Chapter 52

Martin was standing in front of the mirror, adjusting his tie. He would be picked up in 25 minutes and if everything went fine, he'd be a lot more independent in an hour and a half.

His driving instructor had repeated over and over again that he shouldn't drive like someone who could drive, but like someone who wanted to pass the exam. There was nowhere he wanted to go, so it didn't matter in what time he'll get there. Take it slowly. Be patient. Don't explode if a bunch of sheep are blocking the road. Be grateful. They are giving you time where nothing can possibly go wrong and while this time passes, you'll getting closer and closer to your driving license. After all, he just had to behave for about 40 minutes, and then he could drive how he pleases.

He had passed the theory test earlier this week. He had arranged his driving instruction so that he could be dropped in Wadebridge in time for his exam. The multiple choice questions had been an insult to any average intelligence. The questions about what to do in an emergency had been especially painful, as he certainly wouldn't just do what was said in the boxes he had to tick. He was a doctor, after all.

Louisa had come to Wadebridge to pick him up after the test. Joan and Louisa really had to drive him around a lot lately.

Every week he had one or two appointments at Plymouth University. He had to be present for some practical courses. There was no way he could postpone them until he was completely motorised again. No matter how bad he felt about having to rely on others to get to and fro. He had checked on the internet for possible use of public transport, but around here the opportunities were ridiculously few.

But he could stop worrying now. Today, the time would end that he would need a driver. He would pass his exam, not passing simply wasn't an option, and then he could use his Lexus, which had been released from forensics a long time ago and had just been checked over by the local garage and was only waiting on its rightful owner to make full use of it again.

Later that afternoon, Martin was studying in his room. Joan was busy in the kitchen making some Chutneys for sale at the local grocer. Just as soon as she could have possibly come down to the farm, Louisa had come and was now knocking at the door. It took a moment before Joan opened the door, wiping her hand on a towel.

"Ah, nice you dropped by."

"How did it go? How is he?"

"Come in."

Louisa squeezed in. "Spill it! Has he passed?"

"I guess he'd better tell you himself." She went to the bottom of the stairs and shouted upstairs. "MARTY!"

"He'll probably need a moment. He simply can't tear himself away from his books." Joan shook her head. "Not that I can understand that. My parents almost had to tie me down for me to do my homework. Life happens outside of books."

Joan turned again to her pots and jars.

"Oh, Joan. Is it that bad?"

"I'm not going to say a word. That's his job." More impatiently she shouted. "MARTY! VISITOR FOR YOU!"

"YEAH, I'M COMING!"

"Good."

Louisa was on the edge of her seat, literally speaking. She was nervously playing with the bag she had with her. Finally Martin appeared on the stairs and Louisa immediately rushed towards him.

"How did it go?" She burst out. "I thought about you the whole morning. I kind of hoped you'd send me a message to tell me how it had gone, but no such luck." She added with a wry smile.

"What did you expect? No big deal. I'm not a complete moron."

"So you passed!"

"Sure. Pure formality."

Joan chuckled.

"WHAT?"

"Well, smooth sailing is different, isn't it?" Joan teased her nephew.

"But that had nothing to do with me!"

"Surely not, how can you be responsible?"

"I didn't instruct that stupid tourist group to go into the streets of Portwenn? You can't take photos and walk backwards in the middle of the street!"

Louisa felt she had to state the obvious. "Martin, there is only the middle of the street in Portwenn."

"At least I could prove that I was capable of an emergency stop." Martin tried to save the situation.

"So that was good, wasn't it?" Louisa tried to see the problem.

"That was." Joan chimed in. "But I just had a chat with the instructor, who was kind enough to give Marty a lift. It's a pure miracle they even let Marty start to drive."

"That is not true!"

"Oh, no, they were absolutely thrilled that you gave them a lecture that simply identifying a number plate is by no means sufficient to prove adequate eye sight."

"It's not my fault that they obviously believe that being able to find your own car makes you also capable of driving it. I just informed them that there are all sorts of conditions where you can adapt your behaviour so that you can identify objects within a small focus, but you have such a limited visual field that you are practically unable to judge a complex situation such as you have to do when you're driving!"

Louisa sighed. Martin starting a lecture before his exam made it truly a miracle that he obviously had passed. Maybe the fates had been kind enough for once to send an examiner with either superhuman patience or a great sense of humour.

"But that wasn't all, was it? Tell Louisa your answer when they asked you the vehicle safety questions. This girl hasn't had a good laugh in a long time."

"But that was absolutely pointless!" Martin protested.

"What was pointless?" Louisa asked quite annoyed.

"Why should I tell them how to find out if the oil level in their car is alright and even do the check for them? If they need an MOT, they should go to the garage!"

"Martin, this is part of the regulation. They have to check these things. Besides, checking the oil isn't really rocket science, is it? I do it regularly on my car." Louisa couldn't really see any point in making such a fuss about nothing.

"You might well do, but I didn't apply for a job as a mechanic. I simply want to be allowed to drive that bloody car."

"So go on, Marty, tell Louisa your answer." Joan egged Martin on.

"I really don't know what should be so amusing about that?" Martin didn't find anything odd or unreasonable in the way he had acted.

"OK, I'll do it." Joan offered and ignored the bubbling mass in the pot for a moment to turn around to Louisa. "Marty took out his mobile and offered to call the AA."

Louisa burst into laughter.

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Martin demanded to know.

"Oh, Martin, checking the oil takes how long? Two minutes, maybe three? It would be an hour before there would be any chance for the AA to be anywhere near here."

"That's why I would keep the oil checked regularly at the station, but why on earth am I paying my annual fee for the AA if not to call them if I need technical help?"

"Oh, you're priceless!" Louisa laughed.

"I told you." Joan nodded into Martin's direction. "Louisa hadn't had a good laugh in a long time."

The more Louisa's mood seemed to improve, the more Martin's mood was dampened. In fact, he was very close to losing his temper.

"And how did the driving itself go? No traffic jams on the moors?" Louisa asked lightly.

"Hardly. Just one stupid camper van that couldn't go anywhere and was practically stuck."

"So what did you do?" Louisa queried further.

"What could I do? Just sit and wait."

"So you listened to the instructor's advice." Louisa could hardly believe it.

"Yeah, that's a first." Joan chimed in.

"Thank you very much!" Martin protested.

Louisa closed the gap to Martin to give him a peck on the cheek as a peace offering. "It's alright, Martin. The important thing is that you've passed. So you're the proud owner of a driving license again?"

"I just told you!"

"Yeah, right." Louisa fumbled with the bag and got a P-plate out. "So maybe you need this?" She smiled and handed it towards Martin, who refused to take it.

"Very funny!" Martin snarled, while Louisa and Joan were in stitches. "If the whole purpose of this visit is to make fun of me, I'd rather go upstairs. I've got work to do."

To be continued…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

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Just a little explanation as it seems our US-friends are not familiar with the P-plate.

If you are a learning driver in the UK, you've got to have an L-plate (L=learning) on your car.

When you passed the driving test, you can choose to have a P-plate (P=probationary) on your car, indicating to other drivers that you are a beginner, signalling them that they should be more considerate or careful. It is not mandatory, purely optional.