“Hey Kris,” Zoe greeted the Knight saleswoman when she answered the call.

“Hey Zoe. I’ve been expecting your call,” Kris replied. “Are you doing alright?”

“I am and you have?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah. Your friend, the nurse, called and let me know what had happened to you,” Kris answered.

“I had forgot Zane called you guys,” Zoe replied.

“Are we going to the dealership or your houseboat?” Jimmy asked.

“Houseboat,” Zoe answered.

“What was that?” Kris asked.

“Sorry. I was telling my cousin to take me home,” Zoe answered. “I just got released from the clinic today.”

“Ok. Ready to pick out a new bike?” Kris asked. “The Triple Black is no longer available but the standard GT4 is the same basic machine except for the color scheme.”

“I know,” Zoe said. “Wouldn’t a standard GT4 be cheaper too?”

“Depends on if you want any sort of custom work done, but yeah, it’s a little cheaper since it’s not a limited edition,” the saleswoman replied. She sent Zoe three pictures. “Red is our bestselling color followed by black, but I like the gray.”

“Are these the only three-color choices?”

“Those are the three standard options,” Kris answered. “Any other color is custom work and costs 500 credits extra.

“I don’t see a lot of chrome, if any, in these pictures,” Zoe said.

“That’s because chrome parts are nonstandard. If you want chrome, it’ll increase the weight and the price,” Kris replied.

“How much weight and price increase are we talking about?”

“Let me check with Clarence,” Kris answered. “It’ll really depend on how much chrome you want, and he’ll be best to give a quote on all that.”

“Alright,” Zoe said. Two minutes later, Kris brought Clarence into the call.

“Ready to get back in the saddle, lass?” the mechanic asked just as soon as the three-way call was connected.

“I am or will be in a week once cleared to ride by Doc Brown,” Zoe answered giving the dwarf a smile. She felt she was ready at any rate.

“That’s good,” Clarence and Kris said at the same time. Both laughed.

“Almost to the marina,” Jimmy told Zoe. She nodded her understanding.

“So, how much chrome are you thinking?” the mechanic asked.

“The pipes, anything that looks silver, the front forks, and the rims or wheels, whatever they’re called,” Zoe answered after giving it a little thought. “Oh! Make the color a Carolina or sky blue too.”

“Not bad, not bad,” Clarence muttered. “What about the engine?”

“It can stay black or whatever it is in those pictures,” Zoe replied.

“You’re about as technical as I am,” the saleswoman laughed.

“Pah! You know your stuff Kris,” Clarence said. A moment later he sent Zoe and Kris a picture. “Something like this what you want?”

“Yes!” Zoe nearly squealed. The bike was a light blue that was in between the sky blue and Carolina blue colors, and yet brighter than she had envisioned.

“That’s nice,” Kris said. “Azure in color?”

“Close enough. Some use to call this shade Grabber Blue years ago” Clarence replied.

“Interesting,” Kris said.

“Whatever color you want to call it, that’s what I want,” Zoe said. She sent the image to Jimmy. “Look at this. It’s beautiful.”

“I’m driving,” Jimmy said.

“Look at it at the next stop light,” Zoe replied gesturing to the light that changed red ahead of them.

“I can do the modifications in a couple of days,” Clarence said.

“What’s the price?” Zoe asked.

“That is nice,” Jimmy admitted.

“Eh…it’ll cost you as much as the Triple Black did,” the mechanic answered after adding things up. He was grinning though.

“That’ll eat up the whole insurance amount, which will make the home office happy,” Kris said. “Clarence, no rush on this as long as it’s done in a week.”

“Ok,” the mechanic replied. He was still grinning. “Zoe, are there any other changes you want to make?”

“No, not that I can think of,” Zoe answered. “You like the color and chrome that much?”

“Oh aye, it’s right pretty,” Clarence answered. “I might even submit this to the home office to see if they’ll offer it in the future as a standard choice.”

“Cool. Anyway, I need to go. Jimmy just parked,” Zoe said.

“Have a good day lass,” Clarence replied.

“Take care Zoe. I’ll send over the forms for you to authorize after Clarence gives me a written quote,” Kris added.

“Ok. Bye!”

*

“Alright Clarence. What’s gotten you so excited?” Kris asked the mechanic after Zoe left the call.

“I’m not excited,” the dwarf protested.

“Oh please. The last time I saw you grinning like that was when that executive wanted a fully customized bike built” the saleswoman replied.

“Alright lass. I’m planning on doing some upgrades to Zoe’s new GT4 instead of just the paint and chrome,” Clarence said.

“And you’re not charging any more than a Triple Black costs?”

“Ha. You should know better than that. The chrome and paint would have only added a grand or less to the price. The rest will be in the new premium parts the upcoming GT5 will have,” the mechanic answered. “This azure GT4 will weigh 225 pounds or less despite the chrome and have better brakes and software in addition to being slightly faster. I couldn’t get approval to use the new engine though.”

“You got approval for this?” Kris asked.

“Aye. It helps that the head of design is my cousin,” Clarence replied. “Sammy is just as interested as I am in seeing what the upgrades will do on this side of the pond.”

“I don’t think Zoe will agree to status updates,” Kris said.

“Me either. That’s why I’m building two GT4s. Want to put the second one through its paces for a few months and give us reports?”

“Oh yes, but only if I get to pick out the color too,” Kris replied. “I’m thinking a nice canary yellow would be just different enough.”