Page 11 of Long Live the King
There really isn’t any other way to react except to stare blankly, so that’s what I do for about ten seconds, before my heart finally starts to beat again.
“Pick a Mercedes?” I ask in nearly a whisper.
Dominic answers like what he’s doing is no big deal at all. Just another day in the life of Don Collazo.
“Yeah, whichever one you want,” he says with a shrug.
My eyes bulge.
“Dominic, are you saying we’re here to buy me a Mercedes right now?” I feel like I already know the answer, but I just have to ask the question again because it can’t be real. But Dominic saysyeswith nothing more than a playful nod of his head and an adorable smile.
“But I already have a car.”
“Now you have two.”
“Oh my god!” I scream, leaning over and throwing my arms around him. “This is the move in present? You’re unbelievable!”
“Nah, you are, Alannah,” he answers. “Our life together is the most important thing in the world to me, and that’s something I never thought I’d say to anyone after you moved away all those years ago. But now that you’ve been here a while and you’ve moved in, and we have this life together, I want us to have the best life. I want us to have everything we ever dreamed of as kids. The most important thing is our love, and since we know we’ll never be lacking in that department, I want us to have everything else too. It’s our world, Alannah. You and me. Yours and mine. So if we want something, we’re gonna get it, because the world belongs to us.”
I feel my heart speeding up like it’s in a race and my eyes starting to mist over. I don’t know how it’s possible that I met the love of my life at the age of eleven, but staring into his blue eyes right now, I know I’m the luckiest woman ever.
“I love you, Dominic,” I manage to say as I fight back tears and hug him again. The cab driver stares at us through his rearview mirror, but I close my eyes and ignore it.
“I loveyou. Now let’s go pick your car.”
I hop out of the cab like a kid about to go on a candy shopping spree, and I’m amazed at how beautiful these cars are. Every car on the lot is a Mercedes—SUV’s, sedans, roadsters, convertibles—you name it, they have it. The colors aren’t bright and flashy, but they don’t have to be when the body is this nice. I practically skip my way down one line of cars and turn to skip down the next when I see the one I know I want. It’s a shiny metallic white two-door with a sexy sleek body that hypnotizes me. I stop skipping and stare at it like it’s a beautiful painting in a gallery.
“Good choice,” I hear Dominic say from behind me.
I turn around to see him smiling, just before he turns on his heel and heads towards the entrance. While he’s inside, I do a complete walk-around of what has immediately become my dream car, admiring all of its beauty. The windows are already tinted, the rims are a shiny silver and black, but not the flashy chrome that I hate. I gaze through the window at the wood grain dashboard and black leather seats. I’ve never been so in awe of a car before, and by the time I’m finished doing my walk-around, I see Dominic walking towards me in step with a salesman. The salesman already has dealer license plates and keys in his hand, and I get excited about the idea of a test drive.
The goofy-looking salesman drops the keys in my hand and walks to the back of the car. “Congratulations,” he says with a broad, enthusiastic smile. A smile that is obviously thankful for the commission.
“Wait, what? You already bought it?” I ask, looking at Dominic.
“It’s yours,” he replies.
“But, I don’t even see a price. How much is this?”
“Asking price for a 2016 AMG S63 is $163, 150,” the salesman replies, grinning from ear to ear as he attaches the dealer plates. “But Mr. Collazo just bought it for one-fifty.”
“A hundred and fifty thousand dollars!” I yell by accident. “I didn’t know it was that much. Wait, Dominic, you donothave to buy this. I didn’t see the price, and I definitely didn’t know it could get that expensive. Oh my gosh!”
Dominic smiles again, completely nonchalant.
“Have you forgotten who I am?” he asks, playfully. “Let’s go. Take me for a ride in your new car.” He pops open the passenger door and climbs in just as the salesman thanks me and walks back inside. Just like that, the car is ours. It’s mine.
I try to get over my excitement as I drop into the driver’s seat, but the beauty of this car is too much. I take another minute to marvel at the interior, and then another to be astonished at the low rumble of the engine when I crank it up. I slowly press the gas and pull into traffic, laughing at how people are staring.
Dominic finds something soothing on the radio station, and we spend the next hour cruising through St. Louis. I thank Dominic about a million times before I realize it’s probably annoying him, and I drive with nowhere to go.
I flick on the white interior lights as the sun completes its descent. Even after over an hour, I still can’t believe Dominic bought me a one-hundred fifty-thousand dollar car like it was just another run of the mill purchase.
“Dominic, I know I’ve thanked you more times than I can count, but I just have to say it again,” I start, but he cuts me off.
“No, you don’t. You’re welcome, babe. Just enjoy it, and don’t let the bullshit with your job stress you. We’re happy together, and that’s all that matters. People can think what they want. Like I said earlier, the world is ours. So, turn your new toy around and take us home.”
“With pleasure,” I reply.
