It Was All a Mistake

It would be great if there were “take backs” in life.  Sometimes we get our wish and sometimes we don’t.  I remember when I was twenty-one and got a traffic ticket while I was driving to work.  I was stopped at a traffic light before a major intersection.  I knew not to stop in the service road that ran parallel to the main street.  One, because it blocked the service road, and two, because the Arlington County Police had been parked there all week ticketing people for doing just that.

As I waited for the red light to change, a Police Officer walked over to my car, signaled for me to roll down the window, and asked to see my driver’s license and car registration.  I had no idea why he was questioning me.  Right after he checked my documents he told me he was giving me a ticket for blocking the service road.  I was shocked and indignant as I told him I wasn’t blocking the service road.  I was a little bolder than usual that morning and slightly on edge after having another sleepless night.  It was to be expected…Sergei Kourdakov’s funeral had just been a month ago.

The Police Officer asked me to get out of the car.  He then politely pointed to a foot-wide, white line on the pavement before the service road.  He told me I needed to stop before that line in order to not block the intersection.  I stood there and stared blankly at the white line as traffic maneuvered all around us in every direction.  The wheels of my car were not over that line, but the front end of my car protruded over the white line by about two feet.  And for that he was giving me a ticket!  I pointed out that cars were indeed able to pass by on the service road as we stood there talking.  It didn’t matter.  Those cars had to jog a little to the left to avoid my car.  I thought life is unfair sometimes.

A few weeks later I sat alone in the court room waiting for my case to be called.  No lawyer, no parents, just me.  I was sure the judge would see things my way.  He had to.  I got a ticket because two feet of my car protruded over a white line and didn’t block traffic!  As I nervously sat listening to the other cases, I glanced across the aisle and noticed the Police Officer who had ticketed me.  He looked up at that moment, caught my eye, and signaled for me to come with him.  We quietly walked to the back of the room while court was in session.

The Police Officer showed me the ticket and told me he had reconsidered.  He said he made a wrong decision that day.  He should have given me a warning and he was taking back the ticket.  I told him I didn’t know what that meant.  What happens now? He said I was free to leave.  It never happened.  He took back the ticket.  I couldn’t believe what he was telling me.  I thanked him for reconsidering and scurried out of the court room, my high heels echoing loudly on the tile floor.

I took a deep breath of cool winter air when I reached the outside.  It was a relief after the stuffy confines of the building.  I headed to my car, anxious to get back to the office.  As I quietly drove through the streets of Arlington I thought about the unexpected outcome in the court room.  I thought about Sergei and how life is unfair sometimes.  I wished someone would tell me that it was all a mistake…that a wrong decision had been made and I could take back the last month…and Sergei was still alive.