“Larissa,” Jared finally called out to her, “what color were you thinking of?”
She slammed shut the white door and walked across the hush-hush cappuccino carpet over to Kai’s metal desk. She liked the sterility of the dealership. Cars were shiny, no dirt, no oil, no exhaust, no fumes, no black smoke. Just a glossy pristine hunk of steel. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said. “I was looking at the green. Also porcelain.”
“You didn’t like the indigo blue in the lot? He says he can give us a discount on it.”
Larissa didn’t like the way Jared said
he
while referring to the man sitting across the narrow desk from him. Emily Post declared that rather rude. And it wasn’t like Jared; it was out of character for him, the mildest of men. Larissa made a dedicated effort not to glance at Kai to acknowledge either her husband’s incivility, or the familiarity of the topic of the car color between them. For that would imply that she and Kai chatted quite freely, perhaps even had raw fish together while sitting in a parked car listening to Nina Simone. “I would prefer not to have the blue,” she said, her mouth tightening.
Kai and Jared leaned over the desk, studying the colors in the brochure while she stood over them. “What about Winter Gold?” said Kai.
“I was
just
about to say that,” said Jared. “Winter Gold goes with your coloring, Lar.”
She leaned over to contemplate. The color was darker than porcelain. More metallic ash. It matched her hair color. Gold and taupe blended in alchemy.
“Okay,” she agreed. She didn’t know what it was, but it was true, Kai did not act with Jared in the same friendly and amiable way he acted with her. Jared himself was clipped and cold, and Larissa didn’t know what came first, whether the clipped Jared resulted in the silent Kai, or vice versa, or perhaps simultaneously, but all she knew was that both men behaved as they weren’t, instead of as they were. Which made Larissa wonder if she were behaving as she wasn’t, instead of as she was. Was she more silent herself? Jared was so sharply on guard. This was
such
a bad idea in hindsight. Getting the car, that is.
“You’re going to have to do better than that on the price,” Jared said stiffly to Kai.
“Look, I’ve gone back and forth three times already. I’m trying to get you the best deal. Your wife likes the car.”
“It’s not about how my wife feels about it. It’s about getting the best deal possible for your customers.”
“Fine. Let me talk to Chad one more time.”
“No.” Jared stood up. “Where is this Chad? I’ll talk to him myself.”
“Be my guest,” said Kai coolly, also getting up. “I’ll take you to him.” He strode out from behind his desk. “Coming?” That was to Larissa.
“Coming?” Jared whispered in an irritated mimic, poking her in the back.
Jared talked to Chad for over an hour negotiating the terms, while Larissa sat and chafed in the adjacent chair. The kids had been alone
all
day. The whole Saturday. She would barely have enough time to cook dinner before Ezra, Maggie and Dylan came over. Emily must be going nuts. She never liked to be left to babysit, she was always on the phone or the computer. She liked to get paid, just didn’t like to do the work. Poor Michelangelo, the sweet boy alone with that cranky Emily. Dylan should babysit him. He was much nicer. Or even Asher, if he weren’t so easily distractable and liable to forget he even had a little brother in the house.
“Larissa?”
“Oh, what, sorry?” She hadn’t been paying attention. She had been catching, through the semi-private partitions, the desks, the chairs, a glimpse of the tailored white shirt, the pressed jeans, the hand on the phone, the back turned to the dealership, wild hair slicked down.
“Chad wants to know if you’re interested in the advanced technology package?”
“A
what
?”
“A navigation system.”
“No, thank you.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.” She didn’t want to spend a minute thinking
about it. She tuned out but after a few minutes something in the conversation between the two men brought her back. Jared was asking Chad about Kai.
“Is he on the up and up?” Jared lowered his voice. “Seems awful young to be selling cars of this caliber.”
“This is what we all thought,” said Chad, also lowering his voice. “He’s new. Still on probation. But he’s impeccable. Punctual, hard-working, never a bit of trouble. And he’s been salesman of the month both months he’s been here.”
“He’s only been here two months!”
“Exactly. And let me tell you, the runner-up sold one car. Kai sold
seven
.”
“Seven?” Jared whistled. “Seven altogether?”
“No. Seven in one month. Yours will be eight.”
“No…”
“Eight this month, five last month. That’s over a million dollars to this dealership.”
