The Driver

I was sitting in a booth in the old Sanria Savings and Loan building when an angel walked in.

My booth was in the corner, the only one in the place with a circular table, but I liked that I could keep my back to the wall and my eyes on the door. The venerable bank had a ceiling 24 feet high, with all of it's original molding still intact after over a century of mortgages, money orders and old ladies trading in their nickels and dimes. Now it was an abomination - transformed into one of these fucking trendy coffee houses with fifteen dollar salads choking with avocado. I only came here for the cheesecake and the chess.

I'd seen the angel before, even given her a couple of rides. Those times she was sullen and detached, but now the flowing locks of her crimson red hair seemed afire as she burst in all agitated, maybe even terrified. A few furtive glances around and she made a beeline to the counter, bumping into some yuppie suit along the way.

My phone buzzed. It was Pavlina, my chess teacher:

Sorry Christopher, can't make it today - perhaps Saturday?

Fuck. She couldn't have sent that before I drove over, eh?

I didn't have time to reply before two men in finely tailored suits walked in. The bigger of the two looked about 35, very fit, short hair cropped military style. The other one was at least fifty, with wild grey Einstein hair and horned rimmed glasses. I watched as he scanned the room in meticulous fashion, until his eyes caught his target and his head followed slowly until he was looking right at me.

"Y-you're the one, the driver - they said you might be here" the angel spoke all agitated. She was standing now right before my table. "P-Please they're here to stick a needle in my arm to poison me. I'm just a slave to them - I have cash I just need you to drive me over the bridge that's it." After a quick glance at Einstein she invited herself to join me as she slid into the booth. Her right hand squeezed my arm as her left pulled a small package out of her tight, cream colored suede jacket. "Please, I know you're the driver - I recognize you, I can trust you right? I know you'll be ab-"

The package had just made it into my right hand as the large man pulled the angel roughly off the seat, but somehow the string holding the brown shipping paper must have caught on her finger, and with a tear the contents flew like butterfly's all over the table.

What must have been at least 50 index size pearly white invitations now lay under and over the seat, my table, and one landed perfectly still into the blueberry topping on my plate.

"My deepest apologies, sir. My daughter here is quite unwell, refuses to take her medication - you understand." he was collecting the cards as he spoke, "You work for Santana Elite Courier, do you not?"

How does he know me, I've never seen him before.

"That's right, I'm not su-" He cut me off,

"Please accept this token for disturbing your lunch."

Einstein placed two 100 dollar bills neatly under my coffee cup in a very elegant manner, and now turned towards his daughter with a stern, disapproving frown. Then he marched off towards the door. The large man had the Angel held tightly as he followed, but she turned and looked at me with a stunned silence, tears in her swollen red crazed eyes. And they were gone.

I was trying to process what had just happened, and considered finishing my tainted cheesecake when I noticed one card left behind, sitting snug between my legs. It was a very fancy invitation. Gorgeous pearl white with embossed outlines, but printed on both sides in strange red ink in a smaller serif typeface:

The Sun always Rises

and on back:

4148 Etelier Lane, in the sand on the beach,

June 20th, after sunset.

I'm used to fucked up situations. I drove a taxi for a few years and it takes an awful lot to faze me. I've seen 11 year old drug couriers who were uncomfortably aware of their sexuality; low class madams trying to recruit me to pimp; meth heads of all shapes and sizes shaking in anticipation in the backseat as they directed me all over town in search of one more hit.

But now working for Santana, it was almost boring in the best of ways. This was a high class outfit. Don't get me wrong, I love speeding around town in a Crown Vic, but now I drive a beautiful black Mercedes S550 like a fuckin' baller. And the clientele are mostly staid professionals who rarely care to drop their phones to speak to me. Mostly downtown to the airport 10 times a day.

Where did I drive the angel to again? The swanky Front Door nightclub to the Barrington towers the first time. It was New Years. Another time was the Kohn/Schieffle building to Marquis West. Can't remember where else. She was always alone. Always snotty high rise condos. And always dressed to impress. She was no child, but couldn't have been much older than 27.

I'm not sure how she could have remembered me, because we never spoke. Not that I didn't want to, she was absolutely stunning. A 5'10" beauty with long, thick red hair. But it was against company policy to ever speak to our clientele unless spoken to. I always knew the destination before she got into the car so it was never ever necessary. She didn't strike me as crazy or a drug fiend, just disinterested. Today she was manic and frightened. And after years of dealing with the entire fucked up spectrum of humanity, I remembered it was none of my business.

I fingered the last crumb of cheesecake into my mouth, took the two large bills, and the invitation, and placed them into my wallet.

*********************************************************************

It was Saturday afternoon, June 20th. Pavlina sat opposite me, both hands straddling her green tea. Her short cropped black hair was cut as precise as the angles on the plastic pieces. "I'm going to use Queens gambit every time today until you learn how to slow me down. You keep hanging your pawns out to dry."

