MAN! I'm Glad I Hit THAT Car And Not THAT One! - Part III

For those of you just joining us, this is a continuation of MAN! I'm Glad I Hit THAT Car And Not THAT One! - Part II You may want to read that first to see how we got here.

**************************************************

What was I going to say to this woman coming toward me?

I had backed into her car almost half an hour ago, and had been waiting in the parking lot to tell her about it. There was no damage other than the license plate, but would SHE see it that way?

Before she could reach her car, I stepped in front of her and said, "Excuse me ..."

Car Lady - Yes?

Kim - I'm really sorry, but I backed into your car a little while ago.

Car Lady - Oh did you?

Kim - Yes, I did. I didn't hit it hard, and I took a look at it, and the only thing I can see that's damaged is the license plate. I've been waiting for you to come out, so I could tell you.

Then, I held my breath.

Car Lady - Oh yeah?

Man! This woman was really hard to read! It almost sounded like indifference, but I wasn't out of the parking lot yet!

We bent down, and I showed her how her license plate had rolled in on itself. I also rubbed more snow from around it, to make sure I hadn't missed any dents or scrapes.

Nothing.

I turned to her, and looked for some sign of my fate on her face.

With a 'go 'way with ya' shake of her hand, and sort of a 'ppffffhhhhttt' noise, she said, "Ah, HE'LL never notice that."

OK. Did I just hear her correctly?

Car Lady - That's nothing. But thanks for being honest and sticking around to tell me about it though.

I couldn't help but take a second to look over my shoulder.

Yup. He was still there.

Buddy who had backed into a truck, less than 10 min after I had backed into this lady's car, was STILL in discussion with the owner of the truck. Still exchanging insurance information with her.

Could it be that I was just going to drive away?

Kim - Are you SURE?

And then I threw it out there ...

Kim - Did you want to exchange ... information?

Little Voice In Kim's Head - DAMN IT Kim! When are you EVER going to learn to keep your mouth SHUT!?!?!?!?

Then, AGAIN perhaps because it was the Holiday season, maybe because the 'highway angels' were still on our shoulders, whatever the reason, Car Lady said those magic words, those words very seldom heard at the scene of an accident -

'Nah, don't worry about it."

OMIGOD! WOOHOO! Serious internal Happy Dance going on here People!

After one more "Are you sure?" and a "Yes, yes!" I thanked her profusely and climbed back in the truck. And got ready to roll. QUICK.

I may be nice, but I'm not stupid!

It was time to get moving before she had second thoughts and decided HE might notice something more after all.

The minute my door was shut, I was flooded with -

What did she say?
Was she mad?
Do you have to give her some papers like the other guy?
Hey! Are we leaving?

Kim - Yup, buckle up boys, the lady said we were good to go, so we're outta here! We've got a hockey game to get to!!!

And with that, I looked left, looked right, and pulled out of the parking spot, and made my way to the exit of the pharmacy.

Before I made the turn on to the main road, I took one last look at the other guy who had the misfortune of backing into someone's truck that afternoon. Still there. Still in discussion.

Still frowning.

As I pulled out into traffic, one of the boys said "Look Mom! The other guy is STILL there!"

I jerked my thumb back towards the car I'd hit, who was now behind me in traffic and said, "MAN! I'm glad I hit THAT car, and not THAT one!!!"

And you wonder why I have a label specifically for Road Trips and Other Adventures? Sheesh!

K