Take-Two: Chapter 13 – And One Step Back - Almost

Dotty needs to learn how to drive. And I don't think the driving school was going to let her take another chance with Howard and his health – after all, the poor guy ended up in the hospital after that last disastrous driving lesson!

Now that Lee has proposed to Amanda, he really wants to do his part in taking care of his new family. Enter a driving lesson between Lee and Dotty. Unknown to Lee and Amanda, Dotty is thinking of other things as well.

Dotty was over the moon. Her daughter had finally found someone to love her who loved her back, and he was so willing to take on the "package" deal that included the boys – and her.

She frowned, then sighed. She loved living with her daughter and grandsons, but with Lee soon marrying her daughter, was there room for the five of them in this little house? Some days, it felt like they were basically on top of each other with just the four of them, but to add one more person. Would it be too much?

Today, Lee was taking her to practice driving on what he called the "Station One" track, where they trained new recruits for the agency. She really hoped she would come away with a good experience as the need to obtain her driver's license became more apparent. She craved her own independence and not having to rely on others to take her places. If she had her own license, she could drive herself to the store, club events….

….find her own apartment.

Dotty checked her appearance in the mirror of her room once more before picking up her handbag to head downstairs.

Amanda placed a cup of coffee in front of Lee while waiting for her mother to come down the stairs. "Now, Lee, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we can look for another instructor for Mother to get her driving lessons."

Lee shook his head. "I've trained some of the agents over the years out at Station One. I want to teach your mother not only how to drive but also some defensive moves. After all, she needs to be able to take care of the boys and protect them as needed." He shrugged. "While I don't think that will ever be an issue, I'd rather she be prepared than not."

Dotty chose that moment to walk in. She sat her purse down and looked to her future son-in-law. "Lee, I heard you as I came in. Are you sure that I will be a good enough pupil?" She wrung her hands. "I drove poor Howard into the hospital. I don't want to do that to you."

Lee could see that she was worried. He stood and took her hands in his. "Dotty, with Amanda and me working odd hours, you really need to have the freedom to drive." He squeezed her hands. "And, you just happen to have one of the best drivers in the industry. Me." He turned to Amanda. "I'm taking her out to the country to practice at Station One's track. Do you and the boys want to come along?"

"Wow, Lee! Do you and mom actually come out here a lot?" Philip said excitedly. He was looking at the track and seeing the different obstacles on the course.

Lee shook his head. "Not really. In fact, this is your mother's first time out here as well. I'll be putting her through some of the obstacles after I give your grandmother her lesson." He turned to Dotty. "Okay, so are you ready to give this a shot?'

"Sure, why not. Let's give this a shot. But I don't want to be the one to say, 'I told you so.'" They quickly got into the car. After fastening their seat belts, Lee went over the basics with Dotty, calling it a refresher course on adjusting mirrors, the seats, the lights, and so on.

"Okay, Dotty. First, you need to put your foot on the brake, then turn the key." Once the engine turned over, he coached her further. "Okay, now, take the gear shift and move it from P – Park, to D – Drive. Okay, good! Now, take your foot off the brake, and slowly put your foot on the gas."

The car surged ahead, then halted and died.

Dotty looked sheepishly to Lee. "That's okay," Lee tried to reassure her. "Let's try again."

Dotty carefully put the car back into park, then turned the key over. After it finally tuned over, Lee began once again. "Okay, let's try this again. Move the gear shift from P to D," paused as she did this. "Okay, your foot is on the brake, right?" He waited for a nod. "Is the emergency brake off?" A look showed that it was engaged. "Okay, let's move that off…. okay, great! Now, next step…move your foot to the gas and slowly press down the gas…." This time the car did not surge forward. It slowly crept up. "Good! Now push down a little harder— "

Dotty hit the gas a bit too hard, then slammed on the brake. Lee looked at her. "Okay, I think I know what the problem is." He paused. "Are you willing to try something different?"

"I guess," Dotty shrugged her shoulders. "I was doing so well with Howard, but since that accident that somehow got me involved in your case, by the way, I have felt a little …."

"Uncertain?" Lee guessed. When he got the answering nod, he continued. "It can happen, even to experienced agents. Now, what I want you to do is look around. Are there any obstacles out here that you can hit?"

"Not really, just some hay bales," she answered, and she relaxed slightly.

Lee smiled. "Good. Now, what we are going to do is drive between those hay bales. They are just grass with a bit of twine holding them. This car is built to withstand training recruits, so nothing you can do out here is going to hurt it any worse than a new recruit, okay?" He grinned at her, hoping she got into the spirit of it as well.

"Got it," Dotty replied.

"Good." Lee gestured back to the car dashboard. "The engine is still running, so that's good. Your foot is on the brake. Slowly move it to the gas, and gently push it down." Inspiration hit him. "Do you use a sewing machine?"

Dotty looked at him funny. "Yes, why? Do you have something you need to be mended?"

Lee shook his head. "No, but I know how they work. So, the pedal you use to make the needle work on the machine, if you push gently, the needle goes slowly, but the harder you push down, the faster the needle goes, right? Same concept here," he waived at the car. "Just a bigger machine that can go a lot faster. The harder you put your foot on the pedal, the faster the car will go, the same if you gently press down the more slowly the car will go." He looked back at this student. "Think that might help?"

