It all seemed to happen in slow motion.
The guy at the dealership had just handed me the keys to the brand new Celica. It was so red it almost hurt the eyes. Every toy and whistle possible to add was part of the deal. I am sure I had a big shit eating grin on my face when I popped the clutch and pulled out into traffic.
I scrimped and saved to buy the car, months of damned back breaking work shoving packages from pallets onto a conveyor belt.
I knew damn good and well I would have no problem getting women to hop into this machine. That was part of the reason I was buying it, the other was that my old Ford truck was on it's last legs.
So far the old Ford had always started but most mornings it took five minutes. Plus I was now carrying a full gallon of bulk oil behind the front seat.
I even let the insurance lapse, why bother? The damn truck was worth maybe $200, and I was a good driver so no point in dropping the full value of the damn thing every 3 months.
Besides, it made the day I got the new machine come even faster.
Then I saw the big sale ad at the dealership. The bald headed guy had seen me so many times he knew my first name. He filled out the 300 or so forms for me to sign, and the machine was mine.
No interest for a full year, dang! Well, not until January which was just 5 months, but still.
All I had to do was drop by my insurance agent, get coverage, life would be good again!
I was fiddling with the radio, some talk show host was screaming something about how he "Couldn't take it anymore!" screw that.
Gimmee some tunes! I looked both ways, popped the clutch, satisfied with how easy the tires let out a nice squeal.
Then I reached back for the radio.
BAM!
Coming back to my senses, I looked up and saw the hood folded back against the windshield. My eyes hurt, my hand hurt, it felt like someone had popped me right in the face.
I shoved the wad of air bag off of me, tried to climb out. The damn door opened part way and stopped.
I saw the other driver getting out, too, a young woman with long dark hair.
"Are you all right?" She asked, leaning in towards my window.
"Yea, I think so." I kept pushing at the damn door.
A couple of guys came up and pulled on it, finally getting it open far enough I could squeeze out. The bald headed guy from the dealership stood there looking at the car.
"Boy, you didn't get very far." He said.
I thought about wrapping my hands around his neck and just squeezing.
"You pulled out right in front of me." The woman said.
"Bullshit! I looked both ways!"
Then I realized my car was in the oncoming lane facing the wrong way, I had never made it to the center divider.
I looked at my brand new car, steam pouring out from under the hood. The left front corner was shoved all the way back to the cab, the hood was folded upwards in the middle, windshield smashed.
It was totalled.
It sure was red, though.
Realization set in. My insurance agent's office was just a few blocks away, the papers sitting on his desk waiting for me.
"In force as soon as you drop by and sign, no problems." Steve had said. He had tried to get me to sign them right then, but I wanted to see if I could get at least $200 tradein out of my truck, they had only offered me $150.
I realized someone was asking me for my driver's license, I looked over and a cop stood there.
He wrote me a ticket for failure to yield, just great. I looked at the copy he gave me, $228 fine.
Great.
A tow truck came and got the remains of my machine, I simply stood there unsure of what to do next.
"Do you need a ride somewhere?"
I realized the woman was still standing there, looking at me oddly. My mind had been a mile away. I looked over at the car she was driving.
What the fuck was that thing? The only damage was a broken headlight and the bumper bent maybe 2 inches.
"1964 Nash Rambler." she said, reading my mind.
"They are really solid built cars."
No shit.
Swell. I got run over by a fucking bulldozer.
"Maybe to my apartment?" I said, not relishing the 4 mile walk.
Besides, I had maybe 2 dollars in my pocket, no taxi was going to come.
"Sure, come on." She reached out and took my hand, for God's sake. I went meekly along.
I looked her over as she started the old thing and pulled out. It seemed to purr smoothly. She was about my age, there was no hiding the fact that she was full busted, slender, pretty in some ways. Her nose was pointed, there were streaks of color in her hair, her clothes were a simple blouse and skirt, modest to the middle of her knees.
Just a nice looking young woman.
"Teresa." She smiled at me, answering the question before I could ask it.
"Dan."
We pulled up in front of my apartment complex, I turned and thanked her and said I was sorry for the accident.
"Oh, no problem, things happen. My car isn't really hurt, anyway it's old."
I thought of my brand new Celica, I hadn't even gotten it out of first gear. A four year contract, no insurance.