“Socketburg has gotten pretty big,” said Astrid, as she parked in front of the mall.

“There are all those new jobs at Maxxim, but Maxxim City has controlled growth.  The people have to live somewhere.”

“That’s a long commute to make every day,” observed Astrid.  “We should extend the monorail to Socketburg!”

“And if it came to the mall, we wouldn’t have to drive.”

“But I just bought a car.”

“Come on.  It’s time to shop.”

“Where are we going first?” asked Astrid.

“My favorite store—Flips.”

“What do they sell?  Hats?”

“Things,” said Penelope.  “Wonderful things.”

Flips turned out to be a store that sold all kinds of strange gadgets and unique gifts.  Within a few minutes, Astrid had found a small programmable robot that she thought would be perfect for Christopher and a make-your-own soda machine for Austin.

“What do you think I should get Toby?” Astrid asked.

“Something cool and very, very expensive,” said a voice from behind her.

She turned to find not her aunt, but a smiling Toby.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” the teen inventor asked as she stepped over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“My dad saw Penelope and came in to talk to her.”

“Yeah, she’s around here somewhere.”

“She’s a couple of counters over.”

“Let’s sneak over and listen to what they’re talking about,” whispered Astrid.

She tiptoed to the end of the aisle, Toby following along.  When she reached the end, she could just hear Mr. Bundersmith on the other side.  He said something that she didn’t quite catch but she heard Penelope’s reply clearly enough.

“In Magic in the Moonlight, Emma Stone was twenty-five and Colin Firth was fifty-three.”

“I’m no Colin Firth,” said Toby’s father.

“No, you’re better looking than he is, although he has a better accent.  And in Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson was only eighteen and Bill Murray was fifty-two.”

“They didn’t actually get together in the end, as I recall.”

“Maybe not, but in A Perfect Murder, Gwyneth Paltrow was twenty-six and Michael Douglas was fifty-four.”

“We live in an overly permissive modern society.”

“Debbie Reynolds was only nineteen in Singin’ in the Rain, while Gene Kelly was forty.  That was the forties, in case you forgot.”

“I think the only thing that proves is that you watch too many movies,” he said.

“I watch too many movies alone.”

Leaning back and propping her tablet on her knee, Astrid turned to the Maxxim Motors web page.  She found the Maxxim Mongoose and selected “buy.”  She ticked the boxes for all the options— all electric, all-wheel drive, deepwater blue exterior, blue and charcoal interior, custom interior with heated and cooled seats.

“Nice.”

Astrid pressed the purchase button, and the next screen was financing.  It offered options to finance through one’s bank or the company.  Astrid wanted to just purchase it outright, but there didn’t seem to be an option for that.  A window popped up with a button to press for assistance.  Astrid pressed it.  A young woman’s face appeared in a little window.

“Hi.  I’m Janice.  How can I help you?”

“I’ve selected my car, and I’m just trying to make the final purchase.”

“I’m very happy that you were able to find a Maxxim automobile that you like,” said Janice, “and I can walk you through the rest.  How would you like to finance your vehicle?”

“I have the full amount in my bank account, and I just want to transfer it over.”

“Okay, I can help you with that,” A form appeared on the screen. “Just fill out your banking information in the spaces provided.”

Astrid waved her Carpé smart watch over the screen and the information was automatically filled in.  She pressed the submit button.

“There you go.”

“It has come through and is confirmed.  Now what day do you want to schedule your delivery, Miss… um, Maxxim?  Is that correct?”

“Yes,” said Astrid.  “Astrid Maxxim.”

“Um… well, we can offer delivery any day… um… between the twenty-third and the twenty-seventh.”

“Definitely the twenty-third,” said Astrid.  “I want to be able to drive it as much as possible during winter break.”

“Okay.  I have you on the schedule for the December twenty-third, between the hours of 7AM and 6PM.  Thank you and I hope you enjoy your new Maxxim motorcar.”

“I’m sure I will,” said Astrid, before hanging up.

She sat for several minutes, imagining herself driving around town behind the wheel of her new vehicle.  She was just turning her attention back to her space station blueprints when her phone rang.

“Hello, Uncle Carl,” she answered, having seen his face on her screen.

“Astrid, why are you terrorizing our customer service representatives?”

“I’m not terrorizing anyone!  I just called to order a new car.”

“Do you have any idea how hard it can be for a regular person to talk to you?”

“I’m a regular person,” said Astrid.

“How would you feel if Neal Armstrong called you on the phone?”

“Well, I’d be surprised since he’s dead.  But I guess I get what you mean.”