Myshuno Prompt: First ride in a horseless carriage
Name: Keeping Up with the Jones'
Characters: Jefferson, Marsha, James, Cyrus
Rating: PG - One passing adult reference
Summary: Cyrus is very excited about his graduation present.
Notes: Canon. May or may not appear in the next chapter (23), so can be considered a spoiler.
Word Count: 832
My Card
Cyrus turned his brand new Ford Model A sedan onto the bumpy country roads of Simsfield. He had done it, graduating from SimHarvard with honors, and the car was his. Jefferson, true to his word, had handed Cyrus the keys when Marsha wasn’t looking at the graduation ceremony.
Cyrus has managed to resist the urge to tinker under the hood. Instead, he’d taken Georgianna on many rides throughout the city. They’d even had the chance to christen the back seat. But Georgie’d gone to get their new house set up for when they got married, and he’d stayed in Portsimouth, working at his architecture firm. This was the first time he’d taken the car home, and he was wondering how the rest of the family would react to seeing it.
He pulled up in front of the old farmhouse and honked the horn, a silly grin on his face.
James was the first one out the front door. He met his brother’s eye and matched his grin. “She’s a beauty, Cyrus. How much that set you back?”
“Zilch. Ask Papa. It’s my graduation present.”
“Does Mama know?”
“Do I know what?” Marsha asked as she joined her eldest on the front stoop. “Oh, Cyrus you’re back. Is that yours?”
“Yes, Mama. And thank you.”
“For what, dear?”
“My graduation present,” the young man replied, patting the hood of the car.
Marsha’s eyes narrowed. “Jefferson!”
“Oh, boy,” James said under his breath. “I think I hear the baby crying - I’d better go check.” And James hurried into the house.
“Chicken,” muttered Cyrus.
“What is it, dear? Oh, Cyrus, you’re home. Do you need help unloading the car?”
“Jefferson, darling,” Marsha said in an eerily sweet voice, “Our son has informed me that we purchased him this car as a graduation present. Why wasn’t I informed about this?”
Jefferson shot his son a look that clearly said they would be having a conversation later. “Because I knew you’d fuss about how dangerous it was. But it’s not. The salesman at the Ford dealership showed me all the improvements that the Model A has over the Model T. And it’s a closed-carriage sedan, perfect for a family. And it’s much cheaper than Cyrus having to take the train to the city for work all the time.”
“How much?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“How much did our son’s graduation present cost?”
“Well, I did splurge a little and get him a nicer model. After all, it should last him for…”
“Jefferson. How much did the car cost?”
Jefferson sighed. “Five hundred.”
“Five hundred DOLLARS! Jefferson, are you out of your mind?”
“We can certainly afford it. And Cyrus is kind of getting the short end of the stick here, with James getting the house and all.”
Marsha opened her moth, fully prepared to launch into a tirade about how, not too long ago, they had been rather short on cash when Cyrus spoke.
“How about a ride, Mama?”
She turned and looked at him, puzzled. “What?”
“A ride. You know, you sit, I drive. Come on, it’ll be fun. You too, Papa.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea, my boy. Come on, Marsha.”
Marsha protested softly as Jefferson took her by the arm and gently steered her toward the car. He opened the passenger side door and helped her inside. He shut the door, moved around the car, and climbed into the backseat through the driver’s door.
Cyrus got in, shut the door, and started the car. Marsha jumped as the engine roared to life. He put the car in gear, and put his foot on the gas.
“How do you know which one to push?” Marsha asked, looking at the floor pedals.
“Easy. One to the left is the clutch, one in the middle’s the brake, the one on the right’s the gas. Shift, stop, go.”
They drove down the road to the train station, and Cyrus turned left onto Main Street.
“Oh, look. There’s Lila Gavigan,” Marsha commented as she saw the older woman walking down the street. “Hello, Lila,” she called through the open window. “Nice day, isn’t it? Do you like the automobile we got Cyrus for graduating from college? With honors.”
Marsha laughed as they drove past Lila, leaving the other woman with a bewildered look on her face.
“What was that all about, Mama?”
“Oh, nothing really. It’s just, Lila’s always going on at our Ladies’ Aide meeting about all the nice things she buys for her children. It’s nice to be able to one-up her for once. All she got Harris for his college graduation was a new watch. This is much better.”
Cyrus suppressed a smug grin. He had a feeling he wouldn’t hear any more about the price of the car.
“It is comfortable,” Marsha admitted. “And it is perfect for a family. If you take good care of it, it should last you a long time.”
“Thank you, Mama. Now, how about a turn driving it?”
- - - -
To put the price of the car in context, the average cost of a gallon of milk was $0.56. A loaf of bread cost $0.09. You could by an average family home for $2,500.00.