“Wow.” Jared glanced over the cars to the cubicle where Kai stood working the phone, with an expression of surprised and grudging respect, as if for some reason Jared didn’t want Kai to be a successful salesman. “What’s his secret? How does he do it?”
“No one knows. He’s a bit of a loner, keeps to himself. Perhaps he’s got great closing game?” Chad grinned affably at Larissa. “How did he close it with you?”
Larissa shrugged. “He showed me a beautiful car. I was won over. What’s so hard about that?”
“Yeah. It does help that the cars are nice.” Chad pointed to a middle-aged man behind the business office counter. “But Gary over there, our senior salesman, with us twenty years, with us as long as Kai’s been alive, sells the same merchandise. Yet, he can’t move ‘em.”
Oh dear God, he was twenty!
“Must be the youth,” said Jared.
Larissa looked down deeply into her lap, her fingertips not flushed this time but draining of blood.
“Must be.” Chad leaned forward. “You know what I think? Kai just won’t take no for an answer. If he sees a potential sale, he will not quit. But he also doesn’t waste time on those who’re just window-shopping. Maybe that’s his gift. He can instantly tell the browsers from the buyers.”
Now Jared shrugged. “He seemed shifty. Like he was trying to get one over on me.”
“He wasn’t, though. You saw. He’s a superb closer. He’s got end game.”
“No, I know. The price was fair. With all those options and packages, I was afraid were we getting snowed.” Which was ironic, for how you can be snowed when the party doing the snowing wasn’t doing any talking? “But Kelley Blue Book said good price. I’m satisfied.” Relaxed, Jared smiled at Larissa.
“It’s a great car, darling,” said Larissa, glancing at her watch, forcing a toothy smile. “What wife wouldn’t want a 420-horse-power Jag convertible?”
They signed off on the terms of the lien, the amount of the down payment, the interest rate, the taxes and delivery charges. Before he left, Jared shook Chad’s hand. He did not seek out Kai, nor seek out his hand to shake. He didn’t even nod in his direction as he was leaving.
2
Winter Gold
O
thello
was sold out for all three performances. On Saturday night they brought the kids, sat in the second row, admired the actors, the well-rendered words, the superb set decoration. Michelangelo told his mother that she had painted a beautiful death scene.
Jared, leaning into Larissa, sitting by his side, said during the intermission, “I know that Shakespeare must have considered Desdemona and Othello’s marriage a good one, noble and decent and all that, but what if, I mean, wouldn’t it be funny if Desdemona actually
did
sleep with Cassio?”
“Dad’s right. This play is not appropriate for children, Mother,” said Emily, leaning over Michelangelo. “You should not have brought him.”
“She shouldn’t have brought
you
,” said Michelangelo, shoving away his sister.
“Perhaps Emily is right,” Jared said. “This play is not appropriate for adults
or
children.”
“What kind of a tragedy would it be if Desdemona was righteously killed?” asked Larissa. “This is like the things Leroy says when he wants to revise the script by ‘improving’ Shakespeare’s words.”
“Who the hell is Leroy?”
“You know. Leroy.” She pointed. “Standing with the script in his hand on the other side of Fred.”
“Who the hell is Fred?”
“Oh, darling, I told you about Fred.” Larissa sighed. “You never listen to me. He’s the annoying one, the theater department head wannabe next to the stage director wannabe.”
“You have to be more specific than that, Lar.” Laughing, Jared put his arm around her. “Hey, why can’t it still be a tragedy?” He kissed her temple. “To love, to be betrayed. That’s not tragic?”
“Not for Shakespeare. It’s par for the course.”
Asher leaned over his father. “When is this over? I
really
have to go home.”
“It’ll be over when everybody is dead, son. That’s how you’ll know it’s over.” Jared turned to Larissa. “What’s the spring play?”
“No one’s decided yet,” said Larissa as the curtain rose. “Much to Ezra’s torment, Leroy thinks it’ll be up to him.”
“Hmm,” Jared said. “
You
should be the director. You can drive to work in your little gold Jag. So zexy. When’s it coming?”
“I don’t know. Two weeks?”
“Did he say he was going to call you when it was in?”
“He didn’t say. I assume someone will call.”
“Usually the salesman calls.”
