Chapter 8 (Mother-in-law And The Police)

The other delivery guy had pulled away already in the truck leaving him to grapple with the terror before him - Woodruff. The name alone sent shivers down his spine.

Woodruff was a home for the underdogs, not to be trespassed by just anyone. It was well known for its faded storefronts and worn out buildings, the hub for criminal activities.

Everything, from illegal weapons to counterfeit exchanges took place in Woodruff. He had come to know of the place through his grandfather, during those times when he was still with him.

Right from that day, he had sworn never to visit that place again nor have anything to do with it. Now seeing Donald asking him to go over there to deliver a package made him wonder what exactly he was up to.

“Sir, the address says Woodruff street,” Drake's eyes narrowed, as he looked back at Donald.

“I know,” Donald replied. “You're a delivery guy and your job is to deliver parcels to those who need them irrespective of the location.”

“But sir…” Drake tried to protest.

“Not buts, Drake,” Donald interrupted. “You either do your job or you lose it. It's as simple as that. There are no exceptions,” Donald dismissed with the wave of his hand.

Knowing fully well that he had no choice, Drake reluctantly took the package and set out towards Woodruff, his heart racing with the thoughts of what awaited him over there.

As he navigated through the city, passing through the increasingly noisy neighborhood, a familiar car caught her attention on the side of the road. 

It was Rachel's car. She was standing before some police officers and from the way he had seen, it looked as though she was in some sort of heated argument with them.

Stopping by at a corner of the road, he waited to see why the police had stopped Rachel.

“Do you know why we stopped you?” One of the police officers asked, his voice authoritative.

 “Yeah, yeah, I was speeding and so what? I needed to get home.” Rachel replied, her voice devoid of any form of remorse even if she knew quite alright that she had broken the traffic law.

“Ma'am, you were driving recklessly. The speed limit says 40km/h but you went as fast as 60km/h.” The police officer explained, his voice calm yet firm.

“Oh please,” Rachel smirked, rolling her eyes. “It wasn't that bad, was it? You cops always overact.”

“It was ma'am,” the police officer said. “With the way you were driving, you were putting lives at risk. And as police officers, it's our job to ensure the safety of the road users.”

Rachel crossed her arms defiantly. “I wasn't hurting anyone. You guys just like throwing your weight around.”

The police officer stepped forward, “This isn't about power ma'am. It's about responsibility. You were driving dangerously and we can't ignore that.”

“This is ridiculous,” Rachel scoffed. “I wasn't even going that fast. I can see you're just looking for someone to hassle.”

Drake, seeing the endless argument between Rachel and the police officers, decided to pull over, stepping down from his bike which he had parked just by the corner of the road.

“Mom…” He called as he approached. “Is everything okay?”

Rachel turned to him, her face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. 

She wished Drake hadn't stopped by. It was embarrassing enough that the police had stopped her in the middle of the road. Identifying with Drake as her son in-law would only add to the embarrassment.

“What are you doing here?” She asked angrily.

“One of the officers looked at Drake skeptically, “Is she your mother?” He asked.

“No, officer. She's my mother-in-law,” Drake replied.