Chapter 6: Life with Sally

The next day I took Sally out and topped her off fuel-wise. I'd had to refuel her during the trip, and had bought the most expensive high-octane available at the time. She seemed okay with that, but I wanted to ensure now that I was doing the best possible for her.

I'd done some spot research on the Internet for best fuels, and found out that their top recommendation wasn't even the most expensive. It was just in the top three. And it was available only a few miles from my house.

Then I took the long way around to work.

Rather than finding work a chore, I discovered a new energy for it now. In fact, I was realizing I had a sudden new energy for life overall. Having something in my life I'd wanted so badly from the first moment they'd released that model — and that I never expected to actually even drive in a million years — changed everything. And to have the very best one (in my own not so humble opinion, I freely admit) made in her model year, only made it better. The envious glances I was getting from co-workers didn't hurt either, although anyone shallow enough be impressed by the car I drive doesn't interest me otherwise.

I savored the building anticipation of the drive home, knowing that this enforced waiting only made the eventual satisfaction even sweeter. And it did!

But once I was home the house seemed a cold and empty place, since Sally herself was still out in the garage.

That was easily solved. There was plenty of room for my easy chair and a reading light. And she didn't seem to mind at all if I seemingly ignored her a while in exchange for a good book — as long as I was there keeping her company. I could share the good parts of what I'd just read with her afterwards.

Okay, this all sounds totally nuts. I'll be the first to admit it. One shouldn't deny the obvious. In my defense I'll only say two things.

First, if you spend any time along The Highway in person, you'll soon realize just how limited your previous thinking about things has been.

If you don't believe me, try it yourself. I'll guarantee you that no one who spends even a week watching what goes on there would find anything at all strange about me now. I'll even pay for your trip if you don't come back changed by your experience. I just didn't realize until now what those visits had done for me. Now I understand why some people make The Highway their whole life.

And secondly, I saw a movie very recently that showed me that this is completely possible — if you accept one small premise. That premise is simply that what we can imagine here, can actually be happening somewhere else out there. After all, the multiverse truly is A Really Big Place.