Wendell took the seat next to her, unfolding a map in his lap. From Prudence's gasping and the sweat dripping down her face, he knew she hadn't gotten over her fear of driving yet. "You'll be fine," he said. He reached across to take her hand and give it a squeeze.
"Here we go," she whispered. She put the truck in reverse, backing down the driveway at a crawl. At the end of the driveway, she reached for a pedal, but hit the accelerator instead of the brake. The truck lurched backwards, the tail end smashing into a tree and the back wheels hanging over the edge of a ditch. "Oh no," Prudence said.
She leaned over the steering wheel, unsure of what to do now. Wendell put a hand on her back, trying to comfort her. He shouldn't have forced her to do this. He should have found a way to make it so he could reach the pedals by himself. A real man could see over the wheel and touch the pedals without a booster seat. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is my fault. We'll find some other way."
Prudence looked up from the steering wheel. The sadness and self-loathing in his voice stirred something within her. "No," she said. "I can do this."
She shifted the truck into drive and then tapped the accelerator. The back tires tore at the edge of the ditch until finding purchase. Mr. Pryde's truck lurched forward onto the road. Prudence steered it down the hill towards Mrs. Schulman's house, keeping one foot poised over the brake and the other near the accelerator. The truck glided down the hill, mostly from the power of gravity, until it reached the bottom. Prudence looked in the rearview mirror to see Mr. Pryde's house above them. "I did it," she said.
"I knew you could," Wendell said. He pecked her on the cheek before she hit the accelerator to send them on their way. She navigated the highway with relative ease, gradually going faster at the prodding of impatient vehicles behind them. Thinking back to her ride with Mrs. Schulman, Prudence flashed her middle finger to each car that passed them.
They coasted through Seabrooke, along the main street that was alive with people on the sidewalks like any other day. No one seemed to pay them any heed, not even the police officer they passed by a café. Prudence tensed at the sight of the policeman, but kept both hands on the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. Even after they passed by, she expected him to appear in the rearview mirror to arrest her. She didn't relax until turning on the road leading inland towards Pinecrest.