"Louisville, Kentucky."
"Are you working tonight?"
"I'm a commercial driver. My truck is outside."
"Did you have anything to drink?"
"Coffee."
Officer Bennett glanced at the cup on the table.
"Any alcohol?"
"No."
Across the dining room, Victor was speaking loudly to Sergeant Carter.
"He came at me. I was protecting my students."
Sergeant Carter looked at him.
"Did he strike you?"
Victor hesitated.
"He was threatening me."
"Did he strike you?"
"No."
"Did he grab you?"
Victor looked toward Curtis.
"He was getting aggressive."
Sergeant Carter repeated the question.
"Did he grab you?"
"No."
"Did you strike him?"
Victor's mouth tightened.
"I pushed him away."
The waitress spoke from behind Evelyn.
"You slapped him."
Victor turned.
"Nobody asked you."
Sergeant Carter raised a hand.
"Sir, I'm speaking with you."
Victor looked down.
The officer's body camera continued recording.
"Do you have identification?"
Victor handed over his driver's license.
"Victor Raines."
"Do you have a martial arts academy?"
"Yes."
"Are these people your students?"
"They're my team."
"All right. I need you to stay here while I speak with the witnesses."
Victor nodded, though his expression suggested that he considered the request unnecessary.
While the officers gathered statements, Curtis sat in a chair near the entrance.
Evelyn brought him a clean napkin and a fresh cup of water.
"I'm sorry this happened," she said.
"Thank you."
"Your dinner's going to be replaced."
"You don't have to do that."
"I know. I'm doing it anyway."
Curtis looked at the broken plate.
"Please don't make the waitress pay for it."
Evelyn shook her head.
"She won't."
He nodded.
The little girl from the coffee counter had stopped crying. Her father was helping her put the teaspoon back on the table.
She looked at Curtis.
"Does your face hurt?"
Her father gently touched her shoulder.
"Honeyβ"
"It's all right," Curtis said.
The girl held up a small paper napkin.
"Here."
Curtis accepted it.
"Thank you."
She looked at his cheek.
"My dad says people shouldn't hit."
Curtis glanced at the father.
"Your dad is right."
The man looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I should've stepped in sooner."
"You were protecting your daughter."
"I could have done more."
Curtis considered that.
"You did what you could when you could."
The father looked down.
His daughter leaned against his arm.
For a moment, the restaurant seemed to become ordinary again.
Then Victor raised his voice from across the room.
"You're all acting like I attacked somebody for no reason."
Sergeant Carter replied.
"Sir, I need you to lower your voice."
Victor looked toward Curtis.
"This guy thinks he's special."
Curtis closed his eyes briefly.
He had wanted a quiet dinner.
Now he was sitting beneath bright restaurant lights while strangers discussed his face, his shirt, his occupation, and his right to occupy a booth.
He felt the familiar exhaustion of being turned into a subject rather than treated as a person.
He opened his eyes.
"I don't think I'm special," he said.
Victor laughed.
"Then why are you acting like this?"
Curtis looked at him.
"Because I'm allowed to eat dinner."
No one laughed this time.
Sergeant Carter stepped between them.
"That's enough. Mr. Raines, please come with me."
Victor began to protest.
But the officer was already moving toward the quieter hallway near the restaurant entrance.
Curtis watched them go.
He had no idea that the incident would follow him long after he left the travel plaza.
He had no idea that one of the young men in the matching jackets would eventually tell a story that changed the academy.
And he had no idea that the promise he had made to a fallen friend would soon become the reason he refused to remain silent.
For now, he only wanted to call his daughter.
He picked up his phone.
There were three missed messages from Maya.
The first read:
Did you get parked?
The second:
Dad?
The third:
Call me when you can. I have good news.
Curtis looked at the screen for several seconds.
Then he typed:
I'm safe. Had a little trouble at the restaurant. I'll call you soon.
He did not mention the slap.
Not yet.
Some things were easier to explain after a person had slept.
But before he could put the phone away, Sergeant Carter returned.
"Mr. Dawson?"
Curtis stood.
"Yes?"
"We'd like to take a formal statement. And I'd recommend having that cheek checked by medical staff."
"All right."
She glanced toward Victor, who was now standing near the entrance with Officer Bennett.
"There's something else you should know. Mr. Raines has told us he wants to file a complaint against you."
Curtis looked at her.
"About what?"
"He says you threatened him."
Curtis was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
Sergeant Carter studied him.
"You're not surprised?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Curtis glanced toward the matching jackets.
"Because he doesn't like how the room saw him."
Carter held his gaze.
"That's possible."
Curtis picked up his jacket.
"Then let's make sure the room gets to tell you what it saw."
And for the first time that evening, Sergeant Carter smiled.
"That's exactly what we're going to do."
The Promise He Had Made
The formal statement took nearly forty minutes.