Speed of Life (29 page)

He looks confused as well as a little embarrassed. “Sure.” He leans over and squeezes Natalie's bare foot and she squeals. “Hey, Nattie baby.”

I've been dreading telling him. He probably already thinks I'm a bigtime liar because of how I kept McPherson a secret from Amber. It's pretty clear I'd misled him about Natalie, too, but he's acting cooler than I deserve, and I try to relax.

All around us are the sounds of hot rod engines . . . that sort of loud lion's purr of hard work, sweat, grease, and love. Car doors slam, guys with beer bellies call out greetings to other hot rodders, and 1950s music blasts over the loudspeaker. These are the sounds of summer, the sounds I love so much.

“I was hoping I'd see you,” I tell David. “I stopped by Jimmy's to talk to you yesterday, and he said you were coming here.”

“Yeah, he told me. Why aren't you in Kansas?”

“I forgot something,” I said. “Had to come back for precious cargo. But I'm still going. I have to do a few things first. Like make you an offer you can't refuse.”

He snags my folding lawn chair. “Sorry, I'm taken.”

“You wish. It's better than that, anyway.”

He grins. “Ooh. Sounds promising. I'm listening.” Bonehead sticks his head into David's crotch, and Stanford Boy laughs and shoves him away. But then he scratches Bonehead's ears and wins a new friend for life. The dog relaxes, falling in love for sure and settling at David's feet on the grass.

I take a deep breath. I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I've thought about it constantly for the past two days, and I know it's the right thing to do. It'll be hard, but as an old hot rodder once told me, “Darlin', we don't really own these cars. We just steward them for a while and pass them on to the next guy.”

I pull a
FOR SALE
sign out of the diaper bag. “So . . .” I say, holding it up. “Should we put this in the Mustang or your Chevelle?”

David looks horrified. “Why would I put it in the Chevelle?”

“Me and Amber own the Mustang together, and she's staying here, which means I need to sell it so I can give her half the money. Do you want to sell the Chevelle and buy my car or not?”

His look of horror turns to confusion. “Huh?”

“I've gotta sell the car,” I explain. “And I'd rather sell it to you than to a stranger.”

“But what would I do with it?”

“Finish restoring it. You keep saying you want to learn how to do stuff. You need a project car for that.”

“But—”

“Look, I know I've already done most of the fun stuff—​the body work and the engine—​but there's still the interior to do. And it needs to be painted. Maybe you could learn to spray cars.”

David looks at me like I'm crazy.

“Up! Up! Up!” Nat screeches, and I take her out of the stroller and let her toddle around on the grass, holding her hands so she doesn't fall.

“I'm going to Stanford, remember?”

“So drive it like it is this year,” I say. “And then come back in June and get some help from Jimmy.”

I can tell he's totally considering it. “I don't know . . .”

“Or better yet, skip the high-powered internship next summer and drive the Mustang to Kansas to take some of the short workshops at the college.”

I can see him debating the pros and cons. Finally he says, “My parents would kill me if I sold the Chevelle.”

“But it's yours, right? I mean, you've got the title in your name, don't you?”

“Well, yeah . . . but they would be so freaking mad.”

I smirk. “Bonus, if you ask me.”

He smiles. I play patty-cake with Nat, giving David time to think things over. His parents might run his life, make him go to Stanford, insist he study pre-med, all the clichés . . . but there's a car geek inside him, and if you're born with that gene, it can't be suppressed.

“How much should I ask for the Chevelle?”

I know I've got him now. “How much did you pay for it?”

“I'm not sure. My parents got it for me for my sixteenth birthday.”

I roll my eyes. I knew it. “Well, I did a little research . . .” I give him a price, and he chokes on his bottled water.

“Holy shit! That much?”

“Probably. Maybe more at auction.”

“And what do you want for the Mustang?”

“I need to get twenty thousand out of it.” This isn't exactly true. I'm hoping for sixteen, but you always start high so there's room for negotiation. “Even paying me what I want would leave you with a bunch of cash to work on it.”

