An Interesting Cab Ride

I was debating where to post this, but decided that it belonged here because of the juicy details. Read on.

Tonight I went to the office and it was quite late when I got to the taxi stand. I had a wide array of cab choices, and I chose the newest car model. It seems I made the right choice because the interior of the cab was leathered and the air freshener smelled weirdly like Clinique for Men. I leaned towards the driver to inform him of my destination when I noticed that he is… a minor?!?

“How old are you?!?” I exclaimed and he laughed like he expected the question.

He said 23 and handed over his driver’s license. He assured me that he has been driving his own car for years and was just pitching in for his dad. It’s his parents’ anniversary and because he’s the youngest and unemployed among his siblings, his gift to them was to drive his father’s taxi while they had fun ballroom dancing. He was chatty and talked about how his dad cannot quit working and opted to drive a cab as soon as he started his retirement. This kid’s a fresh graduate and will work in a firm soon. I did tell you he was chatty, didn’t I? He’s also as cute as a puppy.

A traffic jam comprising big trucks greeted us at a major intersection when his cell phone rang. He glanced at it and said he has to take the call because it’s his former professor. I told him that he’d better put it on speaker mode so that we won’t get traffic cop trouble, and that I’d be wearing my headphones so I won’t be listening. I heard them say hello right before I plugged in my MP3 player, and something about the woman’s tone made me pause before I put on the earphones.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a deep, bedroom voice.

“Hello, Miss Silva (not her real name). I’m driving for my dad right now. I’ll just call you later when I get ho-…”

The woman on the other line gave a throaty laugh and started making sounds like she’s in pain maybe? I heard a barely suppressed “WAT DA F-!!!” and caught him glance in my direction once and then at the phone with a horrified expression. I had both hands over my mouth to stifle my shocked laughter, and the traffic was letting up so he had to move the car…

He tried reasoning with the woman, bless him, though he sounded strained and desperate. He kept saying he’s driving and he would call her later, he promised. As soon as another intersection came into view, he slowed down and turned off the phone. As soon as he could speak, he said “I’m really changing my SIM card soon. No, I’ll do it tonight!”

He related how his lady professor always chose the most difficult equations for him to solve when he was in school, and that she never made it easy for him to present his projects in class. Then, as soon as he graduated, she started calling him to ask how he was and if he got a job already. He said this is the first time she called him sounding like that.

I asked him frankly if he ever considered taking up her offer, whatever it is. He told me that he didn’t intend to start his life as an adult being linked to a much older woman who could damage his entire career if the relationship ended badly. Good thinking. I gave him a 20-peso tip just for being a principled lad.

Now, can you understand why I didn’t post this in my parenting blog? XD

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View Woobie’s Resources for the list of books that I use for giving constructive dating advice and to increase my knowledge of the Love Game.