I wasn’t usually afraid in a vehicle, but Ty drove like a lunatic. I found myself clutching Ryan’s arm to stay upright as Ty took curves and corners too fast. Ryan wrapped his arm around me and braced his legs against the back of the front seats to keep us from sliding around.
“Do you guys know of any good cars for sale,” Ryan asked as we exited the airport. He could tell I wouldn’t want to ride any more than necessary with these two.
Andy turned around to answer and got a funny look on his face as he watched Ryan’s grip on me tighten, “I know a guy that has an awesome 1969 AMC Javelin. It’s all original with the 390 engine and a four speed, but he wants like ten grand for it.”
“Is it on the way?” I asked, my arms twining around Ryan’s waist.
Andy leaned forward and smacked Ty on the shoulder, “Hey, stop at Pearly’s house, they wanna check out the Javelin.”
The car took a sharp left and Ryan landed on me as we flopped over in the seat. He was grinning as we righted ourselves. “Ty, do you think you could drive a little less like Bo Duke? Leese’s gonna have bruises by the time we get to your house.”
“I don’t know,” Ty laughed as he slowed his pace, “I had a big crush on Daisy Duke. If you can talk Leese into a pair of short-shorts and high-heels I might actually drive civil.”
The guys laughed. I didn’t think it was that funny.
We pulled down a shaded street filled with older homes and drove down to the end and turned into a driveway. Andy went up and knocked as we waited in the yard. An older black man answered the door and then came outside.
“You interested in my car?” he asked Ryan.
“Yes, sir. Is it in good condition?”
“I’d say. I bought her back in ‘69 right off the showroom floor. I’ve put 78,000 miles on her and that’s all. Come on around to the garage.”
We followed him to a dilapidated detached building around the side of the house, but when the door was lifted, there sat a shining red Javelin with a black stripe.
“She ain’t got no rust. The seats are perfect except for one little burn hole in the backseat from my stupid cousin Clair. The floor is solid and the mats are original. She runs like a scalded-ass ape.”
“When’s the last time you cranked her up?” I asked.
“I crank her at least once a week and I take her out on the road about once a month. I’ve won a couple awards at the local car shows for her,” he added proudly.
“So why are you selling it?” Ryan asked.
“Why does anybody sell anything?” he quipped. “I could use the money and my pickup truck gets me back and forth to work just fine. She’s just for show.”
“Well, stop jacking your jaw, Pearly, and crank her up,” Ty said impatiently.
“You damn boys might be MP’s but you ain’t the boss of me, so you can just hold your high horse,” he said fishing around in his pocket for the key. “Besides, I see this lady here seems to have an eye for fine cars.” He watched me looking it over. “She might like to crank it. It’s stick though, honey, so you’re gonna have to push in the clutch and put her in neutral.
“I can drive stick,” I smiled, taking the offered key.
Andy and Ty made a collective noise like they were impressed that I could drive a manual. Ryan just laughed. He’d ridden with me and he knew what I could do behind the wheel.
“Give the gas one tap, before you turn the key,” Pearly stated.
I did as instructed and the engine came immediately to life. I liked the sound right away. “Can we test drive it?”
“I don’t know,” Pearly stated, giving me and Ryan a hard look, “can you afford it? I want eighty-five hundred for her.”
“Do you have a current tag on it?” I asked.
“Yup, just renewed it about five months ago.”
“Yeah, we can manage the price-if it runs good.”
“Well, come on, darlin’ let’s take her for a ride.” He motioned Ryan around to the passenger’s side. He looked at Ty and Andy. “You boys can wait here, cuz the trunk ain’t big enough to hold both of you!” he laughed. He had me lean forward as he tipped the seat up and crawled into the back.
I could see the disappointment written on their faces as they watched me drive away.
“Which way?” I asked reaching the end of the drive.
“Turn right and then I’ll show you where you can stretch her out a little.”
Within a few blocks we were in an area that had a few closed up warehouses, and basically no vehicles in the street.
“Okay, you’ve got about eight blocks of nothing, so check her out and punch her d-”
He didn’t get to utter the last word before I dropped the pedal to the floor and burned down the street. The transmission was in excellent shape and the engine responded like a dream. There was plenty of room in an empty parking lot as I neared the end of the vacant road and I slid her into it, spinning one-eighty and heading back down the way we’d come.
Pearly made no comment about my driving, but he was grinning from ear to ear when I looked into the rearview. Now I could see why they called him Pearly-he had the whitest teeth I’d ever seen. I slowed before turning onto the street that would take us to Ty and Andy. “Ryan, you want to give it a go?” I asked, unable to get the smile off my face.
“It’s your money, Leese. You’re the boss.”
“I’m paying, but I’m not getting the car for me, it’s for you.”
“How about I get to drive it to Andy and Ty’s house?”
“Deal,” I said, reaching over and squeezing his hand.
We pulled the car up behind the Caprice and followed Pearly inside to pay him and get the title. He pointedly told Andy and Ty they could wait outside.
His house wasn’t well lit and the curtains were drawn, but we made our way to the couch as Pearly left the room for the paperwork. I pulled out a pack of hundreds and tucked them behind my purse.
“Leese, how are we going to transfer the title and get insurance on the car?” Ryan quietly questioned.
“Let me handle that for now,” I whispered my response as Pearly returned to the room.
“Okay, I don’t take checks,” Pearly began.
“I’ll pay cash, but I need a couple favors from you.”
At this his eyebrows went up, “I knew you was gonna be too good to be true,” he said, shaking his head.
“No, it’s nothing bad. It’s just that we’re trying to stay out of my crazy ex-husband’s reach. Can I pay you ten grand and I get to keep the license plate? I’d appreciate it if you didn’t drop it from your insurance for several months, so we’ll have time to figure out how to insure it without sending up a red flag that says ‘here we are,’” I finished.
“Crazy ex-husband, huh?”
I could tell he wasn’t totally buying my story, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my rings.
“Damn, he’s probably crazy ‘cause he wants those back! Not that you ain’t a package worth reclaiming yourself, but them rings cost a pretty penny, I can tell.”
I returned the rings to my pocket and took the bundle of hundreds that had been hidden by my purse, “So, do we have an agreement?”
“Is that his, too!” he exclaimed. “I don’t want him looking for me if he’s got that kind of dough.”
I laughed, “No, the money is mine.”
He reached into a drawer in a small table beside him and pulled out what appeared to be a magic marker. “Not that I don’t believe you, but I’ve been burned before,” he said, reaching toward me.
That was when I realized it was a counterfeit marking tool. I handed him the money as he put it under the light from the table lamp and marked a random sampling of bills.
“You got a deal, lady,” he chuckled, flashing his bright smile.
We shook hands and left with the title.