Sheldon glanced over his shoulder upon hearing the front door open, "How'd it go?" He asked Max as he entered, followed closely by Amy.
"I got it!" The sixteen-year-old exclaimed, pulling a plastic card from his pocket to show his father. "Mom said I can drive by myself once we got home."
"I guess that would be alright," Sheldon examined his son's driver's license before passing it back to the teenager. "You can take my car. Before you go, though, I'd like to go over our rules and expectations for when you're out driving."
Amy joined Sheldon on the couch, "Where are the kids?"
"Um," Sheldon looked around the room, unsure of where their youngest kids were. "They were here a few minutes ago. I think Katie said she had to go to the bathroom, maybe Leo followed her upstairs?"
"Okay, what rules do I have for driving?" Max changed the topic, trying to speed up the conversation so he can go out.
Sheldon and Amy exchanged a look before Sheldon spoke, "I know you know this, but no other kids in the car. You won't be getting your own car anytime soon. You can use either mom's or my car. We need to know where you're going and when you think you'll be back."
Nodding his head in agreement, Max interrupted, "Does the no other kids rule apply to Katie and Leo, too?"
"Yes," Amy quickly answered. "You can only drive with them in the car if dad or I are with you. Also, no cell phone while driving, not even using the Bluetooth in the car. Wait until you're parked, then you can call or text whomever back. Never bring back the car with less than a quarter tank of gas. You've got a credit card for emergencies, you can use that for gas, as well."
"That all sounds fair. Can I go now?" Max was bouncing in his seat, excited to go on an adventure.
Motioning to the hook near the door, Sheldon shared, "My keys are next to the door. Where are you going? How long do you think you'll be gone?"
Max paused to look at his phone before replying. "Noah asked if I want to meet him for dinner, so I'll probably be gone a few hours. Would it be alright if I picked up ice cream for Katie and Leo on my way back? I'll be sure to be back before they should be getting ready for bed."
"That's fine," Amy handed her son some cash from her purse. "Just nothing too crazy, small vanilla cups. Don't try to drive while eating an ice cream cone or anything."
"You got it. Thanks for letting me take your car, dad. I love you guys." With that, Amy and Sheldon watched their son leave for his first solo driving adventure.
"Momma," Leo yelled as he re-entered the living room and saw Amy sitting on the couch.
Amy pulled her two-year-old son onto her lap. "Hi, baby. Were you good for daddy while I was out with Max?"
"Yep," Katie answered for herself and her brother. "Where's Max?" she asked, looking around the room.
"He's out with his friends. He might be doing that a lot more now. Max took a test today to be able to drive without me or daddy with him."
"Oh," Katie frowned. "Is Max grown up now?"
Sheldon nodded at his daughter, "Almost. You don't need to be in any rush to grow up, Katie Beth. You can stay my little girl for as long as possible, okay?"
"Okay, daddy. Want me to chase you, Leo?" The three-year-old replied before pulling Leo away from Amy to run after him.
Amy inched closer to Sheldon and leaned her head against his shoulder, watching Katie and Leo run back and forth across the living room. Sheldon looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. "What are you thinking?"
She looked up at him, "My baby is out there, all by himself in the world. Sheldon, our son is almost all grown up. How did this happen?"
"This is what happens as kids get older. We might have a sixteen-year-old who's out there, driving by himself, but we also have two toddlers who have a lot of growing up left."
"I guess you're right," Amy shifted away from her husband before standing from the couch. "I'm going to start dinner."
Max returned from dinner with his friends as his family was just finishing dinner. Holding up a to-go carrier, he announced, "I got ice cream. You guys want some?" His question was met with excitement from Katie and Leo, as well as looks of surprise from Sheldon and Amy when he passed cups of ice cream to them.
"Thanks," Leo said, with ice cream covering his face.
"Your welcome, little dude," Max smiled at his brother. "I filled the gas like you asked."
Sheldon nodded at his son as he took another spoonful of ice cream. "How was dinner? How was the driving?"
Max shrugged his shoulders. "It was nothing crazy. We just went to In-and-Out and I stopped for the ice cream on the way home. The driving was fine. I didn't speed and I left lots of room between me and the car in front of me. Could I get a job for the summer? Then I wouldn't have to always get money from you and mom when I want to do something like pick up ice cream for everyone. I could help pay for gas when I use the car."
Amy and Sheldon exchanged a few silent looks. Max could tell they were hesitant to make a decision. Finally, Amy tilted her head while staring intently at Sheldon, who nodded back at her. "Okay," she said. "You can look for a summer job. You still have three weeks of school. If you find something that wants you to start before school's over, that's fine, but you can only work on weekends until summer vacation starts. Same rules if you decide you want to keep the job once school starts again in the fall."
Dropping his spoon, Max stared at his parents in disbelief that they had agreed to his request. "Really?"
"Sure," stated Sheldon. "Did you have any place in mind that you might want to apply?"
"Actually, Stuart texted me while I was at dinner," Max started to explain. "He heard I got my license today and was wondering if that meant I'd be looking for a job. With Denise having the baby soon, she won't be able to be there as much. He's just looking for someone to help stock and cashier sometimes. I doubt it would be a lot of hours during the week. I told him I'd ask you guys about it and let him know."
Amy smiled at her son, "Go call Stuart and tell him we said it's okay." Looking at her youngest children with ice cream across their faces after Max left the table, she turned to Sheldon, "I'm glad it will be a long time before these two are driving and asking to get a job."
