The Day of the Driving Test…
“This is a bad idea,” I mutter.
“It’s not,” Ewan assures me as he buttons his shirt. He’s smiling patiently, the way he has every time I’ve gotten nervous about this.
“It is.” I flop back against the pillows. Maybe if I procrastinate long enough, it’ll be too late to leave and still make the appointment time. Then I can convince Ewan to come back to bed, and we can spend our day off doing something a lot more fun.
“Josh, you want this. You’re ready for this. And think how amazing it’s going to be when you’re done. You’ll never have to ask for a ride anywhere ever again. We can start looking for a car for you.”
I groan and cover my eyes, but he’s right. I really, really want to get my driver’s license. Maybe I want it too much. It would be the ultimate sign that I’ve won against the odds, that my new life is here to stay and things are good.
It would be devastating if I didn’t get it.
I don’t need to tell Ewan all that. He knows.
He’s been with me through this whole process, patiently teaching me to drive, quizzing me on road rules, scolding the ghosts when they popped in unexpectedly and startled me so much, I drove the car through Daniel’s tomatoes.
Daniel forgave me, but the ghosts are still giving him a wide berth.
It was Ewan who told me I was ready and encouraged me to make this appointment.
Ewan who drove me around the closest town so I could familiarize myself with what all the local ghosts look like, making it safer for me to drive there.
And it’s Ewan who’s going to drive me to the DMV office in Kewanee, then hang around while I do my test and all the other crap. On his day off.
Sighing, I toss back the sheet and get out of bed. He grins, then comes over to kiss me. “Relax. It’s going to be fine. You’re ready for this, and Freddie and Carter are coming to warn off any strange ghosts who might distract you.”
That’s the part of the plan that worries me the most. Kewanee doesn’t have a high population density, but it’s been around for over a hundred and fifty years, so there are definitely going to be some ghosts there, and there’s a chance one of them might cross my path.
Nobody’s going to give a license to the guy who slams on the brakes for no reason during his test, so our ghosts volunteered to come and help.
They’re going to intercept any ghost nearby so I don’t get distracted.
It sounds like a good idea, but ghosts aren’t predictable.
We run into a problem sooner than I thought, and it wasn’t any of the ones I expected.
“My word, this is terrible,” Freddie exclaims. “Look at these storefronts! They’re simply awful. Kewanee has gone downhill since I was here last.”
“Oh my god,” I mutter.
“What?” Ewan asks. Once we were away from the estate, the ghosts lost the ability to manifest, so he can’t see or hear them anymore. I tell him what Freddie said.
“When was that?” Ewan’s tone is casual, even a little interested, but when I glance over, I can see him struggling not to laugh.
“1934,” Freddie says.
I convey that to Ewan, then add, “It’s amazing how things can change in nearly ninety years.”
“It’s very different from when I was here last,” Carter adds. “Much bigger. And the roads are paved. And there’s more than one road.”
The ghosts are so comfortable with technology on the estate that sometimes I forget they’ve barely left it since they died, much less gone further afield.
“Are you guys going to be able to handle your assignment?” I demand. “We can come back to explore another day.” Oh my god, did I just volunteer to take the ghosts on a field trip?
“We’ve got this,” Carter says confidently. “We’re your posse. Your team. We’ll keep the bogeys off you so you can complete the mission.”
“You need to stop watching those war movies,” I mutter as Ewan pulls into the parking lot of the DMV. “Okay. Do we all know what to do?”
My hunky boyfriend leans over to kiss me.
“We know. You go in there and handle the written stuff. When you come out, we’ll see what car you go to, and the ghosts will join you.
I’ll be here waiting when you get back.” He pats the book he took from the library this morning.
“Don’t rush, don’t stress. You’re ready for this. ”
“Team Josh is ready,” Freddie affirms, and I second-guess every decision I’ve ever made to bring me to this point.
“I love you,” I tell Ewan, because who knows what’s going to happen next.
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic.
He laughs. “I love you too. Remember, you get to drive home.”
I really, really hope so.
My nerves settle a little as I go through the administrative stuff, especially when I ace the written test. That feels good. But when a smiling guy who looks younger than me comes over and says, “Josh? I’m Dave, and I’ll be taking you for the practical part of your test.”
I muster a return smile as the nerves flood back. “Great. Thanks. Uh, nice to meet you.” I follow him out to the parking lot, trying not to be obvious as I look around for the ghosts.
And don’t see them.
Don’t panic. It’s fine. Don’t panic.
We reach the car, and Dave hands me the keys. “Let’s get started!”
“Yay,” I manage. Why does he have to be so cheerful? Doesn’t he realize what a dangerous career he has?
We get in the car, and I automatically begin the process of adjusting the seat, though it doesn’t have to move much. I’m so used to driving Ewan’s car, which, because he’s much taller than me, means moving the seat a lot.
“Josh! We’re here! Don’t worry!”
I nearly bash my head on the doorframe.