"I may be a little distracted." I replied as I hesitantly moved knight f3 out to protect my once again lonely pawn.

"You are much too passive. Good defense requires some offense. You are like this in life as well, I'll bet."

Wow. No emotions on her face as usual, but she never once made such a personal comment. "How could you possibly be able to judge that? Remember, I'm paying you actual money so I can lose all day." I kept the reply jokey, but was a bit taken aback.

"You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, you're personable, reasonably handsome. You simply don't strike me as someone who ought to be driving people around for a living."

"Maybe I enjoy it. I get to meet all kinds of people, the hours can be loose, I get to drive a sweet car."

"Someone else's car. And if they remain strangers are you really meeting them?" Fuck. She's really annoying today. And she's dismantling my pawn structure again.

"I think I've had enough of this - I'll come back next week a little more focused." I tipped my Black King over with a flick and let it wobble in a semi circle almost to the edge of the table. She hated when I did that.

"Quitting so soon? I'm still charging you for 3 hours. I don't really mind, I'm taking Samantha to a party tonight, so it's nice to not be in a rush. Do you have any plans Christopher?"

"Yeah I'm working tonight." and I walked out in a huff.

********************************************************************

The cityscape flew by as I rushed to my last call of the evening, as the sun was slowly making its last gasp on the horizon. I pulled up in front of a stately brownstone apartment to see my passenger already on the curb, a tall gentleman, dressed in a tuxedo, his greying sideburns hidden by the phone on his ear.

"Driver, I'm running a touch late, take me here please."

He handed me the invitation, and went back to his call.

"Is she still sedated?......................Yes, she is, isn't she................. What did she do when you shaved her head?...............hahahahahahaha.............Yes, I'm on my way now.....................try to wait for me..... Ok, see you soon.

My heart was racing. Could it be her? I tried to remain calm. The doctor stared passively out the window, occasionally checking his watch. The 20 minute drive felt like an hour, and beads of sweat kept forming on my brow. I wiped them on my sleeve as non chalantly as possible.

"Are you ok, driver?" said the doctor, cheerily.

"Yes, just a little hot up here." I replied nervously.

"Well don't mind me, roll down the windows, man. Enjoy the beautiful night! Soak in that wind!"

We arrived. Like all the houses on the lake, this one was surrounded by an acre of trees. He instructed me to let him out at the beginning of the driveway. He handed me a crisp one hundred dollar bill and said: "I'm going to walk the rest of the way. It really is a glorious night isn't it?"

And he disappeared into the darkness.

I got out of the car and lit a cigarette. I removed my black suit jacket and rolled up my sleeves, sweat dripping onto the quiet, dimly lit road.

Should I call the police? If it turned out to be nothing I'd lose my job. Would they get here in time anyway? It couldn't be too much harm to take a peek, could it?

I pulled the car over and moved 50 feet down the road, stepped out of the car and into the blackness of the trees. I moved quietly, but the branches kept hitting me in the face. My heart was beating faster than the crescendo of crickets.

The Alekhine defense. That's what I'll use next time. Pavlina says I'm not confident enough to try that yet. Fuck Pavlina. Your girlfriend is way too young for you.

I couldn't distract myself enough to overcome my fear. My hands shook, and I was now descending on a hill. I must be getting closer. Shafts of moonlight were sneaking through the branches now, the trees no longer dancing together so tight. I could hear an opera of waves louder than the company of insects.

Suddenly, the hill became cliff, and before I could slow myself I tripped over a large root and landed face first into the beach.

The sand stuck to my sweaty, warm face, and I slowly picked myself up. I turned my head eastward, towards a terrible, muddled green glow. A lantern maybe, sat atop a pole in the distance. I knelt into a crawl and crept toward it, too frightened to stand. The crashing water was more ominous than calming, but my curiosity overwhelmed me.

I've been threatened at gunpoint before. I've had hardened criminals tell me they'd kill me if I ratted out their coke den. This will be nothing. Nothing at all.

Just as I hit the edges of soft green light, a roar leapt out of the sand. A large bonfire, less than 50 feet away, burst into the air, washing the beach in bright, intense heat.

Tall shadows spired toward me over the sand, and I looked up to see many figures approaching me, all dressed in identical white, hooded robes. I held my arm over my forehead to block the light, as they slowly formed a large circle of at least 60 strong around me.

"Our guest of honor has arrived! Welcome Christopher!" said Einstein as he removed his hood.

"Have you cooled off any, man?" asked the Doctor as he laughed.

"Don't tease him, he's just had a very long shift. And he's a good worker, aren't you Christopher?" said the familiar voice of Santana, my boss.

"He was always going to end up here, weren't you Christopher? You must always calculate every possible move, every counter." said Pavlina in her haughty accented voice.

I looked around at all the joyous faces for a friend anywhere, and found no one. Until I met the face of my angel, her long, thick red locks now missing, smiling at me for the first time, the flame forming a new head of hair behind her as it glinted off the metal of the blade she held aloft.