In the Parking lot

Short: In the Parking Lot

It dawned on Mary that she had never done this before as she pressed the start button, tighten her grip and focused her attention straight in front of her. She slowly moved her hand to the gear shift next to her and shifted it from its comfortable position in P, to the very scary D. She didn't dare lift her leg from the brakes.

It was not that Mary had never driven before, she was 23 after all, but this was the first time she was nervous while she sat behind the wheel.

She contemplated all the things that could go wrong, as she saw a couple walk toward the parking lot then disappear into one of the car. They didn't waste time thinking about the possibilities, and drove off.

This gave her the boost she needed, she began to slowly lift her foot, but quickly pressed it back on the brakes. She realized if she had continued, she would have meet with the car parked directly in front of her. The gear shift needed to be on the R.

She was back into contemplation mode. How much trouble would she be in if she just left her car in the parking lot for the night? She suspected that her father would be angry with her for being so irresponsible, but at this moment she was willing to take the risk.

As she sat there unable to take any action, she noticed another person make their way to a car a few spots away to her right but their eyes meet and he began to walk towards her car instead.

"What are you napping in there Mar?" Mary heard his muffed voice through her thick car windows.

It was Jack, one of the 5 people Mary had been drinking with tonight. She was the first one to leave that night while the rest stayed to flirt with the girls and boys that were part of the 12 o clock bar crowd.

She rolled her windows down to answer him, "yup! I don't think I should drive."

"Are you that bad? Do you want to call an Uber?" He asked concerned.

"My dad will kill me if I leave my car here! I am not sure what to do?" She exclaimed.

She was not much of a drinker, but today she had agreed to go out with her coworkers for the first time. They always came to drink at a local bar a few miles away from work on Fridays. This time they were insisting she come as it was a goodbye happy hour for a manger. She wanted to be part of the team and drank when drinks were bought, took shots when shots were taken, and before she realized, she was drunk.

She felt embarrassed for putting her coworker in such an awkward position as it seemed he wanted to go home and looked pretty tired himself.

"Honestly, you don't seem too bad! You may have just psyched yourself out. If you don't live too far away I can follow you home and make sure you get home okay." He suggested.

Mary declined and promised that she would just sit till she sobers up and then try to drive home. Jack, relieved that he was no longer expected to partake in her crisis made his way to his car.

How long can she stayed parked here? Would an hour be enough to sober up? What if she just called her sister to come pick her up?

Mary checked her watch and noticed it was already 2 o clock. Her sister was worst than her parents, she would never let her live this down. She was already over protective of her and if she found out she was drinking irresponsibly with a herd of her guy coworkers she would never let her go out again. Being the youngest in the family usually meant that Mary had to answer for every move she made. She was loved but never trusted to be smart enough to make good decisions. Which is why she never bothered much with going out. It lead to more questions from both her parents and her sister. Even tonight she was answering hourly text messages from her mother, father and sister.

The thing is though, tonight was fun! She danced and joked and really felt like she was part of her team. It wasn't just a story she would hear in their Monday morning meetings. She liked feeling like she belonged, like she was an adult, like she could have fun and the world wouldn't end.

Maybe she was over-reacting . Jake had more drinks and shots than her, but he was able to drive home just fine, so why couldn't she? Maybe her parent's over-protectiveness had resulted in her doubting her valid choice to drive home.

More contemplation took place as she revived herself up to move from her stationed position once more. "The drive home was no longer than 20 minutes, so how bad could that really be? What if a cop stopped you though? Or you hit something or someone? you can go to jail for this and that would be worse than dad knowing that you got drunk tonight!" She though.

Her car stayed still. She couldn't do it and sitting in the car till she sobered up seemed less and less like an appealing idea. She was going to take the L and call her father.

On the phone her father screamed and yelled at her for not making smart choices tonight. She could hear as he yelled the jiggling of his keys and the sounds of doors opening and shutting. She knew he was already on his way to get her.

It took her father no more than 10 minuted to get to the bar.

When she joined him in his car she couldn't even look at him, let alone speak to him. Her face felt hot and her mouth dry.

"I am so glad you didn't drive tonight!" he said softly. " I know we are hard on you, but at least it helps you make choices that keep you safe."

"But I got too drunk and couldn't drive." she cried.

"I know, but you eventually got it right. However, next time, no driving if your drinking! Deal?"

"Deal!" She said, even though she knew there was a fat chance they would ever let her out again, it felt nice to know that the hours she sat in parking lot was the first time she felt alone and in this moment, in her father's car, she validated that she would never have to feel that alone again.