Cocaine Princess here.
Sorry for not posting sooner. I was locked out of my account. Someone flagged this blog because they believed it had objectionable content.
Google thankfully resolved the situation quickly. I'm not going to write too much about this however, if for whatever reason you don't like my blog, that's fine. We're all entitled to an opinion but please don't go flagging it. A better suggestion, just don't read it.
It's after 2am and it's snowing up here. It's coming down slowly and melting before it even touches the ground. I was going to post later in the day but since I'm up here's part 2. To review:
................Closing his briefcase he gave me a little advice, 'never, never admit to anything.' Upon leaving he placed his business card in front of my tray. I looked at A. 'What the hell kind of advice was that?' A picked up the card and after reading it said, 'figures he said what he did. His clients are all criminals.' 'Oh my God he thinks I'm a criminal. They are going to throw the book at me aren't they?' 'You're not a criminal and no one is going to be throwing anything at you. He was just making conversation.' 'That's not the kind of conversation I'm interested in having,' I said. 'He did have a point.' 'About my insurance going up? Believe me I'm well aware.' 'About the police. They do make mistakes. Your first ticket was on Labor Day, right?' 'Yeah, you were there with me,' I replied. 'I couldn't even tell you were speeding. I thought you were doing the limit. Maybe the officer did make a mistake.' 'What choice did I have? I wasn't about to say to him, officer let me drive back to see what the speed limit is posted because I don't believe you? That would have played out well.' 'Why didn't the Hurricane's dad advise you on what to do about all this?' she asked. 'Because he didn't find out until after,' I replied. 'After what?' 'After I paid the tickets.' 'You never told him you were fined?' 'No.' 'Why?' 'I don't know.' 'What did he say when he found out?' I took a deep sigh and clenching my teeth I answered her.
TIME: 5 Minutes Later
LOCATION: STILL IN THE CAFETERIA COURTHOUSE
I had a little tickle in my throat and coughed a couple of times. 'Is coughing a sign of shingles?' I asked. 'Oh God this is going to be a long day. You don't have shingles, you're not coming down with anything and you don't have a fever,' she replied. I tried thinking of a good come back but all I could think of to say, 'you said this would be all over by lunch. It's way past lunch, you lied.' Taking a bite out of her pizza she asked, 'do you think I'm the first person to have ever lied in a courthouse?'
2 Minutes Later
'Does that lawyer think my license is going to be suspended and I may need to hire him to get it back. Is that why he gave me his card?' 'No I don't think that was the reason,' A answered. 'What was he even doing here?' I asked. 'Good question. A courthouse is the last place you'd expect to find a lawyer.' 'That's not what I meant. What was he doing here, in the cafeteria?' 'He was having lunch darling like everyone else.' 'Doesn't he have an office, is there some reason he can't eat there?' I asked. 'This could be a long shot but he probably has a trial to attend.' 'Or maybe the nosy lawyer doesn't have an office. I bet he goes from courthouse to courthouse drumming up business by disturbing people in the cafeteria.' 'You're absolutely correct. The only reason he spoke to you and left his card is because you fit the profile of a criminal.........still no smile?' I nodded no. 'Okay you know what, let's pretend the conversation with him never existed. You never spoke to him. He was never here.' 'I can't,' I said back. 'The conversation is stuck on damn replay in my head. I made a mistake by paying both tickets, I get it.' 'Just do me a favor please and finish your lunch,' A pleaded. I picked up the slice. 'Great, my pizza's cold,' I stated. 'You said you wanted something cold,' A said back. 'And chocolaty. I added. I wanted something cold and chocolaty. Not something cold and cheesy,' I explained. 'Why don't you get another slice?' 'Nah, I actually don't mind it cold.'
30 Seconds Later
'Guess who's back and heading straight towards our table?' my sister asked smiling. 'Who?' I asked back while unscrewing the cap to my Diet Coke. I turned around and the lawyer had returned and in his hands was a yellow legal pad. I quickly turned back and said to my sister, 'oh snap! Please tell him we don't want to be bothered.' 'I can't say that.' 'Then tell him to shoo.' 'He's a lawyer, not a fly,' she replied.
THE SHRUGGED SHOULDER REPLY
The lawyer had a question he wanted to ask, how long did I wait to pay each ticket? 'I paid each one about 2-3 days after I received them.' He had a kind of shocked look on his face. 'Why were you in such a rush to pay them?' My reply was the shrugged shoulder reply. 'You never thought about seeking representation or even consulting with someone?' 'It's obvious she didn't,' my sister said. I looked at her and I meant to give her the kind of look that said whose side are you on? But instead I wound up saying it out loud. 'Don't worry,' assured the lawyer, 'she's on your side, as am I. I'm offering you my help.' 'It was two lousy traffic tickets. I never dreamed it would come down to this; me in a courthouse awaiting the fate of my license,' I stated.
AND SO THE LECTURE BEGINS...
'If you hadn't been so quick to pay, your driving offenses would have never been registered with the M.O.T. Insurance companies are not made aware of a driving offense until the conviction has been sent to the M.O.T,' he explained, and for some reason he still felt compelled to continue with the lecture. 'If you had someone fighting your tickets in court, just filing for a court date would have kept the conviction off your record and saved your insurance rate from going up. It must have gone up at least 200%.' Not the insurance speech, again. But I listened, again. 'The actual cost of a speeding ticket in this province is sometimes much more than the fine.'
He mentioned something about insurance companies being a profit based business but I admit I had a little trouble staying awake so I took a big gulp from my Coke hoping the caffeine would help. The lawyer kept talking and making notes on his pad while I kept on thinking how I was better off being on Jury Duty. He wasn't so much offering his help as he was lecturing me because next came the STOP SIGN SPEECH and why it was an even bigger error paying it. Forget the something cold and chocolaty what I needed was an Advil - extra strength!!
'People who have a STOP SIGN VIOLATION on their record are perceived as people who drive through intersections without stopping and are more likely to be involved in a traffic accident. They are always looking to assess what is the risk for any policy holder.' 'In other words the higher the risk, the higher the premium,' I said, 'You are spot on correct,' he replied.
When the lawyer wasn't lecturing me he was questioning me. Question after question after question. He was making me feel hot and not in a good way either. I was actually starting to feel like a criminal on the witness stand. Yes I realize I made a mistake, I never should have paid the tickets. Point made. I understand.
HE WAS SPEAKING ENGLISH BUT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD HE WAS SAYING
'How fast were you speeding?' he asked. '20km over the limit. I was doing 80 in a 60 zone,' I replied. 'So you were speeding?' 'The officer didn't show me the radar gun,' I answered. 'There's no legal requirement for this and in most cases the officer will not, as allowing you to see the speed reading has virtually no bearing on your case.' 'He signaled me to pull over so I must have been speeding.' He paused for a brief moment and said, 'you forgot what I told you earlier.' And in a low whisper he reminded me, 'never, never admit to anything. Did the officer explain what was on the ticket?' I told the lawyer yes. The officer explained what had been written on the ticket, what the violation was and the cost of the fine. 'And the ticket was free of any fatal errors?' he then asked. I had no answer for that question. 'Are you aware if a speeding ticket has a fatal error your lawyer may motion to quash the ticket and in order for that to happen it would have to be presented properly to the Justice of the Peace by way of application or motion to the court?'
I looked around to make sure I was still in the courthouse cafeteria and not in a strange unfamiliar land. He was speaking English but I didn't understand a word he was saying. The lawyer caught on and asked, 'you don't understand a word I'm saying do you?'
Of course I understand. I go around everyday using terms like quash the ticket and motion the court.........
To Be Continued...
XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess
