The Trip WC 286

The Trip
WC 286

I’d just gotten my driver’s license; I was invincible.

Enter Kathy and Lynne.

“Let’s take a road trip,” Kathy said.

“None of us have a car,” I said.

“Ask your mom,” Lynne said.

My mom was a very generous person; she did have a car, so…

“Mom, we want to visit the University of Illinois in Springfield to check it out. Could we borrow your car?”

“Who’s we?”

“Kathy and Lynne.”

My mom liked my friends and trusted all of us. Silly woman.

So, off we went.

What’s that saying? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Fast-forward to a few weeks after our trip.

“This doesn’t make sense.” My mom is reading something. “Lake Geneva, Wisconsin?”

My heart jumped around in my chest.

“An accident in Wisconsin? In my car?” She looked my way. “You were in Springfield, right Jackie?”

Busted!

We never intended to go to Springfield (which was miles away in the opposite direction). We knew my mom wouldn’t let me have the car if we were going to a party town like Lake Geneva.

As luck would have it, on our last morning, I backed out of our motel’s parking space--and right into a police car. A report had to be filed. The insurance company had to contact my mom.

So there I was, staring into the eyes of a disappointed (and, may I add, angry) mother.

I was grounded (but lucky to be alive when my dad found out). Kathy and Lynne’s parents were told, and my partners-in-crime were grounded.

I was not allowed to drive my mom’s car ever again. At that moment in time, I wished I had failed my driving test.

That trip will forever live in infamy.