Nothing To Fear

"Come on, you've never done it?" Andrea asked again. I never understood why people asked the same questions time and again, did they really expect the answer to change? Apparently Andrea did because she looked at me expectantly.



"You know I haven't and I don't intend to. I can live my life very happily never having to do," I was shaking, it was silly but the thought of doing something like that drove me crazy. "Having to that"



"How do you know you don't like it, if you've never tried before?" That same old argument. I heard it at least 3 or 4 times a week from my mom, my dad, it seemed as if everyone was in on this conspiracy to make me do something I clearly didn't want to.



"Give it a try, I promise nothing will happen to you." Andrea looked at me, sincerity burning in her eyes. If she wasn't my best friend, I would have been able to turn her down and walk away from this but I knew she wanted me to better myself. "Driving a car is not as bad as it sounds."



"But a car killed Greg!" Tears burned in my eyes. Greg was my big brother, who had been killed while driving home from prom. Mom and Dad didn't talk much about it, but from the things that I had heard, another driver had been drinking and didn't stop at a red light. At the same time Greg had started moving again, and the other car smashed into his. "I can't die too! My parents couldn't take it!"



"Charles, you are being ridiculous!" I knew she was mad at me, not only by the tone of her voice but because she never called me by my full first name. That was like when mom called you by all 3 names, you knew you were in trouble. "I drive everyday and nothing has happened to me, right?"



She threw down a challenge that she knew she couldn't lose. There was no way she was going to let this issue drop, like she had before. "You haven't been driving that long, you just got your license when you were 18, not 16 like Greg."



"Stop hiding behind Greg," She snapped. Any other time she would have asked if I wanted to talk about it, and when i said no the subject would be dropped. "Charles, you have to start taking care of yourself. What happens when I get married, and your parents aren't able to drive you around anymore? I am doing this for your own good."



"Fine." I was reluctant to even try this but since she was so adamant, I would try and then when I didn't like or couldn't do it, that would be the last time it was brought up. We walked to her car, and she slid her keys over the roof of the metal death trap. "Are you sure we have to do this?"



"Positive!" A smile had actually crossed her face. I slid into the drivers seat, my feet barely touched the pedals. "Your car is too big for me. I can't even touch the pedals, see!" I demonstrated to her that hardship i had come across. Surely this would get me out of having to drive.



"Adjust the seat," She sneered at me. I don't know what had gotten into her, but she was really cranky today. "You are not that dumb! Nor am I!" I adjusted the seat forward. So much for that plan, I knew better than to try anything else because she would call me out on it. Better to just get this over with, I thought. I stepped down on the long, skinny pedal and accelerated out of the driveway. I whipped the steering wheel left and the car turned. I looked over at her and wondered what she was thinking, hopefully not the silly notion of us being a couple again. "You're doing so well." That solved the puzzle.

“I'm scared.” I admitted. As we came to a stop sign, I got nervous. What if I went and someone wasn't paying attention to the stop sign and hit us? Dear God what had I allowed her to talk me into? I seen the car pull up to the stop sign, as I lifted my foot off the wide, fat pedal. This was it, this was how I died, bitter thoughts about Andrea drifted through my head. After we passed he other car, he moved forward. “He didn't hit us!”



“Of course not!” Andrea exclaimed smiling. “What happened to Greg was tragic but not usual. Make a right here, I just wanted you to try this today.” I made the way around my block and pulled back into the driveway. Exhilarated, I wondered when I would be able to try this again. “Want to have another lesson tomorrow?”



I nodded, unable to say anything. The greatest thing had just happened to me, I wasn't afraid anymore. I knew I could handle this now! There was no stopping me! Finally at 40, I was driving!