Page 51 of Resolution
After a few minutes, Enzo breaks in, “So, Samantha, what do you think?”
“It’s nice.” I give him that. It has a lot of features. I shrug. “What do you want me to say?”
“Would you want this as your daily driver?” he hedges.
I glance around again. This car’s huge.Can I even drive a car this big? This vehicle’s a beast compared to mine.“Umm… I haven’t driven it to know if I could handle this beast.”
“Trust me, Sam, this is nowhere near a beast. It has a nineteen-foot radius and turns on a dime. Here, let me pull over and you can drive it.”
As I drive down the road, I find that this car is magnificent. It handles like a dream. The fact that it seats seven, has a TV, and all the latest features is nice, too.
“So how much is this going to set me back?” I ask as I punch the gas in a straightaway. Holy crap. This has power!
“You’ll get used to the V-8 engine, Sam. But unless you want to draw the attention of the local law enforcement, I’d lay off your lead foot,” Enzo teases.
I ease off the gas and grin. “I could get used to driving this.”
“Does this mean we’re keeping it?” Frankie excitedly pipes in.
I glance at Enzo, who gives nothing away. “So, what are the monthly payments?” I repeat to get a straight answer.
“Nothing,” he calmly replies.
Giving him my best mom tone, I glare in his direction. “What do you mean, nothing?”
“I mean, unless you completely hate it. It’s already paid for.”
What. The. Fuck? Who goes out and pays cash for a vehicle loaded with this many options. “Your prior job was for the U.S. Air Force, right? Not some secret agent shit or anything?”
He gives me a disapproving look. “Sam…” He glances to Frankie and doesn’t say anything.
“She’s heard worse,” I glower, but am frustrated he’s not explaining anything. “Talk.”
He takes a deep breath, and slower than molasses in January, exhales.Oh, this has got to be good. “Samantha, you know I haven’t had a lot to spend my money on over the years. I’m a simple man and live within my means. I’ve pretty much saved about half my money from each paycheck and invested it. Any money I got while on deployment went into that investment account, too.”
“Don’t you think we should’ve talked about this before you went out and bought it?”
“We talked about vehicles, and you said this was one you’d consider. I drove by this morning in Pops’ truck and saw them putting this on the lot. I was off a bit earlier than expected and figured if it’s meant to be, it would still be there. And here we are.”
There’s no point in arguing. He’s right. But still. This is a huge purchase.
“Did you even think to run this by me first?” comes out before I can hold it in.Crap. That sounded way snarkier than I meant.
“Again, you had already agreed this was a vehicle you wanted. I found it, paid for it, and honestly didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. I never meant to leave you out.” He’s quiet for a moment, then adds in a lighter tone, “By the way, I ordered Thai food. We just have to pick it up. I was dying to show you this, so I thought we could drive to pick it up.”
“Being perfect isn’t always polite, Enzo,” I grimace and pretend to have some steam left for a fight.
“I’ll work on that, beautiful.” He laughs, but the look in his eyes tells me he thinks I’m being utterly ridiculous.
Men.
As we finish dinner later that evening, I look to Enzo, raise an eyebrow, and pat my belly.It’s time.He nods in agreement and clears his throat just as Declan is about to ask to be excused from the table. “So… Guys, we have an announcement to make.”
Maddie looks to Soren knowingly. By the look on his face, I’d bet he already knows what Enzo’s about to say. Enzo and I have discussed that we need to tell the kids soon, but I haven’t given much thought as to what we’d actually say. Enzo looks in my direction and I shrug.
“What is it?” Declan asks impatiently. He’s about to go upstairs to finish his homework and I can tell he’s tired, by his cranky demeanor at dinner.
Frankie’s the exact opposite, her eagerness to know what’s going on is almost comical. She bounces in her seat and says, “Yeah, what’s going on?”
