A/N: We don't say it too often but we want to thank you all for your reviews, follows and faves. It means a lot to us!
September, 12th, 1927 ~
I suppose you're wondering how my first driving lesson went. Happily, it went well, far better than I had even hoped for. I did study Anna's driving book the night before. And of course Mr. Branson is a wonderful and patient instructor and a good friend. We'll be forever grateful to him.
The crowd of onlookers has dwindled since that first day, for which I'm very thankful. I guess they lost interest once they realised I wasn't going to embarrass myself. That fact seemed to disappoint Sam most of all, and even Caleb and Archie aren't chuckling at my expense now.
Now that it's officially ours, we're having a rather impressive looking sign painted to stand at the side of the vehicle for when we fetch guests from the train station. We had thought about painting it directly on the Austin, but since it will be our personal auto too we decided against that.
So, am I as enamored with driving as Anna is? The answer is a resounding yes! It's an exhilarating, empowering and freeing feeling. I'm so glad we've done this and I'm glad we've done it together. Now we can add driving to our growing list of accomplishments - of dreams that have come true.
William has been begging to go with us today, but I'm just not sure. I know we won't be able to hold him off for long but I don't know if we're quite ready for passengers. We'll see what Mr. Branson has to say.
In other news, Will lost his first tooth yesterday morning. And in true William fashion he lost it by taking a flying leap off of the back of the sofa. He claims he was trying to catch Charlie the cat. Anna took him to the dentist. He told her he'd probably be toothless for a good year. That boy...he'll be the death of us.
His dubious friend, Percy told him he could expect a veritable fortune if he put the tooth under his pillow tonight. Anna informed him she didn't know if it worked quite the same way for teeth that were knocked out from horsing around, but he could try. He does seem hopeful though as he looks at you with his tongue poking out of the gap.
Anna will be over soon for what I hope is our final driving lesson. I'd best sign off.
John Bates ~
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~ Accomplished ~
'Look, Mr. Branson!' William hopped up and down, poking his tongue through the gap in his front teeth to prove his point. 'I'm a big boy now! Can I come too, please?'
'Well, I guess…' Tom start to answer.
'William.' John walked up behind his son, clamping his hands on Will's tiny shoulders in an effort to keep him from hopping around. 'I do apologize, Mr. Branson. He's been begging to come and we told him only as long as you said he could. And only if he behaves.' John looked at Will pointedly.
And that's how William came to be sitting proudly in the backseat of the motorcar, next to his mother. He had hoped for the prime seat next to his father, but that was taken by Mr. Branson. Anna told him maybe one day he could sit up in the front and the two 'men' could head off alone on a man kind of adventure, but not yet because Daddy was still learning.
'Mummy…' the boy squirmed and fussed as Anna tried to wrap her arm around his shoulders. 'I won't move.'
'Well, yes you certainly won't,' she told the boy with a tender, but warning smile.
'Are you okay back there?' John asked, turning his head to take a look at his son and wife. 'What did Mr. Branson say, William?'
'I could come only if I behaved. But…'
'No buts, do as mummy says, all right? Daddy's still learning,' John said firmly, before winking at the boy, and that seemed to be enough to settle William...for now.
'Are you ready, Mr. Bates?' the former chauffeur asked as he sat in the passenger's seat.
'All ready, Mr. Branson,' John replied with a grin.
'If you do as well as Anna did, it might be your last lesson!'
'Now that is good to hear. As much as I like you as my instructor, I'm excited to start driving on my own,' John smiled, placing his hands on the wheel.
'I understand. There's nothing like the call of the open road, without people watching over you,' Tom agreed.
'Well...I will be watching over him,' Anna remarked from the backseat and the men laughed.
'When's the drivin' then?' William piped up, almost unable to contain his excitement, the new gap between his teeth making his speech rather lispy, and causing even more laughter from the front seat.
'Be patient darling, and please, sit down!' Anna pulled him by his cardigan as he tried to stand to take a better look at the starting of the engine, and the boy reluctantly sat back down next to his mother.
John gave the motor time to warm up, and seconds later they were gliding smoothly along the village roads, driving at a moderate speed, comfortable enough to tip their hats to the villagers as they passed. John had proved to be a very good driver.
'Faster, Daddy!' William begged, as he moved around in his seat, trying to take in everything his eyes could see. The passing buildings, the people waving to them, and his father quite at ease with the car, his feet on the pedals and his hands sure on the wheel. 'Faster!'
'William, this is not a race,' Anna cautioned.
'Once we get to the edge of the village I will go a bit faster, but only a bit,' John told the boy and Tom couldn't help but smile.
'You know, Mr. Bates, cars need to be driven fast now and again. It's good for the motor. Not too often, but now and then…' he said.
'I did read about that,' John told the former chauffeur. 'But I don't like to go very fast to be honest. That's something I'll save for Anna to do,' he chuckled.
'You go faster than Daddy?' William turned, impressed with his mother.
