Learning to Drive... Him Crazy (7 page)

"Yep, to make sure I'm okay, he said."

"That's pretty much what Cal said, too. You
know, this whole spanking thing is really different, but while I
was thinking about it in bed last night it occurred to me, I'm
really glad you're going through the same thing."

"Yeah, me, too. At least we have each other
to talk to about it."

"And commiserate with," Kelli said,
chuckling.

Later that afternoon Alana and John went on
a drive to a nearby town, with Alana driving. Again, John was
patient with her, pointing out a few things she needed to be
careful of. He was pleased with her progress. The only thing he had
to tell her about a few times was stopping too far back from a stop
sign. The third time she did that same thing that afternoon he
said, "Alana, there's nothing behind us, so don't move yet. Stay
right where you are."

"Why?"

"What's the next thing you're going to
do?"

"Look both ways before pulling out onto that
road."

"Okay, look both ways, but don't pull out
yet." She did, and he watched her sit up closer to the wheel,
trying to see better. "Okay, now what would you do?"

"Pull out."

"You're sure nothing's coming either
way?"

"Well, as sure as I can be."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, this is a bad spot. You can't really
see very well."

"Why not? Is something blocking your
view?"

She looked both directions again, and
cautiously said, "I guess not really. You just—"

When she paused, he offered, "You just can't
see because you're back too far from the intersection." When she
didn't say anything he asked, "Is that the problem, Alana?"

She blushed as she said, "Yes, I guess I
am."

"I've told you this before, honey. This is
the one thing you still have a problem with, and I don't understand
it. It's vital that you be able to see both ways before you pull
out, and you can't from back here. There's absolutely no reason
that you can't pull up closer to the intersection."

"But what if the front of my car's out in
the intersection?"

"Honey, the front of your car's not even
close. You can pull up another six feet before you'd even need to
consider that. But let me show you something. Edge up just a little
bit, like maybe a foot, then stop again." She slowly moved up about
a foot and stopped. "Now look both ways." When she did he asked,
"Can you see any better?"

"Much better," she admitted.

"Can you see if anything's coming?"

"I can see much better from here, yes."

"Now move up another foot." She did, and he
said, "Now look again."

After looking both ways again she said, "Now
I can see everything, both ways."

"And look at the front of your car. Are you
in the intersection?"

"I don't think so," she admitted. "I can't
really see the end of the car, though, so I've been afraid of being
too far out."

"You're not even close." He looked behind
them again and said, "There's not usually much traffic on this
road, honey, and nothing's behind us now, so put the car in
park."

She looked apprehensive, but said, "Okay,"
as she put it in park.

"Now get out of the car and go to the front
and see where it is in relation to the intersection."

She did, and he saw the surprise on her
face. She quickly came back to the car and got back in. "You're
right, I'm not even close. I always thought it looked like I was
really getting close to the intersection."

"I'm glad you saw for yourself then how far
away you are. Maybe that'll help you."

"I think it will. Thank you."

"I think you just needed to see it for
yourself." After she fastened her seat belt he said, "Okay, honey,
go ahead and look again, then pull out and drive us back to your
apartment."

She was rather quiet on the return trip, and
when she pulled into a parking space she turned to look at him.
"John, thank you for being so patient. I'm sorry I'm doing badly.
I'll try to do better."

He told her, "Honey, you're not doing badly.
Stopping too far back at stop signs is the only thing you really
need to work on yet. You're doing so much better than the first
time I rode with you, I can't believe you're the same driver."

"Really?"

"Honey, you should know better than to even
ask me that. Do I say things I don't mean?"

"No," she said, smiling.

"As soon as we get you in better command at
stop signs, I think you're ready to take your test again." He
grinned as he said, "And maybe you'll have a nicer examiner this
time and you'll pass it now."

She laughed as she said, "I don't know about
the nicer examiner, but maybe I'll pass it this time because the
last examiner I had was nice enough to teach me how to drive."

