Читать книгу Celia's Shadow - Sandy Levy Kirschenbaum - Страница 26

Celia couldn’t believe it. Truth be told, not only could she believe it, she anticipated it would be worse. She turned on her computer and launched Google. What did he call it? She tried to remember what Zach had called the problem with her car. Fuck it! She dialed Brian’s number.

“Brian. It’s me, Celia.”

“Hey, Celia, did you talk to Zach?”

Celia heard loud noises in the background and wasn’t quite sure what Brian had said. “Sorry, Bri, it’s noisy there. Do you know what’s wrong with my car? I don’t understand what Zach told me.” She paced from the kitchen to the living room and back again.

“Listen, kiddo, you got a big problem with that little buggy. He can rig it for a while, but it’s not going to last long.”

“How long does he think I can drive it?” Her panic boomed through the phone.

“Bottom line, you need a new car. I have a few out front, if you want to see them. Honestly, if you buy one of these used cars, you’ll buy someone else’s headaches.”

Celia was silent on the other end of the phone.

“Kiddo, if I were you, I’d get a new car. Something with a few bells and whistles. You could have air conditioning that works in the summer and heat that works in the winter. It won’t cost you more than what you pay to keep this junk going.”

Celia cringed when he called her car junk. Maybe Brian and Kate conspired to make this happen? Coincidental they both used the word junk.

“You there, Celia?”

“Yes. I’m here.” She paced back and forth. “You’ve been telling me this for a while. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Listen, it’s a car. Once you get behind the wheel of something jazzy, you’ll forget about this clunker. I promise.”

“I can’t handle this.” She finally stopped pacing. She lifted a spoon from the drawer and removed a carton of cookie dough ice cream from the freezer. “Should I get it fixed this one last time?” She exhaled and then dug the spoon deep into the carton.

“You’ll be throwing $1,500 out the window. You could use that money for a new car. If you’re too freaked, you could lease, but I recommend you buy. You keep cars for a while. Right?”

Celia made a decision. She would begin to think about buying a new car. She wasn’t going to actively shop for one; she was going to think about car shopping.