And he says I'm the one born with a horseshoe up her ass!

Nic has been researching new cars for a month or two. His company recently revoked their personal miles on company vehicles (at $4/gallon, who can blame them?) and that really motivated his ass to make a move. It got him thinking about what he needs in a vehicle. The Jetta wasn't cutting it during the winter, so 4wd was definitely one of his requirements. Also, the VW took quite a beating as a result of Nic trying to haul around his music stuff around in it, so the new vehicle would have to be a little bigger.

I'm proud of Nic for putting so much thought into this decision and not settling for anything other than exactly what he needs for his lifestyle. I tend to make big decisions like this solely on aesthetics...as in, that car is freaking pretty, I'm getting that next.

What he needs just happened to be in Bloomington, so yesterday we headed down after work to take a look. After driving the car, Nic was positive he wanted it and before long numbers were being crunched and paperwork was being filled out.

Now, the dealer subtracted the trade-in value of Nic's Jetta off the price of the CR-V he decided to buy, but another part of the deal was that they would relieve his Jetta debt and factor that amount into the financed amount for this new car. Nic misunderstood and, when they asked him how much he still owes, he subtracted the trade-in value off of his loan balance. He then signed a document promising to pay the car dealership for the difference if it was over. Before he did this, I questioned the amount he was providing, but he sort of blew me off and told me it was fine. Okay. I didn't press the issue, though I should have. I think I just didn't want to belittle Nic or make him feel stupid. He's a smart dude and who's to say that I know what I'm talking about?

So, by about 10pm, everything was taken care of and we hit the road in Nic's new vehicle. How exciting! Within ten minutes of leaving the dealership I broached the Jetta loan topic again and it clicked with Nic in an "oh fuck" moment. Since financing was complete, it basically meant that he would be expected to pay the dealer around $6000...like tomorrow. I felt AWFUL. My eyes honestly get all watery now, just thinking about it. I've never seen Nic so sad or known him to beat him up about something so much. Especially difficult was the fact that he had recently worked extremely hard to pay off his outstanding debt. He even sold several of his personal belongings to eliminate this debt.

Don't get me wrong. I think Nic is very responsible with money. I wouldn't be with him if I didn't think he was. He just fell into that credit card trap when he first bought his house and I'm in no position to judge. I've been there. I know how scary it is. I know what it feels like to lose sleep at night, wondering if you'll ever get out.

Needless to say, the new car excitement dissipated quickly and the ride home was miserable. In addition to the costly error hanging over our heads, it was late on a work night and we both just wanted to go to bed.

Nic slept over last night, as he usually does, and this morning he left a little bit earlier than I did. Right before I left for work, I got a call from him. He sounded miserable and admitted that he felt like crying. In the fewer than six hours that his new car was parked outside my building last night, it sustained damage--from what, we're not sure. There were two dents, a scuff mark, and the mirror was all out of whack like something ran into the vehicle. Nic assumes animal because he's a good person. I assume hoodlum because I know how trashy this neighborhood can be. It was almost a year ago to the day that my car got broken into...for NOTHING. They stole nothing because there as nothing to steal. I feel like it was a sport for the idiots. So frustrating.

Anyway, I was overwhelmingly sad this morning. I couldn't motivate myself to work at all, especially after getting a message from Nic saying that the outstanding amount on his loan was even more than he had anticipated. I felt his discouragement and disappointment like it was my own, which is weird. I'm usually very apt to separate my problems from those of whoever I'm dating. I felt like this was my problem too and, as much as I wanted to help, he refused to let me.

And then, my prayers were answered. I'm ashamed to say that I prayed for this more than I have anything else recently. These crazy Evangelists I've been listening to on my way to and from work are obviously getting through to me, at least on some points. I didn't ask God to make it better. We both knew Nic was temporarily fucked. I just asked Him to give Nic the strength to deal with this and get it taken care of as soon as possible. He took it one step further.

Just after 9am, Nic got a call from the salesman who proceeded to explain that he had written the wrong VIN number down on all of the paperwork, making the entire transaction void. WHAT?! Nic explained his error and, since they had to draw up all the paperwork again, it was no problem for them to bump up the financed amount. In addition, when he told them about the dent from last night, they told him they would fix it! The absolute shittiest situation possible turned around completely in less than twenty-four hours. I can't even explain the relief and pure joy I'm feeling right now. My eyes still tear up when I think about it, but for a completely different reason now.