Kaleidoscope

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Theresa recognized the number as soon as the phone rang.

"Miss Foster, this is Hal from the dealership. We have your van ready. When would you like it delivered?"

The sparkle from Theresa's green eyes lit up the room. This was it.

"I'd like to have my dad here. Can you come tomorrow morning?"

"Sure thing, M'am. We'll be there around nine."

Excitement and fear covered her face like a mask. She was well trained and had passed her driver's test, but the insecurities she felt weighed heavily on her. What if, after all this hoopla and angst over the van, she froze? It was too late now. The van was coming and she had to be ready. She called her dad and asked him to be at the house at nine. His excitement buzzed through the airwaves into Theresa's ears and he readily agreed to come be with her when the van arrived. She decided not to tell her mom until the morning, so she wouldn't fret over it all night.

The next morning, Tom drove up just in time to see the drivers pulling into the driveway. He got out of his car and greeted Theresa with a huge grin on his face. This is what they had been waiting so long for.

"Where's your mom, Honey."

"I didn't tell her yet, so she's still inside."

"Well, you'd better let her know. The shock is liable to kill her."

Theresa called into the house and Rose appeared on the back steps. She blanched when she saw what was sitting in the driveway. She had hoped that this idea would all disappear. Apparently not.

"Tom, I thought you and Theresa were re-thinking this whole thing. Are you sure she's ready?"

"She did great in her training, Rose. We have to let her try."

"Hello," Theresa said. "I can hear you. I'm right here."

"Sorry, Sweetheart," Tom answered.

The delivery driver and the trainer greeted Theresa and reviewed all the controls with her. When they were certain she was familiar with everything they left, wishing her good luck. Theresa stared at her new vehicle, tingles tickling her arms.

"Are you ready, Theresa? This is your big moment to show Mom how well you can manage this."

"You bet, Dad."

With that, Theresa drove her wheelchair onto the lift and maneuvered it into place behind the steering wheel. Tom got into the passenger seat while Rose watched in dismay. She wasn't ready to see her daughter drive. She relived the aftermath of the accident when Theresa was first in the hospital and the long road to recovery she had been through. Was this really necessary?

Theresa put the car into reverse and pulled out onto the street. Tom insisted on staying on the neighborhood streets to begin with until she became used to the van.

"I can't believe I can do all this with my hands, Dad," she remarked when they had gone around the block. She waved to her mom as she passed the house. Rose looked awful. Terror had seized her and she wanted to block out the entire experience. But, Theresa and Tom just kept going.

"Are you ready for the highway, Honey?" he asked after they had driven through downtown. Theresa was handling things beautifully.

"I think so, Dad," she answered, gripping the wheel just a little bit tighter. But she was determined, so she hid her feelings and continued.

She eased onto the on-ramp and began to merge with the traffic. She had practiced this all at the driving school and it was all very familiar to her. But, as soon as she got into the right lane, she began having flashbacks. Although there were few trucks on this stretch of road, she was right back on I-81 with Kelly in the seat next to her.

Tom looked over to see the color leaching from her face.

"Get off at the next exit," he barked.

Theresa didn't argue and left the highway. She began to calm down as she approached the neighborhood once again.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I guess I'm not quite ready for all of this. I thought I was, but all I could see were the tractor-trailers coming at me on both sides and I panicked."

"It's alright, Theresa," said Tom. "You have plenty of time to figure this all out. And I'll ride with you anytime you want me to."

"Thank you, Dad. You have no idea what this means to me. I think I'll stick to town for a while and back and forth to the rec center."

"It might be a good idea to talk this over with Dr. Connelly on your next visit. He can probably explain your reaction much better than I can."

"Speaking of Dr. Connelly, are you and Mom still seeing him?" Theresa blurted out without thinking that this might be an explosive subject to bring up.

"Actually, we have another appointment at the end of this week. I think we might be making a little bit of progress. At least your mom is still agreeing to go."

"I really hope it works, Dad." Theresa stopped short of telling him she was hoping for a reconciliation between them.

"Thanks, Sweetheart. Look, there's your mom still waiting in the driveway."

Rose, who had unknowingly been holding her breath, sighed with relief when she saw the van pull in and had her daughter safely at home once again. This would be a sharp learning curve for her, but she knew how much it meant to Theresa. This was just one more step in her independence and her leaving like all the rest.