The boy seemed surprised.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Ma’am?
Mary snuck a glance in the rearview mirror before leaving the parking lot, vowing to use more eye cream.
ABOUT TWO BLOCKSfrom the house, police lights flashed behind her. Strange, Mary thought. The streets were so quiet. Who could they be after? She thought there must be an emergency up ahead.
She pulled over to let the police cruiser pass. But it pulled in behind her. What in the world?
She waited for the officer, a little unnerved. It had been ages since she was pulled over. Not since that time at the Jersey Shore after a night out at the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk a few younger and dumber years ago. She’d been speeding on the Garden State Parkway to get home by curfew. Her high school friends were in the car with her, and all of them were still in their bikini tops and cutoffs. She’d blinked wide-eyed at the officer, and he’d sent her on her way suggesting she slow down. She promised she would. Then she raced home to Staten Island before her parents put out an Amber alert.
She rolled down the window and turned off the car. A freezing blast hit her in the face and made her eyes water. She heard the crunch of the policeman’s boots on the frozen street.
“Evening,” he said. “License and registration, please.”
He was taller than the Jeep and had to bend down to look in the window. He wore a thick navy blue ski jacket and matching hat that said “Police” in white lettering. He had bright blue eyes, a chiseled jawline that was only slightly sharper than his cheekbones, and a small scar on his chin.
“Hello.” Mary’s tone was cool.
“Do you know why I pulled you over tonight?”
“Boredom?”
“Wrong. I’ve never been bored a day in my life.”
He smiled out of one side of his mouth. She noticed a dimple in his left cheek.
“So, what did I do? Or... what do youthinkyou saw me do?”
“Aha. Let me guess—a lawyer?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Well, counselor, you rolled through the stop sign back there. And stop means stop.”
“So, I’ve heard. And said.”
She needed to pull it together. She decided not to fight. She took a deep breath.
“Okay. Let me try again.” She turned toward him with a smile. “Officer, I thought I stopped. I promise to pay more attention in the future.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. I’ll be right back.” He took her documents and returned to his car.
Mary shivered in her seat, unsure if she was allowed to restart the Jeep, roll up the window, and turn on the heat while the officer checked whether she had a rap sheet. A few minutes felt like forever. Was this a violation of her civil rights?
In the side mirror, she saw him walking back to her driver’s-side window.
“What’s the verdict?” She decided to try some charm, hoping to avoid a ticket.
“How’s this? I’ll give you a warning—this time. Take it easy. This isn’t Manhattan.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” She tried to hide her snark, but it wasn’t easy.
“With that accent, I had a hunch you weren’t from around here. We’d have met before,” he said.
“Hopefully not like this.”