Chapter 11
Edward completed a few household errands for his mother, then elected to visit the BMW dealership to get it over and done with. He resolved to tell Isabella that he couldn't find anything he wanted, or that it the luxury car brand wasn't the one he was looking for.
His gray Volvo sputtered into the parking lot, looking entirely out of place. A few customers were walking about with salesmen, probably deciding their other fifty vehicles weren't enough.
Almost immediately he regretted his bitter train of thought. It wasn't their fault his life was in shambles. Or that his father had basically ruined any prospect of a future. No, it wasn't their fault at all.
He manually locked his doors, and walked confidently into the dealership, pretending that he had the right to be there. From outward appearances, he played the act of an interested buyer and strolled over to the receptionist's desk.
"Welcome to BMW Automotive. My name is Heidi, how may I help you?" the red-headed lady behind the counter greeted him.
"Yes. I am here to meet Mr. Diggs. Cedric Diggs."
"Oh, Edward Cyllen?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes?" he answered, confused on how she would know his name.
"Right this way, sir! Mr. Diggs is in his office," she rambled, overly excited. He followed her to an area where an overweight older gentleman with gray hair and hazel eyes was seated at his desk, talking on the phone.
She gave him directions to take a seat, as Mr. Diggs was ending his phone call.
"Is there anything I can get you? Soda? Water? A bottle of wine?" she rattled on.
"No," Edward shook his head, puzzled at her helpful demeanor. Or the fact that she was serving alcohol in case he was actually going to drive. "No, thank you."
"Very well. Mr. Diggs will be with you shortly."
Edward looked around his office, decorated with pictures of luxury cars and awards. He sighed quietly when Mr. Diggs hung up his phone.
"Ahhh, Mr. Cyllen, I presume. Very nice to meet you. I'm Cedric Diggs," he grinned, reaching out his hand. Edward returned the formalities and made his perplexity known.
"Uh, did you know I was coming?"
"Yes. Ms. De Luca called me and asked me to assist you in finding a vehicle. We have the top of the line automobiles. They are fully lined with leather interior, pre-installed televisions and MP3 players. You can also custom-"
Edward thought it would be best to stop his selling tactics before he got started. He knew how these salesmen worked. They were like sharks; they wouldn't stop until they sold something. And they only thing Edward would be able to afford was a soda that was in the vending machine across the street.
"I'm sorry to waste your time, Mr. Diggs. I was just going to look as a courtesy to Ms. Isabella. I'm not sure I can quite, ummm, afford anything here."
Mr. Diggs chuckled, his robust belly moving up and down in a jolly motion. His eyes sparkled with delight. "Did Ms. De Luca not tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"She's paying."
"WHAT?" Edward's voice couldn't have gotten louder if he had tried.
"Paying for it. Footing the bill. Shelling out the dough," he laughed. "My instructions were to let you pick out a vehicle, anything you desire, and she would be compensating. Now if you'll follow me to our showroom-"
"Woah, hold on," Edward interrupting, stopping him in his tracks. "Mr. Diggs, I'm not sure what she has told you, but I'm sure there's a mistake. I'm not purchasing anything. Nor is she. I just-"
Mr. Diggs waved his hand and chuckled. "She said you would say that. C'mon, Mr. Cyllen. Amuse me. I'm a busy man. Surely you can at least test drive one. Wouldn't hurt you to try, would it?"
Edward swallowed, knowing this was leading nowhere but downhill. Cedric was already estimating the profit he would receive. He knew the De Lucas were anything but thrifty. He had already sold the entire family most of their vehicles, and they were showy at best. Stephan De Luca had on more than one occasion asked for accessories that didn't even exist in the already made cars.
But Cedric had no problem getting an automatic coffee maker installed in his wife, Renee's SUV. No problem at all.
Edward followed Mr. Diggs out into the showroom, and Edward noted how he didn't even attempt to lead him towards the parking lot.
No matter what he says, I am NOT buying a car here. Nor is Isabella purchasing one, either, Edward thought with certainty. No way. No how.
That was one favor he couldn't pay back. He had to think of his family, first and foremost. They mattered the most.
"Ok, Mr. Cyllen," Cedric began, pointing at a burgundy coloured car. "Here we have the 335i Sedan. It gets 33mpg highway, has a six cylinder turbo engine, and rear wheel drive. It features an all leather interior, and features a sound system that can be heard on the other side of the city, if you wish."
Edward gritted his teeth, not acknowledging how enticing the car really was. "Cedric-"
"Not your fancy? Moving right along then," Mr. Diggs said, dashing to the next black coloured vehicle. "This here is the 335is Convertible. Starting at only sixty grand, it entails a 3.0 liter, inline six cylinder engine, gets 26 miles to the gallon, has satellite radio, and a powered retractable hardtop. Good for the man on the go, much like yourself."
"Cedric-" Edward attempted again.
Not one to be deterred, the salesman continued. "Not a convertible man, I see? No worries. Next up we have sport utility vehicles, my favorite. This one is a x5 Drive 35d, has a third row rear seat, has 265 horsepower, and gets from zero to sixty in just 6.9 seconds. It also has an integrated iPod system, if you are into that sort of thing."
