Payment Plan

The maintenance associate prepared the invoice and called the man over for payment. She explained the procedure the vehicle needed—extensive engine repair, decades-old wear—and told him it would be a few days, maybe a week, before it was finished.

“We’re remodeling our house,” he told her. “Anything to keep the cost down?”

She offered him a finance plan: a credit card that would be mailed to him. He could look up the APR himself. There seemed to be a card for everything these days—the dentist, the vet, the grocery stores, the box stores. Recently the dealership had gotten into the business, but a guilt gnawed at her trying to sell it.

“Let me see if I can find a coupon.”

No. 073