“Here we are, enjoy Chicago.” Deacon turned slightly in the front seat to regard the woman in his back seat.
“Aren’t you going in?” She asked casually, drawing out a look of shock from the young cabdriver.
Deacon paused a moment, a look of disbelief frozen on his face. Where was this girl from again? Asking a cab driver to not only drive you somewhere, but to then accompany you? Was she insane? Who wanted to hang out with a cab driver?
“Me? Look honey I’m just a cab driver not a babysitter.”
She tore off the oversized sunglasses from her face and returned a freezing glance from a set of striking pale blue eyes, her posture assuming a more regal countenance.
“I don’t need a babysitter cabbie. Have you ever heard of an escort service?”
“I’ve heard of them sure.” Deacon remarked, slightly confused by this line of questioning. “So what?” He shrugged his leather jacketed shoulders.
“I’ll tell you what… a friend of mine from LA, his name is Paolo, makes about three thousand a night or for special black-tie events, sometimes charges two hundred as an hourly rate. Based on that, and the fact that you are obviously not trained or practiced in this, I’ll pay half. Deal?”
The girl spoke rapidly, as if she were worried that if she didn’t get the words out immediately, her thoughts would drift away into the ether and be lost forever. Deacon’s face went blank not following her logic at all. There was a pause as he tried to process the jumbled speech together for a moment and failed. He began to raise a finger in the air, which hung there for a moment before dropping. He returned a simple monosyllabic reply.
“Huh?”
The blonde seemed to grow annoyed and looked out the window before sighing deeply. When she began again, she spoke this time in a more deliberate fashion, as if she were speaking with a child.
“I will give you one hundred dollars an hour to accompany me to a few places. I assume that’s a lot more than what you would normally make driving this cab, so should be more than enough compensation for the lost wages that you would normally earn for this…profession. Do we have a deal?”
“Wait, so you are asking if you can pay me a hundred dollars an hour to go in there with you?”
“My, you catch on quickly don’t you genius? I was worried I would have to break out a chalkboard and spell it out for you.”
Deacon’s face contorted; his eyebrows furrowed as if deep in thought.
“Why me? If you want an escort or whatever, I’m sure there are numbers you can call for…”
“But I want you. I don’t want them, I want you.” She spoke heavily with her hands, smacking one into the other to drive home her point.
“Me?” Deacon was now thoroughly confused. When he thought of an escort, he thought of some charming six-foot-five male model in a suit and tie, not…well him. “Why me?”
“I am not interested in the dapper, buttoned-up stiff types of men I would hire at one of those places. I am interested in an honest, salt-of-the-earth type of man who knows the way this city really works. I am interested in hiring you.”
“Uh…” Another long moment of silence hung in the air before Deacon managed to gather an intelligible response. “Salt-of-the-earth? I dunno about that, it’s actually time for me to be off about now. You were probably going to be my last fare. I have to return the cab soon.”
“You mean you don’t own this wonderful vehicle?” The girl’s tone sounded more like a statement than a question, and one dripping with sarcasm. “Okay. One hundred and fifty an hour but hurry up and make up your mind. That’s probably more in two hours than your entire weekly paycheck or whatever and way more than you’re worth. I won’t go any higher so you can stop the con.”
Deacon was insulted and instantly angry…but she was right after all. Of course, there were times that he had experienced exceptionally good weeks where he had come home with more than an average amount of earnings, but by and large that was almost the same amount that he would make in over a week.
“How do I know you ain’t pulling my chain here?”
“Here.” The girl reached into her purse and pulled out a huge wad of bills that made Deacon’s eyes go wide. She peeled off two bills from the top and handed them over. The entire roll of bills were hundreds and probably more money than he’d ever seen at once all in one place. “There’s an advance. We good?”
Deacon found himself accepting the two-hundred-dollar bills and felt cheap for doing so. Was this the feeling that prostitutes had to choke down every night in order to continue their profession? He stuffed them into the inside coat pocket as he pushed her hands down forcefully.
“Don’t take that out and flash that around again.” He replied stoically, nodding to her purse.
“Is this a dangerous area or something? Are we in the bad part of town? Is this considered ‘the hood’?” She sounded almost excited at the prospect, as if she were a sightseer, which in all fairness, he supposed she was to an extent. In his experience though, he had not heard of many people deliberately visiting the worst parts of the cities they traveled to.
Deacon sighed. “Everywhere is a “bad part” if you are going to be flashing a wad of money like that around. That’s probably more than a lot of people make in a year.”
“Really? I suppose Chicago is filled with dangerous pickpockets and robbers?”
“No not really…” Deacon paused to consider his response. “Well, some parts sure but…look just stay close.”
