Vetted

by K'Anne Meinel

  “Allyssa, what the hell is that parked in the driveway?” her father asked when he got home. “It’s leaking oil on my nice concrete! Is that one of your friends’ cars?” he asked disapprovingly, his distaste clearly evident and forgetting she had few, if any, real friends.

  “No, Daddy. I bought it,” she answered guiltily.

  “What do you mean you bought it?” her mother asked, determined to get into this conversation.

  “I bought it with the money I earned this summer,” she answered defiantly. “I even went to your insurance agent and insured it, Daddy” she said proudly, trying to show them how responsible she had been.

  “You used that money on a car?” her mother asked, aghast. “I thought we would use that money for clothes for school,” she informed her as though she should have known.

  “I have enough clothes for school, Mother. I still have the ones from last year.”

  “Those won’t do anymore. Carmen and I have a surprise for you. She’s arranged for you to pledge her sorority. She’s certain you can get in as a legacy,” she said excitedly. She had it all planned.

  “Mother, I don’t want to pledge a sorority,” she answered, and she certainly didn’t want to be anyone’s legacy.

  “Of course, you do. All the finer girls do,” her mother dismissed her objection as though she hadn’t said anything.

  “As to that leaking car in the driveway, will you please park it out on the street before it stains!” her father told her. “We will discuss it when you come back inside!” he told her ominously.

  Allyssa ran upstairs to get her keys. She had even indulged herself with a cute little keychain with a running horse that signified a mustang. The keys on it were hers too. Her heart broke a little at the tone of her parents’ objections. She went back downstairs to park the car on the street. It looked even more dilapidated sitting there. No one drove a rusted-out car in Regal Crest Gardens. Still, it was paid for, and while it ran rough, it still ran. It was a classic car, an American symbol of freedom, but she knew what her parents’ tone meant. They were going to curb her freedom in any way they could.

  “Help me set the table,” her mother ordered when she came inside. “We’ll discuss this later,” she dismissed the subject.

  “How come we are getting ready so early? Carmen and Derek usually don’t arrive until later?” she asked

  “They have an evening out planned and asked if we could eat earlier. Carmen is having a breakfast on Sunday and wants to discuss it.”

  Allyssa couldn’t think of anything more boring than ‘having a breakfast’ with all her snooty friends. Still, it was her sister’s life, not hers.

  “What in the world is parked outside?” were Carmen’s first words as she sailed in the door.

  Allyssa was setting the last of the table and she looked up, seeing how amused her sister was as she asked her mother the question.

  “Oh, that,” her mother dismissed as she dished up the casserole she had made. “We’ll discuss that after dinner,” she warned ominously. Then her voice lowered as she began telling Carmen that it was Allyssa’s purchase apparently. Their looks and silent tones told Allyssa in no uncertain terms that they were talking about her. She was only fifteen feet away from them across the dining room and she could feel their looks like a blow to her psyche. Derek had gone immediately into the family room to cozy up to her father.

  Dinner was the same as it always was on Friday night, but they seemed to rush through her father’s week, Derek’s week, her mother’s week, and Carmen’s. They made sure to have time to ask Allyssa pointedly about her week. As Carmen made sure to bring up the eyesore parked out in front of their house, her mother hastily stopped her.

  “Oh, let’s save that for after dinner, please. I don’t want to ruin this family dinner,” she said beseechingly.

  As far as Allyssa was concerned, her dinner was ruined. No one had noticed that she had pecked at her food. She knew what was coming. What had she been thinking? That they would praise her for her ingenuity in buying herself an American classic? That she had worked so hard to buy the sports car? That she had gone and gotten it insured and registered in her name all by herself? She had been totally responsible and they wouldn’t appreciate that in the least.

  As Juanita took the dishes from Allyssa she shot her a look that said a lot. She knew what her parents would do to this free spirit…they would squash her like a bug.

  “Now,” her mother began as they were all sitting down in the family room after dinner before Carmen and Derek would have to leave for their evening. “We need to discuss that car,” she made it sound like it was a person that was not particularly welcome in their home.

  “Allyssa, where in the world did you find that?” her father asked.

  “I found it on a collectors’ site. It’s an American classic,” she began, but her enthusiasm was immediately silenced by the looks they were all giving her. “It runs rough now, but I know I can fix...” she tried, but knew she was failing by the horrified looks that were now replaced with pity.

  “No, Allyssa. We will have to take it back,” he said kindly, as though she didn’t quite understand.

  “I can’t, Daddy. The man who sold it to me is no longer there,” she lied. She wouldn’t tell them she had been making payments all summer long or that she’d been fixing it in his driveway. The stories the man had told her about when he had bought this car, when it had been new, were wonderful. She couldn’t face the man knowing her parents had made her give it up. She also knew the man didn’t have the money to return to her.

  “I’m sorry you got swindled,” he began, and before she could argue that he held up his hand. “We can’t have a car looking like that in Regal Crest Gardens. I’m not even certain our association would allow such a monstrosity.”

  “Maybe you could pull it into the garage, so no one can see it,” her mother put in, hoping to help. “Then we could get rid of it tomorrow–”

  “Get rid of it? I can’t get rid of it! It’s mine!” she interrupted.

