The passenger got in the cab from the left and quickly moved to the opposite side by kind of crawling across the back seat — you know, kind of dog-like. Riders like that always give me the creeps. Seat-Scootchers are weird, but not as bad as the “Canines.”
He sat up straight, real close to the door. Too close. Too much pressure on the arm rest, Dude. Another sign that the night was a long one.
“Drive east,” he said, “I don’t know the address, but I’ll tell you directions when you get around the airport.”
He tossed a few large bills on the cash-tray like an offering.
I shouldn’t have, but I took them and drove. (“Baby needs shoes,” — which isn’t true; there is no “Baby.”).
After about 5 minutes, he started rustling around in his pants and I worried that he was going to be like that, like you-know-what. But, he wasn’t. He was just looking for his lighter.
“Sorry, No smoking, Sir.”
“Yeah, it’s smokeless,” he said as he lit the wick on a candle.
He set the candle on a tiny red saucer that he spent less time to find in his pants.
He was right. There was no smoke, but I suspected it still violated the spirit of company rules. I just drove, and kept an eye on the flame in the rear-view mirror.
As I drove, the candle shrank into a pool of melt.
The rider relentlessly stared at the candle light. His eyes flashed of fire. I watched him fanatically watching the flame. When the fire finally flicked flicked flickered and went out, he said, “Turn left here.” He didn’t even look up to see where we were.
But, there was a left and I took it.
The cab was now dark. No more romantic candle light shaping the car’s interior. Just the motor’s tuned purr and the smell of wax.
I drove down a road that was no where near the airport. After going farther than I imagined could be reasonable, I asked, “How far?”
There was no answer. I switched on the interior light, and I was the only one in the cab. No passenger, candle pool or red saucer. The only trace was a scent of flame, which my boss blamed me for. Oh, and the cash “vanished” as well, but I know where that went.
credits
from Night Taxi,
released December 18, 2023
Jerry Gordon (contrabass, tenor sax, voice/story)
Improviser and composer Lara Alarcón has created an experimental opus rife with moments of wildly free jazz and lovely melodic passages. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 28, 2021
