5. Charlotte
Iswitched the music over to the radio and turned the volume up as the latest pop hits played through. Theo was awake now and being entertained by his iPad, so I allowed the sound of music to fill the car. We weren’t far out now, but I could feel my body crying out for some sleep or at least for me to lay down for a while. I needed the songs to keep me awake for just a little bit longer. I let myself feel every beat and vibration, willing myself to keep driving.
I heard Theo laugh as I sang louder, rolling the window down to let the breeze run through me. I felt happy. I couldn’t help but grow a smile on my face.
I can do this. We can do this. We’re safe.
Those words found their way back into my head, except this time, I really felt like that was the truth. Everything was going to get better from here on out.
I rolled my window back up but kept singing along as we continued down the road. My eyes flicked up to the mirror and suddenly all I could see were flashing lights. As I turned down the music the sound of a siren filled my ears.
“Shit!” They were so close to me, how hadn’t I seen it? I quickly swung off to the side, putting the car in park.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed, turning the engine off.
“Bad word!” Theo shouted from the backseat.
“Yes, thank you, Theo,” my voice shook as I responded to him. How long had the police car been behind me? It can’t have been that long, I would have seen. Why are they pulling me over, anyway? I was going the speed limit, wasn’t I? I cursed myself for getting distracted by our music and singing.
A slam of the car door behind me broke me out of my thoughts. I quickly pulled the folder with my information out of the side door and rolled the window down in anticipation of their approach. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest as I fumbled with the buttons.
“Licence and registration.” The tone of the officer’s voice made me jump as he approached. His voice was gruff, and by the look on his face, you’d think I just punched his mother.
“Is there a problem, officer?” My voice trembles. I could feel my hands shaking as I held out my information. He snatched it with a low growl as he looked at my licence, his other hand gripping on tightly to my door.
“I’ve been trying to get you to pull over for half a mile. Are you blind or just stupid?” His voice was slightly lower now, but I could feel the anger in his tone.
He must have been exaggerating; there’s no way he’s been following me for that long. I’d pulled over as soon as I heard him. I don’t even know why he pulled me over. I tried to study his face, but his hat covered most of it as he wrote down my details. I couldn’t help but feel vulnerable. I had just left one angry man and seemed to immediately come face to face with another.
“I didn’t see you, I pulled over as soon as I did.” My instincts kicked in and I kept my tone soft in response in the hopes that it would calm him down. I know better than to match a hostile tone, I learned that the hard way.
My chest feel tight. I could feel the fear rising up inside of me. His head suddenly snapped away from his pad as his eyes met mine.
Even with his hard stare, there was a softness to his brown eyes. He was staring so intently I couldn’t keep my gaze off of him. He ran a hand over his beard, gently stroking it as if pausing for thought. He would have been a man I would have called handsome had he not just called me stupid.
The silence felt like it had stretched for hours as he continued to hold my gaze. It was almost as if we were playing a game of chicken, seeing who would break first.
“Maybe I had my music too loud, that’s probably why I didn’t hear you,” I spoke first, hoping to ease some of the tension filling the air between us.
“Seriously, your music was too loud? That’s your excuse for evading a police officer? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he muttered with disbelief in his tone as he shook his head at me.
“Bad word!” Theo proclaimed loudly. Finally, our staring contest ended as we both turned our attention to the back of the car. He clearly had yet to notice Theo in the backseat as I saw him jump slightly at the sound of his voice. The officer cleared his throat, adding more awkwardness to the already tense situation.
“So, you’re driving around with your music too loud, a tail light out, and failing to pull over for the police with a child in the back?” he asked with a scowl, turning his attention back to me. A tail light? Seriously? He was causing all of this fuss over one of my lights being out?
“You’re pulling me over for my tail light? That’s it?” I could feel my calm tone starting to break into something more aggressive. “I don’t know exactly what my son has to do with it and I’ve already explained to you I wasn’t evading you. I pulled over the second I noticed you.” There was a slight desperation to my voice. I didn’t like what he was insinuating–he didn’t know me and had no right to think I was putting my child in harm’s way. Us being in this car, driving to this place, was me putting my child out of harm’s way. This was supposed to be the start of new things, a fresh start. I hadn’t even made it into our new town yet before getting pulled over by Officer Asshole.