He opened her door and helped her out of the
car. As they were walking into her apartment she asked, "Do you
really think I'm about ready to take the test again?"

"I do, honey. As soon as you master stop
signs I think you're ready. And trust me, I wouldn't let you take
the test again if I didn't feel you were ready."

"That's true," she said. "Thank you. That's
a real boost to my confidence, because you're right, you wouldn't
even let me take it if you didn't think I was ready. I hadn't
thought of that." As they went inside she said, "Huh. You really
are looking out for me, aren't you?"

John came inside to look over her finances
with her. She had set out her checkbook, the last three month's
bank statements, a box of receipts and her recent utility bills.
She showed him what she had tried to do, and she had had the right
idea to start with. She had a good head on her shoulders… just not
quite enough willpower. She had to learn that she couldn't splurge
on non-essentials, because she didn't have a slush fund in her
budget.

John helped her to redo her budget, updating
the figures as there had been minor increases in some of the
utilities since the last time she'd written a budget. He taught her
about having two savings accounts, instead of one. The first one
was for big-ticket items, like a car. The second one was not to be
touched! It was only for emergencies, otherwise, it would collect
until there was enough to invest, and then it could be rolled over
into CDs or stocks. He said that the biggest problem people had
today was to write a budget on 100% of their income, when really,
they should learn to budget on 80%, and put the rest in
savings.

They had consumed several cups of coffee
during the budget ordeal, and Alana was feeling a bit jittery by
the time they finished. Then as he bent to kiss her good-bye, she
wasn't entirely sure if the jitters were caused by the coffee or by
him.

* * * * *

John and Alana continued with the driving
lessons for the next two weeks, scattered among a few more dinners
together and a movie. They even went to try mini golfing on their
own, just the two of them, and had a wonderful time.

Cal and Kelli were likewise getting to know
each other better. Cal steered them clear of anything that could be
at all competitive, at least for the time being, and they likewise
got along great.

John had decided Alana was ready to take her
driving test again, and planned to tell her that over dinner. They
were meeting Cal and Kelli at a new restaurant. It would be the
first time the four of them had done anything together since the
ill-fated mini golf fiasco. He hoped tonight went well because he
knew how close the two girls were, and he and his brother were
equally close.

His patrol shift was about over, so he
turned to head back to the police station. He noticed what appeared
to be Kelli's car two vehicles ahead of him. The car directly in
front of him turned off, and as he got closer he could tell it was
Kelli's vehicle, but Alana was driving. She was probably heading
home, going the same direction he was.

He was watching her driving closely, and was
proud of her. Until she came to a stop sign. He watched as she
stopped too far back. He instinctively held his breath, waiting for
her to edge up closer so she could see better. Unfortunately, she
didn't move up any. She looked several times and he saw her
straining to see better, then slowly started to pull out, right in
front of a car. His heart jumped into his throat. Luckily, the car
was far enough back, he honked his horn and Alana quickly hit the
brakes.

He could tell she was shaken up, which was
understandable. He was, too! After a few moments she inched up
closer, looked again, and pulled out. He followed, and when she was
in a clear spot he turned his blue lights on to pull her over. He
had to make sure she was okay. Knowing her like he did, she was
probably shaking like a leaf, and he was going to suggest Kelli
drive them home.

She pulled over, and he walked up to the
car. It was a rather isolated area, not many cars around, and he
opened her door and helped her out. He quickly took her in his arms
and gave her a hug. "Are you okay, honey?" He felt her shaking,
just as he'd thought.

"You saw me?" A few tears were streaming
down her face now and he knew she was upset. "I'm so sorry,
John."

"Sshh, honey. It's okay, you were lucky this
time." She was clearly upset, and he didn't think this was the
proper time for any lectures or 'I told you this would happen'
speeches. They would talk about it later, after she'd calmed
down.

For now he just bent down to look into the
car. "Kelli, maybe you should drive the rest of the way home.
Alana's shaking like a leaf."

