we found a new apartment up the street. Since we were still carless we invoked the help of a couple of friends. There wasn't much in our apartment so the move was quite light. Our new apartment was much bigger, two bedrooms, a patio, and had the landlord right next to us.

It was a quaint place for the most part. still only had our small tv but I didn't mind. Everything was going great until my stomach started to get bigger and I started to waddle a bit. He didn't like me taking a bus so he decided, not we, that I needed a car to get to my appointments. He went out and bought a new car. A blue escort and he also decided to buy a stick shift even though I could not drive stick shift. He would teach me. Of course in his eyes this was a perfect plan, a pregnant irritable wife being taught to drive by an impatient husband.

It was a disaster from day one. I was driving through the streets with stop signs so I could learn how to maneuver 1st gear. this was not going so well. During one of my stalls, he  loudly explained that this was a simple task and I should have mastered by now, I opened the door and left the car. There I was a pregnant waddling woman slowly making her way back home. I was maybe about 6 or 7 blocks from home. Not too far.

He drove beside me apologizing and begging me to get in the car. I refused. I even took shortcuts where he could not follow me so that I would not have to listen to him. I was determined to never get in the car with him again. When I got home I called a girlfriend of mine and asked her to please teach me to drive stick shift.