“Okay,” he says, nodding. “Let's do it. You've got a deal.”

I shake my head and let out a noisy sigh of disgust. “You rich boys. Don't you know anything?”

“What?”

“You can't just accept my asking price. You've gotta negotiate or you're gonna get taken for a ride. Besides, whoever buys your car's gonna talk you down too.”

“Oh, I'm not selling mine.”

“What do you mean? I thought you said you were going to buy my car.”

“I've got the cash. Don't worry.”

I slug him hard.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Taking my shifts at work all year when you didn't need the money.”

David's face turns a little pink. “Oh. Sorry about that.”

“Whatever. So you really want to give me twenty for the car?”

“Don't I?”

“You know I'm overcharging you, right?”

“You could use it for college.”

“I'm not taking charity. Negotiate or no deal.”

I wait for him to counteroffer, but he stares at me blankly. “I'm not really good at this stuff,” he finally says. “Whenever I go to Mexico I just pay whatever those street vendor guys ask for.”

“Even
I
know you're not supposed to do that.”

“Could you walk me through it? Since we're friends?”

“Oh my God. You're pathetic.” I'm sitting cross-legged on the grass, and I fall back laughing. He looks like he's about six years old, afraid of being wrong or messing up. Man, his parents have done a number on him. Natalie laughs because I do, and then she plops herself down next to me and leans against my arm, putting her thumb in her mouth.

“Yeah, okay,” I tell him. “But pay attention.” I cross my arms and look him up and down. “I want twenty thousand for the Mustang. Not a penny less.”

“I thought we were negotiating.”

I stare at him, amazed. “And they're gonna let you be a doctor?”

He finally realizes I was leading him through the negotiation like he asked. “Oh, right. Sorry. Okay. So what do I say?”

“I don't know . . . Something like: ‘It's a sweet car. But that's a little too rich for me. I could give you . . . maybe . . . fifteen?' ”

He repeats what I tell him, word for word.

I shake my head. “No can do. Can't go lower than nineteen five.”

“Okay,” he says.

“Oh my God. You are so bad at this. Forget it. Give me seventeen and we'll call it good.”

“Thank you. I really hate haggling. I'll get you the money on Monday.”

After we shake, I tell him that even sixteen was probably a little high, but he doesn't care. I can see the excitement in his eyes, and I'm glad that if I have to part with it, then at least it's going to a good guy. Kind of a nerd, but still . . . he'll treat my Mustang right. And with the kind of money he has to put into it, the car's gonna look awesome when he's done. I can hardly wait to see it. Maybe he'll even let me drive it someday.

David shows up in a cab on Monday afternoon with two checks, one for Amber, one for me. It's the only time he's been to our house, but I've decided that's one more thing I can't be embarrassed about. I live here, at least for another week, and that's how it is. I hand over the keys to my other baby, and he hugs me.

“I promise I'll take good care of it.”

“I know.” I swallow the lump in my throat and squeeze my eyes shut tight so the tears don't leak out. “You can go now. Before I change my mind.”

“Okay. See you at Christmas, or maybe in Kansas next summer.”

“Go, okay?”

“I'm going, I'm going.”

After he drives away, I hand Amber her check. She shakes her head in wonder. “I can't believe we got so much, Crystal. We only paid three thousand for it!”

“Yeah, but I put about three thousand hours of work into it, too. Remember?” Probably a slight exaggeration, but maybe not. One of the reasons we'd gotten such a killer deal in the first place was because the car had been in a hail-storm in North Dakota and had about a million tiny dents. Also, the motor was shot.

“Yeah, true. Plus all your wages before Natalie.”

Amber had tried to talk me out of selling the Mustang, but I had all my arguments lined up and ready to go. First of all, she owned half of it, so it wasn't fair for me to take it with me. Second, I wasn't sure I could drive all the way to Kansas with Natalie by myself; the Greyhound just made more sense. And third, Amber would need a car once I was gone. Jimmy was already looking for something reliable for her.

