The deal that Mr. Johnston presented seemed very doable. And in fact far better then I had anticipated. At the original price range for the the Transit, I had calculated that it would be at the very edge of what Molly and I could afford. That of course meant that if we did buy the vehicle we could not afford to have a major accident. Nothing beyond the medical treatments Molly would need for her pregnancy, which of course meant that if I was wounded on the job or there was some other accident, we'd need to return the vehicle to cover the cost of the emergency... and of course, we wouldn't get the Ranger back, as trading it in would be part of the overall deal.
But the deal for it that Mr. Johnston had presented had changed that. It shaved twelve thousand dollars off of the original price tag between ordering early and the deal to trade in the Ranger that I had owned... and of course whatever Meredeth had said while talking with him. It would still be fairly expensive, but now much closer to our price range.
"I think we will go with it," I said slowly, "but there are a few questions that I have, if you wouldn't mind going over them while working with the paperwork that you require."
"Of course," Mr. Johnston nodded, "just come with me and we'll fill out the appropriate paperwork. You can ask as we go."
He lead us toward the back of the inside showroom and into an office that had his name on a brass plate on the door to it. As Molly and I followed him in, with Meredeth bring up the rear, he settled down and began pulling out the appropriate "contracts/forms" that were required for these sorts of purchases.
"Before we go any further, though, to be on the safe side, I must ask if the both of you are licensed?" Mr. Johnston inquired.
"I do hold a Montana State Drivers license, which was issued when I graduated from the state's Police Academy," I nodded, "And was issued before December 2011. So it is still valid."
"My license is still valid, but for the state of Illinois," Molly added, "I was transformed first and..."
"The last of Changes' victims?" Mr. Johnston asked.
"Yes," Molly nodded, "and when it happened, I was suddenly too big to drive anything and so I hadn't bothered... I suppose I'll need to renew the license for Montana."
"Ultimately," Mr. Johnston nodded, "though that shouldn't be too hard, and legally, you aren't required to renew your license until it expires... I can't tell you whether or not they'd require you to retake the drivers test since your license is from out of state..."
Molly nodded.
"Anyway, what questions do you have for me?" Mr. Johnston then asked.
"I couldn't find this on the data packet you had, and I'm a little curious," I began, "what would be the weight limit? My wife and I obviously carry a lot of muscle weight."
"For the vehicle you're looking at?" Mr. Johnston replied, "about ten thousand pounds for the weight limit and three thousand five hundred for payload... rough estimates. I can give you the exact numbers..."
He then began checking some other paperwork in a file folder next to his desk.
"Weight limit is 10,120 pounds and max payload is 3,520 pounds," Mr. Johnston finished.
"That's good," Molly spoke, sounding surprised, "George and I only push about nine hundred pounds or so... 555 pounds and 390 pounds..."
"You both seem to carry your weight well," Mr. Johnston shrugged, "very muscular. Do you have any other questions?"
"Mostly just to clarify a few things, how would trading in my Ranger work, since you said the model you'll have for sale won't be ready for four weeks?" I asked.
"You two are up in Columbia Falls? Right?" Mr. Johnston inquired.
Molly and I nodded.
"Well... given the time we have to wait for the first shipment and the distance you have to travel, we won't actually take custody of the vehicle until we get the Transits that will be for sale, though you'll need to return in four weeks with the vehicle to make the official switch," Mr. Johnston spoke, "though we would not be responsible for any damage the vehicle sustains between now and then... and of course, your price would automatically go up if it is damaged in anyway."
"I doubt I'll be damaged," I told him.
Mr. Johnston nodded, "I'm sure... though I am required to let you know."
Molly and I nodded back.
"Can you make it back in four weeks?" Mr. Johnston asked.
He then pointed to a date on the calender behind him, which happened to coincide when Molly's next obstetrician appointment.
"I believe we can," Molly commented, "George and I... or at least I will be back in Kalispell on that day for other reasons. We can, or I can pick it up then and give you the Ranger."
"We'll need your husband's signature if he is the legal owner of the Ranger when the exchange is made," Mr. Johnston spoke.
"I'll try to get the time off to be there," I told him, "to a certain extent, I want to be there for Molly at the appointment that would have us in Kalispell anyway."
"May I ask what the appointment would be?" Mr. Johnston wondered, "Just curious?"
"An obstetrician appointment," Molly answered, beaming with pride, "We're very confident that I am pregnant."
"Oh, congratulations," Mr. Johnston nodded.
He then put forward the paper work that he had been looking for. It was all basic forms to get financial information and identity information. This was all to legitimize things and allow us to get the insurance that would be needed for the vehicle, though that was already a fairly easy thing to handle. I had talked with the insurance company that covered the Ranger, and given the good driving record that I had and the fact that I would be sharing the policy for the new vehicle with a driver that they couldn't find any previous reports for accidents on, they were willing to offer a monthly rate that would be about the same as it was for the Ranger on its own. And that was a good thing considering that the Transit that Molly and I were buying was much newer the Ranger that I owned. That policy wouldn't come in until Molly and I presented proof to them that we owned a new vehicle. Which gave us four weeks until the Transit that Molly and I were filling out the paperwork for to buy arrived.