  “Allyssa,” her mother began in a stern voice. “That is rude. I was speaking.”

  “Sorry, Mother,” she answered contritely. “It’s just that I used all the money I made this summer to buy it and I intend to fix it up and–”

  “Well, I’m sorry you wasted your money on that,” her father put in, no mention was made of his interruption. “But I won’t put that in my garage. I’d never get the oil stains up,” he turned to his wife to add.

  Allyssa had known that wouldn’t happen. Her mother had bleached the floor of the garage the one time something went wrong on one of their cars. It was clean, pristine, and everything in its place. No, a ’65 Mustang that wasn’t painted would not go in their garage.

  “Maybe we can park it in an alley somewhere and someone will steal it,” Carmen suggested helpfully. Allyssa knew she wasn’t quite joking.

  “It’s an American classic...” she tried to argue again, but they weren’t listening to her anymore as they discussed how they could get rid of it, how they could dispose of it, as though Allyssa had brought home a dead mouse.

  “I’ll call a friend of mine and see what he says,” Derek offered helpfully. “He deals with such things.”

  They agreed immediately, relieved to have it taken care of. Derek would see what his friend had to say and they would hope that the association wouldn’t ticket them for the monstrosity. Maybe they would think it was just some poor relation…visiting.

  Her parents never said another word to her as Derek pulled out his cell phone and, excusing himself, went into the den to make a call. He returned a while later and said, “It’s all set. I asked Ken to come over and take a look at it. He’ll be here in...” he looked at his watch, “half an hour or so, but he will deal with you, Bob as we have to be going.”

  Her father rose from where he was sitting in his easy chair and shook Derek’s hand. “Thank you for taking care of this for us. You two have a good evening,”
he said jovially now that something was being taken care of regarding that “problem.” He escorted his daughter and son-in-law out regally, as though they hadn’t visited every week for dinner. Allyssa watched both her parents fawn over their favorite daughter, staring at the scene miserably as she awaited her fate.

  Her parents stayed near the front door watching as the two drove off in their late model Audi, a testament to Derek’s success at business. Their whispers could be heard even at the back of the house where Allyssa sat miserably. It was the story of her life, they always whispered about her and praised Carmen. They stayed there until the doorbell rang and her father welcomed Ken into the house.

  “Well, that’s quite a wreck you have out there,” he said in a tone that told them he was laughing with them, not at them.

  “Yes, and we want it gone,” Bob answered him almost tightly, as though the subject matter was strangling him.

  “It looks like it could do with a bit of work, but I’d be glad to take it off your hands,” he promised them.

  “How much?” Allyssa asked from the doorway, her eyes narrowing at the effusive manner of the man.

  He turned to her, surprised to see her there. He shrugged, as though it wasn’t a big deal. “Say, five hundred?”

  “That sounds reasonable...” Bob began, but Allyssa interrupted her father.

  “It’s worth two thousand,” she said angrily, knowing the fifteen hundred she had paid for it, as well as the many hours of work on it was going to be lost if she didn’t speak up. She hadn’t worked all summer long for nothing, and the car, if it was painted, would have been worth a lot more.

  “Now, Allyssa. Be reasonable,” her father tried to joke.

  “Yeah, with the shape it’s in...” began Ken trying to bond with the man of the house.

  “Let the men handle it,” hissed her mother.

  “I know what it’s worth,” Allyssa stubbornly insisted. “Once it’s painted it’ll be worth a whole heck of a lot more.”

  “Now, now,” Ken began condescendingly, but seeing her steely-eyed look he turned back to Bob to appeal to him. “You know that pile of junk is just that.” He pointed back at the car parked at the curb with his thumb, showing grease stains around the dirty nail. “Heck, at the auto salvage they’ll only give you three hundred.”

  Her father nodded in agreement.

  “It’s my car and I’m not giving it away for five hundred dollars,” Allyssa put in forcefully.

  “Allyssa!” her mother hissed. Normally the blonde would have given in, but on this she wasn’t budging.

  “Your car?” Ken asked. “Oh, you’re the sister-in-law,” he said in a joking let’s-be-friend’s manner, and yet with a hint of derision. Whatever Derek had told him, it must have been something about the sister-in-law. He looked at Bob again as though to appeal to his inner man.

  “Yes, it’s my car and I’m not giving it away,” she repeated.

  “Allyssa...” began her father ominously.

  “Why don’t we start her up and I’ll see how she sounds,” Ken tried again. He didn’t want to be in the middle of this family conflict. “Let’s see what’s under the hood.”

  Bob agreed and began to lead the man back out of their house and then he turned back to Allyssa. “Where are the keys?”

  “I have them right here,” she said as she fished them out of her pocket. Her dress had been sagging on that side and she was amazed her mother hadn’t noticed.

  “You stay inside, young lady,” her mother hissed at her, reaching for her arm to hold her back.

  Allyssa shrugged her off as she followed the men outside to the curb where Ken was expounding on his knowledge of old cars. “Well, this one needs a lot of work,” he kept saying as he talked about how he restored old cars and trucks. He went on to point out the rust on the body and holes in the ragtop.

