-- Chapter 20 --

It was Friday afternoon when Matt and Levi finally made it to Macquarie Harbour and to the office of the Roads and Traffic Authority – the place where learner’s permits and licenses were either handed out or denied.

With Luke’s help, Levi had downloaded the rules of the road from their website, and he had been working through the online guides and mock tests for the permit. There was a lot to take in, but the online tests seemed simple enough – mostly theory – so by the time his father dropped him off at the office, armed with all the forms completed and his birth certificate in hand, Levi was feeling reasonably confident about what lay ahead.

‘You want me to come in with you?’ Matt asked once they had found a parking space and he had shut down the engine.

Levi thought for a moment and then said, ‘I think I’d really like to try and do this on my own, if that’s okay.’

‘It’s more than okay, Levi. And I’m proud of you for wanting to do it on your own. Life is all about independence and freedom, and about proving to ourselves that we can do things if we put our mind to it, so I’m pleased that you want to do that.’

‘I’m not sure how long it might take. Will you wait around.’

‘Yeah, mate. Though I might just wander up the street and grab a coffee while you’re in there.’

‘Oh, okay then.’

Matt watched as Levi set off for the front door, then gave him one last look before going inside. He glanced at his watch and checked the time, then looked up and down the street, remembering there was a decent café about two blocks away, so he set off on foot towards it.

When he walked through the door there were no other customers inside, so after placing his order he figured he should get something for Levi as well, settling on an Iced Tea from the drinks’ refrigerator, as he knew Levi wasn’t a coffee drinker. While he waited he also eyed off some slices that were in a glass cabinet beside the cash register.

‘I’ll take two of those Rocky Road brownies as well please,’ he said to the young guy serving him, and then once everything was paid for, he set off back in the direction of the car.

Winters on the mid-north coast around Macquarie Harbour are usually quite mild, and so the stroll to and from the shop was a pleasant one, in winter sunshine. There was a bit of a nip in the air, but Matt enjoyed the walk and being outdoors, and when he reached the car he simply leaned against the passenger-side door, rather than unlock and climb in, then sipping on his coffee as he ate his brownie.

About ten minutes later the doors to the office slid open and Levi strolled out, with the shiny learner’s permit in his hand. When he saw his father waiting by the car, arms crossed, trying – and failing – to not look proud, he held up the plastic card in one hand for Matt to see, while waving it around. In the other hand were two yellow and black ‘L’ plates.

‘First time success, mate! Well done!’ Matt said, as he passed Levi the drink he had bought for him, along with the bag containing the remaining brownie.

‘Thank you,’ Levi replied. ‘It wasn’t perfect, I got two questions wrong, but still good enough to pass.’

‘Well done. So, I reckon you’re just about ready for your first lesson then,’ Matt said. ‘Let’s get home first then we’ll take you up the road from home, where you can kangaroo hop and fluff around all you like, without doing any damage.’

‘Really?’

‘Of course. But just remember I’ll be pissed if you put any scratches on old Bertha!’

‘Bertha? Really?’

Matt grinned at him. ‘Sometimes it’s Sally . . . or Lola . . . or whatever takes my fancy on any given day.’

‘So, never . . . Luke?’

‘Don’t be absurd! Everyone knows that all cars are female . . .’ Matt deadpanned, and for a moment, judging by the seriousness of Levi’s expression, it appeared that his son was taking him seriously, but then he broke out into a grin.

‘Yeah, right,’ Levi responded.

Matt grinned at him. ‘But it’s true. When you get home, just ask Luke or the others. They’ll set you straight!’

Levi just shook his head and then opened the passenger side door.

‘Are we going to get home before dark, so I can have a driving lesson?’

‘Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on,’ Matt replied, as he went around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

Levi enjoyed this kind of banter with his father, as it was something he’d never been able to experience before. Their relationship was growing, day by day, and despite the misgivings he’d had when Matt first came on the scene during his mother’s illness, now he was giving thanks to the man upstairs every day for allowing Matt, and also Luke, into his life.

The drive back to Thompsonville was a steady one, as once again they took the scenic route, along the coastline, instead of the slightly quicker inland route. When the reached South Thompsonville Matt slowed and cruised alongside the harbour, over Island Bridge and then around to the weir, and into Main Street.

There was still enough daylight for Levi to get to have a drive, provided they didn’t dawdle, so they headed along Main Street, past the shopping centre and the lake car park, towards the bend in the road that would take them to the Beachside Lane turn-off.

