Dorsai - Taxi

When I was done with breakfast, they left me one last cup of coffee before leaving to take care of the dishes. When they got back, they played paper-rock-scissors to see which one showered with me; Tania won, which Daneesha took with good grace. She took her shower first, and left plenty of hot water for Tania and I as we played a little figurative and literal grab-ass while cleaning up.

By the time we were all cleaned up and dressed, it was close enough to time to get them to the station that we didn't bother waiting. Both of them said their goodbyes to Demosthenes, and we were on our way.

At the train station, they weren't going to have much of a wait, and both insisted that I should go ahead an leave. As Tania pointed out, they'd already taken up enough of my time, and I'd brought them to catch their train 'for free' so they would be able to get something to eat on the way home if they wanted; they were adamant that I not lose any more time or income because of them. I finally acquiesced, and both gave me a parting kiss on the cheek before I left.

It was about a week and a half later that I got a letter through the cab company. The envelope was hand-written, and the return address was unfamiliar. When I opened it and read the letter inside, I found out that it was from the girls mother.

She told me that she and her husband had been concerned about the amount of stuff the girls had brought back with them, and checked all the receipts – including the one for the hotel, which showed they'd stayed one less night than they'd been gone. The girls had initially claimed that everything had been fine; but when confronted with the hotel receipt, Tania had admitted to what had happened. She'd even finally admitted that they'd stayed with me, and explained the events that led up to it.

Both parents had initially been concerned, of course, but both girls had been adamant that my behavior had been entirely proper during the evening, and explaining the sleeping arrangements when we'd all gone to bed. That Daneesha had been able to quote a section from Hamlet had been the thing that finally convinced them that the girls had actually spent the evening reading. Their mother had called the hotel and spoken with Bob, who had confirmed what he knew of things, including that he'd lent them his cell phone – and apparently telling them what a nice I guy I was. Both parents had finally decided that nothing untoward had happened; she was writing to thank me for being kind enough to watch out for them in a strange city. She also included a check equal to what a night at the hotel would have cost them, saying that it was the only thing they could do to show their appreciation from a distance.

When I got home, I wrote her a nice letter, telling her and her husband that I'd found the girls delightful (without saying how, of course), and that I was glad that I'd been able to help. I also told her that I figured the girls had made an innocent enough mistake because of their youth, and hoped that she and her husband wouldn't judge them too harshly. I also sent the check back, suggesting that it be used to get the books they'd started reading at my place, so the girls could finish them. I closed by asking her to tell them that I'd remember them with great pleasure – knowing they'd appreciate hearing that they'd pleased me as much as I had them, and the humor of how the message was being passed along.

I never saw, or heard from, either Daneesha or Tania again – but I remember them with great fondness.

It was getting late – for me, on a Monday afternoon, anyway – when I got a call from the dispatcher that someone at the airport was asking for me by name.

I couldn't think of any of my 'regular' customers that had been out of town, but figured "What the hell", and headed off.

When I got to the airline area I'd been given, I was flagged down by a tiny little Asian woman – maybe 5-foot and a few inches, even in the high heels she was wearing; she couldn't have weighed 100 pounds sopping wet and with a brick in each hand. She was wearing a lightweight dress that came down to just above her knees; what I could see of her legs made me regret the dress wasn't shorter. She turned slightly, and I could see that she had straight black hair that fell to the middle of her back, pulled back into a loose pony tail. I hustled out to open the door for her and get her bag into the trunk before I got back behind the wheel and asked her "Where to, Ma'am?"

"Hilton, please", she answered.

As I'm driving, I keep glancing back at her in the rearview mirror, trying to figure out who the hell she is that she'd ask for me by name – and taking the opportunity to look her over. If you've ever seen the Clint Eastwood movie "Magnum Force", she looked a lot like the Japanese girl that Dirty Harry hooks up with. Except that I think this girl is Chinese, maybe, or even Korean – but not Japanese.

I can see that she's looking at me, too, and she finally says "You don't remember me, do you?"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I don't. I think that if I'd seen you before, I'd remember; you're too pretty to forget."

She smiled, and said "Thank you. I can't blame you for not remembering, really. I was here last New Years Eve, and you took me and my boyfriend from a bar we were in back to our hotel. Both of us were pretty wasted, and I think you thought I was someone he'd picked up and was going to take advantage of, because a couple of times, you asked me if I was going to be okay."

I thought back to that night – it had been busy as hell – and finally realized that I had talked to her that night. She'd been a lot drunker than the guy had, and I try to do what I can to keep drunks from being screwed over; particularly when they're young, female, and attractive.

I nodded my head and told her "Yeah, I remember, now. New Years and Halloween are always crazy in this business, and I was really hopping that night", by way of apology.

She just smiled again, and said "I understand. I don't remember a lot of it, myself."

A couple of minutes went by before she asked me "Aren't you curious about why I would ask for you specifically? And considering the shape I was in that night, how I would know to ask for you?"

"Well, it DID cross my mind, but I figured if you wanted me to know, you'd tell me, sooner or later."

I saw her make a face before she said "A month after my boyfriend and I got home, the son of a bitch dumped me for some bimbo with big tits and no brains that he met in a strip club. I was pretty pissed off about it for quite a while; and when I got over that, I was really bummed out – he and I had been together since we met in college. But then I remembered you. I remembered how you seemed concerned about me, so I called the cab company a couple of weeks ago and asked if they had any kind of record or anything about who took me from the bar to the hotel. They did, and I got your name from them. They wanted to know why I wanted it, and I told them that you had done such a good job that I wanted to ask for you the next time I came here; they told me that you're their best driver, and that you get a LOT of people asking for you by name. I was wondering if you were really as nice as I thought you were, so when I heard that, I figured you must be. That's when I decided I'd come back here and see if you were interested in the two of us hooking up for a couple of days. I'm just looking to spend some time with somebody that seems to give a rat's ass about me, even if it's only a little bit, and for a little while. I called back a few days ago to find out when your days off would be, so I know you have tomorrow and the next day before you go back to work. If you're willing, I'd like you to stay with me at the hotel; I'll cover all the expenses, so that you aren't out any money or anything – I don't figure cab drivers make much, and I'm a graphic artist for an advertising firm, so I can afford it. I know it sounds like I'm maybe trying to hire a gigolo or something, but that's really not what I'm after. I think you're probably a pretty nice guy, kind of sexy, and somebody that I'd just like to spend some time with."