Dorsai - Taxi

I happily positioned myself behind her, and put my arm around her – not surprised in the slightest when she moved my hand to her breast before wriggling herself back against me. Neither of us felt the need to say anything more to each other, though I did give her an occasional soft kiss on the shoulder or the back of her neck or anyplace else that struck my fancy.

Quite a few minutes passed before I heard her say "As nice as it feels to be with you like this, I'm starting to feel a little cold and squishy. Would you be upset if I wanted to take a shower?"

I gave her a brief hug before answering "Only if you wanted to take it alone."

She turned her head to look at me, and I could see how pleased she was as she told me "I certainly wouldn't want to upset you…"

A few moments later, and the two of us were in her bathroom, holding each other as she got the shower started, and the temperature adjusted. Once that was done, we had a splendid time helping each other clean up – with a fair amount of playful molesting, groping, fondling, and general grab-assery along the way.

Dried off and dressed, she let me hold her on my lap on the couch for a little while as we chatted about the different things she planned to do when she got home. Finally, though, it was late enough that I simply had to get home. Before she would vacate my lap, though, Kat told me "Jim, I want you to know how very lucky I feel I am to have met you. You started out as a damn fine cab driver, and just kept getting better and better from there. Not only have you proven yourself to be a friend, but you've helped me find a way to give some purpose to my life. On top of all of that, you've given me the guidance I needed to turn loose of some of my fears and inhibitions – and brought me pleasure and feelings I hadn't known were even possible. You're intelligent, thoughtful in both senses of the word, considerate, patient, and too many other things for me to mention. You're the kind of person that this sorry world of ours needs more of, and I can't begin to tell you how happy and grateful I am to have gotten to know you. I don't think that it would ever occur to you to ask, so I'm going to tell you: if you ever find you need or want to stop driving cabs, there will be a job – and a good-paying one! – waiting for you at one of the foundations that I'll be setting up. There isn't a doubt in my mind that any organization that you were a part of would benefit from having you around, and listening to you."

I didn't figure that there was a whole lot for me to say in response, except "Thank you, Kat. All I've done for you is to help you find what was already inside you. You're a damn fine person, yourself, and I think you've brought as much into my life as you say I have to yours. It truly is a pleasure for me to have gotten to know you, and I'm honored that someone such as yourself would think so highly of me."

With that, the two of us stood up, and I readily let her pull me into a kiss and hug before we headed for the door. When we got there, she told me "Thank you, James, for everything", and I responded by taking her hands in mine and kissing them before saying "And thank you, Kat" before taking my leave.

It was maybe a month later when I got a letter through the cab company office. When I opened it, all there was inside was a clipping from a newspaper. Reading it, I quickly saw that it was about Katherine: it told about how she was using a surprisingly high percentage of her fortune to establish a number of non-profit groups intended to assist those that needed it. The thing that really got my attention, though, was something that she said in it: "Thanks to the example of someone very special to me, I've learned that each of us – even a cab driver – can have a positive impact on someone else's life if we have the courage and compassion to speak and act when it is needed."

I never saw Katherine again. From that time onward, though, I would continue to get the occasional envelope through the cab company; inside, there would be another newspaper clipping about her, and the good she was doing. I knew that she wasn't 'bragging' by sending them to me, but rather, letting me know that she was doing what she said she would. When I got one that turned out to be a society page announcement of her engagement, I silently congratulated her, and wished the two of them the best…

I'd had a fare that needed to get to the airport, and after dropping them off, I'd gotten into line to wait my turn for a fare to take back into town. Just for a change of pace, the timing was such that I was pretty sure to catch the tail end of the 'busy' period at the airport and get something fairly quickly so that I could finish up for the day.

My estimation of the situation proved to be pretty good, and the line of us cabbies moved forward fast enough that none of us had time to get out and bullshit with each other.

As I got close to being at the head of the line, I couldn't help noticing that there was what looked like a Middle-Eastern couple exiting the baggage area – I mean, his burnoose and her headdress kind of stood out in the crowd, and seemed like pretty reliable indicators of where they were from, you know?

I thought that one of the cabs ahead of me in line was going to get them, but something happened that had a couple of other sets of people move ahead of them before they got queued up again. I was still surprised, though, when it worked out that I got them as fares. While some of my fellow cabbies had 'personal issues' with people of different types, I didn't share any of their foibles; I just hopped out and did my best to help them with their luggage and get them settled in the back before heading back into town. Once I'd cleared the airport, I asked where they were headed, and the guy gave me the name of one of the better hotels in town. I assured him I knew right where it was, and turned my attention to my driving.

The airport is kind of far out of town, so I had plenty of time to take a look at the two of them – particularly after they started talking to each other in what I can only guess was Arabic. The thing was that the tone of their conversation told me that something was going on between them: even discounting my ignorance of the language they were speaking, he still sounded like he wasn't too happy about something, and she sounded like she was trying to placate him – but not having a lot of success at it. He looked pretty much like the stereotypical Arab: somewhat dark complexion, dark eyes, goatee, and all the rest. On the other hand, she didn't look quite like the TV images I'd seen of women from that part of the world; it wasn't anything that I could put my finger on, though. None the less, she was definitely a looker with a pretty face and absolutely beautiful dark eyes. Again, I can only guess, but I figured that he was likely in his late 40's while she looked to be a good 15 years younger.

Still, my job was to drive a cab for them, and I pretty much kept my attention on the road and not them – at least until I heard what could only have been the sound of a slap. A quick look in the mirror told me that she'd been on the receiving end of it: there was a distinct hand-print on one of her cheeks, and she'd turned about as pale as anyone I'd ever seen. I didn't care for that much, but I wasn't a cop or in the marriage counseling business, so I kept my mouth shut.

Several minutes later, they started talking again, and it sounded to me like he was starting in on her again: his was the louder voice, and his tone seemed to make it pretty clear that he was considerably less than pleased about whatever it was they were talking about. Again, she seemed to be doing her best to settle him down, and my impression was that he wasn't interested.