Jane yelled at Walter at the top of her voice, “You’re not even listening to me!” which Walter thought was a strange way to start a conversation.  There had been a lot of moments like that since both boys moved out of the house and left the Schuttes ‘empty-nesters’.  Sometimes Jane would get so frustrated she would hide the keys to the Pontiac, putting them where they normally kept the keys to the Pontiac, ensuring Walter would never find them.

Walter Jr. had gotten a job with Ottis and moved to Dallas where the very first self service elevator was being installed.  Jimmy, their youngest son, went to work for Swanson Foods and joined a team of researchers developing a new dinner they could enjoy right in front of the TV, if they were one of the eight million Americans that owned one.  He was pretty hush-hush about it when he’d come back home to visit, but he claimed it was going to be big.

Readjusting to being a ‘couple’ instead of a ‘family’ was not an easy transition for Walter and Jane.  It took them a while to find common ground interests.  It didn’t help when Jane read an article about ‘The Tollund Man’, a mummified body from the 4th century that had just been dug up in Denmark and commented that she “was living with one right here in Fort Stockton”.

One benefit of being child free was the raise in income that came with it.  No more tuition, clothes, books, and a bill at the Piggly Wiggly that seemed to take a bigger bite out of their budget than the house payment.  This became just one more point of contention.  It seemed Jane wanted to use the extra discretionary funds to join the eight million Americans that had a TV in their living room and take a vacation to Europe.  Walter had his eye on a new car.  The Pontiac was nearly a decade old and had served them well, but was long in the tooth.

One Saturday Walter told Jane to get in the car, he was going to take her to lunch out at the Valentine Diner as a treat.  She was suspicious, and had reason to be.  He made sure to take the long way home after lunch, right past Cactus CHEV – Olds.  “Let’s just go in and have a look.  Wouldn’t hurt to see what they’ve got.”  Jane acted upset, but she really wasn’t all that surprised.  She’d even put on a girdle before they left the house just in case.

She pulled away her elbow as Walter helped her through the front door of the dealership, keeping up the act.  But when she saw the Alder Green Olds 98 Futurmatic Deluxe Club Sedan in the middle of the showroom she nearly dropped her pocketbook and clutched her pearls at the sight of it.

Walter sensed things were going his way, but when he led her over to the driver’s door, opened it, and had her slide in, her world was spinning like the one in the middle of the steering wheel.  The new Olds made their old Pontiac look like a covered wagon.

“What do you think?” he asked her as the new car smell wafted towards her nostrils like a field of fresh grass to a hungry filly.

“One condition,” she said.  “I’ll forget about a European vacation, but we’re taking enough out of savings for a TV.  I’m tired of being the only one at the Klip-N-Dye Salon that can’t watch I Love Lucy.