Five
TINY
Isit nervously in the car and wait. Alternating between watching the police car through my rearview window and twisting my hands. I've never been stopped by the police before, and even though my father taught me numerous times what I should do if it ever happens, I'm still on edge.
A female officer gets out of the car. Immediately that makes me feel better for some reason. I guess I'm sexist. Her hair is slicked back into a neat, low ponytail and she holds her hands on her waist belt as she approaches. I roll down my window and look her in her eyes with an inquisitive but respectful "what's the problem" look.
"Ma'am, did you know that one of your rear taillights was out?"
"Oh, my goodness, no. I didn't realize that."
Oh, good this is just a courtesy stop.
"I'll get that fixed right away," I assure her.
I watch as two other officers get out of a second car that I hadn't noticed pulled up and walk directly behind her. One is a man with pale skin and bright orange hair who looks like he's fresh out of high school. The other is a tall brunette, who looks young as well, despite her stern stare and face full of acne scars.
I keep a watchful eye on them as they approach, not understanding why it takes three people to make a traffic stop, but remembering that my father taught me to stay calm and be cooperative when dealing with police officers. They're only doing their job, and I've done nothing wrong.
"May I see your driver's license, registration, and insurance card, ma'am."
"Of course."
I rifle shakily through my purse pulling out my wallet and then my license. Then I grab the registration and insurance documents for the car from behind my sun visor and hand everything over to her. I take a look at her badge. Her name is Officer Robinson. It's always good to address people by their names, so that they can better identify with you. I do that with all my patients. You'd be surprised by how many nurses don't.
"Here you go, Officer Robinson," I offer. Giving her my best smile.
The three officers return to the squad car, and the two quiet ones watch the lead officer start to run my information through what I imagine is some sort of online database. It's obvious to me now that she's showing them what to do. They must be police officer candidates or new graduates, and this is a teaching moment for them.
Fucking great.
I know that I haven't done anything wrong, but I'm still worried. There's something frightening about having to submit to people who have the authority to tell you what to do without your permission.
I consider for a moment picking up my phone and texting my dad to tell him that I've been stopped, but then I think better of it. He's probably on the road himself, in addition to the fact that he wasn't feeling well this morning. This would just distract and worry him to death. At worst, this is probably just a matter of running my license and writing me an overpriced ticket for the taillight. At best, they'll let me go with a warning.
After about ten excruciating minutes of waiting for the officer to return, all three of them return. This time the two women are by me on the driver's side of the car, and the red headed man is standing by the passenger side door.
"Miss Carter, did you know that your license is suspended?"
"Really...why?"
"Your license is suspended for non-payment of a moving violation."
"I am not aware of any moving violation, Officer. I'm a careful driver. I don't speed. There must be an error."
"A moving violation doesn't just mean a speeding ticket. It could be a variety of things. Driving through a stop sign. Improper turn. Driving without a seatbelt. Red light tickets. If violations like these aren't paid on time then the next step is to suspend your license which is where you're at."
Red light tickets?
Now I remember.
Fuck a duck.
A camera caught me running what I still think was a quick changing yellow light and sent a letter to my house requiring me to pay a hundred freakin' bucks. I was livid about it, and was planning on going to court to challenge it as soon as I had a day off from the hospital, but I put the ticket in my to do pile and completely forgot about it.
Dammit.
"Can you let this go with a warning, Officer? I have an elderly father at home who's coming down with the flu. I'm a nurse and his primary caretaker. I really need to get home to him, but I promise to take care of the ticket first thing in the morning. It was an honest mistake."
