Ticketed

"It's just not fair," she said trying not to be petty.

"Come on, you look great!" Donna told her supportively.

"No, I look...okay. You, on the other hand, look...sensational. Officer Friendly is definitely going to be flirting with you."

"Don't sell yourself short, hon. I can promise you you won't be paying for any drinks tonight, that's for sure. Besides, he may not even show up."

"Uh-huh. Sure," DeeAnne replied now wishing she hadn't agreed to go.

"How about we take a taxi?" Donna suggested.

"Good idea. If you were to drive, I'd just end up taking a taxi home—alone so..."

"Stop that!" Donna said. "Come on, let's go have some fun!"

The cab let them off right in front of the bar, and Donna picked up the tab.

"You can pay on the way home, okay?" she said as they got out.

DeeAnne ignored her comment and said, "Even your hair is gorgeous!"

The truth was it did look great. It was not only longer than DeeAnne's, it was soft and smooth and had a silky kind of shine to it that only added to her insecurities.

A very large man who was obviously a bouncer opened the door for them. He smiled, kind of bowed, and said, "Ladies" as he let them pass by.

"Have you ever been here before?" DeeAnne asked as they looked around.

"No. I've driven passed it more times than I can remember, but Frank wouldn't have been caught dead in here," Donna told her as she looked around the room.

"Then this is where you should have brought him," DeeAnne quipped. "He'd be dead and you'd be..."

Donna laughed in spite of herself.

"That was terrible," she told her friend. "Funny but still terrible."

"He was schmuck. Anyone who'd do that to you should have his balls cut..."

"Hey there. May I buy you a drink?" a decent-looking guy said to both of them but mostly looking at DeeAnne.

"Oh, no thanks. We're here together and..."

"She'd love one," Donna answered for her. She leaned over and said, "Go have a drink with him."

DeeAnne leaned back over and replied, "He is kind of cute," before telling the guy 'okay.'

Donna watched her friend head off with him as she headed toward the bar and continued looking around.

"Good evening," someone about her age said to her. "I don't think I've seen you in here before, and I definitely would have remembered you. I'm Tom, by the way."

"Oh, hi...Tom," Donna said with a weak smile. "This is the first time I've ever been here."

"Can I buy you a drink?" he offered.

Donna thought he looked familiar but couldn't place the face. Everyone was in civilian clothes so she couldn't even be sure he was a police officer, but she had this nagging feeling she'd seen him somewhere before.

"That's very kind of you, but I was sort of looking for..."

"Chief? Is this woman bothering you?" she heard a voice say. Donna turned around and saw Matt standing right behind her and smiling at her.

"I was hoping she might be," the older man told him.

"I wrote this young lady a ticket a while back and she's probably here to give me a hard time," Matt said as he moved closer.

"Oh, okay. So...is this the someone you were looking for?" the man asked her.

"Actually, yes it is," she said.

"I wasn't sure you'd be here," she said turning toward Matt.

"I wasn't sure I would, either, but after seeing you this morning I decided to take a chance you might show up."

The older man excused himself saying, "I know when I'm out of my league so I'll leave you two to yourselves." He smiled and told Donna it was nice meeting her.

"You, too, Tom" she said as the man winked at Matt before walking away.

"Who is that?" she asked as Matt led her to the bar.

"Him? Oh, he's just the chief of police for the entire city of Seattle. That's all. You know...Tom."

Donna laughed then said, "Oh, okay. Now I know why he looked familiar," as they found two empty barstools.

"What could I get you?" Matt asked.

"Some white wine maybe?"

"Harry? White wine and a draft?"

"You got it, Matt," the bartender said.

"Matt," Donna said. "I was wondering if you were going to introduce yourself."

"Sorry. I was trying to get around to that," he told her. "But that is my name. Matt...Jamison."

"Hi, Matt. I'm Donna...McPherson. But you seem to have remembered that."

"I did, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you under better circumstances," he told her with a smile. "I'm sorry about the ticket."

"Just not sorry enough to throw it out, right?" she teased playfully as the bartender set down their drinks.

"I can't now," he said. "Once I write it, it's a done deal."

"You could show up at traffic court and say you made a mistake," she said before taking a first sip.

"Or...you could slow down and avoid getting pulled over," he countered.

"Okay. Fine. You win," she told him knowing she was dead wrong.

