As he crested a small hill, he felt the wheels of his motor home start to skid on the wet, slick surface of the road. Though his heartbeat accelerated, he calmly turned the wheel just slightly into the skid, then slowly eased the RV straight again. Taking a deep breath, he felt his heartbeat slowly return to normal. The storm outside had been raging earlier, but had now slowed to a light and steady rain, making driving conditions just miserable enough to require constant, alert attention. He reached over and turned off the radio (a woman apparently named 'Fergie' was explaining that she was indeed delicious, but not in fact promiscuous), squinting slightly at the road ahead. This lonely stretch of highway was deserted, though it was not that late at night. There had been nothing to see but trees for many miles, lining the highway as far as he could see.
Suddenly, his jaw dropped when he made out a figure in the darkness at the bottom of the hill, arm extended to indicate that he or she wanted a ride. 'What crazy person would try to hitchhike at night in the middle of a storm like this?!' he thought disbelievingly. He slowed carefully, leaning forward to peer through the windshield and assess the danger of picking up this stranger. As the RV approached, his headlights caught a copper glint in the curls that cascaded wildly from under the person's emerald green poncho. He slowed further, worrying about a young girl caught in the middle of this storm, on a dark highway in the middle of upstate New York. 'She is definitely crazy,' he thought worriedly, but found his foot pressing harder on the brake. As he pulled over, he passed just in front of her and caught an emerald shine from within her poncho -- her eyes matched the deep green of her poncho, and the copper curls shone and flashed in the headlights like fire. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that kids can make stupid decisions these days, and he shouldn't expect this stranger to be innocent or naïve just because she was a young woman. Reaching over to his glove compartment, he grabbed both his badge and his gun, tucking the gun into the back of his jeans and the badge into his jacket pocket. Putting the RV into park, he got up from the driver's seat and headed out into the storm.
Rain splashed his face as he stepped out, and he turned to the right just as the stranger held up a cell phone and took a picture of him and the back of the RV.
Uncertain, he called out to her, "Need a ride?" Of course she needed a ride, but what the hell was the picture about?
She walked toward him quickly, but stopped about five feet away. It was too dark to see her features closely in the rainy night, but he thought she looked like a quite attractive young woman.
"I just sent a picture of your license plate and face to my best friend," she explained. "Before I get into your motor home, I'm going to call her and give her your name, after you show me your driver's license. I am then going to tell her where we are going and what route we are taking. I will set up a time to check in with her. If I am more than five minutes late in calling her at that time, she will call the police and give them your information. You would be arrested within 15 minutes if you try anything funny." This speech was given in a matter-of-fact tone that suggested much rehearsal, practice, and fine-tuning. He was deeply impressed with her thorough approach to hitchhiking safely, though a trifle amused.
