92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [39]
“So…”
“So when he got off the phone, I asked him what would be involved in learning to do this, and he told me. On his advice, I registered for Basic Photography and Elementary Business. He said if I was willing to follow through, he had two assignments coming up that he could give me. Plus, he’d pass the word along to other agents in town.”
“That’s great!”
Christie shrugged. “I started the class last week and there’s a lot more to taking a picture than you’d think. This isn’t just point and shoot. I have to learn about lighting and lenses and all kinds of stuff.”
“But you’ll get there.”
Teri’s confidence in her was reassuring. Christie sipped her tea again, then decided she couldn’t delay this any longer. With a deep breath, she looked up at her sister.
“Do you know why I’m here?”
Teri didn’t answer; instead, she reached for her own tea. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face and secured at the nape of her neck and she wore no makeup at all. Under ordinary circumstances she wouldn’t consider herself dressed without styling her hair and applying lip gloss. That was the bare minimum.
“Do you really want to play guessing games?” her sister asked.
“No.” Christie straightened and met her eyes. “I need a loan.”
There, it was out, although the words had nearly stuck in her throat.
“How much?”
“I need reliable transportation.”
“You mean a new car?”
“Yes. Well, no. A used car.”
“Have you found one?”
“Not yet…”
“Will five thousand be enough?” Teri asked.
Christie nearly swallowed her tongue. “No.”
“Ten?”
“No, no, I meant five thousand would be far too much.” Christie fully intended to pay back every penny, with interest. If her credit rating hadn’t been ruined, she would’ve applied for a bank loan. But that was out of the question now. Reestablishing her credit was taking far longer than she’d thought it would.
“Three thousand?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of one thousand,” Christie said. She should be able to repay that amount within a reasonable period of time.
“That’s not enough! You’d only be getting yourself another junker. We’ll begin with five thousand,” Teri insisted.
“Teri…I can’t.”
“You can and you will, and that’s the end of it.”
Undecided, Christie bit her lip. “You’ll want to talk this over with Bobby.”
Teri sipped her tea. “I already did. He only had one stipulation.”
Maybe Christie should’ve been surprised that her sister had known the purpose of her visit, but she wasn’t. “Which is?”
“That you let someone help you.”
“In what way?”
“Finding the right car.”
“Okay.” She didn’t want to admit how inadequate she felt when it came to purchasing a vehicle. Generally she looked at the interior. The cleanliness and appearance of the car indicated how well the previous owner had cared for the engine—at least, that was her theory. Perhaps not a very accurate basis for judgment, but Christie knew next to nothing about anything mechanical.
“Who?”
“Bobby has a friend who’d be willing to do the research.”
“What’s his name?”
“It’s a guy in the business. Let Bobby handle it, okay?”
“Okay.” Christie had no objection to that; in fact, she was grateful. “Fine by me. If this guy doesn’t mind, have him pick it out and buy it. I don’t need to be there,” she told her sister. Besides, between her job at Wal-Mart and her photography and business classes, she didn’t have spare time to be running around checking out used cars.
Then, because she was afraid she hadn’t adequately expressed her gratitude, Christie added, “Thank you.” Her voice trembled.
“I want to help,” Teri said. “You’re my sister.”
“I’m so glad I have a sister.” For far too long they’d done their best to ignore each other.
“I’ll sign loan documents.” Christie had a stipulation of her own. She wasn’t a charity case