Authors: Monique Miller
The Marrying Kind (16 page)
Chapter 22
As soon as Travis stepped to the front door of the car dealership the hungry eyes of the car salesmen and ladies were on him. The salesman closest to him briskly walked over to him.
“Hi, sir. How are you doing today?” He stuck out his hand to Travis. “My name is Joe. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you today.”
“Thanks, Joe. You can help me actually. I am looking for Mr. Phillip Tomlinson.”
Joe cocked his head. “Sure, I'd be more than happy to get him for you. In the meantime, is there anything I can help you with?”
“No,” Travis said and he left it at that. He turned his attention to a sleek new-looking sports car. He figured Joe probably thought he was there to make a complaint or something and by the way he was looking at the sleek new sports car that was sitting in the middle of the showroom floor, he also figured Joe might be thinking that he was missing out on a great commission.
Travis knew there was no way in the world that he could afford a car like the one he was admiring, but he didn't care. It was always nice to look around. At that point he was just thankful that the Lord had given him the means to be able to get some reliable transportation.
Phillip came out and greeted Travis with a big hug. “Hey, Travis, my man.”
“Hey, Phillip. Thanks for seeing me on such short notice,” Travis said.
“No problem. If I couldn't have helped you at the moment, then I would have had one of my salespeople make sure you were well taken care of,” Phillip said.
A few of the salespeople nodded their heads in agreement.
“Come on up to my office so we can talk about what you are looking for,” Phillip said.
Travis followed Phillip up a flight of stairs into his office. The office overlooked the sales floor and the vast lot of cars in the front of the building. Travis had had no idea Phillip was such a prestigious man.
“Come on in, have a seat,” Phillip said. He turned to the mini-refrigerator he had behind his desk. “Can I get you a soda or some water?”
“Some water would be great,” Travis said.
Phillip pulled out two bottled waters for the both of them. Travis took his and took a couple of gulps. He was thirstier than he realized. He guessed it was probably because he had been sweating most of the morning between sitting in the lottery office, and catching the bus and walking onto the car lot.
His day thus far reminded him of the old army slogan that said, “We do more before nine
A.M.
than most people do all day.” He had done a lot that morning and with God's grace he'd accomplish even more.
A.M.
than most people do all day.” He had done a lot that morning and with God's grace he'd accomplish even more.
Phillip clicked the mouse on his computer to make the screensaver disappear. “Okay, tell me more about what you are looking for.”
Travis had done a lot of thinking about this the previous two nights. “First and foremost I need something reliable. I would also like something good on gas. I'd like a sedan and not a coupe. I don't want to go through the hassle of having to let people in and out of my back seat.
“My pocket tells me I'll need to get something used. I mean, new would be great, but that will have to be for another day and time.”
“Okay. So you want a car. And I am guessing that even though you want something used you want something with the lowest mileage I can find, right?” Phillip asked.
“Right,” Travis said.
“Do you have any preference as far as color or make and model?”
“Shoot yeah. I'd like a brand-new black BMW 7 Series, but my pocket says that I can't have that right now.” Travis laughed at his comment.
Phillip smiled and laughed as well. “So I hear you saying what your pocket is saying. And what is that? Are you putting anything down? Do you have a trade-in?”
“Man, I've been riding the bus ever since Beryl and I broke up,” Travis said. “So definitely no trade-in.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Phillip said.
“But I do have some money. And I have the faith of a mustard seed.”
Phillip smiled. “Well I hear that.”
Travis pulled out his wallet and pulled out the check he had just received from the lottery. “I have this.” He handed Phillip the check.
“So what you are telling me is that you want to buy a car straight out?” Phillip asked.
“Yes,” Travis said. “Let me be totally open with you. I know you know a lot about my history with Beryl and all, but there is a lot you don't know.”
Phillip sat back in a position that told Travis that he was all ears and there to listen to him.
“You know I had problems keeping a job in the past. Not only that but I also had problems paying my bills on time when I did have a job. My credit is shot. And up until this morning I had back taxes and back child support, but now those two things are behind me.
“Phillip, I don't have a pot to cook in or a window to throw the leftovers out of. I've been living at one of my friend's, housesitting while he is abroad. In about a month I would have been homeless but thanks to the grace of God I have turned some things around.” Travis took another sip of his water.
“I got a job a month ago and within two weeks I was promoted.”
“Congratulations,” Phillip said.
“Thank you. I started to realize that I wasn't doing what I needed to do as a man or a father. I started that new job like it was the last job on earth. They saw how committed I was and gave me a promotion.”
“So you've been at this job for over a month now?”
“Yep. And that's not it,” Travis added.
Phillip's eyebrows rose in anticipation of hearing what Travis had to say next.
“In addition to that job, I have also been working a job at night cleaning offices. I've been there for three weeks. I've been watching my spending, I set up a budget, and I have even been paying my tithes.”
“Is this the same Travis I met back in the mountains of North Carolina a couple of years ago?”
“No, this is a new Travis. Man, I am so focused I can't see anything blurry to the left or the right of me. I've got to be accountable. I've got to be the father my sons need for me to be, and I can't do that jumping from job to job, or sitting on the couch watching old episodes of
CSI.
”
CSI.
”
“Amen to that, my brother,” Phillip said.