'No, of course not...well, not really,' she told her son, trying not to get the boy too excited about speeding, but the two men in the front seats couldn't help but laugh at her little lie. 'All right, sometimes...but only when I see there's no one around,' she added pursing her lips and turning her gaze to the window. The men laughed again.
Almost two hours later, they were back at the hotel, having driven quite far out into the countryside.
John practiced parking a few more times, as in that area he was not as good as Anna, yet. William had been ecstatic, cheering his father every time Mr. Branson complimented his driving, but making sure to tell his mum how he desired to be driven around by her as well. But what he was most excited about was the promise his father had made, when they stopped to take a break. John had looked out at the endless fields and woodlands surrounding the village and decided that soon, before the weather began to change too drastically, that they would go for a picnic, all five of them. He would drive to a nice place, with Anna and the twins in the backseat, as he hoped their baskets could fit in there, and William beside him.
That was all the boy could talk about now, as they parked the car on the gravel drive next to their cottage, after dropping Branson off at the hotel and thanking him for everything he had done.
'Can I take my boat? Is there a river? I like picnics by the river!' Will went on and on as he jumped down from the car.
'You can take whatever you want and yes, it will be by the river,' John smiled down at his son.
'Mummy, can we take Jack as well?' the boy asked.
'I'm afraid Jack won't fit, darling.'
'Oh well…' the boy shrugged his shoulders. 'I'll tell him, Charlie and Butter all about it anyway.'
William ran inside after that, leaving his parents alone in the car.
John looked over his shoulder at Anna. 'Well, are you happy, Mrs. Bates?'
'I am, so happy and I feel so accomplished too,' she smiled. 'We have our children, our home, our business and our pets and now we own a car and we actually know how to drive! Now come back here and I'll show you just how happy I am.'
The enthusiasm in her voice made him chuckle. 'I can hardly refuse an offer like that.' He joined her in the back seat.
'Oh my!' Anna giggled as John pulled her onto his lap. 'You are happy, Mr. Bates!'
'Mmm...yes. Driving does that to me. I'm ready to celebrate...' John nuzzled into her neck.
Several kisses later and after a bit of fumbling around, Anna reluctantly said 'I should go see to the girls and give Daisy a rest, poor thing.'
'Yes, I should go too, so I can finish early.' He kissed her again, holding her tight to his chest. 'And try to see if you can persuade William to dine with us at the table tonight, not under it.'
'Hmm, I'll try, but I'm not a miracle worker, darling.'
'You could have fooled me,' he said with a grin. 'Now out, my love. I'll be home soon to finish our little celebration.'
Once out of the car, Anna threw her arms around his neck and whispered something in his ear, causing him to blush deeply. 'Now off with you! And Mr. Bates, may those thoughts keep you happy for the rest of your day.'
She went inside laughing as she did so, and when she looked out of the kitchen window, he was still there, blowing her a kiss and a naughty wink.
Oh yes, they were quite accomplished, indeed.
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As John predicted, today was our last day of driving lessons. We did really well, according to Mr. Branson and honestly, I thought it would take us much longer. But as Mr. Branson said, it's all a matter of driving every day. Practice makes perfect.
I'm so excited to drive around and to fetch the guests from the station, although I can't do that very often just yet because of the girls. Don't get me wrong, I love my children. I love them more than anything, but I do get rather tired of being home all day. Even though William has always one or two little "adventures" to make my day less predictable. I've been a working girl all my life and I so enjoy being around people. I hope that doesn't make me sound too selfish - to want it all.
William's tooth! The poor baby. He's so anxious to grow up and he thinks that losing a tooth is proof that he is. I tried to explain that losing a tooth from rough housing was not the same thing as losing a tooth naturally and it might not deserve a visit from the tooth fairy but his kind-hearted father thinks otherwise, only bolstering William's point.
As I write this, Will is sitting under the kitchen table awaiting his supper. John believes me to be a miracle worker. I am not. But what would my mother say if she knew my son was eating under and not at the table with his parents? Oh well, no one is here to see it and I do think children should be free exercise their imagination. He's not doing any harm and I think John really finds it funny, otherwise why did he join him for tea there the other day? Getting down was easy, he said, the hard part was getting up! I actually had to move the table from over John's head to accomplish that feat.
The girls are in their baskets in a cosy corner of the kitchen where they can see out the window. Butter is serenading them. They seem quite contented. Did I tell you John made wooden frames to hold their baskets? Well, he did. He's a real handyman, and it's so nice not to have put them on the floor or the table.
I've fixed Toad In the Hole for supper, which of course is just sausages baked in a Yorkshire pudding batter with onion gravy. It's William's favourite dish, but I think that is only because of the name. It smells heavenly in here. The heart of our home is indeed our kitchen.
John should be home soon, then it's supper and cleaning up. John will get Will ready for bed and read him his story while I feed the girls. My hope is that everyone will bed down early tonight because John and I are so...tired.
I must get moving.
~ Anna Bates
The journal entries are written by handy for the bus & terriejane.
We'd like to thank the lovely annamays (aka fuzzydream) for being our beta.
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