REM // Van McCann

20. Afraid I've Upset You

I've since stopped watching her every move as she's got it down so I was surprised she stalled the vehicle just starting the engine. She must be nervous about leaving the safety of the car park for the restaurant.

"Do you remember what I taught you?" I asked and she nodded her head, putting her foot down on the clutch which restarted the engine. She made her way towards the exit. "Turn right and remember we drive on the opposite side of the road."

She stopped and waited for an oncoming car to pass. She could've snuck in right behind them but she waited for another car further down the street to pass before pulling onto the road. The car was moving far too slow for my liking but luckily there was no one behind us. We made it past one block and I pointed to the restaurant.

"You can turn down that street and there should be plenty of parking," I told her.

She did as she was told, putting her indicator on and yielding to oncoming traffic. A car waited behind her to make the turn and I could see her panicking but I told her she was doing just fine. Once she found a gap in traffic, she made a right turn and I was happy to see she didn't need to parallel park. She could pull up right behind another car. She craned her neck and slowly moved the car forward until I told her it was enough as I didn't want to hit the car in front of us. I don't need another bill to pay. She parked the car and the realization of what she just did hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I did it and I didn't crash the car!" she exclaimed.

Despite this seeming like nothing, it meant a lot to her. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she'd be able to drive a manual transmission in a foreign country! She engaged the handbrake and turned the engine off, handing me the keys. My hand touched hers while I grabbed them and she quickly pulled away. I paused for a moment, confused as to why she reacted like that.

"Erm...let's eat," I said, unlocking the door and getting out. She followed suit and we made our way towards the restaurant. I opened the door and gestured for her to enter first. We were seated towards the back.

The restaurant was only half full as it was a bit early for dinner but we were starving anyway. The waiter handed us our menus and asked if we wanted to drink anything. We both asked for water and he left us alone to decide on what to eat.

"Have you been here before?" I questioned. She was flipping through the entire menu as if undecided on what to eat.

"I've never been here before. I think we've only had Indian once or twice since moving here."

"Well you're missing out. I've tried almost every Indian restaurant in the area and this is the best one hands down. The portions are massive too." I held my hands out to show how massive and she laughed.

"Do you know what you're getting?" she asked.

"Probably the usual..." I said, flipping through the menu. "Chicken tikka masala and naan. What about you?" I closed the menu and put it aside. Clara was flipping through the menu frantically, nervous that we were waiting on her to make a decision.

This was my first time eating with her and I realized I decided where to eat without asking if she was okay with it. Does she like Indian food? What if nothing sounds appetizing? Before I could dwell on the matter further, she pointed at a dish.

"I'll get the chicken biryani."

She closed the menu and stacked hers on top of mine. The waiter noticed we were ready so he returned to take our order. I nodded my head at Clara so she'd tell him her order first and then I told him mine, being extra careful that my dish wouldn't be too spicy as I've made that mistake in the past. It's not that I can't handle spicy food. I can handle some level of spice but this restaurant is generous with the chilis. When the waiter left, I grabbed my glass of water and took a sip. It was quiet and Clara looked down at the table, not wanting to look me in the eye.