Our Land

Chapter 2 - Kristen gets a new vehicle

              It was an hour and a half ride into town and the dealership was near the outskirts. She pulled into the lot and noticed a lot of trucks, SUVs and vans, and not too many cars. Kristen parked by the doors to the office, picking up her purse, she checked her wallet for cash and walked inside. The doors made a pleasant squeak as they opened and inside, she saw several people smiling and chatting.

“Welcome to Beacon,” Kevin walked towards the Kristen and extended his hand. “My name is Kevin, how can I help you?”

“I need something more suitable than a Prius for life on a farm.” Kristen thought back to how she had transported the sheep one at a time in the back of the little car. The three-hour round trip from the farm she purchased them at to her own farm had left the car a total mess. Hours of cleaning had still not removed the smell of sheep from the small car.

“Not a problem, tell me a little more about what you think you want.” Kevin replied as he pointed her towards a desk and chair.

              The two talked for almost an hour about life in Maine on a farm and what kinds of things Kristen might run into. By the end of the conversation, they had determined that an SUV with a trailer hitch would be best suited for her. Kevin also recommended that she consider a plow vehicle or tractor to help with snow removal since they were just a few short months away from winter arriving.

              Walking out into the parking lot, Kevin led Kristen past a row of vans and over to the SUVs in the lot. There weren’t a lot to choose from, but she was certainly not going to buy the red or the white ones. She just had horrible luck keeping those colors clean. The 4th SUV in the row was the most beautiful dusty blue. Kristen walked up to the window on that SUV and peered inside.

“Would you like to take this one for a test drive?” Kevin asked when he saw Kristen’s interest in the vehicle. Kristen nodded and watched Kevin walk back to the building to fetch the keys. The sticker on the SUV window said that it was brand new and had 4-wheel drive. She felt like that was exactly what she had been looking for. The leather interior was not really what she wanted, but that’s what seat covers where invented for.

              It didn’t take long for Kevin to return with the keys and he opened up the car for Kristen to look inside. He had her sit in the drivers seat and then pointed out all of the things that would make this the perfect vehicle for her. Car shopping in Maine was certainly different from car shopping any where else she had lived. He hadn’t asked for her budget or drivers license. Once they were both sitting in the car and buckled, he had her turn it on.

“Ok, let’s give her a test run.” Kevin smiled at Kristen as he motioned for her to head out of the parking lot and onto the road.

“I have to admit that I am not too familiar with the roads around here, so I don’t know which way to go.” Kristen smiled back at Kevin but didn’t take the car out of park.

Kevin spent a few minutes giving her options for road types to drive on and they both came to the conclusion that one of the logging roads would best match the level of ruts in her own driveway. They left the parking lot and drove for 10 minutes until they hit roads that were only identified by little mile marker signs. The ruts were huge, and the mud was still there even though it was the height of summer. Kristen was having so much fun driving that she frequently laughed and cheered when the SUV bounced over the ruts without launching her out of her seat or getting stuck.

They turned the SUV around after 5 miles or so on the logging road and returned to the dealership. Kevin pointed out features most of the ride and showed her how the radio and 4-wheel drive worked. As they approached the parking lot, he asked if she wanted to test drive any of the other vehicles in the lot. Kristen said no and they went into the building to discuss pricing.

“So the list price for the SUV is $54,235 and should we assume you want to trade in your SUV?” Kevin had brought them back to the same desk and chairs and had placed some paperwork onto his desk.

“I will be keeping my Prius so that I have a backup vehicle for when I go visit family out of state, it really is convenient getting 50 miles per gallon.” Kristen smiled back at Kevin as she set her little purse on the table.

“Not a problem, so can I set you up with our finance manager and get your loan paperwork started?” Kevin asked and picked up the phone on the desk getting ready to dial.

“No thanks,” Kristen said as she opened her wallet and pulled out a checkbook. “I will be paying cash for the SUV, but I will need help getting it and my Prius back home at the same time.” Her words made Kevin’s eyes open wide, but he nodded and went to get the paperwork.

              The dealership hooked her up with all the bonus add ons and they offered to detail her Prius and deliver it to her the next day. They set up a wire transfer between her bank and the dealership so that she could take her new SUV home that very day, and it was just a couple of hours and she was back out the door and on the road. She finished up the errands, grocery shopping, feed shopping and getting a few extra pairs of clothes and headed back to the farm. It had been a perfectly lovely day.

              As she pulled up the driveway, something felt off. She slowed down and looked out to the sheep in the pasture, but they were happily munching away like nothing was going on. As she parked near the yurt, the feeling of discomfort continued to grow. Kristen didn’t like this feeling and decided that she would head inside for her shotgun.

              “Is anyone there?” Kristen hollered out to the surrounding property as she excited the yurt. Her skin was crawling now. She tried to shake the feeling off that something was watching her, but it just wouldn’t leave. She took the gun with her out to collect the sheep for the night and kept a close eye on the flock and fields as she coaxed them back in the arena with a few more cookies. As she was closing the door, she saw something dart through the woods in the distance.

              Kristen wasn’t brave enough to go out and inspect, and the feeling of discomfort was growing stronger by the minute. She locked up the sheep and sprinted from the arena to her yurt. She slammed the door shut and ran towards the middle of the room. She sat on the couch with her gun leaning against the side and waited to see what would happen. She waited so long that she fell asleep.