How Green Becomes Wood

"You undersell yourself," Lex chuckled, her eyes on the passing scenery. "By the way, I wanted to ask you a favor. We can do it business-like if you prefer, but it feels more favory."
 
"Toby needs to drive with someone other than just his mother," she said, resisting the urge to tease him further. "This course asks for a certain amount of time driving with supervision, and we logged probably a good two-thirds of the time, but you know how it is when you only practice something with one person. You start learning just to please them, not to actually do the thing right. He struggles with driving already. He's flunked twice before."
 
"So... you want me to teach him?" Cooger asked hesitantly, "I mean, I can, but I'm not exactly a great teacher or anything. You sure you don't want to ask Dark? He knows how to do that sort of thing better than me."
 
"Not teach-teach, he knows it all, just make sure he's actually doing what he's supposed to. Accountability and all that. Not goofing off, messing with the radio so much it's dangerous, not spacing out, just keeping an eye on him," she explained. "Maybe impart one or two reality lessons that might trump the book knowledge. If I'm asking too much, you can say, I get it, you're just one of the more trustworthy drivers I know that isn't super busy. Dark is a good guy, and I bet he'd be great, but he's got a lot on his plate with three kids. I don't want to add to it."
 
"He is pretty busy..." Cooger agreed, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice, "Weird hearing about how he's got three kids. You don't typically go from none to three so quickly. Helluva adjustment. Really, really big adjustment." After pausing for a few moments he answered, "I mean, sure, I can take him, that's no problem. Since you need someone."
 
"Ah, don't worry about the gas money. It's a favour right? Worst case, I'll have him drive me to my errands," Cooger waved her off, but found her question more difficult to handle, "I don't know, really. It's... different. They sorta had to mature overnight. Then do it again, and half a dozen more times. I don't mean this in a negative way or nothing, and it ain't a bad thing, but they're not the same people they used to be. That sounds dramatic, they're not wholly brand new people, they're not unrecognizable. But they're way busier, and they've got new priorities, and we don't get to just hang out anymore. Anytime I see 'em it's like they've got to take off a fifty pound weight before they can relax. Makes me sad as hell for them both. I miss getting to just shoot the s*** with them. We used to eat weed brownies and hang out, but Tarot worries about her milk supply and Dark is so tightly wound because of his own experiences..." He shrugged, only looking at the road, although he bounced his left leg as they drove, "It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't try so hard, but they make a point of trying to still see me or have me over. When I say they're different now, I don't mean I love 'em any different. I love 'em the same or more. Just miss when it was the three of us. They had kids and now I'm the extended family. That's 'cause I live so far away, though."
 
Lex nodded sympathetically. "I get it," she agreed. "Maybe not to your depth, but I've got a couple of friends that were nearly like family to me. We got sober together, and that's a bond no one will ever take away, but now they've got families, too, and it felt like I blinked and now they only have ten minutes to talk or they're going to be late to dance recital. You, you literally blinked and that's what happened, so at least I had some forewarning. It's good to celebrate change, support your friends, but I don't think there's anything wrong with mourning your loss, either."
 
"You have a kid too," Cooger pointed out, "I'm never having kids, got no interest in going through what they go through. Don't get me wrong, I love those kids, my family loves those kids, being an uncle is great. But it's not the same. I didn't realize how busy the teens would keep them. Those boys cause them as much stress as the baby does. But it'll be easier in a few years, I bet. I just want to help them. I like going over and holding Ivy till she falls asleep or rooting through their pantry and taking note of what they're low on or unstacking their dishes, real casual. Number of years back I broke my leg pretty bad, they were always there for me like that."
 
Lex nodded. "It's a lot easier to visit than to do it yourself, that's for sure. It's hard to learn to balance time for yourself and time for your kids. And then there's work and all that." She let out a sigh. "It does get easier in time. There's no speeding up the process, and it's different for everyone, but I do know they care for you a lot. I know you know that, but it's good to hear, yeah? I bet if you set up a camping trip just the two of you, Dark would love it. Once he got pried away from his homelife, of course."
 
"I think when I call him my brother, people think I'm exaggerating, but we met as freshman in high school and lived together, either as just the two of us or with Daizi until they got married. That's a long, long time. I'm not afraid of falling out of touch or drifting apart, 'specially because I'm pretty much Dark's only friend. And I'm so damn happy for them, even if I think they're being stupid sometimes. I mean, they're, they're stubborn like you would not believe and I think they're too in their heads about the whole thing, but it brings them so much joy. And that's great. I do gotta convince Dark to take some time out of the house without the kids around, though, you're right about that. He's always been a homebody, but now..." He laughed and shook his head, "I love that man. I ain't too proud to say it. He's just so weird."
 
Lex chuckled and nodded. "They're better neighbors than I ever thought I'd ever get. Fantastic people! Bizzare, weird, and so comfortable in their own skins. But I know what you mean about being in their own heads. Not much you can do about that - or stubborn people - except wait for them to see it for themselves."
 
"He's a weird man who married a weird woman, and now they're rasin' a whole litter of weird children. That right there is the American dream." Cooger laughed, "their stubbornness, man. And the thing is, they know. And they try to be better, because they know. It's just hard, when you've wanted so long and went through hell to get there, and it's still hell once they got there, it's hard to not be stubborn or overthink it."
 
"Totally fair," Lex agreed. "They're good people, and good people are hard to help for some reason. Still, I think they're on the upward swing of things. Kids are getting better. They're getting better. Never going to be perfect, but better. And with you as their anchor, they won't get too lost."
 
"Ivy is almost a year old. That blows my mind. It's already easier, I think, now that she actually sleeps, although I hear that's been occasionally tenuous lately again. But it's still difficult to reckon with, I don't know where the year went, really. Felt like last year took a lot longer." Cooger mused, "How far away is this place again?"
 
"It does, and I don't feel I was suitably warned for it." Cooger grumbled, "But I talk too much if I start yammering on about my family. You gotta hit me next time so I know when I've said enough."
 
Lex laughed. "It's great to hear someone talking positively about their family for a change." She pointed ahead. "There it is, the blue house third from the end. Back into the driveway."
 
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