Underneath the Peonies (Tom Hanson)

Chapter 1: Moon River

What would you do if you found out you only have a few more months left to live? Would you write letters to your family? Quit your job? Travel the world? Sell everything you own? Drop everything and spend the rest of your days trying to leave your mark on the world before it's too late? I'm still trying to answer that question myself...

The streetlights were passing so fast. Just a flash of green and they were gone. My foot pressed harder into the gas pedal, and my shoulder blades dug into the seat. I glanced over to the blue car beside me, locking eyes with the driver. My lips curled into a smirk as I quickly switched gears to whip in front of him so I wouldn't get stuck behind the semi-truck I was quickly approaching.

I laughed to myself, flooring the accelerator even farther as I barreled down the Highway 20. I have never been closer to death than in this moment, but I have never felt more alive. I wanted to hit the interstate as fast as I could so there was less of a chance of me getting stuck behind anyone. It was late, so there really wasn't anyone else on the road.

107...

108...

109...

110...

111...

The speedometer was going further and further past the speed limit, and all I felt was a rush. A high I have been chasing for months. Driving is my favorite form of release, where I can let all of my fears and anxieties fly out the window. The radio was blaring, filling my ears with the newest pop song that has reached the charts. In the drivers seat, I have all the control and I'm on top of the world.

The moon shined bright above, creating a river of light I could follow. I consider the moon a friend. It may leave, but it always comes back. It sees every inch of the world every single day. Isn't it crazy that everyone who has ever lived have all looked at the same moon? It connects us in a way we tend to overlook.

Suddenly, the dark of the night was flooded with flashing red and blue lights coming up behind me. I rolled my eyes as my heart fell out of my chest.

Damn it.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I grunted and took my foot off the gas pedal. The cop car was too close behind me to slam on my breaks, so I let the car cruise until I could slow down enough to safely pull over.

I stopped the car and grabbed my license and registration as I waited for the cop to come up to my window. Surprisingly, I haven't been pulled over since I was a teenager. But the way I have been driving recently, I knew it was just a matter of time. My thumb tapped my steering wheel impatiently until I noticed that he was coming up to my window in my side mirror.

I grabbed the window crank and cranked the window down by the time he got there. The cop looked very young, about my age if I had to guess. He had dark brown hair parted on the side, shining under the dim street light. The light that reflected off of it was almost blinding. It was like a helmet of hair. My eyes fell to his chiseled features, and I could have melted from his attractive he was.

"Where's the fire?" He asked. He didn't give me time to come up with a witty comeback before he said, "license and registration."

I silently handed them to him and gazed down at his name tag: Hanson. He peaked at my forms and he said, "little far away from home, aren't ya?"

He must have noticed the Florida address on my license. I mumbled, "yeah, I just moved here."

"One moment."

He retreated back to his car and my eyes grew wide. I mouthed, 'wow', and leaned my head back in my seat. My heart was fluttering in the most embarrassing way. I could feel myself light up when I saw him. I felt stupid.

Hanson came back a little later and asked, "do you know why I pulled you over tonight, Miss Clarke?"

"Going a little too fast?" I asked, trying to strategically talk myself out of the ticket.

He tried not to chuckle as he said, "you were going over forty miles over the speed limit."

"So, a little more than a little, huh?"

"You also failed to use your turn signal."

I grew up in a rural area, nearly on the other side of the country from Metropolis. I have read between the lines of the drivers manual so I know that it is no one else's business to know where I'm going so I have never used my turn signals. I've gotten pulled over before for that too.

"And this car isn't registered to you," he added.

"It's my friends car," I lied through my teeth.

"Uh-huh. And where were you going with your friends car?" It looked like he was trying to fight a smile by keeping a stern-cop expression on his face. It wasn't working.

I had to come up with another lie quickly. "She's at work so I promised her that I would pick it up at the shop and drop it off. Guess I'm not used to the gas pedal on this hunk of junk."

Hanson bit his lip and ripped out a ticket, and my heart fell to my feet. I really thought I was going to be able to get out of it. "I can't just let you off with a warning so I'm giving you the lowest amount I can give ya."

I took the ticket and saw that it was just $20, but it still pissed me off. I should be a little grateful though. If he gave me the maximum, I would have been fined a lot of money that I don't have and probably received a felony.

"Just, please promise me to be more careful. Keep it in the double digits next time, okay sweetheart?" He asked.

"I promise, Officer Hanson," I said while still trying to telepathically force him to rip up the ticket and tell me to forget all about it.

"Great. Have a good night," he said with a tip of his hat.

Hanson walked back to his car and I cranked my window up while grunting in annoyance. His handsome face kept flashing in my memory, and I was giddy for a boy for the first time in years.

I exclaimed, "stop! What am I doing?" to myself. I exhaled and leaned back in my seat, where my fingers came up to my neck and I fiddled with my necklace. It's just a simple gold pendant that I got from my grandmother when I was a kid. I swear it bring me good luck, and considering the circumstances it hasn't failed me yet.

I started my car back up, and I noticed the cruiser was still parked behind me but he had turned the sirens off. I just hope he's not a dirty cop. I can't handle being attracted to another man who doesn't care about anyone but himself. But, if I'm lucky, I'll never see him again.

I put the car into the right gear and checked my blind spot. I slowly began rolling forward and merged back onto the road. No one was coming so I took my time with speeding up so I didn't accidentally rev the engine. I didn't want to get pulled over again.

Once I got far enough away, I sped up and drove home.