A lot happened over the next few weeks. Several days after my birthday, I finally felt ready to take the test to get my driver's license. Dimitri drove me to the office and stayed with me for moral support as I sat in the waiting room full of high school kids. My palms were so sweaty I had to keep wiping them on my pants.
At last my name was called, and I walked to the front to meet the examiner, who led me outside. We both got into the car. I noticed it was sprinkling rain.
"Do you think I should turn on the wipers?" I asked.
"I'm not going to tell you how to drive," she snapped. "You should already know how."
Great start, I thought to myself.
I bit my lip, cranked up the engine, and pulled out onto the road. As I drove along, I emptied my mind of everything but Dimitri's past instructions, which I concentrated on with all my might. Every few minutes, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and knew the examiner was checking off a mistake I'd just made.
It was with great relief that I finally pulled into the parking lot of the office. I parked in the first available space I could find, shut off the engine, and waited for the verdict.
"You turn curves too sharply, and you need to work on staying inside the lane," the examiner told me. "I almost had to disqualify you for that, but you passed the exam. Come inside so we can take your picture."
Relief flooded through me as I followed her back into the office. I sat for my picture to be taken, then waited for my license to be printed out. As soon as I held it in my hand, still warm to the touch, I walked back out to the lobby, where Dimitri waited.
"That big grin must mean you passed," he remarked.
I nodded.
"Congratulations," he said with a smile. "I knew you could do it."
One day at work, I was in the cafeteria looking at all the choices when it occurred to me the idea of eating anything at all with meat in it made me feel icky. Finally deciding on a grilled cheese sandwich and a vanilla milkshake, I paid for my lunch and slid into a booth when I saw Taylor walk in.
"Hey, girl, where's that hamburger I see you eating every day?" she asked.
"I just wasn't in the mood for a hamburger today," I told her.
She looked worried. "Are you all right?"
"I guess so." Except for being turned off by foods with meat in them, I was fine.
Nevertheless, I found myself yawning on the way home that night, and when I stepped inside, the aroma of lasagna made me feel like gagging.
A smiling Dimitri came over to meet me. "I hope you're hungry! I remembered how much you said you liked lasagna."
"Oh, thank you, sweetheart!" I hugged him, then yawned again.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine," I replied. "Just a little tired, is all."
I tried to choke down the lasagna but ended up having to go to the bathroom to puke it back up halfway through the meal.
"You must be coming down with a stomach virus," said Dimitri. "You should go to bed and stay there. I'll go out and buy Gatorade, broth, crackers, and bananas."
"That sounds yummy, but I don't think I'm sick," I replied. "My period's over two weeks late. It's never been that late before. I'll pick up a pregnancy test at the pharmacy tomorrow."
