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They’re in the middle of dinner when Delsin decides to bring it up. “Hey, Reggie?”
“Yea?”
“Soooo my birthday is in two weeks.”
Reggie lowers his fork and raises an eyebrow at him. “I know? It’s written on the calendar.”
“My sixteenth birthday.”
“Uh huh. Is there a point you’re trying to get to?”
“I’m old enough to get my permit.”
“For what? Fishing?” Reggie asks, taking a drink.
Here goes nothing. “Driving.”
Water sprays over the table and Delsin leans over to thump Reggie on the back while his brother coughs to try and clear his windpipe. Once he catches his breath, he turns to stare at Delsin in a panic. “You want to drive?”
“Uh, yes?” All of his friends are learning to drive. He technically was old enough at fifteen and a half but he wasn’t ready to ask then. And sure, their town is small enough that he can ride his bike to get most anywhere but on days where it’s raining (which is frequent) he’d love to have a car to not get soaking wet. “I mean, I need you to teach me first.”
“Me?”
Huh, he hasn’t heard Reggie’s voice hit that pitch since his big brother was in middle school. “You’re my legal guardian, aren’t you? I already read the book so I just need to pass the test and then you can teach me.”
Reggie does a rather incredible impression of a fish, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. He makes a strangled sound, pain flashing across his face. “Right. Okay. Yea, we can do that.”
Delsin beams at him.
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It’s a warm, sunny Saturday when they finally go out to do some driving lessons. Reggie parks the truck on a back road and they swap places, Delsin eagerly hopping into the driver’s seat.
Reggie slides into the passenger’s side and clears his throat. “Okay, first rule of driving. Before you even turn on the truck, put on your seatbelt.”
Delsin nods, belt clicking into place.
“Thank you. You’re a little shorter than me, so go ahead and adjust your side and rear view mirrors. Okay, now, three pedals. Clutch, brakes, gas. Gear shift is here.”
For once, Delsin is listening intently. He knows some of it already from watching the rest of his family, but being the one actually in the driver’s seat is very different.
“Alright, let’s go ahead and start her up. Press the clutch pedal all the way and keep your foot on the brake. Shift to neutral, then turn the key.” The truck rumbles to life and Reggie smiles. “Good. Next-”
Pick a kickass radio station?” He cranks up the volume with a wicked smile. Whoaaaa~ we're halfway there! Whoaaa~, livin’ on a prayer!”
Reggie swats his hand away and turns the radio off. Delsin pouts at him. “Hey! That's the best part! And you call yourself an 80s fan. Shameful.”
Reggie rolls his eyes skyward. “You don't need the distractions, Del. I need your focus to be on the road. Both hands on the wheel at two and ten. Don’t try out other hand positions until you’ve been driving for a bit, okay?”
“Okay, okay, party popper.” He grips the wheel tightly, a hint of nerves starting to show through. Dad and Reggie’s hands always made the wheel look so small, but it looks too big against his own.
“Hey, you good Del?”
He blinks, not realizing he spaced out, and grins at his brother. “Totally! What next?”
“Don’t let up on the clutch. Shift to first, the “1”, and press the gas pedal very gently until you hear the truck rev a bit. Let out the clutch very slowly and slowly press down on the gas at the same time.”
Delsin tries to do exactly as Reggie says, letting his foot off the clutch pedal and pressing the gas with the other foot. The truck lurches forward. “Whoa! Shit!”
“You’re good!” Reggie quickly reassures him, hand on his shoulder. “Same thing happened to me when Dad was showing me how to drive, don’t worry. Finding the sweet spot is tricky but you’ll get it.”
Soon enough Delsin manages to figure it out and pulls the truck back onto the road. He doesn’t realize how tense he is until Reggie squeezes his shoulder. “Ease up, Del, you’re doing fine. Keep your eyes straight ahead. Wherever you look, the truck follows. Remember to check your rearview and your speed every so often. It’s thirty-five on this road.”
“Sure we can’t crank it up to fifty?” Delsin jokes, trying to calm his anxiety. He’s not entirely sure why he’s nervous, so far everything’s been fine.
Reggie fixes him with a look. “If I catch your ass speeding I will take your license away so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“Hypocrite,” Delsin mutters under his breath. Truthfully though, he’s perfectly fine with the speed he’s at right now. Any faster and he might throw up.
“Pardon?” Reggie asks, a note of warning in his tone.
“Didn’t Dad catch you and Tyler racing with his grandpa’s car?”
“I was seventeen and stupid, Delsin.”
“It was less than four years ago!”
“And since then I've seen exactly what happens when-”
They round a bend and there's a deer walking in the middle of the road. Delsin and the deer both freeze, but thankfully Reggie does not. Scrambling from his seat, he shoves Delsin against the door and practically stands on the brake. The engine makes a loud noise and cuts out, the truck coming to a jerky halt mere inches from the deer.
For a moment, neither man nor beast move. Then the deer blinks and, with a sharp kick to the left headlight, darts into the brush.
“...I think that's enough for today.”
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The next time they go driving goes a little more smoothly.
“See? You're getting the hang of it, no problem,” Reggie tells Delsin with a smile, patting his back.
Delsin smiles back, feeling weirdly bashful. “Thanks. It's not as easy as they make it look.”
“Nope. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, I almost drove into a lake when Dad was teaching me. He made me swear not to tell Mom.” He leans his elbow on the window and rests his chin in his hand, gaze turning forlorn. “He joked about welding steel plates onto the truck whenever you started learning to drive. He was really excited to teach you though.”
Delsin stays quiet, gaze fixed squarely on the road. There have been a lot of father/son rights of passage that he has missed out on and will miss out on in the future, though he's tried to put it out of his mind.
Reggie clears his throat. “Why don't we head back into town? You can practice going to the drive-thru.”
“Shakes?!”
“Yes, you can get a shake.”
“Have I told you lately that you're the best big brother ever?”
Reggie just laughs.