I own a Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Not officially, of course.
Officially, I own a Suzuki SX4 1.6 4WD.
But that is just administration.
My Ghost is green. Not just green, but the sort of colour Rolls-Royce would probably say was inspired by a Scottish hillside where a particular kind of moss only grows under a full moon.
I simply call it green.
Black with it. No chrome circus. No gold nonsense. Just a car that does not need to tell anyone what it costs.
We already know.
Nearly a million.
Detail.
The important thing is that by now I know exactly how my Ghost drives.
Quietly.
Not electric-car quiet. Rolls-Royce quiet. As if the outside world first has to ask permission before sound is allowed in.
You touch the accelerator and apparently nothing happens.
Except Sneek is suddenly behind you.
That seems wonderful to me.
I would also do entirely the wrong things with it.
Other people drive a car like that to Monaco.
I would go by way of Allingawier.
Not because it is faster.
Quite the opposite.
But if you have nearly a million euros' worth of car with you, it seems a shame to take the shortest route.
I would simply park it at the Jumbo supermarket too.
Not at the front.
That would be showing off.
Just somewhere between a Kia Picanto and a Volkswagen Polo.
Groceries in the boot.
Return the trolley.
And then probably look back once more.
Not because it is mine.
But because it is still a damned beautiful car.
At home, they would probably get used to it quite quickly.
“Where is heit?”
“Gone for a little drive.”
“Where to?”
“He doesn't know yet.”
That is the lovely thing about my Ghost.
It does not need a destination.
Only a road that turns off somewhere.
And for now, it costs me almost nothing.
No road tax. No insurance. No maintenance. No petrol.
Only a little time now and then to dream about it.
And when I am done, I get into my SX4.
Start the engine.
Look once more at the place where that enormous green bonnet lay in my mind.
And think:
I already have four-wheel drive.
The rest may come one day.
And if it does not, I have still driven a fair number of miles in it.