declining years, of actually resembling Elmer. He was round and squat with hugely enormous feet typically encased in white Easy Spirits, which heralded his arrival a good city block before him. And in fact, it was Mr. Fudd's
shoes Robin saw in the lobby before she saw him.
Her grandmother, Lil, was the physical opposite of Elmer. She was tall and reed thin, and wore big pink-rimmed octagonal glasses that covered her cheeks and eyebrows and made her eyes look like big blue stop signs. She also wore Easy Spirits. The taupe ones.
Grandma spotted Robin and came hurrying like a squirrel across the lobby, darting in and around people in her haste to get to her granddaughter. “Robbie!” she exclaimed, and grabbed her in a bear hold, nearly squeezing the breath from her. “Oh my God, sweet pea! What has happened]”
“Robbie-girl, you all right?” Grandpa asked, rescuing her from Grandma's grip.
“I'm fine,” Robin insisted. “It's really so stupid. I'll tell you all about it in the car, but please, let's just get out of here,” she urged, ushering them in the direction of the door.
Grandpa had scored a prime parking spot into which he had maneuvered his Ford Excursion, an SUV the size of a small condo. Robin gratefully crawled into the cavernous backseat.
“Buckle in, hon. Now, are we going to hear what you did?” Grandma insisted, fastening her seat belt.
Best to get it over. “I got stopped for speeding—”
“Speeding! Where?” Grandpa insisted.
“On six-ten—”
“Well now, six-ten, that's just a death trap.”
“—And I guess I sort of mouthed off a little. I mean, I wasn't doing any faster than anyone else, and I told the cop so.”
“That's my girl!” Grandpa said proudly as he coasted out of the parking lot.
“So he asked me for my license and registration, but the thing is, I had left them on my desk at work—by the way, Grandpa, I need to go by my office and get my wallet, okay? Anyway, I didn't have my license or registration, and suddenly I'm a criminal! So the cop told me to step out of the car, and… well, I just thought… I just thought that he was overreacting and I shouldn't have to step out of the car.”
“Well, he should have taken your word for it!” Grandma
said with an indignant nod of her head. “Surely when you told him your name he ran some sort of check or whatever they do in their cars to make sure you weren't lying!”
Robin squirmed.
Grandma swiveled sharply to look at her. “Well?” demanded Grandma. “Didn't he?”
Robin sighed, leaned her head against a headrest covered with a pink baby T-shirt. “I was really tired and really cranky, and I didn't exactly tell him who I was. I just sort of thought it wasn't his business. So he arrested me.”
Grandpa gave a shout of laughter, but Grandma threw a hand over her mouth and stared at Robin in horror for a moment. “Can they do that?”
“Apparently,” she answered dryly. “He arrested me for failure to identify myself, driving without a license, and driving without insurance!”
“Oh my goodness, what does this mean?” Grandma asked.
Robin grimaced at her grandmother's look of shock, and turned away, to the window, where cars were swerving from behind Grandpa and whizzing past as he pushed the SUV up to sixty. “It means they convicted me of a Class C misdemeanor, took seven hundred fifty dollars dollars for their trouble, and told me to go home.”
“Did you see any murderers in there?” Grandpa asked.
“Elmer! This is no joking matter!”
“I didn't think that was joking!”
“Grandpa, don't forget to go by my office, okay?”
Grandpa acknowledged her request by putting his blinker on a good two or three miles before their exit.
“Well, you can't work today,” Grandma said in a huff. “You don't want everyone knowing why you were late— Aaron wouldn't like that at all.”
Honestly, Robin didn't know anymore. Maybe Dad would think she deserved to be publicly humiliated. “I
shoes Robin saw in the lobby before she saw him.
Her grandmother, Lil, was the physical opposite of Elmer. She was tall and reed thin, and wore big pink-rimmed octagonal glasses that covered her cheeks and eyebrows and made her eyes look like big blue stop signs. She also wore Easy Spirits. The taupe ones.
Grandma spotted Robin and came hurrying like a squirrel across the lobby, darting in and around people in her haste to get to her granddaughter. “Robbie!” she exclaimed, and grabbed her in a bear hold, nearly squeezing the breath from her. “Oh my God, sweet pea! What has happened]”
“Robbie-girl, you all right?” Grandpa asked, rescuing her from Grandma's grip.
“I'm fine,” Robin insisted. “It's really so stupid. I'll tell you all about it in the car, but please, let's just get out of here,” she urged, ushering them in the direction of the door.
Grandpa had scored a prime parking spot into which he had maneuvered his Ford Excursion, an SUV the size of a small condo. Robin gratefully crawled into the cavernous backseat.
“Buckle in, hon. Now, are we going to hear what you did?” Grandma insisted, fastening her seat belt.
Best to get it over. “I got stopped for speeding—”
“Speeding! Where?” Grandpa insisted.
“On six-ten—”
“Well now, six-ten, that's just a death trap.”
“—And I guess I sort of mouthed off a little. I mean, I wasn't doing any faster than anyone else, and I told the cop so.”
“That's my girl!” Grandpa said proudly as he coasted out of the parking lot.
“So he asked me for my license and registration, but the thing is, I had left them on my desk at work—by the way, Grandpa, I need to go by my office and get my wallet, okay? Anyway, I didn't have my license or registration, and suddenly I'm a criminal! So the cop told me to step out of the car, and… well, I just thought… I just thought that he was overreacting and I shouldn't have to step out of the car.”
“Well, he should have taken your word for it!” Grandma
said with an indignant nod of her head. “Surely when you told him your name he ran some sort of check or whatever they do in their cars to make sure you weren't lying!”
Robin squirmed.
Grandma swiveled sharply to look at her. “Well?” demanded Grandma. “Didn't he?”
Robin sighed, leaned her head against a headrest covered with a pink baby T-shirt. “I was really tired and really cranky, and I didn't exactly tell him who I was. I just sort of thought it wasn't his business. So he arrested me.”
Grandpa gave a shout of laughter, but Grandma threw a hand over her mouth and stared at Robin in horror for a moment. “Can they do that?”
“Apparently,” she answered dryly. “He arrested me for failure to identify myself, driving without a license, and driving without insurance!”
“Oh my goodness, what does this mean?” Grandma asked.
Robin grimaced at her grandmother's look of shock, and turned away, to the window, where cars were swerving from behind Grandpa and whizzing past as he pushed the SUV up to sixty. “It means they convicted me of a Class C misdemeanor, took seven hundred fifty dollars dollars for their trouble, and told me to go home.”
“Did you see any murderers in there?” Grandpa asked.
“Elmer! This is no joking matter!”
“I didn't think that was joking!”
“Grandpa, don't forget to go by my office, okay?”
Grandpa acknowledged her request by putting his blinker on a good two or three miles before their exit.
“Well, you can't work today,” Grandma said in a huff. “You don't want everyone knowing why you were late— Aaron wouldn't like that at all.”
Honestly, Robin didn't know anymore. Maybe Dad would think she deserved to be publicly humiliated. “I
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