“If I were a school principal dressed for a gala, you still had my license.”
“If I sold insurance.”
“Worked retail.”
“Had no job at all.”
“None of those facts would make valid identification less valid.”
The officer looked away.
The general continued.
“What happened does not become wrong because you discovered my rank.”
“It was either justified before that discovery or it was not.”
The sergeant looked down.
The command officer watched silently.
The general stepped toward the SUV.
Then stopped once more.
“And officer?”
He looked up.
“You asked what a general looks like.”
His mouth tightened.
She slid her sunglasses back on.
“Sometimes she looks exactly like the woman you already stopped.”
Then she entered the SUV.
The convoy pulled away.
For several minutes nobody inside spoke.
The general sat in the rear passenger seat with the damaged garment bag across from her.
A state trooper rode in front.
The command officer sat beside her.
Finally he said:
“I’m sorry.”
The general looked out the window.
“For what?”
“That happened.”
She nodded.
He continued.
“Do you want us to cancel the ceremony?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“We can explain.”
“No.”
The command officer studied her.
The general looked down at the burgundy dress.
“I am not giving him the rest of my day.”
The command officer nodded.
Then looked toward the garment bag.
“Uniform might need pressing.”
She almost laughed.
“That is the first useful thing anyone has said in forty minutes.”
The driver smiled.
The command officer smiled too.
Tension released slightly.
He made a call.
By the time they reached the command center, two staff members were waiting with a portable steamer, lint roller, and an expression of controlled panic.
Her aide rushed toward her.
“You said do not escalate.”
“I didn’t.”
“You gave us your location.”
“You were supposed to continue driving.”
“We were already five minutes behind you.”
The general looked at him.
He was twenty-nine.
Brilliant.
Overprotective.
“You sent the convoy onto the shoulder.”
“I informed the captain you were being detained after your location stopped moving.”
“Which is different from doing what?”
“Protecting schedule integrity.”
The general stared.
He smiled nervously.
She almost laughed.
“Get the uniform fixed.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She changed in a private office.