An old Fiat 125

I've never wanted to get married, much to the horror and protests of my mum and grandma. I'm not religious so I don't have that feeling of wanting to, and even as a little girl I never dreamed of having a wedding (my favourite movies were Labyrinth and Conan the Destroyer). Seeing other people get married now and how happy it makes them makes me realise it's just not something I could see myself enjoying for me.

On Sunday I went to visit my parents and noticed that while not unusual, there was a new old car in the driveway, a black Fiat 125 with a grey hood.

I asked my dad where it came from and he said that an old Italian acquaintance he'd gotten to know over their love of old Fiats (my dad actually knocked on this guys door after seeing this car in his driveway) gave it to him because his plans of renovating it had fallen through after he'd moved house.

My dad said that he's planning to use parts from this new old Fiat (which is falling apart) to do up his own Fiat 125 which is in pristine original condition. My mum asked what his plans are for that car and he said that he can get a lot of money for it, probably around $8k if the right person can appreciate it's quality, which my mum thought was hilarious since $8k isn't a lot of money to be spending so much time and attention to detail for, but it's my dad's hobby and it makes him happy, and he's really good at it.

I said it would be a shame to sell it, since I'm really attached to that car. I've never actually driven it myself but I remember the noise of the engine and how it announced my parents coming home from work when I was little. I remember sitting on my dad's lap and him letting me change gears with the gear stick which I loved doing because he'd call out the gear he wanted and I had to remember where to shift to, and also because the gear stick is one of those ones with a big ball on the end of it.

My dad said that he'd try to sell it, unless I wanted to use it as my wedding car. I said Tati, I don't think I'll ever get married, and he said, oh ok, and left it at that without another word. I've never wanted to get married more than in that moment.