“When I won that money on the scratch-off, I couldn't believe my eyes. And as I thought about it I knew I needed transportation. I've been spending money on the bus and taking the taxi here and there as well. All of that is getting expensive. I miss the freedom of being able to jump in the car when I want and being able to drive exactly where I want to go,” Travis said.
“So you want to spend your whole check on a car?” Phillip asked.
“Yeah, man. You know it's not like eight thousand is a lot of money when you are talking about trying to buy a car, but I am just praying that it will at least get me something reliable that will allow me to get to my jobs, and to be able to take my sons to the park or museum, or, heck, to even be able to meet Beryl to pick them up.”
Phillip nodded his head.
“Beryl and I haven't been on the best of terms the past few months, but here lately she has at least been talking to me. I am hoping to get the boys this weekend. It would be great to be able to put their booster seats in the back of a car that I can call mine. Otherwise I am going to have to have them trek around with me walking and catching buses.”
It felt good to Travis to have a listening ear, and especially the listening ear of Phillip, who he deemed a good man of God. He hadn't been able to confide his thoughts and feelings to anyone else. He knew Phillip to be a man who would listen and give advice without steering him wrong.
“And I know I shouldn't care about it that much, but I don't want to meet Beryl at a bus stop while her fiancé looks on and sneers at my circumstances.”
Phillip sat up. “Fiancé?”
“Yep, Beryl is engaged to be married. She is marrying some nerdy-looking guy. Personally there is something I really don't like about the man,” Travis said.
“Travis, do you think you are possibly just a little resentful that Beryl is moving on with her life?”
Travis sat up in his seat. “In all truth, Phillip, I can't say that it doesn't hurt that she has found somebody else. But that's not the crux of it. He isn't even her type.”
Phillip gave Travis a look of question.
“No, no, hear me out. I think she likes him because he has money and can and does take care of her and the kids. He is like the total opposite of how I use to be.”
To this Phillip said nothing. He just sat and continued to listen, giving Travis a chance to let it all out.
“And I can't put my finger on it, but it really doesn't seem like this guy is really all that into Beryl and the boys. It is more like he has a bucket list that has a wife and kids on it. With Beryl and the boys, he has a ready-made family. Get this, the other day I saw Beryl and she was acting really funny. I mean she was walking around in shades and a scarf like she was hiding out from someone. And when her fiancé called her on her cell phone, she flat-out lied to him about where she was and what she was doing. I'm concerned.”
“That doesn't sound like Beryl at all. She struck me as a pretty straight-forward woman,” Phillip said.
“She is. That's the point. I don't know what is going on there. But I prayed for her and the boys right after I saw her,” Travis said.
Phillip shook his head. “I hope everything is okay with Beryl. I'll pray for her and the boys tonight myself.”
“Thanks,” Travis said.
“Man, Travis, I must say you have come a long way. And brother to brother, I am proud of you.”
It meant a lot for Phillip of all people to tell him that he was proud of him. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”
“If you need a listening ear, feel free to call me.” Phillip wrote his personal cell phone number and his home phone number on the back of his business card.
Travis took the card and slipped it into his wallet. “It sounds as if you've got things under control. We just need to find you a car now.” Phillip smiled. He clicked the screen on his computer.
Phillip turned the computer screen to the side so Travis could see it. “I've typed in the specifications you want and a price range and this is what I've come up with.”
Travis looked at the list of cars with their pictures. Then he looked at the price range that Phillip had typed in. “Oh, I think you punched the number in wrong. I've only got a little under nine thousand to spend. I mean I do have a little more saved but I am going to have to get car insurance.”
“We've only got one car in stock that is under nine thousand.” Phillip pointed to an early-model car with high miles on it.
The particular car he was pointing to wasn't a Honda or a Toyota. From past experience Travis knew that that particular brand of car wasn't very reliable. “Oh,” said Travis.
“So look at the cars in this price range and don't worry, we'll work out the difference,” Phillip said.
Out of the list of the other nineteen cars, Travis picked out three he wanted to test drive. He and Phillip test drove all three. The one he ended up liking the most was a five-speed automatic, desert mist metallic Honda Accord that was seven years old. It had only 90,000 miles on it, which wasn't too bad for the age of the car. The car drove wonderfully and whoever had owned it before had kept it in pristine condition.
Not only was the car in great condition, but it was loaded. It had cruise control, a six-disc CD changer, air conditioning, air bags, remote keys, an alarm system, tinted windows, and a sunroof. The sticker price for the car was $10,578 which was $1,632.25 above Travis's budget.
“So you like this one?” Phillip asked.
“Yeah, but that price is way over what I have to spend,” Travis said.
“Stay right here. I'll be right back.” When Phillip returned he said, “Let me ask you a question.”
“Sure.”
“You say you've been trying to do right?”
“Yes,” Travis said.
“And you say that you have been watching your spending and paying your tithes? Did you take any tithes out of this money?” Phillip asked.
Travis gave Phillip a sheepish look.
“The new sticker price for this car is $8,050.25,” Phillip said.
“But that's like $895 below the amount of my check. That's like ten percent less,” Travis said as he got the message. “Got it. Ten percent for my tithes.”
Phillip pulled a sold sticker out of his pocket and placed it on the car. “Sold.”
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