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Here’s how it all went down. I announced to Spouse that I wanted a Corvette. Initial response? No. I mean, if I were still working, fine, but we have a car and you have a truck, and that’s all we need. And that Mercedes SL-500 has been a PITA. It is not necessary!
I know. I don’t need it. I just want it. I had this friend in high school and his older brother had a friend who bought a new Corvette every year and I used to go over to his house and stare at them, since he often had two at once. They were C-2’s and I loved them. Really. One was yellow… and the fact is we can afford it. It won’t hurt us a bit. We’ll still have plenty for the nursing home.
If that’s what you REALLY want, FINE! Good Lord, the stuff she has to put up with.
So I arrange everything. We fly into Nashville, do the rent-a-car thing, stay over night at a Drury. And the next day I head down the Interstate. What exit? Where is it? Don’t worry. I know where it is. Look for a yellow tower, and there it was! Mecca! We walk in and there were the Vettes all lined up, the same ones I had seen on the web cams and had showed her, Position number three. I walked over to her (Scarlett Rose, I mean) and couldn’t keep the grin off my face. There was a museum employee kind of standing watch, so I turned around and stared at him. We nodded at each other, so I reached over and TOUCHED THE CAR! He kind of swallowed and looked around and I just stared at him. Like what was he going to do? Finally he figured it out, grinned, and said, “You must be Michael.”
Meanwhile Spouse walks up. Is this it? Yup. It’s beautiful! Yup. It’s more beautiful than that other one over there! Yup. So John puts down the top and there’s the Kalahari 3LT interior. Spouse stares. Looks nice, she murmurs. So John shows us around the exterior, says it’s time to go to the plant. Jason Nachtler and his Dad and we share the van over and John takes us on a personal tour. Spouse sees the whole thing. She always makes friends so she starts talking to every GM employee she can and many of them smile, wave, say ‘thank you,’ ask us what color we got. Spouse says it’s Laguna Red. I roll my eyes. We get to the end of the line and she says, What’s that? It’s a waterfall, so she goes over to the guy installing the waterfall in a vert and he’s her new best friend.
So we get back, have lunch, she browses the store, and decides she needs the T-shirt that says, “Life is better in a Corvette.” Well, it’s pink. Then she has to get a Stingray hat. After that John takes us on a rather rushed museum tour. We see the corvette ship. He says, “How many 1983 corvettes are there?” I know the answer: One. Spouse says, No, there’s one and a half because there’s half a one over in the shop. True enough. So we get back to the car so John can explain the interior and everyone who goes by says, “That’s a beautiful car.” Then when people just go by and stare Spouse says, “Hey, that’s our car!” and she makes more friends. After an hour or two of this it’s time to roll. I try to get her in the car, but she won’t have it, says she’s decided, and walks away. So John honks, flashes the lights. I am personally in a daze as hundreds (well, maybe!) of people start clapping as we head to the opening doorway. (I see the light!)
So we drive off as I hurriedly learn to drive a clutch again, then back to the hotel. Someone says, “Hey, cool car! And Spouse says, “We just got it!’ and this keeps happening for the next two weeks as we drive from BG to Tennessee, to Mississippi to see friends, then across the south to the west coast. Every restaurant we stop at someone says, “Cool car” and spouse says, “Yeah, we just got it! It’s a week old!” We’re in a restaurant and a white C7 pulls in and the guy in the table next to us says, “Did you see that Vette?” and Spouse jumps up, goes over to his table, and says, “You can’t see it from here, but our vette is parked over at the hotel and it’s Long Beach Red! And it’ll do 0-60 in 3.6! Believe me, she’ll find out. I told her the CTS VSport would do it in 4.4 so she took it out on the highway and floored it, came back and said, OK, you were right.
So it’s been three weeks and 4000 miles. She hasn’t driven it yet, but she’s quite competent with a clutch. Just a matter of time, like sneaking into new shoes. We’re almost home and I say, “You know, maybe you should be the one that takes the Ron Fellows class.”
Similar story with my wife, she may do the Ron Fellows. You can get a second person in for a slight discount, in the end it is definitely cheaper than paying for two people full price.
If you don't want to do that, she can still come along and the will let her sit in the classes and ride with one of the instructors. They even have some summer specials too, if that timing works out for you it is a nice deal. I have the flyer still and can send it if interested.
Yep, wives can be a lot of fun when they share your fun times with you. Mine pretty much behaves the same way when we're driving around. We are lucky guys.
Her only request when I was ordering the car? Get the automatic. Why? So I can hold her hand while driving. Hey, no way I was going to turn down that request.
I'm never even been married, but I love reading these "wife stories" people put on the car forums. I think it's great when you can share the experience.
04-21-2017, 09:09 PM
How it all went down with spouse