As they passed Lighthouse Road, Levi spotted them – a group of kids hanging around at the turn-off – Casey and two of his mates, leaning against a car parked on the side of the road. Casey’s eyes locked onto Levi’s through the window. He lifted his chin in a slow nod, that half-smirk on his face. Not hostile. Something else. Something curious. Something inviting.

Levi’s stomach did a strange little flip – part warning, part pull. The attraction he’d had towards Casey from day one was still there, despite the fact he had been doing his best to steer clear of the blond-haired bad boy.

He looked away quickly.

Matt noticed the silent exchange. ‘You know those boys?’

‘Just from school,’ Levi murmured.

Matt thought he recognised one of them, but wasn’t totally sure. His jaw tightened slightly but he let it go. For today.

***

When they hit Beachside Lane, and then reached Avalon, they didn’t pull in at the house. Matt had promised Levi a driving lesson, so he didn’t want to disappoint him.

They drove to a quiet area at the end of Beachside Lane; a large recreation area and car park, where families would go for picnics, which was adjacent to the northern end of Hidden Beach. Matt pulled to a stop in the middle of the empty gravel car park, and then switched off the engine, before looking across at Levi.

‘Okay, Levi. First things first. Am I correct in assuming you’ve never driven a car, or a farm ute, or any sort of motorised vehicle?’

‘Yes.’

‘Alright then. So, old Bessy here is a manual . . .’

‘I thought it was Bertha today?’

‘Wisearse!’ Matt responded, to which Levi just grinned. ‘What I was going to say, is that I think it’s always best to learn in a manual car, because that will set you up so that you will be equipped to drive any vehicle later on. Learning in a manual will also help with your coordination, you know, being able to look around you and steer and handle the pedals and the gear shift and anything else you need to be in control of while you are driving. Do you understand that?’

‘I . . . I guess so,’ Levi replied.

‘Okay, then. So, first step . . . before we start it up, we need to understand the workings of a car. There are foot pedals – the clutch, the brake and the accelerator . . .’

He took Levi through the motions of everything he would need to know, pressing the clutch down to then be able to change gears, putting your foot on the brake, using the accelerator to increase the revs, and speed. Then they got out and took a walk around the car, checking the tyres and lights.

‘Before we get back in, grab your L plates and stick them behind the edge of the number plates . . . we better do it all legal, just in case.’

Quickly, Levi grabbed the cardboard L plates from inside the car and pushed one in behind the edge of the front number plate, then did the same at the back of the car, while Matt climbed into the passenger side. Moments later Levi sat in the driver’s seat and then closed the door.

‘So, next up, so that you are comfortable and you can reach the pedals and the steering wheel without having to stretch, you may need to adjust the seat. The levers are in front of it and at the side, so try that first if you need to change it.’

After a couple of attempts, Levi managed to make a change to the seat position, and was soon comfortable.

‘It’s going to take you a while to get the hang of all this, so don’t expect it all to happen in your first lesson, okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘Right, seat belt,’ Matt said, as he pulled his own seat belt over his shoulder and clicked it in place. Once Levi had done the same, he said, ‘Now put your foot on the clutch, pushing it all the way in . . .’

Levi did as he was told.

‘. . . and now change the gears, move from first to second then up to third, then to fourth . . .’ Matt added, taking hold of the gear shift between the seats and moving them through the four gears. ‘Now you do the same.’

Again, Levi did as he was asked to do, going through all four gears and back again.

‘And what about reverse?’ he asked.

‘Okay, when the gear shift is in the middle and you can move from side to side – that’s when it is out of gear, or in neutral – so pull it all the way over to you, and then backwards.’

Levi did that and found reverse gear.

‘Right. Got it,’ he said.

‘Okay then . . . once more. Put it in first, then go to second, then third, then fourth.’

Matt watched as he went through the motions and was satisfied that Levi had the hang of this first step.

‘Right, now to the next step. When you go to take off, I want you to press the accelerator down slightly, so that the engine is revving just above the rate it would be running at if idling, then the trick is to let the clutch out, while at the same time you are pressing the accelerator down slightly. That should give you a smooth takeoff. Not enough revs and you’ll be doing a kangaroo hop . . . which isn’t good.’

‘Okay . . . I think.’

'You ready to start it now?

‘I guess.’

‘Okay, then you had better make sure that it's in neutral first.’

‘Done,’ said Levi.

Matt gave the gear stick a wriggle from side to side to check it.

‘Okay, so you can start it now. Turn the key, then as soon as the engine kicks in, you let the key go.’

Levi turned the key, and the old black beast came to life, then he let the key go.