“You okay?” Dave asks with concern.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Thought I felt a spider crawling on me.” I resist the urge to turn around and glare at Freddie in the back seat. They’re here. That’s all that matters.
I put on my seat belt and adjust the mirrors next, then take a breath and start the car.
“You’re doing great,” Dave encourages. “We’re going to go left when you pull out of the lot, okay?”
“No problem.” I try to sound confident, ignoring the low-toned bickering from the back seat. I can’t quite hear what they’re arguing about, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
A few minutes later, I’m feeling a lot better.
We’ve stuck to quiet streets so far, with Dave obviously assessing whether I can handle the car.
I haven’t seen a single ghost, and the two in the back seat have stopped hissing at each other.
I’m pretty sure I’ve aced everything he’s asked me to do so far, especially the three-point turn.
That thing was so perfect, it was a work of art.
“We’re going to turn right up ahead onto 1st Street and head toward Main Street,” Dave says casually. I try not to let my hands tighten on the wheel. That’s the oldest area of town and the busiest, and statistically the place we’re most likely to run into ghosts.
“Don’t worry, Josh,” Carter says softly. “We’ve got a plan.”
I can’t reply with Dave sitting beside me, but I really hope their plan is the same one Ewan and I spent a week drilling into them. If they go off-book now, who knows what could happen.
As we head down 1st Street, I see a woman up ahead on the sidewalk, strolling along.
In the next moment, Carter is beside her, talking earnestly and waving his hands.
I draw in a silent breath. From this distance, I hadn’t realized she was a ghost. If she’d stepped out onto the road, I would have swerved to avoid her, or braked hard…
and Dave would have thought I’m a nutjob.
The plan is working.
Right before we reach Main Street, where Dave instructs me to turn left, Freddie accosts a man preparing to cross the street. Two potential crises, both dealt with.
I turn onto Main Street.
“Okay, so I want you to drive up the block, cross 2nd Street, and then you’re going to parallel park in front of the furniture store. I’ll tell you where, so don’t worry about that.”
“Sure.” I stick carefully to the speed limit, wishing I could slow to a crawl.
There are so many more people here. I can see both Freddie and Carter on the street, talking to others.
I may have underestimated the number of ghosts who would be here.
Most of them probably won’t interfere with me, but we can’t take that chance.
Carter disappears, and a moment later he speaks from behind me, keeping his voice low so he doesn’t startle me. “Josh, we’re not going to be able to talk to everyone individually. But we have a plan. Just… stay calm, okay? This might be loud.”
Loud? What the—
“STAAAAAAAAYYYY AWAAAAAYYY!”
The shout comes from above me, and if he hadn’t warned me, I probably would have driven the car into a building. Is he on the roof?
“GHOSTS, STAYYYY AWAYYYY!”
Oh my god. This can’t be happening.
Out on the street, a few heads turn toward us as Carter keeps up his caterwauling. Okay, so those are the ghosts. Great.
The urge to laugh rises in my chest, and I clear my throat, trying to choke it down.
“Do you see those two empty spaces?” Dave asks as we cross 2nd Street. “That’s where I want you to park. Either is fine, but pick one now and stick to it.”
“STAAAAAAAYYYY CLEAR!”
“We’re parking now?” Freddie asks from the back seat. “I’ll let Carter know.”
As I pull up and check my mirrors, I notice they’ve abandoned the roof of the car and are pacing alongside the parking spot I’ve chosen, one on each side of the car. My guards, prepared to chase away anyone who might interfere. It would be sweet if it wasn’t ridiculous.
Pushing aside the sudden rush of affection, I force myself to concentrate and manage to pull off reverse parking in one try. Go, me.
Dave opens his door and glances down at the curb, then shuts it again. “Great job. What you’re going to do next is pull out, go up the block to the lights at 3rd Street, and do a U-turn. Then we’ll head back toward the office.”
“Uh, I don’t live here. I’m not sure which way the office is.” I check my mirrors, then do a head check for good measure before carefully pulling back onto the road.
“Don’t worry, I’ll direct you.”
“STAAAAAYYY AWAAAAAY!”
I guess the ghosts are back on the roof.
When I walk toward Ewan’s car, my cheeks hurt from grinning so wide. He sees me coming and gets out, coming to meet me.
“I’d ask how you went, but I don’t have to,” he says, smiling. “Congratulations.” He pulls me into his arms and plants a big kiss on my mouth.
I reach up for another kiss. “I can officially and legally drive a car.”
“You were wonderful!” Freddie declares. “I felt completely safe with you behind the wheel.”
Sighing, I pull out of Ewan’s embrace and turn to face the ghosts. “Thank you both for your help. It could have gone very badly without you.”
“Did they help?” Ewan murmurs, and I shoot him a sidelong glance. “Ah. Tell me about it later.” He holds out the keys. “Let’s go home and celebrate.”
As I pull out of the parking lot for the second time that day, this time headed for home, I send up a prayer of gratitude to the universe for sending me to Mannix Estate. My life now is amazing.
“STAAAAAY AWAYYYY!”
Mostly amazing.