Emails still aren't working. Not surprised. I'm starting to doubt they'll ever be fixed.

Friday, Aug 19, 2022- 32 weeks

I sit to Amy's right and watch as she shifts the car into gear and checks the mirrors before looking over her shoulder to back out of her parking space. She flicks the turn signal with her left finger, waiting for a clearing in traffic to exit the lot. I watch every move she makes until I notice she's saying my name. "Sorry, what?"

"I was asking if you mind ordering pizza for dinner. I don't feel like cooking tonight, unless you don't mind cooking. I know it's technically my turn to cook."

"That's fine. Ordering a pizza, I mean. Amy," I shift in my seat to study Amy's face. She's tired today. I think she has been most of the week. I know what I need to do. "I have my driver's license, but have not driven in years. I would like a refresher to be more comfortable behind the wheel while driving you and our son."

It's a good thing we're at a stop sign when she turns to look at me. "You what?"

I repeat, "I would like a refresher driving lesson before I drive you and our son. Not today, but I think sooner rather than later would be best."

"You're planning to drive?"

"Yes," Amy has resumed driving, but I'd be surprised if she didn't catch my eye roll just now. "I can't expect you to drive yourself while you're in labor or just after giving birth. We don't know when you're going to go into labor and can't be expecting one of our friends to drop everything to drive us."

Amy pulls the car into the pizza place. "Okay. How about tomorrow morning? We can practice in the university parking lot since it should be pretty empty before venturing onto the streets when you're comfortable."

"Okay," I lean over the center console, placing a kiss on her cheek. "Onions and black olives?" She nods and I head inside to place our order. While waiting for our pizza to be done, I text the guys that I won't be joining them for paintball tomorrow.

Saturday, Aug 20, 2022- 32 weeks

Immediately following Dr. Who, Amy and I make the trip to the university. She pulls the car into one of the back lots, shifts it into park, and unbuckles her seatbelt. Her hand on the door handle, she pauses, asking, "You ready?"

"Of course," I chortle, flinging open the car door and hurrying around to get Amy's door. I open the door for her and pause before entering the driver's seat. I'm trying to appear calm and collected, but I'm freaking out. It's been nearly five years since I last drove. Amy helped me conquer my fears of being behind the wheel in the past, I'm sure she'll do the same now.

I buckle my seatbelt and am adjusting the mirrors when Amy inquires, "Do you want me to talk you through what to do, or do you want me to stay quiet until you ask for help?"

"Oh, I would prefer to do this on my own. Only give me direction if I'm about to do something illegal or that puts us in danger."

"Okay," Amy reaches over and briefly rests her hand on mine on the steering wheel. "I'm here if you need me. You've got this."

I double check my seatbelt again, confirm the mirrors are in their ideal position, and glance at Amy, who nods before I turn the key in the ignition. Pressing my foot on the brake, I place my hand on the gearshift and shift the vehicle into drive. I slowly let my foot off the brake, but do not move it to the gas pedal, rather let the car slowly roll forward. We roll several yards and I feel Amy's eyes boring into me. She hasn't said anything, so I know I'm doing okay. I gently apply pressure to the gas pedal and the car picks up speed. We're approaching the end of the row, forcing me to shift my foot back to the brake. I click the turn signal on and check multiple times for oncoming traffic in the empty parking lot before turning right. I go straight for a few rows, turning again. I drive us in circles around the parking lot for nearly thirty minutes, alternating practicing right and left turns. I pull into a spot and shift the car into park once again. "Can I try driving on the street?"

"Sure," Amy offers me a smile while nodding. "You're doing great. Why don't just try the streets around campus? It's still early; not many people are out yet." With my wife's encouragement, I pull out of the parking lot, joining the flow of traffic on the streets surrounding the university. I find myself driving through the streets of Pasadena, venturing further and further from the university with each turn. "Where are you going? This isn't the way home or to any of our friends' houses."

I continue driving until I reach the destination that even I didn't know was our destination. "I need to get something from my storage unit. It shouldn't take long if you wish to remain in the car." Amy opts to wait for me. I hurry to my storage unit and locate the box I need. I don't need the entire box, but in my efforts to be speedy, I bring the entire box back to the car with me rather than unpacking and repacking it for the one item I need from it. I can bring the rest of the box back at a later time.

"What's in the box?" Amy watches me place the box on the backseat before reentering the car myself.

"I'll show you later." I'm not prepared to explain what's in the box while also driving us home.

Before I know it, I've safely driven us home, where I expertly park the car and retrieve the box, carrying it into the house. I take the box directly into the nursery, where I set it on the floor and open it. I'm sitting on the floor, slowly examining each item before setting it aside. "There you are," Amy lingers in the doorway, watching me go through the box. "You're a great driver. You've got nothing to worry about. Just let me know when you want to get more practice and I'll be happy to hand you the keys."

"Thank you. Here it is," I produce a framed photo from the bottom of the box. Amy was looking through the discarded items, quickly abandoning them to see what it was I wanted from the mystery box.

I pass the frame to her before she's able to ask to see what it's a picture of. She studies it before pointing at the subjects in it, "Is that you and your dad?"

Nodding, I confirm her suspicion. "It is. My mom insisted on taking it. I felt the same about taking photos then as I do now."

"You're what eight here? Were you going somewhere? Why did your mom insist on taking a picture next to the car?"

"I'd just turned ten a few weeks prior. Stephen Hawking was giving a lecture at CalTech and I was determined to go. I spent days convincing my parents I needed to be there, but they said we didn't have the money. Eventually, I got the university to offer to cover the cost of the trip. My dad took a few days off work to go with me. The suitcases were in the car when my mom ran out of the house with her camera, saying she needed to take a picture before we left, hence the car behind us."

Amy's quiet, staring at the photo in her hands. "You look a little like him." No one has ever said that before. I shift to get a view of the image. "I mean, you're slimmer than him, but I'd guess you're about the same height and you wear your hair in a similar way." Now that she explains her thought process, I can see it. If I had a beer belly, I'm sure more people would say I look like my father. "Why did you need this from your storage unit?"

The question I'd been anticipating. This trip and the one we took with Georgie to see the shuttle launch were the best trips I'd ever been on. I never told my dad how much I enjoyed them before he died. "As you know, I have an eidetic memory. I've been thinking a lot about my dad since we began this journey to start a family of our own and I've come to realize, that while I didn't see it when I was younger, he was a great dad. That's the kind of dad I want to be for our son, minus the drinking and cheating."

"Sheldon," Amy sighs, "You're going to be an amazing father. Were you wanting to keep this photo out somewhere?"

She knows me so well. "I was hoping you'd be okay with putting it in here." I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she snuggles in next to me.

"Anywhere you want."

I meant to update last night, but was too tired to do much of anything. I've had a lot of neck & shoulder pain for a few days now; I think the stress of the past 2 & half weeks since my car got hit has been catching up to me. Insurance decided to say the car was totaled at the end of last week, leading to me buying a new car (well, almost new- it's a 2022 Rav4) over the weekend. My old car was picked up a few hours ago. I'm hoping now that I've got a new car & don't have to see the old one every day, it will settle down for me.

I'm down to the last few paragraphs of the last chapter, then I'll be starting on the outline for my next story. I really want to get the last chapter finished tonight so I can start the new story with the new month.