I guess I can’t say for sure if these three little ones were triplets, but they sure were cute! I was a little worried for them though…the mom crossed the road in front of me and these guys shied away in the opposite direction. Hopefully they reunited later after I drove away!

My day was seemingly slow yet good. Things with Bit & Bridle have been wonderful and getting better with each passing day.

I went to the Post Office around 2:30 p.m. to ship some packages and check my mailbox, planning to go to the bank afterwards with a deposit. After completing my first stop, I pulled out of the post office parking lot and up the road, coming to the familiar 4-way intersection. I slowed to stop at the red light. I was behind a big red pickup truck plastered with magnets and stickers, obviously a racing fan. Impressive. (Not really.) The driver was signaling left as the light turned green, but oncoming traffic was heavy and he had to wait for everyone else to pass.

I slowly pulled my rig, a Chevrolet Suburban, up beside him as best as I could. Seeing it was a severely snug fit, I opted not to ride the curb in an effort to turn right. So I waited, impatiently sighing and looking around at nothing in particular. 

When he finally was able to move out of the way, I turned right, en route to the bank. I told Libby, my black lab in the back seat, to hang on. (She wasn’t buckled in. ) As we came around the corner, I was surprised at the long line of traffic coming from the opposite direction, all waiting at for the light to change so they could proceed with their travels.

School must be getting out, I thought, glancing at the time. As I was gawking at the many cars coming down the road, suddenly a door flew open on one of the stopped vehicles. A teenage boy, long brown hair flying, leaped out of the car and slammed the door, throwing his arms up in rage at the driver before storming down the sidewalk. My eyebrows raised in wonder and I lifted my foot from the gas pedal, slowing to observe the scenario unfolding before me. 

Glancing at the woman behind the wheel, I watched as she threw her hand up with a flick of her wrist at the boy, in an “I don’t care, just leave” gesture. Turning back to face the traffic ahead, she quickly made sure the light was not yet green, then dropped her head in embarrassment, avoiding the gaze of the other drivers around her. 

I watched her bite her lip as her shoulder-length blonde hair fell in her face. Was this her son? Chances were she’d picked him up from school moments before. Perhaps he’d gotten in trouble, arousing an argument on their way home. Maybe he wanted to go to a friend’s house and she’d said no. Whatever had brought on this act of rebellion, he was apparently so angry that he’d impulsively leaped out of the vehicle the moment it stopped.

With a wave of compassion, I wanted to pull over then and there and chase after the kid. I wanted to stop him with a shake to the shoulders and say, “Get back there and make things right!” I didn’t know their situation, but I took it to the Lord anyways. As I began to intercede for this mom and her son, a song came on the radio, a confirmation for me about what I’d just seen. 

I’ll take you back always 
Even when your fight is over now 
I’ll take you back 
Even when the pain is coming through 
I’ll take you back

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpgOlnzew68&feature=channel_page]

     I finished my M&M Friend-Z at Friendly’s as I waited for my brother to pay the check. I was full of ice cream and smiling from the good time with my church friends, but I was ready to go home. It had been a long, stressful day, even though I appreciated the evening ending well. 

     Caleb thanked the cashier, then we said our goodbyes and walked out the door. 

     “Brrrr!” I shivered. I looked up, thankful Caleb had already started the Ford for us. It was going to be a chilly night for sure.

     We waved some goodbyes to other friends outside then pulled out of the Friendly’s parking lot. Everything was normal; nothing seemed out of place. I quickly buzzed through two green lights and pulled on to the interstate ramp to begin the 15 minute drive home.

     “Can I plug my iPod in?” Caleb asked. “I did buy your ice cream, after all,” he said with a coy grin.

     I laughed. “I guess so.”

     I signaled left to pull onto the interstate, then picked up speed, setting my cruise control at approximately 63 mph. We began laughing about some guy that Caleb had talked to at the restaurant who had apparently said something hilarious. I hadn’t heard the joke, but it sounded funny as my brother retold it. I flicked my bright lights on, with hopes to see the road better as we continued with the conversation. 

     A couple minutes later, I watched as a headlights behind me got closer and closer to my bumper. I didn’t say anything because I noticed the vehicle finally pulling into the passing lane. Whatever. People were stupid drivers sometimes. This was nothing new.

     Then they pulled back in behind me. 

    I paused, “What are they doing? They were gonna pass me but now…” 

     I hadn’t even finished my sentence when suddenly red and white lights flashed. 

     “What the heck?” I quickly checked my speed. Still 63 mph and we were driving in a 65 mph zone. We were both buckled up. Neither of us were on a cell phone. 

     I set my foot on the brakes slowly and pulled off the road, then glanced at Caleb in confusion. “What did I do? I wasn’t speeding unless our speedometer is broken.”

     He was just as confused as me. “I don’t know. He’s pulling a spotlight out now.” 

     I watched in my rear view mirror as he just sat and sat. “Dude, is he even gonna get out of the car?” I laughed nervously. 

     Sure enough, he hopped out of his cop car with a flashlight. I put my window down as he approached the driver’s side. 

     He stood there hovering over me with a flashlight. “License and registration,” he said gruffly.

     “Uh, yeah, ok.” I didn’t really know what to do, since I’d never been pulled over before. And I still didn’t know what I’d done. I grabbed my purse and looked back up at him. “Uh, what did I do wrong?” I asked.

     “What?” he looked at me blankly. 

     “What’s wrong?” I asked again. This guy seriously needed to come down off his high horse. 

     “Uh,” now he was the one fumbling. “Your license plate is covered up. I need to make sure everything checks out.”

    ”Oh, oops.” I was taken aback. Seriously?? This guy cares about my license plate at 11 o’clock at night?? 

     Caleb pulled the registration out of the dash and I fished for my license. Fortunately we found both. “Here,” I said, handing them to the cop. 

     “Ok, why don’t one of you clean off the license plate while I check these.” Then he walked back to the car. 

     By instinct I reached to unbuckle. “No, it’s ok, I’ll do it,” Caleb said. He probably felt somewhat responsible for not checking it before we left home. 

      A few minutes later, Caleb was back in the car and the cop walked by to my window. I put the glass down with the automatic button and waited for the verdict. 

     “Have a good night.”

     I looked at him funny. “Thanks.” That was it?

     This would never happen down south.