Bell, Book, and Scandal

fact that she had brought it along to show him what she wanted. When he went to fetch some paperwork, Shelley admitted he was treating them well.
    “He doesn’t know I have a son who told me exactly what to choose. He thinks I know all about these brakes I’ve selected.“
    Both of them got impatient with how long it was taking, however. There was a guy Jane had to talk to about an expensive extended warranty, and she was ready for this as well, thanks to her son. A third man wanted to sell her a package of expensive extra things, like a sealer to prevent rust and a lot of other stuff she hadn’t been warned about. The total for the extras came to nearly a thousand dollars.
    “I think not,“ Jane said firmly.
    “But if you buy the whole package, it’s only three hundred dollars,“ he said.
    “I’ll think about it and let you know while they’re bringing my car to the door,“ Jane said. “That’s insane!“ Shelley hissed when they were out of his hearing range. “Each part of the deal cost nearly the three hundred. Does he think we’re idiots who can’t add it up?“
     “He’s young and stupid and we’re probably older than his mother,“ Jane said. “I might spring for the three hundred bucks. But I’m not doing it until I’ve driven the car for a while.“
    In the end, the salesman made Jane drive the car with him in the passenger seat and Shelley in the backseat. He was pointing out where all the features were, which disconcerted Jane, although she thought he didn’t know he was frazzling her.
    When he said, “This handle turns the windshield wipers on,“ she glanced down very briefly at a stick that said “Pull.“ She tried pulling out the end knob. He said, “No, that means pull it toward you.“
    “Oh, of course.“
    There was a low growl from the backseat, which Jane ignored.
    When the test drive was over, the forms all filled out, the check approved, the temporary license plate in place, and everybody had shaken hands in a distinctly “manly“ way, Shelley said, “I wish we’d taken a cab so I could ride home with you.“
    “Have you ever seen a cab just cruising our street? And would you have paid him to sit around when we stoked up on sandwiches and coffee? And then run us to the bank?“
    “I guess you’re right.“
    “We’ll take a nice long drive when we’ve stopped by home,“ Jane said. “By the way, I’m never going to smoke in this car or let anyone else do so. I’ve made a vow that it’s not going to lose its new car smell ever.“
    “I’ve never seen you smoke in the station wagon.“
    “That’s because I only smoke three cigarettes a day, and sometimes only one or none if I’m really busy and forget. But I have on occasion opened the window while I was waiting on carpool kids and stunk it up.“
    She went on, “Where shall we take our drive after we drop your car off?“
    Shelley said, “Shopping. Anywhere except the grocery store.“
     

Three
     
    Jane really wanted to go to the courthouse to have her temporary license plate changed over to a real official plate for her new car. But going there was never a fun thing to do. Her memory, so long ago when she bought the station wagon, was a bad one of surly crowds, disobedient children running wild in the corridors, and having to return two times because the clerk said she didn’t have something she needed in the way of paperwork.
    “How long had you had the station wagon?“ Shelley asked.
    “I can’t remember. I had to turn over the title to the man who took it away, and I forgot to look at how old it was. I think I had it for at least twelve years.“
    “I’ll bet it was longer than that.“
    “You might be right. Where shall we go?“
    Jane wanted to do something fun and so did Shelley. Shelley was already calling on her cell phone before they’d gone a block. “May I speak to the manager, please?“
    After a moment or two of silence, she introduced herself and said, “Oh, John. I’m so glad you’re the one on duty. Is the Nowack suite open now? I want to show it to my friend who’s staying with me in it for a couple of days.“ Another silence. “Oh, good! We’re on our way.“
    “What a good idea,“ Jane said, turning left at the next intersection.
    She was uneasy about parking in the hotel lot next to someone who might bang his door into her brand-new car. She parked as far away as she could, where there weren’t other vehicles.
    Shelley knew why she was doing this, and