"Cedric," Edward said once more, this time with authority. "I told you, I'm not purchasing anything. Once again, I thank you for your time. Please just tell Isabella I didn't see anything I liked. I will promise her you tried your best. Now if you'll excuse me-"
Edward failed to brush past Mr. Diggs when his arm was grabbed slightly. "Ok. I get it. I understand. You don't have the money to purchase a car, nor do you want one bought for you. I'm a man. I get the whole pride factor. You don't have to explain."
Edward looked into Cedric's eyes that were filled with sympathy and consideration. "Thank you."
"Mr. Cyllen, come with me. I want to show you something. We are more alike than you think."
Not perceiving this as possible, Edward followed him back to the front entrance of the store and then stopped in front of a closed curtain area.
Cedric pulled an old worn-out wallet out of his back pocket and opened it, showing Edward the contents.
Edward frowned. There was nothing in there. It was empty.
"I've been where you are. Young and without a dollar to my name. I had dreams, sure, but the world isn't like that, is it? You don't always get what you want. You have to fight and sacrifice. Struggle and lose. That's why I carry around my old wallet. It reminds me of how far I've come. I'm here to assure you, Edward, that a time will come when you no longer have to struggle."
Cedric was so genuine, and so honest that Edward for once felt like the man before him authentically recognized his position. He breathed a sigh of relief, and when he did Cedric led him past the curtain into a large darkened room. Edward was adjusting his eyesight as Cedric turned on the lights.
Edward gasped.
Inside the closed room stood one vehicle.
Edward had to inhale for air. He had never seen anything like it. It looked so space-age, comparable to that of which he ventured he would never gaze upon in his lifetime.
Mr. Diggs lowered his voice to a hush whisper, laying his heavy hand on Edward's shoulder. "This is the BMW i8. It's the evolution of a plug in hybrid with an electric drive system. Holding a three cylinder combustion engine, it accelerates from zero to one hundred miles per hour in under five seconds. It seats up to four people, has swing doors, or what most like to call 'suicide doors,' and is geometrically designed with aluminum drive units. This also has a built in navigational system, two eight inch touch screen displays, and even holds floating taillights which help with aerodynamics. But Edward, this is not a car."
"Huh?"
Edward snapped out of his musings and turned to face the salesman. "This, my friend, is the future."
Making no attempt to step any closer, Cedric pushed him forward, and with swift motion the doors swung in an upward motion. "Get in."
"I-I…can't…it's….I'll mess something up!" Edward stammered, battling to retreat towards a safer area.
Like outside.
"We had a deal, remember? Amuse me," he repeated, and with another urge, he goaded Edward into the driver's seat.
Too afraid to touch anything, Edward sat stiffly in the seat. Cedric leaned across, pushing the ignition on without any keys. The sports car purred to life.
"Close your eyes."
Edward gave him a cynical look before doing what he was told. "Do you feel that? You become one with the car. You feel like nothing can touch you, nothing can stop you. The world has no weight. No burdens. No sacrifices. Today is your day, Edward. Today you will no longer struggle."
With the soft murmurs of Mr. Diggs in his ear, and the smoothness of the leather on his hands, Edward felt like he was melting into another zone. This car represented everything he wanted to be, everything he had every wished for.
An image of his family soon bought him crashing back down to reality.
He ignored it for the moment, and opened his eyes to Mr. Diggs.
"So, what do you think?"
"Wow. This is really nice. I mean…beyond nice. Thank you for showing this to me. But I really must be going now."
He cautiously stepped out of the vehicle, ready for this day to be over with already.
"I can't let you do that, Mr. Cyllen. You see, my orders from Ms. De Luca were to make sure you absolutely left here with a mode of transportation. So, you can argue until you are blue in the face, or you can hurry this along and pick out a car. Now, from what you've shown me, you are a man of class. Although timid, you know what you want. Yes, I can put you in one of our standard BMW's, but you wouldn't be happy. What you need is your dream car. And that dream, is this i8. No more struggles, Edward. No more struggles."
Cedric started to leave the room, and whispered one last implication. "Oh, and by the way. She said something along the lines of 'if you don't pick out a vehicle, your ass is fired.' But I'm sure she didn't mean it…"
O.O.O.O.O.O.
Cedric smiled greedily as he picked up the phone and dialed his customer back immediately as instructed.
"Hello? Ms. De Luca?"
"Yes. This is Mr. Diggs returning your phone call as promised. It worked. Your threat worked. He chose the BMW i8, just as you wished."
He listened a few more minutes, and signed documents as she chatted. "No, thank you ma'am. Your business is always welcome and I am more than honored to serve you and your family after all of these years."
"Yes, you too. Have a good day, Ms. De Luca. Goodbye."
Cedric rushed out of his office, locking the door behind him and yelling loudly. "Heidi! Close up early! You and I are going out tonight. Dinner is on me!"
O.O.O.O.O.O
As Edward drove down the freeway to go home, cursing and lamenting over his, or rather Isabella's purchase, several questions crossed his mind.
How had he let this happen?
Did he forget the groceries in the Volvo?
And lastly, where in the hell was he going to hide this car?