“That’s it? It’s an offence to drive around with your lights out,” he shot back. I felt like his eyes were starting to burn through me as he spoke.
“It’s just one little thing, I don’t see what all the fuss is for,” I countered.
“It only takes one little thing, one little mistake, for something bad to happen. You have a child. I would have assumed you would be more responsible than that.” His words made my stomach lurch and my fear quickly turned into anger running through my body.
How dare he.
There was no longer a hint of any calmness in my tone as I felt my voice begin to rise. “Listen here, Officer,” my eyes scanned his badge, “Weatherston. I don’t know who spat in your breakfast this morning, but I’m about this close,” I held my hands up showing a small gap between my fingers to emphasise my point, “to calling your supervisor and filing a complaint. You have no right to accuse me of being a reckless mother. I would never put my child in harm’s way.” I felt myself shake with rage at his words.
There was a pause that felt like it went on forever. His face softened slightly as he looked at me. I could have sworn I even saw a small smile form on his lips as he stared.
“Go for it, sweetheart. You want my badge number, too?” He cocked his head at me, a smirk spreading across his lips. Yep, he was definitely smiling at me. I was so taken aback by his response and his smile I couldn’t find the words to respond.
“Look, I’m feeling nice, today,” he continued. The one-eighty he was taking threw me off. Why was he suddenly turning from Officer Stick-Up-His-Ass to Officer Sunshine?
“This is you feeling nice?” I interrupted, but he ignored me and continued.
“I’m going to write you up a warning. You need to get that light fixed ASAP, preferably today. If I catch you driving around again after today with it still out, you’ll be seeing me again.”
Whilst he may have been easy on the eyes, there was still no part of me that wanted to see him again anytime soon. I cursed him in my head, knowing he’s just added another thing to my to-do list. One I’ll have to get solved before I can get some sleep. The last thing I need is to run into Officer Sunshine tomorrow whilst I am trying to sort my life out.
He passed over the piece of paper with the warning. I could see he’d written his badge number and name at the top, as if to taunt me. He needn’t have bothered–I wouldn’t be forgetting about Officer Weatherston anytime soon. Why do all the hot ones have to be assholes?
Silence filled the air as our eyes found each other once more. What more was he expecting me to say? I still found myself trying to calm down from our initial interaction.
“You’re welcome,” he said, breaking the silence before turning around and sauntering back to his car.
I took a moment, just staring at the space he’d now vacated. I could feel my hands shaking with rage against the steering wheel. Had I made a mistake? I picked this place because it was supposed to offer us a better life. A safer life. If the people were like him, I guess we wouldn’t be staying long.
I turned the vehicle back on, keeping the radio at a much lower volume this time. Turning around I could see his cruiser was still parked there. He was waiting for me to go first, I knew that much. I glanced quickly at Theo who was back on his iPad, seemingly unfazed by the interaction. After taking a deep breath, I pulled back on the road and headed towards town.
* * *
It didn’t take long before I found myself in the heart of Rosehaven.
It looked just as beautiful as the pictures I had seen online.
I saw a sign for LW Auto Shop and pulled into it. I didn’t have the time, knowledge, or patience to sort this issue myself. I’m certainly not risking seeing Officer Sunshine again, so I needed to get it sorted and off my list.
I was greeted by a man around my age as I got out of the car. He smiled as he approached me. There was a warmth about him that instantly made the tension in my shoulders begin to lessen.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” His face softened as he took in what probably looked like a dishevelled state.
“Yeah, I was hoping you could help me. I was just pulled over by some ass-excuse for a cop. Apparently, my tail light is out and I need to get it fixed before I get a fine.” I was rambling slightly; I probably shouldn’t have led with the whole being pulled over thing. It didn’t exactly give a great first impression of me, but I couldn’t hide my anger. Who did he think he was, talking to me like that? I shook my head, trying to shake the image of his glare from my mind. “Is that something you could do for me? I’m only just moving into town, so I don’t really have the means to do it.” I was definitely rambling now.
