Page 6 of Passion and Payback

“Hello,” I said, glancing around for something identifiable. “I’m in the pick-up area, and the app is saying you’re here, but I don’t?—”

“Which pick-up area?” a curt voice interrupted.

“Seems to be,” I glanced up. “C? Close to C?”

The phone beeped in my ear, and I stared at it in confusion as I saw the call had ended. I had a moment to wonder how we could have been disconnected when the Uber app popped up a notification to inform me the driver had canceled. Bewildered and annoyed, I quickly tried to find another one. Thankfully, another guy was close, and after a moment, the app alerted me he was already waiting.

This time, though, I didn’t wait around and called the guy, explaining what I’d tried to explain to the last one. Thankfully, this guy didn’t hang up and only laughed. “Not from around here, are you?”

“No, I am. I’ve just been gone for almost a year. Did I miss something?”

“Mhmm, airport made changes. Got tired of all the ride shares clogging up the pick-up area, so now ride shares have to use a designated area.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, you said C, right?”

“Near it.”

“Alright, go back inside and take the escalator to your left. Pretty crowded in there, but they put up a big sign a couple of months ago. You should be able to see it. That’s where you need to go.”

“I take it the sign is self-explanatory?”

“Bingo.”

“Okay, thanks, I’ll see you in a few.”

“No problem.”

Following his instructions, I returned to the airport and up the escalator. Sure enough, a large sign indicated the ride-share app pick-up area was further down. It took me a few minutes to get through the crowd and out the indicated doors, but I found it, and after that, it was just a matter of finding the car. When I did, a guy with shaggy blond hair was waiting for me as I approached.

“Hey, Malakai?” he asked as I approached, locking eyes with him.

“Just Kai is fine,” I told him, not missing how his eyes did a few passes over me.

“Well, alright, hi Kai, the app has my name on it, but I’m Erik,” he said.

“I appreciate you taking the time to get me,” I told him, and then briefly explained what happened as he got into the driver’s seat and I managed to get into the back.

“Ahhh,” he said as he waited until I was settled before pulling out. “That explains it. Yeah, some people around here want to make as much bang for their buck as possible. So that means not waiting around for someone if they’re in the wrong area.”

“Oh. Well, fuck him,” I muttered, trying to make myself comfortable. It wasn’t easy, I was a pretty big guy, and Erik’s backseat didn’t offer much space. Still, he’d gone out of his way to help me, so I was already mentally tabulating how much to tip him.

Erik snorted. “Yeah, some are dicks. Good ol’ Port Dale charm.”

“Well, at least part of its charm is that there are people like you around still,” I said with a shrug. “So the city’s not completely hopeless.”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you.”

“Not really, just the truth.”

“Ah, well, that’s rare.”

“What?”

“Someone who tells the truth but doesn’t use it as an excuse to be an asshole.”

“Oh. I can do that too.”

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