Deacon turned off the cab after finding a parking spot and got out. He had told her to stay close. What was he a bodyguard now? Some noble protector? The knight in shining leather armor?
“This chick is gonna get herself into trouble.” He muttered under his breath as he waited for her to get out of the cab. She sat in the back seat staring straight ahead unmoving, her hands in her lap.
“What the…?” Deacon muttered again before replying more loudly so that she might hear through the closed door and window. “Hey, honey, you getting’ out?” He spread his hand outward from his body, palms facing up.
The girl cleared her throat and waited. Oh. Then a flash from an old movie 80s movie, Some Kind of Wonderful, ran through his mind. In the movie, a girl was playing the role of chauffeur while her friend went out on a date with a rich girl. She had opened and closed the doors for them as they went out. Deacon frowned and moved back to the cab to open the back door. She exited the cab with a regal grace that he was not used to seeing, even from some of the more upper-class residents of the Gold Coast and around the Magnificent Mile.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Come on your highness.” Deacon returned sarcastically and closed the door behind her.
He led her up the stairs to the front entrance of Shedd’s Aquarium which was by now just opening their doors. She paid their admission, and he led her inside. They walked past displays of snails and tarantulas, snakes and amphibians mostly in silence. Deacon did not understand what he was doing there, and she was not being forthcoming with answers currently. As they walked among families and couples browsing the attractions, she was finally the first to break the silence.
“Aw, look at those little guys. They’re actually really cute in a weird way.”
Deacon had been following disinterestedly as she bounced from tank to tank and attraction to attraction. She had a lot of energy and stuff. He now leaned over her shoulder to gaze into the tank that she was looking into.
“Those are dart frogs.” He replied, looking at the plate on the front glass that gave some facts on the animals.
“Yeah, look at their colors. They’re really pretty don’t you think?” She turned to him to study his reaction.
“Sure.” Deacon shrugged. “They’re apparently the most poisonous frogs in the world. I dare ya to lick one.” He added the last bit with a mischievous glint in his eye.
The absurd dare brought a wry smile from the pretty young girl, and for the briefest of moments, Deacon saw her as exactly that, a young girl, instead of a member of the hated elite ruling class. Her icy demeanor broke for a brief window in time as their eyes met.
“Ew. Gross.” She gave him back an expression feigning insult, but he noticed a slight hint of the same mischief. “Like, whatever… you first. How did you even know that?”
Deacon tapped on the plate in front of the glass that read off the species and some quick facts about them. She looked down at it, rolled her eyes and did not say a word, embarrassed she had not seen it also.
The girl walked away briskly, without delay and spoke back over her shoulder. “Look over here is probably some of your family members.” She pointed to an exhibit of snakes.
Something about this brief exchange had lightened the tension between the two in an intangible way. They continued through the exhibits for a time, mostly in silence.
“So, what’s your name anyway?” Deacon finally asked.
The girl laughed at the question, as if he had asked her the most amusing thing possible. After a few moments she seemed to realize that it was a genuine question, and this surprised her.
“You really don’t know who I am?”
“Well, I’d assume you were one of the spoiled rich girls from the north side, probably around the Gold Coast area, but you’ve already mentioned that you’re from California so...”
She turned to look up into his eyes, studying him for a long moment. She wasn’t much shorter than him, in fact in heels they would have been the same height. Deacon was not one to back down to anyone, but certainly was not used to the scrutiny of an attractive rich girl and grew uncomfortable. In fact, this may have been the first time a rich girl had noticed the young Southsider, and her mesmerizing pale blue eyes seemed to be gazing straight through to his soul.
“What?” He shifted and raised his eyebrow.
“You’re telling the truth; you really don’t recognize me. Well, I guess poor cab drivers have other things to do than keep up with fashion trends.”
“You’re in fashion?” He asked skeptically.
“Why do you want to know my name?” She asked and the question felt more like an accusation.
“Look, I’m just trying to make conversation. Just forget it, I don’t care what your name is.” Deacon returned frustrated. “I’ll call you Jane. ‘Kay?”
“Zoe Waters.” The girl announced in a more hushed tone, making it clear the announcement was meant for him and him alone. He returned a blank expression, if the name was supposed to mean something, it didn’t seem to mean anything to him. “Yes, I’m in fashion.”
“Okay.” Deacon returned with a shrug. Was that so difficult? “So, are you gonna be real with me here? Why was it so important for me to come here with you? I’m sure a girl like you doesn’t have a hard time finding guys to go out with you places.”
Zoe let loose a biting laugh. “Yeah, I suppose if you are into the androgynous fake Hollywood types. I need help from a real man, not the Sunset Strip type. Or even worse, the Beverly Hills boytoys. I could tell from your long greasy hair, the leather jacket, the fact that you look like you haven’t shaved or showered in days…you are exactly the type of guy I’m looking for.”
