She laughed. “I will take it and not haggle about the price if you can throw in a necking knob.”

“A what?” He had never heard the term.

Although she was young she was well read and knew the knob on a steering wheel was once called a necking knob. “The knob on the steering wheel that is used to turn a car with one hand.”

“Oh. Yes. We have them.”

“Can you get one in for that price?”

“They are just over hundred dollars.” He thought for a minute. If he gave this to her he would give up about fifty dollars of his commission. That was not bad if it sold the car. But if he could get another feature for more than two times that on the car he could give it to her and keep the whole commission. If he could sell her something bigger he could get an even bigger commission. He remembered she had agonized over whether to get a bike rack the on the other car. “You know this doesn’t have a bike rack. I know you had thought about getting one.”

“I don’t know if I will be able to ride.” She stopped. “How much is it?”

“Three fifty.”

“Go ahead, add the three fifty to the price and put them both on. But I want the car as soon as I can get it. Can you get it ready in the next couple days?”

“I think I can get it ready for tomorrow if you want it then.”

“Give me a call when you know. I will come in to sign the papers.”

He smiled as he hung up. She got the car she really wanted. He just got a commission that was not fifty dollars smaller but instead a hundred larger. She laughed. Had he not mentioned the bike rack she would not have thought of it.

The handyman arrived. She had him mount the bottle openers in her bathroom, kitchen and family room. She had the vise put on a shelf in a walk in closet off the family room. She had learned that she could do many things if they could be clamped and held for her. He asked her if there was a way to make the bottle opener portable. He laughed, got out a small C clamp and attached the other one to it, then showed her how to attach it to a counter. “You can put this anywhere. Just be careful on furniture, don’t tighten it real tight. I’ll glue some felt pads on it to help but don’t use it for a day till the glue dries.”

“Wow. Do you have any other good ideas?”

He handed her another clamp. “Take this. If you can clamp something to a counter it helps. You can clamp a book if you need it to read. I’ll put some felt on it too.”

“Wow. How did you learn that?”

“Broken arm in a cast for eight weeks. You learn fast.”

He finished the work. She asked how much, he gave her a figure and she handed him a check. He looked at it. “That isn’t the right amount. It’s too much.”

“I got more from this than you asked for. Call the extra a tip for the tips. I am going to need a person like you more as time goes on. I want you to come in and feel that I want to know if you think something will help me.”

“Thanks. Anything extra helps. But you didn’t have to.”

“That’s what you don’t understand, I really had to do it.”

About an hour later the car salesman called back with the information. The car could be ready late tomorrow.

She called a cab, went to the dealer, signed the papers and came back home. Tomorrow she would have wheels.

Karen: Chapter One – The Attack

Karen Chapter 5: Back for Surgery

Karen Chapter 7: Rebuilding Her Career