I call this town a 'small town trying to be a big city.' I call it this for a number of reasons, one of which being nightlife. If you're in a part of town where there are no bars it gets awfully quiet at night. The cars disappear, and the people retire from there poarch stoops to there houses. Which is why when I left the parking lot of my friends house to drive home, the car sitting there in the middle of the street with it's four-way flashers on was such a supprise. A welcomed suprise was the girl leaning on the car talking on her mobile phone... Holly.
At closer inspection, the front of her car was mangled. She had been in an accident and the person on the other end of the phone was the police. I parked my car in the middle of the street to draw other vehicular attention to the scene so people would be careful, put on my four-way flashers and exited my car to see if anyone was hurt, to help.
Holly was visibly shaken. After ascertaining that she was in decent shape, medically speaking, I inquired what happened. She proceeded to tell me about the accident, and how the other driver took off, leaving her there stranded.
"Did you call the police?" I asked.
"Yeah I was just talking to them, they're on there way." She replied.
I was there to be of assistance because that's my nature. But as we waited for the police to show up the conversation gradually progressed from the accident to more personal things, with an intermitant profanity on her part. I wasn't hitting on her by any means, but I adopted some expectations for myself as Holly was quite attractive. She was short with curly, dirty blonde hair peeking out from under her wool knit cap.
Out of concern for her well being after police showed up I asked if she had been drinking.
"A little bit." She said. She put her head down in a bashville manner, a little nervous now thanks to me.
"Are you twenty one?" I asked.
She picked her head up and it was smiling. A calm smile, no teeth were exposed. But it was an honest and genuine smile from joy which accompanied her response of "I'm twenty seven." Which accompanied a hug from her to me. Holly was grateful for my help, she was grateful for my concern and was grateful for my compliments, all of which were followed by hugs. We were definately in line for a continuance of contact. She knew it, and I knew it.
When the police showed up, the concern dropped off, ironically. Holly loosely explained the situation. The officer pointed at my car, still in the middle of the street.
"Who's car is that?"
"Mine," I replied. "should I move it?"
"Yeah you better move it before I give you a ticket." A rude way to make his authority known to both someone in trouble, and someone trying to help.
I moved my car, and when I got out he was taking Holly to his car to fill out the report. I waited against the wall on the other side of the sidewalk. I waited for two reasons, concern for Holly's well being, and the hug. I wanted another.
The officer opened up the passenger door and Holly got in. She looked at me and waved. The door closed. The office looked at me but I got no wave from him.
"You can go now, she'll be fine."
I felt her slipping away from me. My heart raced, searching for a way to continue contact with Holly. But how, she's basically in custody?
"I'll wait." I said figuring a free country would allow such an action. The officer did not like my choice for whatever reason and with a little more 'stern' in his voice basically told me there'd be trouble if I didn't go. Plus he was taking Holly to the station to fill out a report after her car was towed.
I pulled around to the parking lot which I initially exited from, kicked down my friends door and told him I needed to wait. I don't know what I was waiting for, I just knew I couldn't go home. If I'd went home, she'd be gone forever. The problem was I had no view of the police car. I had to guess when they'd be leaving. I think I was hoping that I'd be the one giving Holly a ride home. So every few minutes I walked down to see. Sitting there, sitting there, sitting there, then poof... they were gone. Holly's car, the police car, gone and the street was back to being awfully quiet. With not a car around, nor a soul on their stoop.
While we were waiting Holly did tell me approxomitally where she lived, the neighborhood anyway. In the week or two following that night I did some scouting in the neighboorhood, hoping to catch a glimpse of Holly or even her car which ultimately proved futile. And I was left with the picture of her smile, and the feel of that hug and nothing more.
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