ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
"A ticket? Really??" Rachel spat under her breath after reading her mom's text, causing Lucy to ask her what was wrong. Rachel explained the issue and the kind old woman would offer to driver her to her car, but as soon as she finished her sentence a young woman would enter the Cafe.
Back in the city Rachel knew the police department had a lot better things to do than ticket a car that was left on the side of the road, but in Small Town USA the police force usually had nothing better to do then ticket people for going a few miles over the speed limit, break up silly arguments between neighbors, and ticket abandoned cars on the side of the road.
After finishing her muffins Rachel stood up from the booth and began to dial her mom's cellphone number. Just as she threw her things into the trashcan her mother would pick up on the other end.
"Hey mom, are you guys almost done? I could really use a ride to my car."
Before her mother could respond Rachel would hear a nurse call for "Jia Li & Steven Xue", and her mother would apologize for having to drop the call before hanging up - causing Rachel to sigh.
"Oh I'm sorry dear" Lucy said as she leaned on the counter beside where Rachel was standing. "I'd take you but I can't leave a customer."
"It's okay Lucy, I understand. I'll just...wait, could I borrow your car? I'll even pay you for it! How much do you want?"
The older woman would scoff at the idea of payment as she walked over to a cabinet, grabbed her car keys, and then handed them to Rachel.
"Just be back before I close, I'm delivering some goodies to the reunion."
Rachel readily agreed and gave the woman a hug before jogging out the front door. She'd come running back in only seconds later however, when she realized she had no idea what Lucy's car looked like.
âââââââââââ
The drive to the edge of Town took only seven minutes, and within another sixty seconds or so Rachel's rental came into view.
"Oh a Tow Truck?" she gleamed, thinking perhaps her mother called them for her. However that idea would leave her head as soon as she realized a police car was there as well.
As Rachel pulled in front of her car she'd spot the two men standing beside the Mustang. She knew that once the Towing process had begun she was too late to escape a ticket, at least that's how it was in the city. So as she shut off Lucy's car she'd hit the bottom of the wheel in frustration before stepping out.
"Hi, that's my car there." she'd say as she approached the two men, unconsciously brushing off the ends of her dress as she walked.
"It broke down on me, I wasn't abandoning it officer..."
Rachel would glanced down at the officer's nameplate before finishing her sentence. "...Callahan."
The name sounded rather familiar, and after only a few seconds the image of one of the high school jocks popped into her head. "Wait a minute, Callahan, as in Joshua Callahan?"
Rachel's facial expression morphed from casual and relaxed state to slightly annoyed, and her eyes would narrow some before eventually rolling. Josh Callahan, she remembered him as one of the many jocks who made high school miserable for "the four-eyed foreign girl." She'd never admit to being bitter still but she was, and she'd sigh at the fact that not only was she probably getting a ticket, but that he was the one who'd be giving it to her.
Not wanting to think about it anymore Rachel switched her gaze over towards the other man and half smiled at him before gesturing back to Lucy's car. "I can follow you back into town and pay for a tow to the town dealership."
Her appetite for conversation was squashed at the realization of who the guy likely giving her a ticket was, so with a slight wave of the hand she'd excuse herself and go back towards Lucy's car, where she'd sit and wait for her car to be hooked up.