Missy was surprisingly quick to catch the knack of driving a stick shift. Danny took a while; Jack did okay, and Ryan was a total bust, turning squeamish and covering his eyes in turn. After several near misses and too much screaming, they gave up and made him copilot.
After all that crap went on a while, they settled down and got to talking. “I liked your parents,” Danny said, though he hadn’t cared one way or the other and had only met Missy’s mother.
“She sure seemed to like you!” Missy said laughing in embarrassment. “My parents are so embarrassing. I guess they mean well, but they sure messed me up. It’s like my friends’ parents were so much nicer.”
“Mine too,” came several voices at the same time.
“Mine are assholes!” That was Ryan. “When I came out at fourteen, they threated to
