Chapter 121: Favorite Kinds

"So, given all your research, which vehicle did you end up settling on, Champ?" Richard asked of his son as they strolled into the Brooklyn Auto Mall lot, several parked cars already vying for their attention.

"Toyota Corolla. Mazda CX-5. Honda Civic." Aiden replied, raising one finger after the other as he listed them out.

"That’s three vehicles..." Richard gave him a rather amused look, one that earned a resigned sigh from the youth as he responded;

"I know, Pops."

"Choice paralysis, hmm?" Richard cocked a knowing brow this time as they kept walking across the lively grounds complete with shoppers and a couple salespersons pitching vehicles based on the customer’s preferences.

"Don’t I know it..." Aiden replied much the same as he previously had.

"Well at least you’ve narrowed it down to three. Should make your decision easier once you get around to assessing each one in person." Richard then said.

"Yeah. I hope so." the young chap nodded softly as they finally made their way into the establishment’s main building.

Granted a salesperson should’ve already attended to them, the ones currently on ground were already attending to other customers, hence why

No sooner had they stepped foot into the modernly-constructed architecture, they were met with two salespersons--both of whom happened to be lounging on the reception couch.

The older of them was a gorgeous-looking middle-aged lady who quickly rose to her feet, while the latter was a youth whom was presumably in his late teens, the boredom on his features evident.

Studying them for the briefest of moments, his deep-brown irises casually flicked back to the ceiling as he ran a hand through his dark-brown hair.

He’d admit they were both, very, very good-looking individuals. Especially the youth. Clearly, it was an indicator that they were at least well-off, even if they were casually dressed.

Even then, he wasn’t particularly all that gung-ho about attending to customers right now... especially after the last one had been a serious pain in the ass for him.

But then he noticed the middle-aged lady giving him a rather saccharine smile.

’This darn, gold-digging hypocrite...’ the young chap almost considered giving her the side-eye but ultimately decided against it as she was still his senior and he was well aware the kind of sway she had over their rather lustful manager.

Besides, he needed the money to save up for a new vehicle of his own and he really didn’t want to blow his chances at it because of a fickle ego.

Promptly, he got his shit together as they both made their way over, the woman politely asking with an extended hand and a practiced smile;

"Welcome to the Brooklyn’s Auto Mall. My name’s Sarah."

"Richard. And this is my son, Aiden." Richard respectfully obliged, gesturing to his son with his free hand.

Peeping his fingers with a quick, subtle glance, Sarah immediately followed up with a sweet laugh that would’ve swayed the strongest of men, the lady on the hunt for more info;

"Oh. That’s... wow. Forgive me for saying this, but you look nothing alike."

Richard, having realized exactly what was happening, casually replied with a relaxed smile, his tone leaving no room for misconceptions or miscommunication;

"He’s quite the spitting image of his mother."

To that, Sarah found herself up against an unshakeable wall. Aiden on the other hand, was already cackling on the inside, the glint of amusement in his olive-green irises unmistakable.

He would never get tired of seeing his Pops absolutely crush romantic advances before they ever made it out of the innings.

Isaac whom had proceeded to remain on standby with his own practiced smile caught that as well, his own lips twitching as a laughter threatened to escape him.

Now these were his kind of customers. The rational types that were perceptive enough to understand what Sarah was up to but could effortlessly yet politely sweep it under the rug.

’Not those fuckass Karens and Darens who come in here every day and never actually get around to getting anything.’ he inwardly sighed in resignation.

Safe to say, the few seconds of interaction had immediately elevated Isaac’s view of both father and son in his eyes.

With nowhere left to wiggle through though, Sarah then nodded briefly as she proceeded to ask, her warmth suddenly taking a nosedive as she slipped into an almost robotic tone;

"What brought you by to look at our selection today?"

"Are you shopping around for a new vehicle, or just doing some initial research?" she followed up.

"Initial research." Aiden was the one to reply this time, one that immediately had the lady skeptically looking between him and his Pops.

"I see..." she finally managed to let out, a notable hint of disappointment mixed with dismissal in her tone.

Then she casually gestured with a palm towards the youth standing next to her;

"Isaac here will show you around then,"

Without shame, she returned to her seat, her legs crossed as she pulled up her smartphone, the slightly annoyed frown on her features unmistakable as she muttered a few things to herself.

Shaking his head briefly in clear resignation, Isaac put on a genuine smile as he said;

"This way, please."

