The Last JoyRide

Part 9

Tuesday 3:23 PM

I had waited outside while Joy made the arrangements in the bank's repossession office.  She had been less than ten minutes, largely she said because she had pre-bonded the car.  In essence she had paid the note on the car.  The bank agreed to a standard length of time before they would declare the car as an asset once more at which time Joy would have to forfeit her bond.  If, however the car was found and returned in serviceable condition before the deadline the bank was obligated to pay a premium of ten percent of the asset value.  It was a hell of a gamble but she had the car the whole time otherwise she would never have paid the bond.  

When she came out she motioned for me to give her the wheel.  I wasn't going to argue.  I switched seats and before I was buckled in good we were off.  

"That was nice and clean, just they way I like 'em.  If I could get five of those a day I'd have everything paid off in no time."  

She held the wheel with one hand and fiddled with the radio with her other.  

"How much do you owe?"

Joy tilted her head a little and peered at me over the top of her sunglasses.

"Enough.  Don't worry about it."

"You know, just asking."

"I know.  Listen, I know it's a crazy time, but would you want to get dinner before we get back?"

"Well sure, we didn't eat anything but those turnovers and I'm starving.  Yep, I'm game."

"Good," she said nodding, both hands back on the wheel.  

"I don't like to eat late and you know you're a pain in the ass but it would be nice not to eat alone."

I agreed flatly.  

"Yeah, same here, you pick, I'm game for anything."

"It's Taco Tuesday," she smiled.

"Hell yeah it is, let's do it."

She drove like a maniac.  At least that's what I thought at first.  The strange thing was that unlike my reflexes before with other drivers, I did not get nervous when she was behind the wheel.  Every move she made seemed to issue from thought, from planning.  Joy was like a probability calculator easing through traffic at speeds I always thought were impossible.   She drove for the most part head forward and with an intense stare.  Only when she broke concentration and spoke did she slow down.  

Her phone rang and she tapped it quickly.

"Terri, you are on speaker okay?"

"Take me off," was her insistent response.

Joy picked up her phone and slowed down, changing lanes to the right.  

"Go girl, what's up?"

"What?  Really?  What's the twenty on that one?  Get the fuck outta here!  Shit yeah, I'm on it. Of course, as usual.  I got you.  I'll let you know.  Right now."

She hung up and put the phone carefully in the console then changed lanes rapidly back to the left lane and picked up speed.

"Dinner plans have been postponed."

She then opened the console and tossed me some energy bars.

"Open me one of those would you?"

I opened hers and handed it back, then forced myself to eat one.  It sure as hell wasn't tacos but it would have to do for a while.  Just like that we were back in the game and at full speed.