On Sunday afternoon I was sitting around playing Dominion with the fam and Dave called. We chatted for a minute and all of a sudden he said, “Oops, I have to go. I’ll call you back in a minute.”. He hung up, leaving me a little confused about what was happening.
A few minutes later he called again and asked if I was busy doing anything, and I told him I was kind of busy but I’d call him later. He said that was fine and hung up. Strange, but no big deal– Dave and I are like that sometimes. Just a random call, a few minutes of chatter, and we’re off.
A few hours later he called again. “Are you busy?” I wasn’t– in fact I was just about to call him. “Do you want to go for a drive?”
That seemed like an odd question, especially given the phone call earlier. Was he in some kind of trouble? His marriage? The law? I ran through a few possibilities in my mind and answered, “Sure, let’s do that.” Hey, I’m a good friend, right? If he needed some help burying a body I’ll at least listen to the story.
“Come outside. I’m parked in front of your house.” Wow, creepy. It was dark outside, and I grabbed some shoes and stepped outside and sure enough, there was a shadowy car at the end of the sidewalk. Lights on, engine running.
I climbed in and he just grinned. Then he shifted into drive and peeled out. We sped around the corner and up Pace Street to the highway. I realized the car was subtly different than what I remember. He’s been driving a sweet BMW for a few years, but he explained that this was a new one. An upgrade.
“It does zero to sixty in 4.8 seconds. Want to see it?”
Heh, who can refuse that? The light went green and we turned onto the highway. He floored it, and I can testify that he wasn’t kidding. Wow, that car had acceleration. I was pushed back into my seat and we hit eighty within maybe five or six seconds. It was a 65 mph zone so he eased back a bit, but it was awesome. My Civic just doesn’t have quite that same kind of zip off the line.
Anyway, we tooled around town a bit and talked about the features on this car. Nice stuff. He’d had it a few days but was already in love. Heck, I think I was in love too, just like the last BMW he bought. I was seriously thinking about getting one but his commute is something like a hundred miles each way every day and mine is about five. So obviously comfort during the drive is a little more important to him.
Important note: I love my Civic. It’s perfect for what I need and like. But come on– who wouldn’t trade up for a new BMW if they could?