Is it difficult to get a driver's license in the U.S.?
Not difficult at all.
Compared to the East Country, where one needs to pass tests for parallel parking, hill starts, and right-angle turns to get a driver's license, the difficulty of obtaining a driver's license in the U.S. is simply outrageous.
To put it bluntly.
As long as you can shift gears, turn, and brake, you can get a driver's license.
Of course.
First, you need a car, because to get a driver's license in the U.S., you need to provide your own vehicle, and the examiner will sit in your car and determine whether you are qualified by observing your driving habits and proficiency.
So...
At the entrance of the Manhattan Department of Motor Vehicles, Gwen, who was waiting at the door, saw a yellow corolla turning and driving over from a distance, her eyes lit up, and then she quickly went to greet it.
Hawk unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
The examiner responsible for his test also got out of the passenger seat.
Gwen walked to Hawk's side and quietly asked, looking at the examiner who was writing and drawing on the assessment record.
"How was it?"
"It should be fine."
Hawk replied in a low voice.
He wasn't very sure, because when he turned around on 19th Avenue earlier, he encountered a rude Black person who ran a red light.
Hawk braked at that moment.
Actually, he wanted to step on the accelerator and send that Black person flying.
But...
He hesitated, but then he glanced at the examiner's eyes, and it seemed that the examiner preferred to see him send the Black person flying.
Hawk wasn't sure if it was an illusion.
Just as Hawk and Gwen were talking in low voices, the White bearded examiner, who had been writing and drawing on the assessment record, finally stopped recording and looked up at Hawk.
"Mr. Hawk."
"Hello."
"Rules-abiding people should not give way to rule-breaking things."
"..."
Indeed.
Hawk thought to himself, and then nodded heavily, meeting the eyes of the examiner who seemed to regret that he hadn't sent that Black person flying: "I'll remember that."
The examiner smiled slightly, looking at the meaning conveyed by Hawk's eyes, and handed the assessment record to Hawk.
"Congratulations, Mr. Hawk."
"Thank you."
Hawk's eyes lit up, and he took the assessment record handed to him by the examiner.
With this paper, he could exchange it for his own driver's license at the Manhattan Department of Motor Vehicles next door.
However, Gwen was clearly more enthusiastic about this matter than he was.
Don't ask.
If you ask, it's because other boyfriends drive their girlfriends out to play.
So...
What others have, she wants too.
Here it is.
When Hawk and Gwen came out of the Department of Motor Vehicles behind them, Gwen eagerly gave the driving position to Hawk, who had just received his driver's license and hadn't even warmed it up yet.
Before Hawk had a driver's license, she drove.
Now that Hawk has a driver's license and she still lets her drive, wouldn't Hawk's driver's license have been obtained for nothing?
Gwen said righteously.
Hawk was speechless.
After Hawk opened the door and got back into the car, Gwen was already seated in the passenger seat, even her seatbelt was fastened, and she looked at Hawk with a sideways smile.
"Drive, Mr. Driver."
"..."
Hawk's mouth twitched, looking at Gwen, who was clearly happier than he was about him getting his driver's license, but he didn't respond. Instead, he buckled his seatbelt and drove the car out from the side of the road.
"Where to?"
"Didn't you say we're going to St. Mark's Church?"
"Hmm."
"Then let's go."
"Okay."
Hawk stopped talking and drove off.
"Hiss."
"Today seems to be the last day of the holiday."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Gwen, who was about to take out her phone to take a photo of Hawk's driver's license, looked at today's date and couldn't help but blink.
The winter vacation is always shorter than the summer vacation. It felt like nothing was done this winter vacation, but the holiday disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It had been almost half a month since Hawk was picked up at the New York suburban airport that evening until today.
Hawk returned on December 27th.
Now it was January 7th.
But it wasn't January 7th, 2012, but January 7th, 2013.
Seven days ago, Hawk and Gwen both turned eighteen, officially reaching the legal marriage age in New York City.
Unfortunately, they didn't dare to go.
Gwen might dare.
Hawk didn't dare.
He was afraid that as soon as he and Gwen came out of the city hall, George 'Sharpshooter' Stacy would appear and shoot him eight times in the back.
Of course.
Hawk would definitely not die, but George might not be so lucky.
So...
To avoid such a tragedy, Hawk did not elope and marry Gwen on the day he officially turned eighteen seven days ago.
Half an hour later.
St. Mark's Church.
Located near Manhattan's Second Avenue, St. Mark's Church, built in 1799, is a church rich in history and a famous landmark in New York City.
However, Hawk came here not to visit the church, but to move his sister.
Calvin Cemetery could no longer be lived in.
It had been almost half a month since the Military's ruckus at Calvin Cemetery, and even now, Calvin Cemetery was still a mess.
