Our backyard looks out onto the intersection of 2 relatively quiet streets. It's mostly farmland around here which is why we like it. No close neighbors. I work out of my home, so the fact that we are so far away from the area's business centers is not a hindrance. It's just me, a balding 43 year old architect, and my 40 year old wife of 19 years, enjoying our home and meticulously cared for backyard garden.
Although our youth is long gone, we are still quite liberal when it comes to sex. We enjoy adult films and have a few videos of our self hidden away in a closet. We have even met several fortyish couples over the Internet through a swinging website, although I wouldn't classify ourselves as swingers. Of course, we would love to become involved with a much younger couple, but that will probably never happen. I guess we just enjoy sharing fantasies and pushing the limits a bit.
A couple months ago, we were getting ready for bed when we were startled by loud screeching brakes and muffled noises. I looked out the window and saw a silver Lexus sitting in our yard. It sat on top of my wife's pride and joy white and yellow tulips. The bushes which surround our yard had been flattened in one spot. It had been raining heavily throughout the day and the car was spinning it's wheels in the mud. It was obvious after 30 seconds that this car was going nowhere any time soon.
Cautiously, I went out the back door with a flashlight and approached the car. The driver got out and started to humbly apologize for the damage. He was just a kid. The passenger door opened and a girl about the same age got out. She also began to apologize.
"Whoa," I said, holding up my hand motioning them to silence. "First things first. Are you kids alright"?
"Yeah, no problems," was his response, and the girl nodded.
"Good. Well, I guess we need to call the cops. You might as well come inside or the mosquitoes will eat us alive out here."
We took off our muddy shoes and entered the house. My wife was waiting and I told her to get the phone book so I could find the police number. I didn't think this qualified as a '911' call since it really wasn't an emergency.
"Sir, if I paid for the damage could we forget about calling the police," the boy politely asked.
"Why?," I replied half joking, "You have something to hide"?
"No, I just don't want my parents to find out," he stammered .
I suspected there were other reasons. Although the kids appeared to be acting normally, my instincts told me they had been drinking. They seemed to have a little more trouble balancing themselves when they took off their shoes than they should have. Also, they sure seemed relaxed considering the what had just happened. Besides, how else could you explain the car shooting off the road into my yard?
"There's about 300 dollars worth of damage out there. Have you got that kind of money on you?" I inquired.
He replied "No, but I can pay you in a couple weeks".
I looked at the pitiful kids and thought to myself...stupid irresponsible kids, they are really in a tight spot...stuck car, property damage, and probably a DUI. An idea entered my head.
"Please excuse us for a minute," and I gestured toward my wife and we left to go upstairs."
My wife was upset about her garden and she wanted to call the cops. I told her I had a better idea. "How about we have some fun with them?"(She knew what I meant by "fun".) "They may do almost anything to avoid the cops," I finished.
"You're crazy," my wife replied.
Building my confidence up I laid out my thoughts, "Wait. Think about it. If we call the cops, he faces losing his license for a long time. That's like death to a boy his age. We just have to hope that she cares enough about him to go along." My wife started to contemplate the entire situation and her initial anger subsided a bit. "You know, they are cute kids. It would teach them a lesson" she contemplated. We returned to the kitchen.
I spoke with authority, "OK, here's what I think. You both have been drinking. If we call the cops, they will probably find out and you could loose your license. My guess is that car in the yard is registered to your parents and if the cops don't take your license, your parents could take the car. How am I doing so far?"
The boy lowered his head and said, "pretty good."
"Actually, it's my parents' car," the girl added.
I looked at the girl, "Is this your boyfriend?"
"He's my cousin," she quickly replied.
My wife interrupted, "Oh, I assumed you were girlfriend-boyfriend. How old are you?"
"I'll be 19 on Monday. He's 6 months older," she answered.
"Screw it," I thought to myself. "I don't care if they are related, I'm still going to give it a try. Besides, the cops don't need the hassle."
Speaking calmly and slowly now I offered, "Ok, here's the deal. I can either call the cops, or you two can agree spend the rest of the night here and work off the debt. If you stay, be aware that you will have to do anything, and I do mean anything, that we ask." There was no response from the kids so I continued, trying to be friendly and hinting at what to expect, "I don't really expect you'll be interested but when your car landed outside, we were being romantic...or to be more direct, it's our 20th anniversary and we were having a special evening.(Not true, but then they didn't know that). Now, you have the option of either joining us for a romantic evening or explaining your accident to the cops."
The kids exchanged looks, trying to figure out we had in mind, and what the other was thinking I suppose.
"What do you want us to do?" he asked.