I nervously rolled down my window. “Good afternoon, officer.”
“Sir, may I ask what business you have here?”
I shrugged. “I’m waiting for a friend to get home.”
“A friend? What’s your friend’s name?”
I thought about it for a second. I didn’t want to bring any more drama into Jemistry’s life. For all I knew, she could have called them.
“Why does it matter? I’m not bothering anyone, but I’ll leave immediately if you want.”
“License and registration.”
“Oh, wow, do we really have to go there?”
“Sir, I’m not going to ask you again. There have been several complaints by residents stating that you are out here every day sitting in your vehicle for long periods of time. Why would you wait for days on end for your friend to return home?”
I carefully took my wallet out of my back pocket and reached over to my glove compartment to get my registration. He bent down to watch my every move. I was a big dude and there were a lot of trigger-happy cops in DC. I could see the newspaper headline in my head: PROMINENT VASCULAR SURGEON FROM SIBLEY MEMORIAL SHOT DEAD BY METROPOLITAN POLICE.
“Here you go,” I said as I handed him the items. “Do you mind if I’m honest with you?”
He glared at me and practically snarled. “That would be your best bet right now.”
“You look to be about the same age as me, so maybe you can relate to what I’m going through. I’m not a pedophile or a rapist; I have a clean record; and I’ve never committed a criminal act in my entire life. All that I am is a brother in love with a woman who doesn’t want anything to do with me. I’ve been sitting out here hoping for an opportunity to apologize yet again for something I never did.”
I could tell that I had sparked his interest. “What do you mean?”
I sighed. “She and I were dating. I promised her that I would never hurt her. I came over here one night about a month ago to cook her a romantic dinner after work. Her roommate got upset when I told her that I planned to ask my girl to move in with me and get married. I fell asleep. When I woke up, the roommate was giving me head. I pushed her off and got out my girl’s room right as she was walking in the front door. She jumped to conclusions, the roommate lied like a professional actress, and my girl kicked me out.
“All I want is a chance to see if she’s cooled off enough to discuss it and hear me out. She’s been hurt time and time again in the past and, even if she never takes me back, I need her to know that I didn’t betray her like every other man before me.”
“You couldn’t even make that shit up,” the officer said with a smirk.
“I’m not making it up. I love her, but I’m willing to let her go. And after what just happened here today, I’m prepared to finally do that.” I looked at the building. “I’m not even sure she still lives here. I guess that I was holding out false hope. I haven’t seen her, her car, or even the roommate or her car. I don’t know what’s going on.”
He handed my license and registration back. “I’ve been where you are. I’m a good man myself. Not flawless, but a good man. It took me forever to get my wife over her trust issues and insecurities.”
“Well, it didn’t take me forever, but her river of pain runs deep. I wanted to be the one to put the smile back on her face. And I accomplished that for a short period of time.”
We both fell silent for a few seconds.
“If I let you slide, you promise not to come back around here?” he asked.
“I promise. It’s over and the last thing that I wanted was to upset the neighbors. I never considered that, but I’m sure it definitely looked strange . . . me being out here all the time. It’s good to know that people actually call in and report stuff like that.”
“Yeah, it’s a mixture and varies by neighborhood. Some neighbors are paranoid and will call if they see a person they don’t recognize walk by their house on the sidewalk. Others will watch someone get gunned down in front of them, not call, and then play dumb when we get there.”
I nodded my head. “I can imagine.”
“Take it easy, brother.”
He started to walk away back to his cruiser.
“Thanks for giving me a break.”
He turned toward me as he opened his door and put his right foot inside the car. “Women won’t cut us a break. Sometimes we have to help each other out.”
He got in and started up his engine. I pulled away and he followed behind me to the next corner and hooked a right.