Shattered gravestones were everywhere.
Protesting citizens were also endless.
Too noisy.
What's more...
Hawk had already decided to move his sister Anna when he returned that day.
After all, he had money now.
And Gwen lived in Manhattan, New York University was also in Manhattan, so he would eventually move to Manhattan too.
There was no reason for him to move to Manhattan and leave his sister in Queens.
So these days, Hawk had been searching online for cemeteries in Manhattan at home.
Here it is.
He found St. Mark's Church Cemetery.
Although St. Mark's Church Cemetery was small, it was relatively quiet and shaded by trees.
New York City's first mayor rests here.
So this place was very good.
Unfortunately, St. Mark's Church Cemetery, like Trinity Church Cemetery, due to limited space and to prevent those resting there from being shoulder to shoulder, basically no longer accepts new burials.
But this was New York City.
New York City, where money paves the way and rules give way.
"Ding!"
"Thank you for your generous donation, Mr. Hawk, God bless you."
"I hope he can bless my sister."
"He will."
The priest, with a beaming smile, stood on an open space in the cemetery, holding a POS machine in one hand and warmly shaking Hawk's hand with the other.
After Hawk and the priest agreed on the time to go to Calvin Cemetery tomorrow, he left the church with Gwen.
The priest, with a beaming smile, warmly watched Hawk and Gwen get into the car and leave.
Gwen looked at the priest, who was still standing at the church entrance smiling and waving, through the rearview mirror, and couldn't help but twitch her lips.
"This priest is so enthusiastic."
"He must be enthusiastic, and he has to be enthusiastic."
Hawk, in a good mood after choosing a new home for his sister, chuckled and said, "Believe it or not, if I donate five million U.S. dollars, this priest would dare to dig up the tomb of New York's first mayor and give it to my sister."
Faith?
It's long gone.
Ever since the Vatican set an example by liking little boys, what faith is there to speak of?
God had long since run away with his Heaven dimension.
Gwen also chuckled upon hearing Hawk's words, and then remembered that she was still a believer, and playfully waved her small fist and punched Hawk.
"Don't talk nonsense, God will hear you."
"Didn't you say last time that you would accompany me to hell?"
Hawk glanced at Gwen sideways and said with a smile, "What, regretting it?"
Gwen rolled her eyes at the words, turned sideways, looked at Hawk, and said with a serious expression, "I will accompany you to hell, but I will also pull you with me from hell to Heaven."
Hawk glanced at Gwen, said nothing, just shrugged.
He thought for a moment and decided not to tell her the cruel truth that in this World, there might be a Heaven dimension, but Earth definitely didn't, and dying only led to hell.
Gwen saw that Hawk didn't speak, didn't mind, smiled, and refocused her gaze on the road ahead.
Then...
Gwen blinked, looking at Hawk, who was driving the car into the community streets near the church, slightly stunned.
"Why are we here?"
"To buy a house."
Hawk looked at a middle-aged woman in a sales dress standing at the entrance of a house for sale, pulled the car over to the side, and looked at Gwen, who seemed a little surprised in the passenger seat.
His sister was moving, so he definitely had to move too.
Moreover, now was a good time to buy a house.
Because of the New York War last year, housing prices in New York City, especially Manhattan, entered a downward trend. By the end of the year, Manhattan's housing prices had fallen by almost 30%.
After the beginning of this year, although housing prices were still falling, the decline had clearly slowed down. It was estimated that in less than three months, housing prices would rebound.
The house Hawk was looking at now was a very typical American house.
There was a large lawn on both sides of the entrance, and non-slip large flagstones were laid from the house entrance all the way to the roadside.
To the right of the house was a garage that could accommodate two cars.
The garage was connected to the living room on the first floor of the house.
Next to the garage was also a utility room used to store lawn mowing tools.
Hmm.
The exterior was somewhat similar to the White house in "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."
But the exterior walls of the house Hawk was looking at were orange.
The space inside the house was not just big, it was very big.
Huge open-plan living space.
A fully functional kitchen with a large island.
A very spacious master bedroom with a walk-in closet.
Luxurious master bathroom.
Hawk followed the agent around the three-story house and then returned to the spacious living room on the first floor with a huge fireplace.
Gwen stared intently at the fireplace in front of her, and images of a snowy day, a burning fireplace, and the two of them cuddling on a floor rug and falling asleep came to mind.
Hawk glanced at Gwen's expression and looked at the agent.
"How much."
"As agreed on the phone, a one-time payment of twelve million U.S. dollars."
"Okay."
Hawk nodded at the price, then took out his Stark Bank card and handed it over, looking at the agent.
"Swipe the card!"
"..."
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