It was early in the summer, and it was time for me to take a break.  A break from the stress that had devoured me for thirty years. It was time that I decided to retire.  My name is C. R. Avery, and I have finished working at Ford Motor Company as the Chief Engineer of the SVT Racing Team.  I’ve been working for so long as chief engineer that lots of money has come my way, which lets me live an extremely comfortable life with more than seven figures under my belt.  It has only been a few weeks since I finished my last day and it has been the most relaxing and enjoyable few weeks of my entire life. I still remember pulling into my house and having to drive up the concrete driveway and then pull into my underground garage where all of my beautiful cars wait to be driven.  Besides that, I still remember my last day of work like the back of my hand.

I had left the house at about six in the morning and drove to the office, sat down at the desk, and got to work immediately.  I remember getting lots of phone calls, from employees who were wishing me a happy retirement and what not, but the one thing that I remember the most vividly was looking at the cars as I left the Ford plant.  Seeing all those amazing Mustangs, Ford GT’s, and many other models, leaving the assembly line really got to me and made me realize that all my work had paid off. There was still one thing that I remember from work and that was hearing the cars start up for the first time.  I will never forget hearing those engines firing up and exploding with extreme sound in the plant.

I have always been in love with cars ever since I was a little boy and I have an astounding collection.  Back in my old room when I was about six, I had posters and replicas of little Mustangs and cool Ford models all around.  That brought me back to when these cars used to be my favorite thing when I was a kid. I always get flashbacks when I’m in my garage looking at all my beautiful cars.  The cars that I own include rare Ford models like the Roushe Ford Mustang GT and the first Ford GT to leave the assembly line. I couldn’t stop thinking about the new Shelby GT350R ever since the design got approved.  That was one of the last cars I saw rolling off the assembly line on my last day of work. At that moment I knew I needed that car because I thought it was rare, elegant, and extremely powerful. The only problem I would have trying to acquire this car is getting everything approved by my wife Ashley.  She isn’t particularly attracted to cars like I am and dropping a lot of money on a car isn’t her way of spending money. If she said yes, then I’d be home free on getting one of the cars of my dreams.

As the door to our house elevator opened, I entered the main living room.  The first thing I saw were my three German Shepherds waiting for me at the door.  It was as if they were lions sitting in a cage waiting for food. The living room is a very big space with lots of art paintings on the walls and in the middle there is a big couch with a television that slides from the concrete floor.  I turned to my left and the kitchen appeared behind a concrete wall. I heard music playing in the background and saw my wife Ashley standing over their cooking dinner, and she immediately said with a smile,

“Congratulations on retirement, I’m very proud of you!”

“Thank you, all of my hard work has paid off.”  I replied with joy.

“I have a quick question.” I said trying not to look bad

“What?”  Ashley responded very confused

“As I was walking out of work today I saw this car, and it’s a limited time offer.”

“Wow that car was amazing!”  

“I really want that car.” I said in awe.

“I wonder what Ashley will say, and I sure hope she allows me to get the car.” I whispered to myself.

“Well, I don’t think you need it.  You already have lots of cars.” Ashley demanded.

“Its a Shelby GT350R and it’s a one of a kind, only one hundred models were made”  I said as convincingly as possible.

“What's so beneficial about it?”  Ashley said in extreme question

“Well, cars that are this rare appreciate as they age, this car could be worth triple the asking price in ten years!”  I said in a desperate voice.

“I’m telling you”  I said trying to convince her.

“Let me think about it and I’ll let you know”  Ashley said.

A few weeks went by of no working and pretty much just laying back like most old people do these days.  After the third week of having that discussion Ashley finally had an answer for me. She said it in a way that I will never forget.

“Ok darling, you can get your car but only if I can update the house”  Ashley said trying to convince me.

“Ok, I'll think about that too”  I said

After a week I got back to her with an answer, an answer that she would love forever.  I said yes to putting some money in if I could get my car. In a minute she immediately got back to me with things that she wanted to upgrade.  She wanted to add a new washer and dryer (because they were getting too old), a security system, and an electric fence for our three German Shepherds.  I approved all of the advancements so I could make an advancement in my garage by getting the new car. I even wrote them all down so I could keep a mental note of what to get.  After all the advancements were made she finally allowed me to get the car. In my head I was thinking with joy,

“Wow, I can get the car of my dreams!”

Without hesitation, I immediately hopped into my Ford GT and headed down to the Ford plant.  Even though I was a retired engineer they still let me into the assembly line facility. The Ford plant was full of yellow mechanical robots moving parts from conveyors and putting them onto cars.  I also noticed lots of people there which were hard at work putting parts on cars and checking the specifications of the parts on the computers.

Many workers and salesman came up to me and congratulated me on retirement.  One of the salesman named Rocky said,

“Hey Avery, I thought you retired?”  

“I am here to buy a Shelby GT350R”  I said in response.

“Well they are just rolling off the line so picking one up would be ideal because they will leave fast”  Rocky said.

“Well can I get a discount because I worked here?” I said.

Rocky responded with

“Yes, and the only reason I will let you get a discount is because you’ve put so much effort into the company”

“Thank you, thank you very much” I said with a big grin on my face

So I went to the nearby dealership and as I pulled in, I noticed a Shelby GT350R sitting in the showroom.  It spoke to me like my mother did when I was being put to bed. So I immediately got inside and sat down with Rocky who had met me over there.  It was a very normal car buying process because it took a couple hours to fill out paperwork. The car that caught my eye was dark blue with a grey and red racing stripe all the way across the hood, a roof, and a trunk.  I immediately thought to myself,

“Wow, that car is disgusting!”

I also noticed that the badge on the back of the car was red and had the Shelby cobra logo (which is different from the Shelby GT350 which only has a white badge).  Before I knew it everything was filled out and I was handed the keys. I immediately got in the car and started it up. The enormous roar of the V8 engine passing through my ears was music to my ears.  The sound of that engine sounded like a lion roaring to life at its prey. I also noticed the new car smell that lurked the interior. It smelled like fresh leather which is something that I will never forget.  I finally put the car in first gear, slowly let the clutch out, and moved out of the dealership watching the salesman Rocky wave at me through the rearview mirror. As I was driving home I realized that I wouldn’t have this car without the hard work I had put into my job.  I will never forget this moment and will cherish the fact that working so hard brings you many happy things in your life.