The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Nine (Revised Version)

      "Well, what do you think?" Slade turned in his seat, smiling at Lacey. "How does it feel to be behind the wheel of a truck again?" He asked as he watched Lacey run a hand over the steering wheel, staring at the dash.

       "It feels weird. It's goin' to take a while for me to get used to the gas and brake pedal being on a rod to the left of my steering wheel, and having to use my hands for it." Lacey looked over the contraption that would give her a little more "freedom," aka, driving.

      "Well, you ready to test it out?" He asked, smiling contently at his girlfriend.

      "I think so." Lacey nodded her head, swallowing hard. Reaching behind her, she grabbed her seat belt, buckling it across herself. Out of the corner of her eye, Lacey saw Slade do the same.

       "Alrighty. Go ahead and start 'er up." Slade handed the keys to the truck before situating himself so he was facing forward, folding his hands and resting them in her lap.

      With shaky hands, Lacey slid the key into the ignition of her truck, turning it. Hearing the engine rumble to life made her smile. She missed her old truck; it was her first vehicle, and in high school it had seen every rodeo, every football game, every mud bog, every corn field star gazing. Her and that old Ford had been through everything together. The last time anyone had driven her truck, before they took it to the shop to have the new implements put in, was when Slade "test drove it" when they first started dating.

       Being behind the wheel now, Lacey knew it had been way too long. Running her hands over the steering wheel one more time, Lacey took in a deep breath, putting one hand on the rod to her left, and the other on the gear shift on the right. Pushing the rod on the left forward, Lacey applied the brake, lowering her truck into drive. Slowly letting off of the brake, Lacey's truck began to coast forward. A huge smile rose on her face as she pushed the rod down slightly, applying the gas pedal, making her truck accelerate.

      "You're doin' it, Lace! You're drivin'!" Slade cheered on from the passenger side.

      Lacey couldn't help but giggle at the rumble of her old Ford as it sped up going down the driveway. Once Lacey got closer to the end of the almost mile long gravel and dirt road, she glanced over at Slade. "Mind if I take her out on the road?"

       A huge smile spread across Slade's lips was the only answer that Lacey needed, but still, he added, "Go for it." Spreading his long arm across the back of the seat, Slade watched as Lacey flipped on her turn signal, looking both ways before turning right out of the driveway. It took her a while to adjust, but by the time they were only ten minutes from the ranch, Lacey seemed to have already adjusted fairly well to the new controls of her truck.

      Looking to the digital clock on the dashboard, Slade saw the time. "You wanna drive us into town for some lunch? Test out your skills in a drive thru?"

       Lacey spared a glance at Slade to grin. "Is food all you think about?"

      Slade shrugged. "Maybe. Well, no. I think about you a lot too. Actually, I think about you most of the time." He let his hand fall to Lacey's shoulder.

        "You're sweet. Now, what are you hungry for?" Lacey slowed the truck down to hang a left, heading towards town. It was still difficult for her to figure out how to make sharp turns with one hand while using her other to apply the brake. Granted, this was her first time driving since her accident, nearly seven months ago. All things considered, she thought that she was doing surprisingly well.

       "I'll let you pick." Slade said as they neared town.

       Lacey drove in silence the rest of the way to town. The fastest that she felt comfortable driving was 55mph, even though the speed limit was 65 for a stretch. Thankful that she lived in a town small enough that there were very few cars, Lacey felt no pressure to drive slower than the speed limit, knowing that there were very few drivers that she would upset on the road.