November 2014

We needed a car. That much was obvious. One with a space, guts, and durability. High on the list of qualities was how comfortably one (or rather, two) could sleep. C was diligent about keeping her eyes open for potential cars. Almost every car she saw was imagined in her mind as our next home. She’d think about it’s efficiency, gas mileage, and storage space.. After exploring the world of automobiles, it came down to a Subaru. But which model: Forester or Outback?

We looked at a used Forester, pulling the back seats down and crawling inside to measure length. It seemed positive, but we didn’t feel we could make a truly informed decision before examining the newer Outback model.

That’s when fate stepped in.

I had an errand to run. As I went to my car in the parking lot, in the corner of my eye, I saw a golden Outback pulling in. It shined in it’s splendor and newness. I thought to ask the driver what they thought of the car. Then I panicked, “What if they think I’m a creep for interrogating them?” Just then, a kind, older couple stepped out. I gathered whatever courage was in me and went over. They were excited and surprised by the upcoming adventure I described. They said they loved their car. They opened the doors, showed me the interior and expressed, “We’ll it’s too bad. We’re trading this one in for a newer model here in November.. If someone wanted to match the price, I suppose we would sell.” I immediately asked what the asking price was and jotted down their info.

C was ecstatic when I told her about the experience. We called and left a message with Glenn.. and heard nothing in response. Days passed and we thought our Wonder Car was slipping through our fingers.

In the meantime, we went to a Subaru dealership to get a feel for how each was on the road. The salesman was young at heart. We asked him all sorts of questions, giving many random scenarios. At one point he enthusiastically jumped in the back of the car to see what kind of sleep space we’d get in each model.

Finally it happened: we heard back from Glenn and his sweet wife. The car was still available! We chose a time and drove down (down, down, down) to where the car was. I was nervous that we’d get there and C wouldn’t see the same appeal as I did in the golden 2010. But it was perfect. He was perfect. Dandelion (Dandi) Flinn was the car we were looking for. We were so well-taken care of by Glenn and Joyce. They treated us like their granddaughters and made sure everything (battery, gas tank, paint touch-ups) were good to go when we came through to pick him up. Truly a saintly couple put in our path to help us with our home on wheels. We will forever be grateful for their goodness and willingness to see life in our young, transient eyes.