Deacon stopped walking and rooted in place. It took her a moment to notice this and turned to face him after she realized she had been walking alone for several moments. She took a few steps back at him and grinned at the uncomfortable look splayed across his face.
“Look honey, I dunno what type of thing you are into but I ain’t really looking for something right now. I mean I am but…” He scratched the back of his head; his face began turning beet red. “I’m just getting out of something bad, and I might have just gotten myself into something just as bad, or maybe even worse. The point is this is probably a bad time for me to be jumping into…”
“What the hell are you even talking about?” Zoe laughed, and this time it was a genuine laugh, as if she’d heard a comedian tell a joke. “Oh wait, you thought…?” She pointed a finger at her and then swiped it between herself and the young cab driver a few times. “You thought like, this was happening here? You thought I was interested in you like romantically?”
Zoe then began laughing so hard her face now turned red and tears welled in her eyes. She had to hold her side as she nearly toppled over. A family of four walked past her, continuing their tour, briefly glancing over at her as she was now laughing hard enough to cause a spectacle.
“You thought I was…” Zoe wheezed through her serious case of giggles. “…I was wanting to…I was wanting to…with you…!”
Deacon’s face reddened, a strange swirl of shame and anger that he had not often felt. His face went slack and stoic as he watched the girl who was bent over laughing hysterically.
“I get it.” Deacon stated drily. “You aren’t interested in me. But what the hell is this all about then?”
Deacon was on the verge of throwing the money back in this strange girl’s face and leaving her here at the Aquarium. In fact, he was just beginning to reach into his jacket pocket when she gained control over her laughter and came in close to speak more privately. She hooked her arm inside of his and began leading them towards one of the other wings of the Aquarium. It was a new exhibit, the Oceanarium.
“Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm and male vigor and all, but I’m in trouble…” Zoe began as they entered the hallway leading to the new wing that housed marine mammals, penguins, dolphins, otters, sea lions and beluga whales. “I’ve been looking for a streetwise tough guy that I can actually trust.”
This drew a skeptical eyebrow raise from the young cab driver and she quickly continued.
“I went to a few bars and found a few guys that might have worked, but I ended up not being able to trust any of them. I found tough guys sure, but I would have ended up robbed or raped or…” She paused to consider the options and ended up shrugging with a breezy gesture. “…whatever. You get the picture.”
“So, you’ve been going to the bars in the Northside trying to find a tough guy?” Deacon’s eyes narrowed and his lips pulled in. “At least you didn’t try this on the Southside. You’d probably be robbed or raped or whatever. Don’t get me wrong, but in order for me not to think you are a crazy chick at this point, can you explain to me why you are looking for a tough guy?”
Zoe looked around to make sure nobody was paying them any undue attention at that point. When she was satisfied, she continued.
“I need help. This is really kind of a long story, but here goes: my best friend has been kidnapped. She went into debt with some bad people it sounds like and when they found the link to me, they decided to try to extort me.”
“Extorted?” Deacon exclaimed, and the girl quickly put her hand over his mouth to silence him. He relented. He had not meant to repeat her words so loudly, it just came out of him.
“Shhh. This is totally serious.” She scolded. He nodded and she released her hand from his mouth.
“Why don’t you just go to the police? Whad’you want wit’ me?”
“I just need someone with knowledge of this city to watch my back n’ stuff, y’know?”
“Yeah but…” Deacon started. He was getting flashbacks of picking up that scientist or professor or whatever. This sounded like a really bad deal. “Really, girl. Whad’you want wit’ me? I’m just a cab driver, I’m not Steven Seagal or the Terminator or something.”
“When I showed you that large amount of money in my purse your first thought was not how to take advantage of me and get the money for yourself, your first thought was my safety. That told me you were honest, that told me you were the right man for the job.”
Deacon wanted to argue, but he could see the wisdom in her train of thought. He wondered how many times she had used that trick and gotten it wrong before meeting him. It was probably not a question he wanted to pose.
“Besides you look like a criminal.” She finished suddenly.
“I still have a lot of questions before I agree to anything.” Deacon began shaking his head.
“Later.” Zoe returned flatly. She had seen a sign for a dolphin show that had completely diverted her attention for the time being.
“First, we totally have to see this. I love dolphins and really, like when am I ever going to be here again.”
Deacon could have been a killjoy and planted his feet and stubbornly refused to continue until she had satisfied all his multitude of questions. But he relented and let her drag him towards the dolphin tank room where they found seats on the bleachers and awaited the show to begin. He didn’t know how he was always getting himself into these complicated situations.