Driving Under the Influence of Gatorade

Last night, Riley went to her friend, Mary Helen's, birthday party. Her mom picked up all of the girls (at the request of Mary Helen) and they went to Pizza Hut. They ended the evening at Mary Helen's house eating cake and ice cream and making a craft. Glisa (MH's mom) had told me that the party would end around 9:00 or 9:30. I evidently misunderstood her and thought that either Tim or I would need to go get her. MH and her family used to live across the street from us...that would have been very handy last night, but now they live across town...about a 20 minute drive.

After watching Big Brother, I was very tired, so Tim said he would pick Riley up from the party. I was thrilled. Of course I offered several times, but he insisted, so I let him. I was brushing my teeth (had not changed out of my clothes, thank goodness), when I hear this screaming/yelling noise. I run out of the bedroom, and Mary Helen and Riley are standing in the dark garage telling Andy (MH's dad) that they could not find me. Because I was running the water in the sink, I did not hear them knock or open the door. I apologized and talked to Andy a few minutes. He still had a couple of girls to drop-off and it was 9:30pm. I told him that Tim had made the trek over to his house to pick Riley up, he immediately picked up his phone (they work together so they have the same kind of cell phones with 2-way radios) to radio him. It was a huge misunderstanding.

I came inside, got Riley in the bed, and called Tim. I felt so bad that he had driven all the way over there for no reason. He answered the phone and before we could even talk he says, "OH NO! I think I just got a ticket." He hung up without even saying good-bye. At this point, I am thinking, a. this is all my fault. I should have been the one to make the drive and pick up Riley. b. I should have made sure of the pick-up/drop-off arrangements. c. we are going to owe $200 in a traffic ticket...Nice! I waited for him to call back. A few minutes later he called back, laughing. He proceeds to tell me that after Andy called, he turned around on a side street, almost doing a u-turn, and then continued to pull out onto the main street. The car that was behind him just happened to be a cop. The cop (who was a she) followed him for a few hundred feet and pulled him over. Tim had no idea what he had done. He knew he wasn't speeding. The officer came to the window and said, "Hello, sir. How are you, tonight?" Evidently she was trying to assess the situation and see just how drunk he was. She proceeded to tell him that he had crossed the line (middle, I guess). At this point, Tim was quick to reassure her that he was just picking up his cell phone. She ran his license and "plates" through the system. She realized he hasn't had any major traffic violations...I can only think of 2 tickets he has ever gotten, and that he wasn't drunk. Tim told her that he was the last person that would ever drive under the influence, or even drink for that matter. If you know Tim, you know that the only thing he likes to drink is Gatorade, and it has to be orange. She did not make him walk the line or do a breathalyzer test. It makes me laugh just to even imagine it. Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but it is just so unlike him! The officer told him to be careful on the cell phone, "It could get you in trouble, one day", and sent him on his way. WHEW! He came home and told me the whole story, adding that he had an open container of orange Gatorade in his cup holder the whole time!