“Of course. I can do it right now, if that’s good with you? It’ll only take a few minutes.”
I felt a sense of relief at his response, one thing off the list. “Yes, please. Thank you, I really appreciate it. Do you mind if I get my son, Theo, out to watch? He has a bit of an obsession with cars.”
He chuckled and smiled towards the back of my car. “Sure, let me just get my tools and I’ll be back.” As he walked away, I pulled Theo out of the backseat.
He may have only been three but he was obsessed with cars. I reckon if I had the right tools, he’d probably have been able to change the bulb for me himself. I watched as his eyes lit up at the sight of the man coming back with his tools.
“I’m Lucas, by the way.” He smiled, extending out his hand as he walked back over. I took it and shook it softly. “Lottie, or Charlotte if I’m in trouble.” This earned a small chuckle from Lucas. He reached his hand out, offering a high-five for Theo, which Theo gladly accepted.
“I guess that officer was probably calling you Charlotte pretty sternly just now.” He smirked as he headed towards the back of the car. Theos’ eyes didn’t leave him for a moment, completely caught in a trance as he watched him work. “Can I ask what earned him the esteemed title of ass?”
“He insinuated I was a bad mother,” I spoke frankly. I was still seething from his comment. Everything I was doing was for Theo, everything I ever did was for him. Everything I went through to make sure not a single hair on his head was hurt. “I’m not.” My voice came out harsher than I meant.
“I don’t think for one second you’re a bad mother,” he said, looking up. I took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. “What do you reckon, buddy? Have you got the best Mommy ever?” he asks, his attention now turned to Theo.
“The best one ever!” Theo mused excitedly. Lucas nodded in agreement before turning back to my car. I had to bite back my tears at the interaction. It was exactly what I needed to calm me down. I was doing a good job, no matter what anyone said. I needed to give myself more credit.
“Thank you. He seemed to find it funny when I said I was going to report him to his supervisor. Kindly wrote his badge number and name down for me. Officer Weatherston,” I added a slightly sarky tone of voice as I said his name.
“Hmm,” was Lucas’ short response. It suddenly occurred to me that the officer likely lived in the town and was potentially known to Lucas. Shit. I hoped I didn’t just put my foot in it.
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah, I know him. It’s a pretty small town.” He turned his attention to me again. “If it makes you feel better, it’s not hard to get on his bad side. I’ve definitely had a few run-ins with him. He’s a bit of a grump.”
He offered a reassuring smile before turning back to working on the car.
“That does make me feel better, thank you.” I guess Officer Sunshine made a habit of ruining other people’s days, too.
There were a few moments of silence whilst Lucas finished working. “All done.” He rose to his feet to face me.
“Amazing, what do I owe you?” I asked, reaching for my purse in the car. I was really hoping the number he would respond with would be small.
“Nothing, it’s on the house.” He shot me a small smile. “And before you try to argue, I’m not changing my mind–it took me five minutes. I’m sorry you had a bad morning; I hope you don’t think everyone in this town is like Officer Weatherston.”
Up until that point, I was worried that everyone would be like him. I was worried I had just moved from one bad situation to another. I was grateful for the kindness Lucas was showed me. “I don’t think that now.” I couldn’t help but blush slightly. “Thank you, but you really don’t have to.”
He held his hand up as if to remind me that he said not to argue. “It’s my pleasure. If you’re moving into town, I’m sure I’ll see you around. Don’t forget about me if you have any car trouble,” he added with a wink.
“You’ll be the first person I call.” I laughed as I started to load Theo back into the car.
“If you need anything, it doesn’t necessarily have to be car trouble, even with the move, here is my card.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a card which I slid straight into my bag without looking. He was just being friendly; I wasn’t about to start taking advantage of his kindness by asking him for help. “Or if the little dude just wants to come watch us work on cars, he’s always welcome.”
I thanked him again before we said our goodbyes and I returned once more to my car. Finally, we made our way to the hotel. After checking in, we collapsed straight onto the beds. It had been a long, first day in Rosehaven.