Want to see what the car looks like? Go here.
Characters: Jefferson, Marsha, James, Cyrus
Rating: PG - One passing adult reference
Summary: Cyrus is very excited about his graduation present.
Notes: Canon. May or may not appear in the next chapter (23), so can be considered a spoiler.
Word Count: 832
My Card
Cyrus turned his brand new Ford Model A sedan onto the bumpy country roads of Simsfield. He had done it, graduating from SimHarvard with honors, and the car was his. Jefferson, true to his word, had handed Cyrus the keys when Marsha wasn’t looking at the graduation ceremony.
Cyrus has managed to resist the urge to tinker under the hood. Instead, he’d taken Georgianna on many rides throughout the city. They’d even had the chance to christen the back seat. But Georgie’d gone to get their new house set up for when they got married, and he’d stayed in Portsimouth, working at his architecture firm. This was the first time he’d taken the car home, and he was wondering how the rest of the family would react to seeing it.
He pulled up in front of the old farmhouse and honked the horn, a silly grin on his face.
James was the first one out the front door. He met his brother’s eye and matched his grin. “She’s a beauty, Cyrus. How much that set you back?”
“Zilch. Ask Papa. It’s my graduation present.”
“Does Mama know?”
“Do I know what?” Marsha asked as she joined her eldest on the front stoop. “Oh, Cyrus you’re back. Is that yours?”
“Yes, Mama. And thank you.”
“For what, dear?”
“My graduation present,” the young man replied, patting the hood of the car.
Marsha’s eyes narrowed. “Jefferson!”
“Oh, boy,” James said under his breath. “I think I hear the baby crying - I’d better go check.” And James hurried into the house.
“Chicken,” muttered Cyrus.
“What is it, dear? Oh, Cyrus, you’re home. Do you need help unloading the car?”
“Jefferson, darling,” Marsha said in an eerily sweet voice, “Our son has informed me that we purchased him this car as a graduation present. Why wasn’t I informed about this?”
Jefferson shot his son a look that clearly said they would be having a conversation later. “Because I knew you’d fuss about how dangerous it was. But it’s not. The salesman at the Ford dealership showed me all the improvements that the Model A has over the Model T. And it’s a closed-carriage sedan, perfect for a family. And it’s much cheaper than Cyrus having to take the train to the city for work all the time.”
“How much?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“How much did our son’s graduation present cost?”
“Well, I did splurge a little and get him a nicer model. After all, it should last him for…”
“Jefferson. How much did the car cost?”
Jefferson sighed. “Five hundred.”
“Five hundred DOLLARS! Jefferson, are you out of your mind?”
“We can certainly afford it. And Cyrus is kind of getting the short end of the stick here, with James getting the house and all.”
Marsha opened her moth, fully prepared to launch into a tirade about how, not too long ago, they had been rather short on cash when Cyrus spoke.
“How about a ride, Mama?”
She turned and looked at him, puzzled. “What?”
“A ride. You know, you sit, I drive. Come on, it’ll be fun. You too, Papa.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea, my boy. Come on, Marsha.”
Marsha protested softly as Jefferson took her by the arm and gently steered her toward the car. He opened the passenger side door and helped her inside. He shut the door, moved around the car, and climbed into the backseat through the driver’s door.
Cyrus got in, shut the door, and started the car. Marsha jumped as the engine roared to life. He put the car in gear, and put his foot on the gas.
“How do you know which one to push?” Marsha asked, looking at the floor pedals.
“Easy. One to the left is the clutch, one in the middle’s the brake, the one on the right’s the gas. Shift, stop, go.”
They drove down the road to the train station, and Cyrus turned left onto Main Street.
“Oh, look. There’s Lila Gavigan,” Marsha commented as she saw the older woman walking down the street. “Hello, Lila,” she called through the open window. “Nice day, isn’t it? Do you like the automobile we got Cyrus for graduating from college? With honors.”
Marsha laughed as they drove past Lila, leaving the other woman with a bewildered look on her face.
“What was that all about, Mama?”
“Oh, nothing really. It’s just, Lila’s always going on at our Ladies’ Aide meeting about all the nice things she buys for her children. It’s nice to be able to one-up her for once. All she got Harris for his college graduation was a new watch. This is much better.”
Cyrus suppressed a smug grin. He had a feeling he wouldn’t hear any more about the price of the car.
“It is comfortable,” Marsha admitted. “And it is perfect for a family. If you take good care of it, it should last you a long time.”
“Thank you, Mama. Now, how about a turn driving it?”
- - - -
To put the price of the car in context, the average cost of a gallon of milk was $0.56. A loaf of bread cost $0.09. You could by an average family home for $2,500.00.
Want to see what the car looks like? Go here.
