Chapter 12

It was late in the afternoon when mum and Sargent Wright’s family were ready to go back to London. Everyone got into the vehicle and waited for mum to say goodbye to me. Before she got into the car, she embraced me and kissed me on the forehead, promising me that there would be a lot of changes and that I’d be back home soon. Once everyone was in the car, Sargent Wright looked in his rear mirror, “Buckle up, ladies!” he ordered everyone. Once the seat belts clicked in place, they were off.

I spent two more weeks in Birmingham. I didn’t want to leave Tim and the others until they got a replacement for me. The shop wasn’t as busy after the New Year. That gave Jason and Tina a chance to show me around Birmingham. It was a good time for the two siblings to spend some time together. They would argue every day on where to take me, but they agreed on somewhere eventually.

I needed to get some wheels, as I wanted to travel around more independently, not depend on trains and buses. I had saved up some money, which I tried to use to get some wheels. I asked Tim if he knew any car dealers to buy a cheap car. The next day with Barbara running the cafe, Tim Jason and I got into the transit van to visit Tim’s friend who owned a car showroom on Birmingham’s outskirts. It was a half-hour drive to our destination, which I thought was a waste of time when we got there. The dealers’ car lot had over fifty vehicles for sale, but they were not in my budget range. Prices started at five thousand pounds and went up to over twenty thousand, not to mention the prestige cars in the showroom, which all had a price tag of over thirty thousand.

With my budget of two to three thousand pounds, I said to Tim, “Let’s get out of here, Tim. These cars are far too expensive for me.”

“We are here now. Let’s see what offer Charlie can offer us. He owes me a favour,” Tim said, winking at me as he parked near the entrance of the showroom.

A large man in a sheepskin coat came out to greet us. “Welcome to ‘Prestige Motors’, he said, pointing his finger to the large sign on the building above the showroom. “Hello, Tim,” giving him a firm handshake, then rubbed his hands together. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

Tim turned to me, telling me to look around at the cars while he spoke to Charlie. The two men disappeared inside, to some offices in the back of the showroom. Jason and I wandered off around the lot to see the cars. I browsed while inspecting their specs, knowing I wouldn’t purchase anything due to the high prices. On the other hand, Jason was drawling over all the sports cars. We both strayed to the back of the showroom, where we found four vehicles parked bumper to bumper next to the building. They didn’t have prices on them, so I didn’t know if they were for sale, but if Charlie were selling one of these vehicles, it would be in my budget range, as they were older models to the ones in front of the showroom. Jason wanted to go back to where the expensive cars were, but I was busy inspecting the hidden gems in my fund limit.

“Hey Mike, have you finished. My dad will be looking for us,” Jason said. He was eager to go where the more expensive cars were.

“Hold on a minute. There might be something that interests me here.” I held a finger up.

The back door to the showroom swung open, Tim and Charlie appeared behind me. “You found them. I was about to show Tim these four cars.” He saw I was interested, even though I didn’t say anything. “Let me get the keys.” He disappeared back inside, reappearing a couple of minutes later. “Here are the keys.” Charlie slammed them into my palm. “Unlock them start the engines, play with the car radio. Do what you kids do when you’re out to buy a car.” He then turned to Tim. “Let’s have some coffee until they finish.” They both disappeared again.

For the next half hour, I was all over the cars. Inside the cockpit, I was checking that everything worked and also for wear and tear; Laying on the ground, I inspected the bottom of the vehicles for leaks; Inside the engine bay, I checked for more leaks, and with the engine running, I would listen for any unusual sounds. Jason was behind me all the time, asking questions.

Tim and Charlie finished their coffee when I finished my inspection of the cars.

“Have you seen anything you like, Michael?” Tim asked.