"I'm glad you came," he said. "You look great, by the way." He tried not to stare, but Donna really did look great. Fantastic was the better word.

"If that's your way of flirting, I like it. And...thank you," she told him sincerely. "I haven't exactly felt so...fantastic lately, so that was very nice of you to say."

"I'm not going to pry, but if you feel like talking, I'm a pretty good listener," he told her as he took a long pull on his beer. "Oh, and it's true, by the way. You do look great."

"Thank you again, but I'm afraid it's a rather long and not-so-interesting story. I'll just say that when you wrote me the ticket I was at a low point, and then when you flirted with me this morning I was on a kind of...sugar high."

"Oh, I see. So are you saying I'm sweet?" Matt asked with a smile.

"No, I didn't say that," she replied smiling back. "The truth is I'm recently divorced and this is kind of the first time I've been out—at all—since..."

"Since?" Matt asked letting her know she could talk freely.

"In a nutshell, my husband left me just over a year ago for a younger woman and I never saw it coming."

"Wow. That's...awful. I'm really sorry," Matt told her. He took another sip then said, "Your husband is an idiot. No offense."

Donna laughed and told him, "None taken. And that's ex-husband."

Donna smiled at him then said, "I guess I've been wallowing around in self-pity ever since and when I couldn't charm you out of the ticket, I felt even worse."

"So this is her, huh?" Donna heard someone say to Matt just before he put his hand on Matt's shoulder.

She looked over and saw the guy who'd asked DeeAnne if he could buy her a drink then noticed DeeAnne was standing next to him.

"Hey, Bruce. Yeah, this is her," Matt said.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on?" Donna asked.

DeeAnne was smiling and spoke up. "I believe you are."

"Okay...care to explain?" she asked her friend.

"Well, Bruce here...Bruce, this is my good friend, Donna. Donna, this is Bruce."

He extended his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Finally?" she asked even more confused.

"After Matt wrote you the ticket he was telling me about this beautiful girl he pulled over and wished he'd let off with a warning. He said he couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Thanks...buddy," Matt said.

"Matt told Bruce he thought you were my age...no, that's not true. He thought you were younger than me..."

She flashed a look at Donna but smiled then continued. "He said he couldn't believe you were, you know, a wee bit older."

Donna realized DeeAnne didn't seem upset anymore and was hoping she and this Bruce guy were hitting it of.

"Yeah, but I was right, wasn't I?" Matt said to Bruce as he leaned back so he could see Donna more clearly. "I mean, you tell me."

"No, you weren't kidding, that's for sure. She's a beautiful girl. Sorry...woman," Bruce said to Donna.

"Girl is fine," Donna told him.

"And so is your friend here," he added looking at DeeAnne who smiled happily and thanked him for the comment.

"Ha! Wasn't I right?" Donna said stealing Matt's line.

Donna was looking at DeeAnne, but said to the guys, "She's very pretty, but she seems to be the only one who doesn't know it."

"Well I noticed her the moment she walked in," Bruce said still smiling at DeeAnne.

He looked at Matt and said, "We were gonna go across the street and have dinner. You guys wanna join us?"

"I'm game," Matt said looking at Donna.

"Honestly? I'm starving," she replied. "I assumed this would be a quick drink and I'd be back home in time to make something for myself. So, sure, that sounds great."

"I'm glad you were wrong," Matt told her as he helped her off the barstool.

"Yeah. I think I am, too," she told him, really enjoying being out of the house for a change. The fact that she was with a very attractive man was an added bonus, even if he was young enough to be her son. She had to admit this was a very pleasant way of getting her feet wet again, so to speak.

The restaurant was nice enough, but like the bar, not exactly the kind of place she and Frank would have gone to once they had the financial resources to go to Seattle's finer establishments. Then again, this was yet another favorite establishment for Seattle's finest, and what it lacked in ambiance and, well...finery, it more than made up for in delicious food and friendly conversation.

After placing their orders, Matt said to Donna, "You mentioned you were on the way to work when I, you know..."

"Wrote me a ticket?" she said.

Matt cleared his throat as everyone laughed politely. "You said something about County General as I recall."

"So you were listening," Donna teased. "Yes, DeeAnne and I work together on the pediatrics ward at the hospital."

"You're an RN, right?" Matt asked as though he needed to clarify something.

"We both are," Donna told him.