Dotty nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes, I believe it does. Oh, Lee, thank you!" She smiled. "Okay, I think I've got it. Third time's the charm, right?"

"Right," Lee answered. "Slowly move your foot from the brake to the gas. Gently press down on the gas and keep added pressure to make the car move a little faster."

Dotty did as he asked, moving her foot to the gas pedal and slowly increasing the pressure.

After an hour of careful instruction, coaching, and lots of patience, Lee felt that Dotty was finally getting the hang of basic driving around the course. Meanwhile, he gave her instructions on what to do if she noticed anybody tailing her or suspicious characters coming too close to the car. As they pulled up to the spectator section, Lee looked over and saw Amanda and the boys tossing the Frisbee to each other to keep themselves entertained.

"Hey, did you have a good lesson, Mother?" Amanda called out as she stepped away from the game.

Dotty came around and hugged her daughter. "Oh, darling! Lee was just wonderful! I didn't feel stressed or put down. He was so patient with me. I think after a few more of these lessons, I might be ready to test for my license." She looked over at Lee for confirmation.

Lee slung his arm around his future mother-in-law with a grin. "That's right, Dotty. Just a few more weekends like this, and we should be able to take you to get your official license." He looked over at the picnic basket that Amanda had packed. "Hey, what's for lunch? I'm starved!"

After a hearty lunch of fried chicken and potato salad, Lee offered to take the boys around the track a few times before putting Amanda on it. After reassuring her multiple times that the boys would be fine, he climbed back into the car and had the boys secure themselves. Lee then put the car through its paces. The squeals and whoops he heard from the boys let him know they were having a lot of fun going through the obstacles.

When he pulled off to let Amanda have a turn, the boys promptly protested in good nature but then cheered Amanda on when she slid into the driver's seat. While she did not do as well as Lee, the boys let her know that she did very well on her first attempt at the course.

After a full day at the agency training track, the tired household limped into the home. Lee ordered pizza to be delivered to the house while picnic supplies were put away and showers for boys were put into action.

After tucking the boys into their beds and Dotty making herself scarce, Lee and Amanda found themselves alone in the family den, cuddling on the couch. Amanda put her arms around Lee's waist and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

"Hmm? What do you need to thank me for?" Lee questioned. "I really enjoyed today, and I look forward to next weekend."

Amanda looked up at him. "For being patient with Mother. For taking time with the boys to make sure they were included. For just being you."

Lee shrugged. "Well, we couldn't expect your mother to continue to wait for other people to give her rides or the boys if neither of us is available. I did it to give her the freedom she wanted, the independence she needed."

Amanda sat up at that. "Independence?" She blinked. "Lee, you don't think she feels obligated – "

"No, no, that's not what I was going for." Lee pulled her back down. "However, I have seen how she longed to be able to get out and do things for herself. She is still relatively young, I mean – she's not even 60 yet, right?" After getting Amanda's answering nod, he continued. "She just wants to get out and try things for herself and to show what an independent woman she is. Who knows, she may start dating again," he finished, wagging his eyebrows at her. At that, Lee felt Amanda slap his chest and laugh quietly. "But it also gives us the reassurance that once she has her license, she can also take the boys to their after-school events when we can't be there. After all, how often have you had to drop your mother and one of the boys off at one event and go to a completely different one with the other?" Sensing she was thinking about this, Lee continued. "And I think once she has that license, we should celebrate and help her pick out a decent sedan that she can use that is economical and easy to maintain."

Amanda sat up again. "Lee, I don't have that kind of budget…"

Fingers rested on her lips to silence her. Lee grinned. "Have you forgotten that soon there will be two incomes once again coming into this house? With my income, you will be able to put the child support into accounts for the boys to use later. And I will help with any payments needed on the car."

A noise on the stairwell interrupted them as they looked to see who was coming down. "Lee, I can perfectly take care of my own car payment, but I thank you for the offer," as Dotty walked the rest of the way into the den. She looked to her daughter. "Your father, God rest his soul, foresaw a need in the future when I might need to be taken care of. Between his veteran benefits and his retirement plan, I have more than enough to take care of myself." She paused, then sat down in one of the armchairs. "While we are on that subject, maybe we should discuss me moving out after the wedding."

If they had not kept in mind that there were two sleeping boys in the home, the protest would have awoken them. Lee quickly got up and knelt in front of his future mother-in-law. "Don't you dare," he began. "I just got used to having a mother figure around again. I couldn't bear it if you left us now. Besides," he looked sheepishly here, "we may need someone to stay with the boys if we have any out-of-town assignments. But I also hope you don't think we will be taking advantage of you when that does happen."

Dotty quickly threw her arms around Lee's shoulders. "Oh, no, Lee! I would never think that! I only worried that I would be in your way as you two set up your home!"

Amanda quickly joined the two of them at the armchair, wrapping her own arms around her mother. "You are never in the way, Mother! This is your home, too. And you aren't going anywhere," she replied sternly.

Dotty laughed and sat up. "Well, I guess that answers that!" She looked at her two children – yes, she was now including Lee in that description – and smiled. "So, after I get my license and my own car, no more driving me around, huh?"

The trio laughed and hugged each other.