We finished filling out the paperwork and returned the paperwork to Mr. Johnston with all the appropriate information and our signatures. He looked them over and placed them in a folder.
"And everything is in order," Mr. Johnston said politely, "We'll see you in four weeks and we can exchange the vehicles. Your Ranger to us and the Transit to you. Thank you for doing business with us."
"You're welcome," Molly and I both replied and shook his hand.
And with that, we made our way out and began to head home.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ride back to our cabin went quietly, as did the following Sunday and the Monday after. There had been no trouble in driving back and no damage was done to the Ranger that would be traded in. When we returned to our cabin, it was quickly placed in the garage and the door shut.
"Best to keep that safe until you can trade it in," Meredeth gave a slight smirk, "Is there anything else that you need?"
"Just that you tell Uncle Frank that according to the first examination, the doctor is fairly confident that I have the proverbial bun in the oven," Molly said with a smile, "and that we'll know for sure in a couple of weeks."
"Can do," Meredeth nodded and then began to make her way back toward the home that she shared with Frank Rhoer and her sister Nessie, "I'll be driving you both next month too... maybe take pictures since it'd be the last time the two of you need a ride anywhere."
"Anywhere where we'd need someone else to drive us," Molly smiled back, "have a good day!"
Meredeth nodded and made her way down the hill. From there, Molly and I moved to enjoy a quiet weekend. And it was a quiet weekend. To some extent there was some financial hurt after placing the order for a new vehicle, but it wasn't so bad. The deal we had gotten on it had improved the cost issues that Molly and I had been concerned with at first. And in theory we could still discuss a car loan with the bank. Doing that would add interest payments of course, but would spread out the payment over a period of time even longer then what the dealership had asked for. Doing that though could come later.
And at the same time, there was some excitement that both Molly and I felt when it came to Molly's pregnancy. A family was precisely the thing that we had wanted, and as things had quieted down from all of the difficulties that we'd faced we had the time and the security to start one. Instinctively, we felt very confident that Molly was pregnant. And while we had roughly two weeks to wait until the tests could come back to scientifically confirm Molly's pregnancy, the fact that Doctor Wainwright seemed confident that Molly was pregnant. And starting a family had the both of us very happy.
The following Monday also went quietly. I relayed the news on Molly's pregnancy to Officer Barnes. He relayed his own congratulations on the subject. Some of that was repetition of early congratulations, but I got the impression that he felt it to be the appropriate thing to say. We then went through our day quietly with no major trouble. As the day ended, I made my way home with knowledge that Molly and I would have a family of our own leaving a fairly obvious spring in my step. I met Molly on my way home at the corner where we normally did meet. Excitement at likely being a mother-to-be was also obviously evident on her.
"Hey, George," Molly commented, "have a good day?"
"I believe so," I nodded, "things were quiet. Officer Howard hasn't been able to find a new permanent DARE officer yet..."
"But as far as he's told you, the blizzard and complications from that have forced him to postpone that search until next month," Molly commented.
"Yes," I nodded, "but you never know. He could have a good day and was able to get to some other things ahead of schedule."
"And has he?" Molly inquired.
"So far, no," I shrugged, "that's what I was stating."
"Ah-ha," Molly nodded.
We continued on as Molly changed the subject.
"I talked with Mr. Patten today, about what the Lab physician had talked about," Molly announced, "that TV series they're making."
"On Animal People?" I wondered, "Are they showing Clemens?"
"They might," Molly answered, "but he doesn't think Clemens is going to be in their premiere episode. He'd actually seen something on it online. According to what he's seen the premiere is actually following a couple that have become Gila Monsters in Spain."
"Gila Monsters?" I wondered, "aren't they those little black and pink lizards from our southwest?"
"And venomous, yes," Molly nodded.
"I wonder how Spaniards know about an American lizard," I made a slight shrug, "are they zoo workers or working in a place where they milk venomous animals."
"That I don't know," Molly answered, "And Mr. Patten said that the website didn't do all that much in their webpage... that it was a sort of preview type of thing."
"Ah, so all they have is a preview right now?" I inquired.
"Yes," Molly said again, "which means that if they are covering Clemens, we won't know until the end of the episode that comes a week before they'd be covering Clemens as part of the "coming attractions" portion of the episode."
I nodded and moved along.
"It still might be an interesting thing to follow," I commented after a moment, "seeing how people have dealt with the various instincts and things of these various animal species... and who knows, maybe they will put Clemens in it in a future episode. We'd need to watch to find out."
Molly nodded again and we continued on.