Duped: Twenty Years Ago

When I was 18 I wanted a new car. I couldn't really afford a new car, but I lived in Southern California and I drove everywhere and needed it for transportation. I had just gone through some incredibly difficult personal things and was just getting my feet firmly planted in adult soil.

So, I went to the car dealership alone to look at Nissans. My brother had had a Nissan and I thought that they might be good cars. I had a job at the local amusement park and was going to school part time. I was living with a friend in a scary apartment complex not far from my parents house. For all outside purposes I looked somewhat responsible although the idea of actually paying for a car was out of my reach. I knew that on some level, but I needed reliable transportation so I just forgot about that small detail.

Well, I walked onto the lot and was quickly swooped on by a young sales man. He was overly nice and attentive. I walked around the lot with him and he assured me that I could afford one of these new models. A low end Sentra. I test drove it as he flirted non stop. The car as just a box with plastic interior and that horrible new car smell. It was the salesman's attention that I wanted. He asked me out for later in the week. I said I would think about that and that car.

I left and came back three days later. I said yes to both.

As I was driving out of the lot it never occurred to me that I wouldn't actually go on a date with him. That he had seen my desperation and preyed on it like a lion preys on small zebra.

He never called. I gave the car back to the bank a year later because I wizened up. I was so ashamed at being duped that I never told anyone that happened. The idea that I was so lonely and wanted attention was so humiliating I kept silent.

To be continued...