Acceptance – An Extra Special Wedding – A Five Minute Mystery

I knew better, I really knew better, but didn’t have the common sense to behave myself. My head still hurt, my god did it hurt. Luckily I was cognoscente. I should have kicked the patrolman’s ass for letting Jamie and me get back in the new 2024 red Ford pickup. We had been speeding and drinking along the back roads to I-5 and the Nisqually. I was sitting in the back seat. When I saw the blinking lights I started heaving every beer bottle, empty and full out at every turn. Once they were gone we pulled over to the side of the road and tried to act sober. The trooper saw Jamie’s uniform, insignia and name and just shook his head and disgustedly said “Get the Hell out of here . . . and no more drinking.”

On the road we slowed down and thanked god for getting rid of the bottles. We got on base and joined a ruckus of buddies in much the same way we were. There was arguing going on and then somehow I was involved. The words were “tough guy,” “Oh, yeah” and I’m pretty sure Jesus was included. There were some other accolades and then two dumbasses got their heads rammed into the hollow concrete block walls. One was me. I remember seeing a large photo of Mount Rainier being glued to the wall covering up the gaping holes in the wall . . . and then staggering out to Jamie’s car about five in the morning.

We pulled into the La Casa Motel at Ponders Corner and I wished Jamie “good luck” and said, “See you at four.” We both giggled as he drove away and I took several tries before getting the key into the door knob and sighed in relief as the door slowly opened. Annie was sound asleep. I took a long, cold shower and then slowly approached the mirror over the sink. I thanked god for no longer being in the army. Although my head had a nasty looking bruise over a wide area, my hair covered it up entirely.

Annie’s alarm went off at ten, and I jumped up with a smile, which was a little difficult with the pain at the top of my head. We were fully clothed and ready for the upcoming wedding in a matter of minutes. We went for a big breakfast. It was going to be a long day. The wedding was a huge success even filled with army and ex-army attendees. Everyone had a marvelous time and everything went well. We finished up the evening and wished the newly weds well. I managed to look and act normal, but it was a struggle. Back at the motel, Annie gave me three large pills and said, “Jaime thought you would probably need these. He suggested two tonight and one tomorrow, which should clean out any drug residue, let you feel normal, and pass anything needed for acceptance at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. I wasn’t too worried and hoped for the best, I had spent three years in the army as a military policeman.