Berger said. Like he couldnât even believe it.
Which is why all Laura has to do now is bat her eyes at Mr. Traffic Cop and sheâll have us out of here in a jiffyâ¦
âI need to get my children and their friends home to bed,â she explains when he leans in the window. Trying to get a closer look at the Hot Momma, Iâm sure. âItâs a School Night, you know?â
To which Mr. Traffic Cop replies, âOf course, Maâam.â With a wink and a smile. Then he throws in, âWould you mind my asking where the childrenâs father is this evening?â
âI have no idea,â Laura smiles. âWeâre no longer married.â
Ding-ding-ding!
Mr. Traffic Cop pulls back the blue and white âDo Not Crossâ barrier, allowing divorcée Laura Victor-Dayton-Victor, her four children, and their two friends to pass in her tan little K-Car.
âHe sure was handsome,â Bradâs Mom sighs. In the rearview mirror, I see her smiling to herself, knowing sheâs still got âIt.â
âDidnât he look just like Ponch from CHiPs? â adds Brad.
I take a peek out the back window, deciding the cop wasnât that great. I mean, I used to be a big CHiPs fan back in like 3 rd grade, and he was no Erik Estrada! In fact, my Best Friend at the time, Joey Palladino, and I used to watch the show every Saturday night and talk about it on Monday in Mrs. Foxâs class. We were always arguing over who was cooler, Ponch or John. I always picked Ponch, of course.
Too bad Joeyâs family moved away the Summer after 6 th grade âcause his parents didnât want him going to school in Hazeltucky anymore. Now he lives in Clarkstonâway out past 30 Mileâand Iâve only seen him a couple times since he left. At first, we kept in touch all the time, running up our parentsâ phone bills talking once or twice a week. But after we both got to junior high and made new friends, we pretty much stopped. Which is a Total Bummer because up till Brad came along, Joey was like my Best Friend ever.
âThat cop totally wanted you,â Bobby says to Laura, trying to smooth-talk her.
To which she gives him another look. Iâve got a feeling Laura really doesnât care for Bobby Russell at all. And I donât blame herâ¦Heâs a Total Loser!
So how come he doesnât wanna be my friend?
Holding Out For A Hero
âWhere have all the good men gone?
And where are all the gods?â
âBonnie Tyler
âOh, my Godâ¦Did you see the News?â
Four days later, Iâm home in my bedroom talking to Brad on my brand new telephone. Which is just an extension, but stillâ¦Finally, Iâve got some privacy!
âI did,â I say in Total Shock. âI canât even believe it.â
We both just got the official word from Channel 7âs Bill Bondsâ¦âTV star Jon-Erik Hexum has died.â
Apparently, JEH got bored while on the set of Cover Up . So between takes, he started fooling around, putting a .44 Magnum prop gun up to his head. âLetâs see if Iâve got one for me,â he joked. Which became his Famous Last Words as he pulled the trigger.
The impact from the blank fractured his skull, sending a quarter-inch thick fragment into his brain. After being rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, he slipped into a coma. With his motherâs permission, Jon-Erik was flown to Las Vega$ todayâOctober 18, 1984âwhere he was taken off life support and died peacefully. His organs are being donated at his request. He was three weeks shy of his 27 th birthday.
âI canât even imagine living for only twelve more years,â Brad sighs, holding back tears.
âI knowâ¦Iâve got a bijillion things I wanna do with my life still.â
We observe a Moment of Silence. Then Brad says, âYou knowâ¦I been thinkingâ¦â Then he trails