The garage had three outside doors, but inside it was big enough to hold at least six cars. The advantage of designing your own house is that you can build in extras like that. My father had torn down the previous house on the lot and built his castle from scratch. He liked nice cars. I could drive any one of them, except the classic Rolls Royce Corniche, in return for helping to take care of them.

The second thing I learned from my father was, regardless of your income, always spend less than you take in if you want to become wealthy. Since I didn't have much income that was difficult to do. But not owning a car was a big savings for me because I didn't have to worry about payments, insurance and depreciation.

My father had driven the BMW this morning, as he usually did. Jacie liked to drive the Mercedes. I often drove the red 1966 Jaguar XKE Roadster, but today I wanted something inconspicuous. The least conspicuous car was a beige Toyota Camry. It had been Jacie's before she married my father, but now she never drove it.

By moving the Mercedes I was able to free the Toyota and back it out of the garage. I activated the electronic gate across the driveway with my remote and drove through the fence. As I started along the street, mindful of the residential 25 mile-per-hour speed limit, I glanced at my watch and realized I was going to be late for my appointment.

Years of living in Palos Verdes had taught me the shortcuts through the maze of curvy hillside streets, so I quickly got to Crenshaw Boulevard where I could make better time and coasted down to Pacific Coast Highway, on the flatland. I arrived at the restaurant only five minutes late.