Rachel and Kevin were off for Spring Break this week, and instead of the tropical paradise vacation they hoped for, they got Dad waking them up earlier than they would have liked everyday to help him with things like straightening up the garage, washing and waxing cars, pulling weeds, and powerwashing the outside of the house (Kevin wanted to do the inside; it took him a minute or two to grasp why that was a bad idea.) Ian was nice enough to them to not pile the work on too high; he was getting them up at 9 a.m., and as long as they agreed to help without whining, their workday ended at lunchtime, and we took them out for lunch after picking Alex up.
Now, Alex has gotten used to Dad letting him drive everywhere. Ian lets him drive to school in the morning and they take the long way home after his last class lets out. I have not ridden with Alex, because he is 15 and I've reached my horrible car accident limit. Yes, I am terrified at the idea of riding with my son. But yesterday we picked Alex up, Ian got out from behind the wheel and tossed the keys to him, and looked at me like "Don't you dare tell him you're afraid to be with him." Well, I have told him that, but he thinks I'm kidding.
I'm not.
I kept my mouth shut, though, and for Alex's sake I sucked it up, even though Ian left me in the front seat. Alex wasn't bothered one bit by having us all in the car, it was like this was an everyday thing. And as he made his way through traffic, I started to relax, because he seems to know what he's doing, smooth acceleration and smooth braking. But then Ian told him to take the freeway, and I nearly lost it. I actually blurted out "Oh my God, no!" but instead of being offended, Alex laughed and took it as a challenge.
He got onto the freeway at speed, which I know is how you're supposed to do it but my God, we were going 65 mph with a 15 year old at the wheel! And then he changed lanes repeatedly, keeping up with traffic and overtaking the slowpokes, and I had to hold onto my seatbelt with both hands and just pray I didn't wet myself. I really did not want to upset him, but three or four times I begged him to slow down before he got pulled over or accidentally clipped someone else, but he's such a shit that he just laughed and kept going.
Pretty soon, I realized Kevin and Rachel were both laughing, too.
Fifteen minutes later he took the exit close to the pizza place and slowed down, and I know I was white as a ghost, which is saying something given my complexion. They were all still very amused, but I had to take a moment to tell Alex to NEVER speed like that, especially with his brother and sister in the car. And he chuckled again! Then turned around and went inside with them.
Ian wisely waited for me, but as I snatched my purse up he sighed and told me, "He never went over sixty five. In fact, since traffic was light, he spent a lot of it at under sixty. Trust me, he can go the speed limit and he does it very well."
Oh, I know he was doing at least eighty.
And my heart rate hasn't come down yet.
AND I think I wet myself a little.
But he is a good driver. And I might let him take me to the store tomorrow.
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