“Well, I guess then he’ll call.”
“He hasn’t called yet?”
“Jared, no, he hasn’t called. You know how you know? I’m not driving a little gold Jag.”
“Hmm. I guess. God, he was so pretentious,” whispered Jared. “Reading
Felix Krull
. Who does he think he is?”
“Who are you talking about?” Larissa said mock-tiredly, amazed at Jared’s visceral inexplicable hostility to Kai’s stoic silence in one ten-minute car ride.
Act III began. Enter Cassio and some musicians. “
Masters play here. I will content your pains.”
At the end of February, the Jag came in. A momentous occasion like this deserved Jared taking time off work, but he was busy restructuring the fixed retirement instruments department and couldn’t. Larissa had to wait, but she did drive over in the afternoon to take a look at it.
“Winter Gold is nice, ey?” Kai said, beaming to a beaming Larissa, who put both palms on the hood, both forearms on the hood. It was magnificent. She wanted to lie down on it. She wanted to sleep inside it.
“Certainly better than the blue,” she said with spectacular regret, wishing she could drive it off the lot that very second. She settled for tuna and rice in the Escalade with Kai from 1:25 until 1:55.
After dinner Jared drove Larissa to the dealership, where the release paperwork was signed for the plates and the temporary registration, where the keys were exchanged and keyless combinations revealed. The car was so spanking, Jared even shook Kai’s hand! Larissa kept saying thank you. There was a lot to be grateful for. The Jaguar brought Jared and Kai together! Maybe they could be friends. Perhaps Kai could come over in the summer, reseal the walkway from the garage to the front door, and then have a frosty glass of freshly squeezed lemonade in her kitchen.
“So all is forgiven, darling?” Larissa said quietly and teasingly to Jared, while Kai went inside to grab the second set of keys. The situation was so diffused, she could even tease!
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jared said. And then louder, when Kai returned, “The color is fantastic. Perfect for Larissa.” And Kai agreed; Winter Gold was perfect for Larissa.
He showed her things: how to put the top down, how to adjust the power seat, control the automatic climate buttons, work the stereo and the menu buttons. They spent forty minutes in the car, him patiently explaining, while Jared sat in his Lexus tapping his fingers. “Lar, ready to go?” he asked, finally getting out and walking over to the Jag window. “It’s getting late.”
“Just a few more minutes, honey,” said Larissa. “I have to figure out when to use the third gear.” She looked at Jared brightly. “You can go home, if you want. I’ll follow you in, like, five minutes.”
Jared looked from Kai to Larissa and back again. “If it’s really going to be five minutes, I’ll wait,” he said.
Finally they left, Larissa as excited as a boy with trains on Christmas morning. She drove her Winter Gold Jaguar twenty miles an hour down Main Street with Jared behind her in his Lexus, honking at her to hurry it along. There was no putting down the top, since it was drizzling freezing slush. When she got home and pulled the car into the garage, she took out a roll of paper towels, went out and started drying the car by hand. Jared laughed at her.
“The children all want a ride, Lar,” he said. “Better keep that paper towel roll handy.” Since the car was a two-seater, she had to take them one by one, though Michelangelo made do with the tiny back seat, scrunched up, and went along with both Emily and Asher.
“Mom, that is the
cooliest
car I’ve ever seen,” Asher said. “I want you to drive me to guitar in it every week.”
“Yes, but we’ll have to get another mother with another car to drive the other two children to their activities, won’t we?” said Larissa. “We won’t all fit in this one.”
Jared put his foot down. “This is not a mother car,” he said. “This is a Larissa car, okay, guys? When you want a mother, she drives you in the Escalade. Larissa drives the Jag. Got it?”
That Saturday night they invited themselves to Maggie and Ezra’s just so Larissa could drive her Jag. Even the unflappable Ezra looked impressed.
“Happy now?” Ezra said, walking around the car, patting its trunk and windows.
“Delirious. But careful. You’ll scratch it with your ring.”
“Why would I scratch your car with my wedding ring?” said Ezra, taking his hands off it. “So has the Jag provided you with all the answers?”
“Give it time, Ezra. I’ve only had it two days.”
“What about the theater, Larissa? You’ve been thinking about it a lot longer than two days. I’m about to offer the job to Leroy.”