a few minutes we arrive at the dealership. I start looking around for an orange Rubicon. I see red, black, white and even tan ones. No orange.

Jeff drops me off at the front door.

"Thank you Jeff for the ride." We exchange a quick handshake and I walk inside. What I see almost stops my breath. An orange jeep, gleaming brightly in the sunlight from the window, polished to a shine I have not seen sitting there with a large red bow on the top and extending down to the front. Large tires with white wheels all around. I start to walk around it. There is a winch in the front and the light bar along the windshield and in the front grill. My dream right there on the showroom floor. I try to breathe but it catches in my throat.

"It turned out really well, didn't it?"

Brenda, the sales girl who helped me buy it had walked up behind me, I didn't even notice.

I slowly turned to face her, and with a tear in my eye, I said "yes, it turned out incredibly. I can't get over the color and all of the extras that you installed. I love it."

"Oh I am so glad. The guys in the body shop worked some overtime to make sure it all worked out." Then she did something unexpected, she stepped forward and hugged me. A strong grasp with full body contact. Her breasts pressed against my chest and her stomach and pelvis against me as well. If we had been a couple, I would have expected this, but from someone like Brenda, I was a bit surprised.

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back. It even brought some stiffness back to my penis which had not been used a quite a while. "This is wonderful Brenda. Can I really take it home today?"

She released me and stepped back, but held onto my arms. "Yes, you can take it home today. Come into my office and we will finish everything up so you can leave." I wrote the large check and she gave me the keys and the registration and receipt. "Don't forget to call your insurance company to get it covered. Otherwise you will be in trouble." She reminded me.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called the number on the back of my insurance card. I talked to a nice lady for several minutes to get it covered. Finally, I was able to confirm it was covered. "Could you fax me a temp card until my permanent card arrives?"

"Yes we can, what is your fax number?"

"Hang on a sec." I put my hand over the phone and looked at Brenda, "What is your fax number?"

She gave me a business card, "Here you go," Going back to the lady on the phone. "816-555-6789"

We concluded our business and within a few minutes the fax machine is going off and my new card arrived. Brenda got the paper off the fax machine and I thanked her for everything. I followed her out of the office and by now, the other people in the office had opened the big doors and were in the process of getting my Jeep out of the building. I stood back and watched them work. Not hard to do, but they took their time making sure to not scratch the paint.

Brenda and I walk outside; I am approached by a rather rotund man, who introduces himself as the manager of the company. "Mr. Johnson, I am Felix Jones, the manager here and I have to tell you what an honor it has been to participate in the creation of this Rubicon for us. When I heard about your loss and what you decided to do to honor them, I was really impressed. Let me show you around."

"Mr. Jones, it is good to meet you as well." We shook hands and then he led me around the vehicle. He showed me the winch and the lights and then we got down on the ground and he showed me the lift kit, and several other items under the jeep. It was all very impressive.

"I never knew how much the Wrangler had changed since I was a kid. Thank you for showing me this. Though I do have one question, how do you use the winch and the lights?"

"Oh that is easy. Let me show you." We got up from the ground and he led me to the driver's side. He showed me the series of switches on the A-pillar and an outlet under the dash for the winch switch. Everything else was standard equipment and I understood it pretty quickly.

All in all, every piece of equipment had a function and nothing was wasted.

"Mr. Jones, I have to thank you for showing me around my new Jeep, I love what you did with it. It is amazing. However, I need to get going."

"You are welcome. It has been a real pleasure. Take care and enjoy."

We parted company and I drove off down the road. I looked behind me and several of the people I had met were standing outside watching me drive away. They each raised a hand and waved me good-bye. When I arrived at the next stop light, I pulled out my phone to call Ashlee. I didn't know where I was going and she said that I was supposed to meet her somewhere.

"Ashlee! It's Paul. Where am I meeting you?"

"Paul!" She exclaimed. "So good of you to call. I was just about to call you and make sure you were coming today."

"This is exactly why I called you. Where are we meeting?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you did I." She isn't normally forgetful or flighty, strange. "We are meeting at Union Station, inside. Near the coffee shop. OK?"

"Cool. Why union station? Are we going to the science museum?" I teased. The museum was made for kids and their adults not for adults without kids. That would be strange.

"No silly. We are not going to the museum. We are just meeting there."

"Ok, see you at Union Station."

Now that I knew where we were meeting, I could now start driving." By now the light had changed color and I was pulling into traffic and started heading downtown.