Bruce leaned over and said, "That means they're both a lot smarter than us."

"Okay, but that's not all that hard to do," Matt said to him. "Especially for...some of us."

"Oh, okay. Thanks a lot there...partner," Bruce said, understanding the comment was directed at him.

"You guys are partners?" DeeAnne asked.

"We used to be before this guy decided he wanted to cruise around on a motorcycle all day."

"Yeah, okay. But you were up for sergeant so it wasn't like we were gonna be together much longer anyway," Matt said. "He made it, by the way, thus proving the SPD will promote anyone."

Donna had never spent any time around people her ex-husband derisively called 'blue-collar types'. They'd both come from solidly middle-class families, gone straight to college, then began working in white-collar professions, and associated exclusively with people of similar backgrounds. She found this kind of lively exchange charming and rather appealing even if she couldn't explain why.

"Yeah, well we accepted you so..."

Their appetizers arrived and Donna also realized there was a much less formal atmosphere there with...everything. People just reached and grabbed and no one worried about formalities, something else she found very different but quite pleasant.

"So you must be a college graduate then," Matt said trying to keep the conversation on track.

"I am," Donna replied. "I have a BS in nursing from the U Dub." (Seattle-speak for the University of Washington.)

"Yeah, well this one's full of BS," Bruce said pointing a thumb at Matt.

Donna laughed politely while DeeAnne laughed much too loudly for what was a very corny comment. It was obvious she was enjoying herself—and Bruce's company—a lot. Then again, Donna realized she was enjoying herself—a lot, too.

"Donna graduated back before they had cell phones," DeeAnne said playfully. "Or the internet or computers or..."

"Okay! Okay! Enough of that," she said pretending to be upset with her friend. She smiled then said, "Sadly, all of that is true."

"Was it really that hard carrying around those stone tablets and chisels?" Matt said as seriously as he could.

"Oh, no. It wasn't too bad at all," Donna replied immediately. "In fact, I don't think it was any more difficult than you running around in diapers back then," she said trying to be just as serious.

Bruce roared and DeeAnne laughed loudly again, too.

"She got you good that time, partner!" Bruce said much too loudly.

"Diapers," Matt said shaking his head. He looked right at her then playfully said, "Yeah, you'll be wearing those again pretty soon, won't you?"

He was totally joking but regretted saying it before the last word left his mouth and even more so when DeeAnne laughed.

Matt immediately looked at her and said, "Donna. I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," she said recovering from the sting of his remark. She knew it was all in good fun, and yet she was so self-conscious about her age and the age difference that it really did hurt.

Matt leaned over and said, "I am truly sorry."

Deciding to go for it, Donna said, "Oh, you're sorry all right. You are truly sorry!"

Bruce let it rip again, and when Matt also laughed, Donna found herself laughing, too, and feeling a little less self-conscious. She also realized there wasn't really an 'age difference' because there wasn't anything going on with Matt other than hanging out as friends. They were just having fun and having fun for a change felt really good.

"How about another drink back at Flanigan's?" Matt asked when they finished dinner.

"I dunno," Bruce said. "I was kind of hoping to get a chance to spend some time alone with this beautiful young lady here."

Donna saw the look in her friend's eye and was pretty sure she was on her own from here on out.

"I'd like that," DeeAnne said sweetly.

"I got this," Bruce said when the check came.

"Wow. That's a first," Matt quipped. "Someone's trying hard to make a good impression." He looked right at DeeAnne as he said it and she smiled back at him indicating he was correct.

"Do you mind if we bail on you guys, Donna?" she asked almost imploringly.

"No, of course not! You go...spend time together," Donna told her. "I should probably be heading back home anyway."

"I'd like it if you'd stay a little while longer," Matt said sincerely.

Donna felt her heart flutter and felt silly and happy and...confused as she said, "Well, I guess one more drink would be all right."

As they said their goodbyes to Bruce and DeeAnne at the front door, Matt said to Donna, "I was thinking about some place a little nicer than Flanigan's this time."

"Oh, okay. You mentioned Flanigan's so I just assumed..."

"That's before I knew we might have the chance to maybe talk a little more privately."

"Well...okay. That sounds nice, Matt. What did you have in mind?"

"I know a very nice place about two blocks from here. I can call a cab if you'd like."

