“How’d you sleep?” I turn the question back at him, and he grins.
“Very good.”
“Good.” I hesitate, wondering if he’s going to say something more. To try to clarify what this is and what it isn’t.
He doesn’t, so I walk to the cupboard and pour myself a bowl of Cheerios.
“What are your plans for the day?” he asks as I join him at the table.
“Grocery shopping this morning,” I tell him. “Let me know if there’s anything you want me to pick up.” I glance out thewindow. “And the weather looks good, so I’ll probably go for a run along the lake. How about you? Want to come running?”
“What, I’m allowed to exercise again?” he teases. “You’re not going to order me to spend the day on the couch?”
“Well, I don’t know,” I say thoughtfully. “How are you feeling?”
He pauses and pretends to think about it. “Pretty great, actually.”
“Then yes, you’re allowed to exercise again. Just, you know, don’t overdo it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he deadpans. “Let’s go grocery shopping first, then we’ll run.”
“You want to come grocery shopping?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Sure.”
So we finish our cereal and head down to the parking garage together. When we get to his SUV, Drew hands me the keys.
“You can drive this time.”
“What?” I try to hand the keys back, but he doesn’t take them. “No. No, I?—”
“You said you have a learner’s permit, right?” he interrupts.
“Well, yeah, but?—”
“You have it with you?” He glances pointedly at my purse. “I mean, with such a large bag you must have space?—”
“It’s full of grocery bags,” I retort, pulling out a reusable cloth bag to show him. “So we don’t have to pay for the paper ones.”
“Smart,” he agrees. “So no learner’s permit?”
“Well . . .” The truth is, my learner’s permit is in my wallet, which is in my purse.
Drew raises an eyebrow, patiently waiting for me to finish the sentence.
“Yes, I have my learner’s permit,” I admit. “But I haven’t driven in almost a year.”
“But your learner’s permit’s still good?”
“Well, yes. But you have a very nice car, that was probably very expensive?—”
“Moderately expensive,” he corrects. “And full of safety features. It beeps at you if you try to cross the yellow line, or try to back into another car. It’s basically uncrashable.”
“There’s no such thing as an uncrashable car.”
“So you’re saying you don’t want to drive?”
I sigh. Part of me really does. “I just?—”