‘Great. Now give the accelerator a bit of a play . . . push it down a little so you can hear the difference in the sound of the engine . . .’

Doing as he was told he pushed the accelerator a couple of times, liking the sound it made, and then held it down slightly, so that it was revving slightly higher than it was when idling.

‘Okay, ready to try and get us moving?’

Levi could only nod, as his throat was so dry.

‘Right. Clutch in.’

‘Check.’

‘Put it in first gear.’

‘Check.’

‘Right then, two hands on the wheel, now try and ease the clutch off, while maintaining the revs at the same pace.’

Levi took a deep breath. This was it.

He let the clutch off slightly and the car moved slightly, but then it took a great jump forward, his foot slipped off the clutch, and the car stalled.

Matt laughed. Levi said, ‘Shit!’ and then Matt laughed again.

‘Mate, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you swear,’ Matt said, while giggling.

‘And if this keeps happening, it might not be the last,’ he answered.

‘Okay, let’s try again, shall we?’

‘If we have to . . .’

Matt was patient but firm. There were a few laughs when Levi stalled it twice more, and then a moment of triumph when he managed to actually get the vehicle moving, and they began slowly circling the large car park. Matt helped correct Levi’s steering, got him driving between different sections of the car park, narrowly missing a garbage bin, and then a tree, but each time Levi managed to straighten in time.

For a little while, the weight of recent grief lifted. They were just a father and son, windows down, salt air blowing in as the afternoon light began to fade, talking about nothing and everything.

‘Okay, mate, I think that’s a good start. How about we head for home? Just take us out of the car park and onto the road, and when we pick the speed up, we’ll change up to second gear . . . okay?’

‘Ummm . . . okay . . . if you think so.’

‘Yeah. You’ve got this. And tomorrow we’ll step it up a notch.’

***

On Monday afternoon after school, Levi was sitting at his usual spot near the beach car park, thinking about the day he’d just had.

People had heard about the birthday dinner, and about all the gay guys who were in attendance, which only sparked another round of sideways glances, muttered comments and jeers, which had quickly gotten to Levi and had his head spinning.

He’d been there for an hour or so, after Jimmy and Dan had headed off, when he heard footsteps on the sand coming his way and he turned to see Casey walking up to him, surfboard under his arm, blond hair messy from the wind, and ready to hit the water.

‘Hey,’ Casey said with that easy, disarming smile. ‘Saw you sitting here looking like the weight of the world was on your shoulders. Rough day?’

Levi shrugged. ‘Yeah, something like that.’

Casey dropped his board on the sand and sat beside him, close enough that Levi could smell the sweat on his skin. For a few moments they sat in silence, watching the waves.

‘I heard some of the shit people are saying about you,’ Casey said eventually, his voice lower. ‘About your birthday and all the gay guys who were there, then calling you a hypocrite again, and all that.’ He shook his head. ‘People can be arseholes when they want to be. They just need something to talk about . . . or someone . . .’

Levi didn’t reply at first, he just kept his eyes on the water. He was tiring of all this shit.

Eventually however, the silence that followed was too much.

‘I’m not sure that I even know why they keep saying it all. I mean, it’s not like I’m always going around telling everyone that anyone who is gay, or whatever, are sinners. It’s all from when I started here and everyone saw my mother’s cross and started calling me Churchie, and then they found out who I live with. That’s probably why they say it.’

‘Yeah, well, religion and fags, they aren’t supposed to go together, you know!’

‘Yeah, I know.’

‘Hey, saw you driving around town on the weekend. Got your L plates, huh? Licensed to drive!’ said Casey.

‘Licensed to learn, maybe. Got a year of that before I can actually get my license. Got to build up all the hours I need now.’

‘Maybe we can go for a spin some day?’

‘Hmmpphh . . . not so sure about that.’

Casey leaned in a little. ‘Look . . . I’m gonna be straight with you. I do like you, but I know that folks around here think I’m trouble, so they would probably give you shit if we hung out. Maybe one day we can though, if you’re ever keen to do it.’

Levi’s head snapped in Casey’s direction. What was he saying?

‘No pressure, man. You never know, you might like it,’ Casey added, before getting to his feet and picking up his board.

Casey took a few steps away, then turned around to face Levi once more, giving the front of his floral board shorts a rub as he did so, which didn’t go unnoticed.

‘Don’t listen too much to all that shit at school. Like I said, they just need someone to talk about. So what if your dad’s a fag . . .’ he said, with a shrug of his shoulders. ‘Nobody really cares. Not in this town. Trust me.’

To be continued . . .