Reservations

Charles checked his watch again. The display showed 6:55. He had five more minutes before he was supposed to show up for his date. In truth he had arrived ten minutes earlier and had waited in his car down the street. His heart was pounding and he could feel the perspiration on his forehead form little beads. Charles rubbed his sweaty hands on his blue jeans and checked the clock again. A few minutes early wasn’t bad right?

He turned the key in the ignition but the car didn’t start. He pulled the key out to make sure it was the right one. It was. He slid it into keyhole and turned it. Nothing happened. He checked to see if the radio lights came on. They didn’t. He checked the overhead light. Nothing there either. He dropped his head against the steering wheel in frustration and jerked upright as the horn blasted. At least that still worked. He looked at his watch, 7:03.

“Go figure.” He muttered. The car door squeaked as he opened and closed it. Charles ran down the street passed small bushes with pink flowers blooming till he reached the walkway leading up to Morgan’s house. He took in a few quick breaths before he approached the front door. His palms were sweating more than before as he thought frantically about how he was going to drive them to their dinner reservation without a running car.

The door grew closer and closer until it loomed over him. For a long instant he contemplated the notion of leaving and calling her to cancel. She was out of his league and he doubted that if everything didn’t go perfect, he would never see her again. The reservations were at 7:30 and it only took ten minutes to drive there if they hit all green lights. He could easily flag down someone passing by and have them jump his car real quick. As Easy as pie. Charles knocked.

“Just a second.” Said a female voice from inside. Charles waited unconsciously tapping his foot and glancing at his watch. The display showed 7:08.

“Shit.” He said just as the front door opened to reveal Morgan wrapped in a red robe.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Oh.” He stuttered as he searched his mind for a quick lie. “I just forgot something in my car.”

“Well I am almost ready. I will be right out in a minute.” She smiled and gave a little shrug of her shoulders as she closed the door. Charles glanced at his watch and read the time. It was now 7:12. He turned and bolted for his car. They could still make the reservations. If he could flag someone down and get the car started before she was done getting ready they could live right away. It would be dangerously close, but he could do it.

Charles pulled the handle on the door to wrench it open but the handle snapped off in his hand and the door remained closed. He dropped the useless piece of plastic and clenched his fist as he ran to the passenger side door. He tugged firmly but a great deal more gentle this time. The door did not open. He looked at the small little silver knob. The doors were locked.

He looked down the sidewalk and didn’t see Morgan. He breathed deep and returned his attention to the challenge at hand. He scanned the inside of the car. His keys lay in the ignition. His heart dropped. There would be no way to get them out of the ignition and through the small slit of open window. An open window. That might be his solution. He looked behind him and searched for a branch he could utilize to unlock the door. He grabbed a few branches which looked promising and ran back to the driver side.

The first was useless and he snapped it in two over his knee and threw it as far as he could down the street. He tried the second and it seemed to be working. He almost had it, just a little more. It slipped and the branch almost fell all the way into the car. He fished out the tail end of the branch and resumed. Charles was so focused on opening the car door he didn’t hear the crunch of tires on leaves behind him, or see the reflection of a police cruiser in the glass.

“Excuse me son. Put your hands on your head and turn around slowly.” Charles froze. The officer repeated the command. His muscles slowly obeyed and he placed his violently shaking hands on the back of his head. “Turn around and move slowly to the front of the car.” With jerky movements he followed the directions again.

“It is my car officer. I just locked my keys in the car.” Charles was shaking uncontrollably even though he knew he had done nothing wrong.

“Do you have some identification young man.”

“Yes officer. My wallet is in my pocket.”

“Alright son. I am going to frisk you real quick. Is there anything I should know about? Anything needles or knives?”

“No officer.” Charles tried to keep his voice calm but it cracked like a twelve year old boy. The officer frisked him and then stepped back.

“You can lower your hands son. Your identification?” The officer asked again. Charles reached into his back pocket. It was empty. He glanced through the driver side window. His black leather wallet was lying on the passenger seat.

“That is also in the car officer.”

Morgan had finished getting ready and opened up the front door. Charles wasn’t there. She stepped out and locked her door when she caught a glimpse of red and blue lights flashing down the street. A few neighbors had left their house to see what was going on. Then Morgan heard Charles voice yelling. She walked out to the sidewalk and watched as Charles beach blonde hair disappeared into the back seat of the police cruiser.  She watched in dismay as he officer climbed in drove off. Morgan pulled her phone from her purse to call her father for help. The time displayed on her phone was 7:31.