I also didn't think I'd really have a use for a car in Kansas, but if I do, I can buy some junker for cheap and get it running. At school, they have a project car for us to work on as a class, so not having the Mustang won't be that bad. I can get my car fix there.

“Han told me he'd teach me to drive,” Amber says as we go inside.

“Yeah, he told me that too, so I signed you up for Sears driving school.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. He's a scary driver. Don't do anything he does.”

“Okay. I wish you had time to teach me.”

“I'll give you a few lessons.” And then with a sinking feeling I remember I can't—​we sold our car.

We go in our bedroom to check on Nat, who's having a nap. She's still asleep, and I nod to Amber to come out into the kitchen. “I want to talk to you.”

“Uh-oh. Sounds ominous.”

“No, it's not. It's about living here. You need some of that Mustang money for the car Jimmy finds you, but I think you should get an apartment. I'd feel better if you were in a safer neighborhood.”

Amber grins at me. “Don't worry. I've got a plan already.”

“You do?”

“Jade and Teddy are moving in together, and the house they leased has one of those mother-in-law suites upstairs. I'm gonna rent it from them.”

I'm about to say, “Are you out of your mind? You can't live with Jade. She's a terrible influence.” But the look on Amber's face is so hopeful. I know she wants my approval, and she's been so good to me, so I keep my real feelings to myself. “Cool. Where is it?”

She breaks into a huge smile. “Over on Twenty-First and Weidler.”

At least that's a good neighborhood. I still can't help but say, “Are you sure, Amber? I mean, I think you should get your own apartment, but Jade's . . . she's . . . well . . .”

Amber puts her arm around my shoulder. “I know you and Jade don't get along, but she's changed a lot since she met Teddy. She doesn't drink anymore. And she even quit pot.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

This actually makes me feel a lot better. And the fact that Amber would have her own place, but there'd be family right downstairs, is probably exactly what she wants if we can't live together.

“Sounds good,” I say. And it doesn't even cost me much to admit it. I'm not a big believer in fate—​not like Mom anyway—​but maybe this is how it was all supposed to work out.

On the eighteenth of August, Amber drives me, Natalie, and Han to the Greyhound station in the little Honda Fit that Jimmy found for her. She's only got her learner's permit, but she can drive with me or Han in the car. She's already a better driver than Natalie's daddy. I refrain from telling him that, though. I don't want to hurt his feelings.

“I can't believe you're leaving me,” Amber says in the parking lot. I can tell she's trying not to cry.

“Stop,” I say. “Or I won't be able to go.”

“Sorry.”

I wait until she's out of the car, and then I quickly turn the knob on her stereo so the music will come on full blast when she gets back in. I won't be here when it happens, but it gives me a little thrill anyway.

Up until this minute, I've been super excited. I've gone over my courses online about a million times, and Han found a daycare that's not only clean and cute, but accredited and not too expensive. He's already paid for the first month, too. But now, here at the bus station, all my enthusiasm vanishes. How can me and Amber possibly live so far apart that we won't see each other every day? The first time I left for Kansas, I was too mad to care, but now . . . now, I'm not sure how I'll survive without my sister. And what about Nat? I know she's going to miss Amber, and she'll probably think I'm really mean for taking her away.

Han holds Natalie while me and Amber lug my stuff into the station, and I see he's whispering in her ear. And I'm taking Natalie away from her dad, too. God. I am so selfish.

“You know what, Am? This is a stupid idea. I should stay here.”

“Forget it. You're going.”

“You just said—”

“You're going.” She walks up to the counter and tells the lady my name.

“Yeah, okay.” I really do want to go. But no one told me it would be the hardest thing I've ever done.

Amber squeezes my hand while the lady consults her computer. Me and Nat are only taking the essentials on the bus: one suitcase, which we check; a diaper bag; a car seat; and my backpack full of snacks. Amber helped me ship everything else yesterday. Once I'm all checked in, we join Han and Natalie on hard plastic chairs in the waiting room. Natalie's starting to fade in his arms.