  “That’s all superficial,” Allyssa interrupted him, knowing her father would not be pleased with her and not caring. If she had to sell it, she wouldn’t let this collector talk her down. She knew what it was worth. She had done a lot of research on it before she concluded the sale.

  “Well, let’s see what’s under the hood, missy,” Ken said condescendingly, surer of himself after talking with Bob about this. Without asking, he opened the unlocked door and popped the hood, expertly handling it as he lifted it and looked to see all the work Allyssa had done on the engine. She had replaced a lot of the parts that got used up in any engine, from the spark plugs to the air filter. She’d cleaned up the engine until it practically glistened, not marred by road dirt and grime. Despite himself, he was impressed and even more excited by his find. Trying not to give away his excitement he lowered the hood and saw that except for the rust spots and peeling paint, the body was basically in good shape. He glanced at the upholstery and saw it was all original and it too was in good shape. “Well, I don’t know. I’m going to have to paint her and get rid of all that rust,” he made it sound like it was a tremendous amount of work. “I may go as high as seven-fifty?” he asked Bob.

  Her father, ready to get rid of the eyesore, was already nodding his agreement.

  “No,” Allyssa put forth. “Two grand or I’ll take it to the auto salvage myself,” she threatened.

  “Allyssa!” her father nearly raised his voice, something he rarely did.

  “I’m not giving it away. It’s mine. It’s in my name. I insured it. I worked on it all summer. It’s mine and he knows it’s a collector’s item. With the paint job, he could get a lot more and he knows it. Look at him,” she gestured to Ken and her father looked just in time to see the man’s crafty look change to one of faked bewilderment.

  “I know you worked all summer for it, Allyssa, but that is no cause to be rude to our guest,” he said warningly, glancing up as his wife came outside to listen.

  “I’m sorry,” she immediately said, faced with the censure of both of her parents and a lifetime of obeying. “Do you want to hear her or not?” she teased, holding up the keychain with the mustang on the key fob.

  “I might as well,” Ken said reluctantly, trying to contain himself as he bluffed. He wished the girl wasn’t here. He might have gotten this little beauty for the original five hundred he had offered. He got in the car and started it up, surprised that it purred with only a faint buzz and that wasn’t coming from the engine. As he pressed the gas pedal he heard the distinct roar of the engine and another noise from the tailpipe. He smiled. He just might be able to get a good deal after all. “Can I drive ’er?” he asked, looking from Bob to the girl.

  “I’ll just go along,” Allyssa announced.

  “No, you will not,” her father ordered and went to get in the passenger side of the car, but the handle was missing and Ken had to lean across to let him in. He reluctantly got into the dilapidated old car as though he might dirty himself from its peeling paint. He sat there daintily before he remembered to put on his safety belt, touching it as though there were grime on it as he affixed it around his waist.

  “Let’s go,” Ken said as he put it in first gear and let off the clutch. The car roared slightly as he pushed down on the gas and they sped off.

  Allyssa would have been thrilled if he had peeled rubber. Those tires had been expensive and even then, she had bought them from a junk yard…used.

  “What’s going on?” her mother came from the porch to ask.

  Allyssa shrugged as she answered, “He’s taking it for a test drive.”

  “I thought he agreed to buy it for five hundred dollars?” she asked, confused, as though it had already become a done deal.

  “Mother,” Allyssa turned to her. “It’s worth a lot more than that.”

  “I don’t know what you were thinking, wasting your hard-earned money on that,” she started in on her daughter, and then realizing the neighbors might be listening she stopped herself. “You could have used that money on new clothes.”

  Allyssa turned away from her mother, looking out at the gardens that eve
ry yard had up and down the block of this housing development. It was as though new clothes were the be-all and end-all for her mother. She couldn’t understand her daughter not wanting any more than she already had. “No, Mother, I don’t suppose you would understand.”

  “Why, you have a perfectly good Volvo to use,” she lowered her voice just in case the neighbors were listening.

  “It’s Juanita’s cast-off. She drives a better car than I do,” her daughter pointed out.

  “Why must you be so difficult?”

  Allyssa knew that this conversation was pointless. Her mother would never understand the word independence. She was dependent upon her father for everything: her allowance, her home, her life. Everything revolved around him and his career. She couldn’t fathom that her daughter might want something different, might want something more. She already had Carmen’s life mapped out and so far, her ‘favorite’ daughter hadn’t deviated from her plans for her. Allyssa often wondered why it wasn’t easier for her to conform. She heard the muscle car coming back around the block and turned to watch it. To her it looked beautiful, despite the paint. In her mind, she could envision it painted and finished with a new ragtop and not the ratty, hole-filled one she had on the old car. As Ken pulled to the curb and turned it off, the evening sounds returned: the chirp of crickets from the lush foliage around them and the occasional sounds of children playing in the neighborhood.

  “She’s a legacy,” Ken complimented as he got out of the car and came around the front, the keys dangling possessively in his hand.

  “It’s a death trap,” Bob murmured to his wife as he got out on the passenger side.

  “Well, I’ll be happy to pay you the seven-fifty…” Ken began, but Allyssa stopped him.