Alana quickly said, "No. No, that's okay.
I'm fine, John. I can drive us."

John looked at Alana. She was suddenly very
nervous about something, and that worried him. "Honey, you're
shaking. You shouldn't drive like that."

"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute to calm
down and I'll be fine."

Suspicious now, and being a good police
officer, John asked Kelli, "How come you're so quiet today, Kelli?
Everything all right?"

"Of course it is," she said. "Just fine and
dandy!"

Something didn't seem quite right to John.
Kelli was usually a happy person, but she seemed almost too happy
today. He went over and opened her door for her and offered her his
hand. Instead of taking it and getting out of the car, she reached
out and shook it! She was giggling as she got out of the car, and
stood next to him. John was shocked when he smelled alcohol. He
looked from her to Alana, who was now looking down at the ground,
not meeting his eyes.

Thinking a second, he took out his phone and
called Cal. When he answered he asked, "Are you home from work
yet?"

"I just pulled in the lane. Why?"

"Good. Stay there. We've got a problem and I
need your help. We'll be there in about ten minutes."

"What do you mean we have a problem? We who?
What's wrong?"

"I'll be there shortly and you can see for
yourself." He hung up and said, "Come on, girls. Get in the
cruiser." He went to help Kelli walk to the cruiser.

She looked up at him and said, "You can't
arrest me. I wasn't even driving."

"I'm not arresting you, Kelli, I'm taking
you to Cal's house."

She seemed content and went with him, but
stopped when they got to the cruiser. "No, wait. I don't want to go
to his house right now."

"I can't really say as I blame you, but we
don't really have a lot of choices here. Get in the back,
Kelli."

"No, I don't want to."

He sighed. "Kelli, my shift is just about
over and I need to get the cruiser back to the station. Don't give
me a hard time, please. I don't want to have to explain what I'm
doing because I really don't want you and Alana getting in trouble.
Now get in, please."

Alana had heard the exchange between them
and looked at John with a 'deer caught in the headlights' look. "We
could get in trouble?"

"Yes, you could, Alana, both of you. And if
I can't get her in the car pretty quickly I'm going to have to
radio in what I'm doing. I'd really rather not do that."

Alana realized how much trouble she and
Kelli were going to be in with their men, and quickly went to
Kelli. "Come on, Kelli, John's right. We've got to get in here
quick."

"But Cal's going to think I drank too much
and he's going to be mad."

"That's because you did drink too much,
Kelli," John said. "But if you don't get in here and let me take
you to his house, I'm going to have to take you to the station with
me to drop off this car and get mine, and then someone could ask
questions about you being her licensed driver while you're drunk.
You could both get a ticket. Do you think that would make Cal any
happier?"

John had to fight a smile at the look on her
face. He thought she was starting to sober rather quickly now.
Alana quickly said, "Come on, Kelli, get in the car." Kelli allowed
Alana to help her in the back of the cruiser, and Alana quickly
followed her in.

John told Alana, "You two stay right here.
I'm going to move your car further off the road so it's safe."

After moving it, he got in the cruiser and
took them to Cal's house.

Cal was standing on the porch waiting for
them when they pulled in. He was at the cruiser by the time John
shut it off, and seeing the two girls in the back, asked, "What the
heck is going on?"

"Come over here on this side and help Kelli
out, and you'll see. When I stopped them Alana was driving Kelli's
car."

"Yeah, so what's the problem?" About that
time Cal pulled Kelli up beside him and when she said, "Hi, Cal,"
his eyes about popped out of his head. "Kelli, you've been
drinking!"

"And now you see the problem," John said.
"Alana about pulled out in front of a car and is too shook up to
drive them home. Once I saw what condition Kelli was in, I knew she
couldn't drive, so here we are. My shift's over and I've got to
take the cruiser back to the station. Let me do that and I'll be
right back. Then we can go pick up Kelli's car. I moved it off the
road far enough that it should be okay until we get there."