"Heavens no! I can walk two blocks," she told him even as she questioned her decision. She rarely wore heels anymore, and she knew just one city block was a pretty good hike. Walking 'about two blocks' could mean three or more, but otherwise she was actually looking forward to it.

"If you're sure," Matt said.

"It's nice out here so yes, let's walk."

It was nice—for Seattle. It was maybe 65 degrees and very comfortable for the time of year, and an after-dinner walk sounded perfect.

As they strolled along, Donna decided to ask Matt something she'd been thinking about since dinner.

"So Matt...I was wondering just how old you thought I was when you pulled me over." She hated feeling hung up on this one thing but hung up she was.

"Oh, boy. I was a Marine before I became a police officer and we always tried to avoid land mines," he said with a smile. "Am I about to step on one if I tell you?"

"I won't hurt you," she assured him with a smile. "I promise."

"Okay. In that case, I was guessing 33 to 35 or so," he answered truthfully.

"Really?" she said hopefully.

"Really. I wouldn't have been too surprised to learn you were 40, but I was completely shocked when I saw when you were born."

"Well, I not only won't hurt you, I could...kiss you," she said just as she realized what she said. "Okay, I did not mean..."

Matt stopped himself and her, turned toward her and kissed her before she could finish her sentence. Donna wanted to pull away but some kind of cosmic force was holding her in place. She didn't kiss back, but didn't pull away, either.

"Now you want to hurt me, right?" Matt said as he moved back.

Donna slightly shook her head then said in voice that indicated the kiss stunned her as she said, "Wow. I'm not sure what I want to do right now. What was that all about?"

"I was pretty sure you wouldn't actually kiss me so I...took the initiative. Was that a mistake?"

"I'm not sure about that, either. I'll tell you once I figure out what's going on," she told him.

"As long as you're not running in the opposite direction, I think that'll be okay," Matt said smiling at her.

Donna was secretly pleased that this handsome, younger man found her attractive enough to kiss her even though no one had ever done anything quite like that to her before.

"While we're talking, Matt, I was wondering about something else. Now that you do know my age, why in the world are you...you know...why are we doing this?"

"Why shouldn't we be doing this?" he asked with another smile.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm enjoying your company, and you made me feel good about myself for the first time since my husband walked out. And while I'm not quite sure about the kiss, but I'll admit it wasn't so bad."

She smiled then said, "But I still don't really get why you'd want to spend time with me."

"I could keep going and say, 'Why wouldn't I want to spend time with you', but I'll be more direct." He stopped, faced her, took both of her hands in his and looked right at her.

"I like you, Donna. You really are beautiful, but I'm also pretty sure you're a very nice person, too. Someone who's friendly, caring, kind and sincere. I value those qualities and so far, I think my assessment is on the money. So...was that direct enough for you?"

He was being very polite in his response and Donna could feel his sincerity.

"Yes. That was refreshingly honest, and honesty is something I value very much."

"I'm tempted to kiss you again, but I probably shouldn't press my luck," he told her still smiling.

"I guess the good thing is that if you did, I wouldn't have to call the police," she said as she felt her heart racing.

"Good point," Matt said as he leaned down and kissed her again.

This time Donna kissed back even though it was a very short kiss.

"No 911 call?" Matt asked as it ended.

"No. I don't think so," she said very quietly.

Matt let go of her hands then reached for one of them as they continued to walk and talk.

"Is that where we're going?" Donna asked pointing up ahead. "The Purple Cafe and Wine Bar?"

"Is that okay?" Matt asked. "We can go somewhere else if..."

"No, that's fine. It was one of our favorite places. My ex-husband, of course."

"If that means bad memories..."

"Uh-uh. I'm fine with going there. Besides, maybe we'll make some kind of pleasant memory so I can forget about the past," she said as he opened the door for her.

They went to the staircase at the base of the wine tower and headed up.

"This place is a little pricey for cops, but just like Bruce, I was hoping to make a good impression. I wish I'd known your history with it," he told her as they found a seat.

"You've already made a very good impression on me, Officer. So no worries about ancient history."

She paused then said very sternly, "Not one word about my being ancient."

Matt put his hands up and said, "Who me? Oh, no. I've learned my lesson."

He ordered a glass of cabernet for each of them then asked Donna about her job and what she enjoyed most.

"Helping children," she said immediately. "It's really hard to watch them when they're hurting, but when you help them feel better, there's nothing more gratifying."