Accepting my fate, I took my foot off the gas and hit my turn signal, "Sorry, girls, looks like our fun is over. Let's just pray that this doesn't take too long."
"Y-you don't think that we're getting p-pulled over cause he saw me… and you…" Patty trailed off nervously as she touched her lips.
"I'm not sure," I replied honestly, "It might be the case that I was swerving a bit and that's what caught their attention."
"I don't know; you were driving pretty straight the whole time," Megan muttered as she glanced back at the cop car, "Something about this doesn't feel right."
"What should we do?" Patty asked with worry clear in her eyes.
"Easy there," I reached over and put my hand on Patty's thigh and gave her a quick squeeze, "Even if I was swerving, and even if they saw us have a little fun. The most we have to worry about is a ticket for distracted driving. So let's all just take a deep breath, and not give the police a reason to make our lives any more difficult."
I watched as some of the tension in Patty's shoulders melted away, and after a second she managed to smile, "Thank you, I just didn't want to be the reason you got into trouble."
"Hey, even if I somehow end up in jail tonight, I'd say it was more than worth it." I gave Patty a confident grin before putting the car in park as I came to a stop on the side of the road.
The cruiser stopped behind us and cut off its siren, but left the flashing lights on. Looking through the side mirror, I watched as the driver's door swung open; however, instead of a pair of boots hitting the ground first, it was a set of wheels.
All of a sudden, my easygoing smile became much more forced, 'Just my fucking luck.'
"Ah, no way!" Megan was much more vocal about her disappointment as she realized the same thing I did.
"W-what, what's going on?" Patty asked, her panic creeping back in, much to my frustration. And before I could put her at ease, I was forced to roll down my window and address the cop now standing outside my car, "Officer Swanson, what a surprise!"
"Mr. Young," Joe replied in a less-than-friendly tone, "License and registration, please."
"Sure, Patty, would you go ahead and look in the glove box for me," I prompted, while reaching down for my wallet, "So Officer, mind telling me what I did wrong? Was I going over the speed limit?"
"No, you were going under enough where you could have impeded the flow of traffic." Joe replied with a steely gaze that continued to bore into me.
"Huh, I didn't realize," I smiled, "We were the only ones on the road, and we weren't in a rush. Though I guess I was enjoying the scenery a bit too much."
"H-here you go," Patty stammered as she handed me a bundle of paperwork that I accepted with a smile and bundled with my license, "Here you are, Officer. Is there anything else you need?"
"This is pretty far out from town," Joe stated, ignoring my paperwork and ID as he rested his arm against my window, "What are you three doing this far out on a Sunday night?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
Before I could respond, Megan muttered from the back seat, drawing Joe's gaze as he glared at her, "I'm conducting a traffic stop; I'll ask any question I want to ensure that the law is being followed."
"Well, if you must know," I spoke up before Megan could respond, "We're coming back from a little weekend trip, a little reward after a month of hard work."
Joe smirked, "I don't know if I would call losing a cooking competition hard work."
"So you heard about that?" I asked with a tense smile.
"More than heard about it; the local news channel was playing it today as a special. I doubt there's a person in town who hasn't seen you lose."
I knew that Joe's words were supposed to make me angry or humiliate me, but all I could think about was the exposure I had gotten, 'No such thing as bad publicity…and even then it's not like anyone could think I'm a bad cook. It was a final round decision.'
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Joe rudely rapped his knuckles against the window of my car to get my attention, "Sorry, officer, you were saying something."
"Yeah, I asked what kind of vacation you took," Joe repeated with a glare as if I had personally insulted him.
"We spent the weekend out on the water. Still getting my land legs back," I joked, though clearly Officer Swanson didn't find it amusing.
"And do you have a boating license for that?" Joe asked, his gaze narrowing.
I shook my head. "Well, no, but I don't think that it matters, seeing as I wasn't the one sailing; I left that up to the captain and crew. You see, it was actually a yacht, not a sailboat-"
"A yacht- sounds expensive."
"Definitely wasn't cheap, I can tell you that much," I laughed lightly, "But god was it worth it. Such a memorable experience, I would do it again."
"Really? I didn't know the restaurant industry was so profitable that a chef can afford a multi-day getaway on a fully staffed yacht." Joe said, accusingly.
"Well, I also recently invested in an agricultural venture; surely you remember me mentioning it last time I was interrogated, Ode Farm, ring a bell?"
My reply was curt as I lost the tone of courtesy, with it becoming increasingly clear that Joe wasn't going to give me any break, no matter how cooperative I was, "We're actually preparing to plant our first fields in the coming week."
"Is that so?" Joe questioned with his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What's the cost to get a farm up and running that quickly?"
"That's a very specific question," I countered with a raised eyebrow, "IF I didn't know better, I would say I was being audited by the IRS. But you're just making a simple traffic stop, aren't you, Joe? Because I don't see how my answering that question would really help determine if the law is being followed."
Joe's jaw clenched, "So now you're an expert in law all of a sudden?"
"Not particularly, but I do know that I don't have to answer any of your questions," I muttered, feeling my blood pressure climb by the second, "So are you gonna take my license and registration, or are we just wasting our time here chatting?"
Joe stared at me for a moment longer before taking my papers, "I'll be right back; don't give me any reason to throw you to the ground in front of your lady friends."
Joe then turned and wheeled away, leaving me to glare at his reflection in the mirror.
"God, what an asshole," Megan muttered, looking far angrier than I was, "He's actually being more of a nuisance than my actual dad."
"I thought you didn't talk to him anymore?" Patty asked, turning in her seat to look at Megan.
"He's reached out a few times, to mom and me. Seems like he's trying to get his shit together, though it's far too little too late," Megan said with a small sigh, "But that's his loss, not mine. I've got the life I've always longed for."
I grinned at that last part, "Well, I'm glad you think so, baby."
I reached back and put a hand on Megan's knee, making her smile. "Well then focus on getting us home so I can show you how grateful I really am."
"I think that's just the encouragement I needed to see this through," I replied before looking back over as Joe reappeared, "I'm issuing a ticket for impeding traffic. If you wish to fight it, you can do so in court."
"No, I'll just make sure I'm driving within the confines of the law, because that's what really matters, right, Officer Swanson?"
Joe glared at me one final time, "I'm watching you, Young. I don't know what it is, but you're hiding something. And one day I'll be the one to pull back the curtain."
I smiled as I took the ticket from Joe's hand. "Well, you'll be waiting a long time for nothing. But I wish you the best of luck."