Leading the way with a gesture of his arm, the youth and his father promptly followed after, all three making their way out of the building.

No sooner had they stepped right back onto the lot, late morning sun hanging overhead, Aiden then said to Isaac with an affiliative smile;

"Alright, Isaac. Now that she’s out of the way, I’ll be honest with you, bro to bro."

"I already requested for an OTD a couple days earlier so I know exactly what the vehicle I might end up buying will cost me," Aiden continued and Isaac’s eyes widened in genuine surprise as the youth pulled out a printed copy of said OTD from his pockets.

"So, all I’m really here for is to decide which one ’cause I’m having a bit of a choice paralysis I’d say," Aiden folded the paper and neatly tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"To that effect, I’d appreciate it if you could give me a breakdown of each vehicle’s pros and cons as best as you can." the coal-haired youth concluded with a reserved smile.

This time, Isaac blinked a few times, then grinned as he inwardly remarked;

’Yep. These really are my favorite kinds of customers.’

"Sure, Aiden. Which ones do you have in mind?" Isaac then flashed them his brightest grin in response.

From thereon, things were smooth sailing. An hour and a half later, Aiden made his decision.

He hadn’t just gone for the Honda Civic.

He had gone for its Type R Sport Line, a fairly used model under 50,000 mileages to be specific, one that was set to cost him $32,000+ in flat payment.

More than that, Aiden hadn’t just selected it for its pleasing aesthetic reminiscent of what his inner six-year-old would have pictured to be sports car, but also because it was genuinely comfortable behind the wheels and had a very a reserved yet refined appearance.

Then there was the hatchback build that gave it a versatile cargo space, enough to accommodate him shuttling stuff back and forth given the sort of business he would be getting into for a while.

Thanking the youth for his purchase, one that had earned him a good three hundred bucks that was going straight to his savings, Isaac soon waved the duo farewell as they made their way out of the establishment a few minutes later.

Though there were still some legalities and necessary jargons that needed to be sorted, Aiden’s vehicle would be delivered to him in two days’ time, tops.

Just in time for the launch of Death Wish in the coming week as well.

Having failed to find any ’worthwhile’ customer thus far though, Sarah had been genuinely surprised when she noticed Aiden and Richard exchanging handshakes with Isaac whom was grinning from ear to ear.

It was also why she promptly walked over the moment the family was out of sight, her hypocrisy on full-display;

"What was that about? I thought they were only here for some initial research?"

"As did I." Isaac simply replied, his smile tight-lipped... one that Sarah didn’t take too kindly to.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that she could do, so she simply huffed in annoyance and returned to her spot on the couch.

Meanwhile, Aiden was currently behind the wheel as he and his Pops began the drive back home.

"Say Pops," the youth then asked, a tentative curiosity to his tone.

"Do you ever think you might get with someone else down the line?" Aiden asked, to which he then clarified;

"I mean, I wouldn’t mind, but... I’ve just been wondering more and more in recent memory,"

"You know, especially with me going to college and all." he briefly glanced over, his eyes focused on the road.

In response to that, Richard smiled wistfully then said;

"I’ll be honest with you Champ when I say it is gonna be quite lonely not having you around, but..."

"Leilianna..." he tenderly called her name.

"Your mother was by far one of the best things that ever happened to me," Richard began.

"She still is... I mean, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?" he nudged at his son gently, both of them sharing a light chuckle.

"The kind of love I had for her though... the kind of love I still have for her... I don’t think it’s in me to give it to anyone else." he then placed a couple fingers to his temple with an accepting sigh.

"I’d rather..." his words trailed off, then he said it nonetheless as he leaned his head onto the window gently;

"I’d rather die alone than ever conceive the idea of giving it to any other woman."

A slightly heavy yet natural silence descended between both father and son after. Through it all, Aiden simply kept his eyes on the road, opting to simply leave things at that.

Though he’d always known his Pops had opted to cut off all romantic distractions from his life to make sure he was always there for him, it wasn’t until today that he realized that it wasn’t just that.

The drive home remained quiet till they’d arrived, Aiden and his Pops simply basking in their shared memories of the late woman.

Yet, no sooner had he and his Pops alighted from the vehicle to head in, the man ruffling his hair briefly in assurance, Aiden’s phone constantly began buzzing in his pocket.

Casually retrieving the device and seeing notifications from he and his buddies’ joint group, the young chap pulled it up with a relaxed air... only for his eyes to widen in utter disbelief the moment he’d seen the screenshots all of them had shared to the group.