Cory Schroeder

Sunday Drive

There was nothing peculiar about the way the morning started that day. Felix awoke at the same time every day, to the same familiar alarm. He poured the same, boring cup of coffee as he perused the Classified section of the Sunday paper. Sure, there were more efficient ways of car shopping but Felix preferred a much simpler way of life. He took things one day at a time and felt like technology would only complicate things. He began to give up on his search when he came across a listing that caught his eye. The listing simply read,“CAR FOR SALE: ONE OWNER/MUST SEE” with only a phone number and address. Usually, this would not be an effective listing due to the lack of details but Felix was intrigued. This was a bit out of character for Felix as he normally would require more information, but he figured this car could not in any worse condition than the piece of junk he was currently driving. He felt his heart racing a bit faster as he found himself dialing the number with no idea what to expect! The phone continued to ring long enough to realize no one was going to answer and they obviously did not want anyone to leave a message. The address listed was only about 20 minutes away so he decided to take a little road trip to discover if the vehicle was indeed a “must see”. After a good 5 minutes, his car finally started only further solidifying the notion that he definitely needed to find some other form of transportation soon! He wasn’t necessarily expecting to meet the seller because they did not answer their phone but he figured he could at least catch a glimpse of his potential purchase. As he neared his destination, Felix wondered why he had never noticed a car for sale because this address was nearly the halfway point on his daily commute to and from work. He soon realized it was because the car was not displayed near the road but only a nondescript sign that read “CAR FOR SALE” with an arrow pointing toward the house. He slowly passed by without stopping but it did not seem like anyone was home. He found the first spot to turn around and decided to give it one more pass by. As he was heading back, he could spot the nose of a vehicle peeking out from behind an old barn and decided to turn down the driveway. Felix did not feel completely comfortable turning into someone else’s property but figured they wouldn’t post a sign if they did not want people looking. After a few moments of reflection, Felix began to inch his way down the drive only to have his car sputter slowly before stalling completely. He popped the hood and attempted to start it once but he knew his car very well… it was going to need a few minutes of rest before trying again. He figured he might as well walk the rest of the way to see the car while he waited. He gave the property one more look around for any signs of life but still did not see anyone other than a few seemingly stray cats. As he approached the vehicle, he could finally see that it was indeed in very good shape as the shiny red paint glistened in the sun. There was no information posted anywhere on the vehicle but Felix could tell it was at least 10 years newer than the vehicle he was currently driving! It was all very promising but it didn’t seem like this was going to be in his price range. As he peered through the windows, Felix found himself daydreaming about the trips he could take in this vehicle without constantly worrying about being stranded on the side of the road! “Oh, what a beautiful thought”, he said to himself, quietly laughing. Before he could turn completely around, he noticed a shadow approaching from behind!