Dorsai - Taxi

It was roughly a year later that Bonnie told me that her company was ready to promote her – IF she was willing to take the job in another state. I didn't hesitate in the slightest to encourage her to take it. After no small amount of soul-searching, Bonnie did just that. A couple of nights before she was to leave for good, we spent our last time together and said our goodbyes the next morning. After I told her "I love you, Bonnie. And so will the guy that's right for you", she started to cry and said "I love you, too, Jim. And thank you for everything", before pulling my head down to give me a soft kiss on the cheek. After she'd released me, she resolutely turned and made her way to her car before getting in and driving off. Showing the courage I knew she had inside, she didn't look back even once – I know, because I watched her until she was out of sight.

I've been a cabbie for a number of years after dropping out of college while trying to get a degree in Philosophy.

Driving a hack, I've gotten my share of offers from various passengers – in addition to those from the usual assortment of pimps, hookers, dealers, and other underworld denizens. Then, too, I've gotten some that seemed to come out of nowhere, and were so unusual that there was simply no forgetting them.

It was shortly after school let out one year, and I had occasion to pick up three generations of women from the train station. No biggie, and I got headed for their hotel pretty much like I do for everyone. Along the way, they asked me about some of the local sights and tourist attractions, and I answered them. I also offered a couple of suggestions about some other places they might want to see, and they seemed to appreciate it. When we got to where they were staying, I helped with their luggage like I usually do, and got my usual decent tip. I was one of the best cabbies in town, simply because I did do stuff like that – along with being a good driver, consistently helpful and friendly, and maintaining a professional appearance.

The days that followed, though, these three – a girl about sixteen, I figured, her mother, and grandmother – kept asking for me explicitly when they needed a ride from point 'A' to point 'B'. Apparently, they liked me, and were perfectly willing to chat with me about different things as I took them to where they wanted to go. The grandmother (Beth) and mother (Ellen) were the most sociable and talkative; the daughter (Carol) not so much – there seemed to be something going on with her that the other two were trying to work on, but without saying anything.

I got along with them well enough, even, that they offered to treat me to lunch one day. I tried to beg off, but they were insistent enough about it that I finally gave in and took them to a place that I knew that served good food at reasonable prices. It was while we were eating that I learned that Ellen's husband had died in an accident caused by a drunk driver when Carol was just 10, and that she and Carol were able to have a comfortable (but certainly not lavish) life because of the insurance he'd had and the money they'd gotten from the claim against the other driver. I also learned that Carol had never been in any kind of trouble, was a straight 'A' student, and wanted to go on to college and become a teacher – preferably in one of the sciences. Beth's husband had died of a stroke just a couple of years before.

As I sat there at the table with them, I could easily see that they were all related, and it didn't take me long to decide that all three of them were more than passingly attractive. Beth, the oldest, was just starting to show her age – but doing so with class and a simple attractiveness. It wasn't difficult to imagine what she'd looked like when she was younger, and I didn't doubt that she'd pretty much had her pick of guys to go out with.

Beth shared her mothers basic good looks, but in a slightly different way; while not 'pretty', she had a kind of handsomeness that would stay with her well into old age. She was also doing a fine job of being middle-aged: there didn't look to be ten extra pounds on her anywhere, her skin was still smooth, and she had a shape that I noticed more than a few men (including some younger ones) appreciating.

Despite the faint 'attitude' she was packing around, Carol was a looker in her own right: the smooth, soft skin of her age and a trim (but not thin) figure, coupled with being a trifle more buxom than her mother, made her real easy and fun to look at. All three of them had lovely brown hair, simply styled, and soft brown eyes. I could only hope that the woman that I settled down with would look as good…

Of course, the three of them (Beth and Ellen more than Carol) wanted to know something about me, too, so I had to explain to them how and why I'd dropped out of college to start driving cabs. Beth didn't seem to quite know how to deal with it, while Ellen gave every indication of understanding my motives while not necessarily agreeing with them. Carol was the only one that indicated that she really understood. After we'd finished eating, I drove them to their next destination before finding a spot where I was likely to pick up my next fare.

We pretty much went through the same routine the next day, and then the day after that. Though I felt kind of spoiled by their interest and attention, I didn't take it (or them) for granted even a little bit. So when I didn't hear anything from or about them the next day, I was still ready to take care of getting my own lunch – and was about to do so when I got a call to pick someone up at their hotel. When I got there, I was surprised when Ellen was the only one waiting for me; I'd pretty much gotten the idea that wherever one of them went, all of them went. But my job is driving a cab, so after I'd gotten her into the back seat and myself behind the wheel, I asked here "Where am I taking you, Ellen?"

"We're going to whatever place you know that's fairly quiet at lunch. There's something I need to talk to you about, and I'd feel better if it was someplace where nobody could or would hear what I have to say."

Trying to lighten the mood at least a little bit, I responded "Sounds serious…"

She didn't even crack a smile; she simply said "Believe me, it is."

I considered it for a few moments before putting my rig into gear and getting us moving – I knew the waitresses at a place that even though it was generally fairly busy during lunch, they could get us a spot that was as quiet and private as Ellen had said she wanted. That proved to be the case, and Ellen and I had both ordered and gotten our drinks (tea for both of us) when Ellen told me "I expect that you've noticed that Carol hasn't exactly been thrilled while we've all been here."

I answered "Yeah, I have. It seemed like you and Beth had something going on with her, but I didn't figure it was any of my business."

She released a half-laugh before she told me "Well, that was true – right up until last night."

Seeing the confusion on my face, she went on to tell me "I need to give you a little background, so you can understand the problem I have, and why I've come to you with it."

I told her to go ahead, and she did:

"All three of us – Mother, me, and Carol – have always been close. When I was growing up, I was always able to go to Mother about anything: a question, a problem, just someone to talk to while I got something straight in my mind, or whatever; and I was always there for Carol the same way. After her father died, I think I was the only person she felt she could count on and we became even closer. That continued even after she hit puberty and started developing physically; when she started going out with boys, she wasn't afraid to come and talk to me about what happened on her dates. Whether it was to try and find out what he was thinking when some boy did something stupid, or how she felt about it when she started being intimate with them, I always knew what was going on with her. At least, I knew up until a couple of months ago, when she suddenly stopped coming to me. I wasn't foolish enough to think that nothing was going on with her; I just figured that she needed a little time to get used to whatever it was before she could talk to me about it. I let her know several times that I was there if she wanted to talk, but I was careful not to get even a little bit pushy or inquiring. It was nearly a month before she finally told me what was happening: some of the people she knew at school had found out that she was still a virgin, and started making a MAJOR deal out of it. Not just harassing Carol, but telling other people about it, too. I'm sure you remember how much pressure there was in middle and high school to 'fit in', and not stand out from the crowd too much. Well, let me tell you, it's apparently even worse now than it was then – and to be singled out for something like that, AND having everyone talking about her because of it, almost destroyed her. From what she told me, she even briefly considered running away as a way to get away from all of it before she settled on doing something else."