A good ride

As she stepped out of the house, just in front of the building, she was lucky to see a taxi that dropped off a passenger.

Her heart kept on pondering about her Dad's health and how to raise money for his treatment plus the excess interest attached to the fee.

"I know I'm beautiful but the way this taxi driver is looking at me in admiration is making me feel embarrassed even when I was supposed to be happy," Lucy thought to herself as she tried to cheer up.

"Hello pretty girl, I'm at your service," the brown-skinned young man sitting in the driver's seat said to her, stretching his neck.

Not every of these drivers is soft enough to complement their passengers. Some will insult you or charge you more than what you should pay if they had the chance, so she was a bit surprised when the young man complimented her even though she didn't show it.

"I'm going to Greenland Memorial Hospital," She said, not looking at his face and pointing in the direction of the hospital.

"I ghat you ma'am", the driver opened the door for her and gave her a "go ahead and enter" gesture with his head. That was quite strange to Lucy.

As Lucy entered the car, several thoughts were in her mind. "I can't remember the last time I boarded a taxi. It has been ages. I always use Dad's car but now that he is sick, madam Theresa has taken charge of everything."

Her dad bought one car for her as a graduation gift. Though not actually for her because Martha and her mum won't let her use it and her father had always pleaded with her to ignore them and use his. 

So basically, the car was for madam Theresa and her daughter. Her mood changed and she squeezed her face immediately because each time she remembered how Martha and her mum had forcefully taken everything that belonged to her and yet her dad would not say anything, it would get her angry.

"You good? The observant taxi driver who has been looking at her face through his mirror without her notice asked.

She looked at him to be sure he was referring to her because, usually, people mind their business when on public transport, so how come he cares about her mood?

"Oh! Sorry ma'am, I just hope you are good" he added.

"Why do you care? Even if she didn't ask, the way she was looking at him was enough to understand what was going on in her mind.

"We don't see pretty girls every day and when we do, we don't like seeing them look sad" At this point, he actually tested her patience. 

"I just want to feel sad and get over my problems but a total stranger won't let me do that in peace," Lucy muttered to herself.

"So, people aren't allowed to feel sad anymore? She asked and really prayed hard in her heart he didn't misunderstand her because of the tone of her voice but then, he didn't disappoint.

"Not for a pretty girl like you. You know, beautiful girls don't feel sad" he responded in a soft tone and a slight smile on his face. Lucy got butterflies in my belly when he said that. She raised her eyes and looked directly at the mirror to admire her beautiful self, but then, their eyes locked. 

Looking at each other in the mirror, She quickly remembered the way Alfred, her ex-boyfriend. The way he looks at her most times especially when she's complaining of the troubles at home, it makes her feel loved and reassured. But, all of those things are gone now. 

"How easily people fall in love, thank God for the traffic green light that signaled that we can move since we've been patiently waiting for our turn," Lucy thought to herself as she was already getting tense sitting in the car with the strange good man.

They both looked away from the mirror and didn't talk to each other again. She felt embarrassed at that point. She felt like he was flirting with her but then, she couldn't get mad at him because he was doing it in a polite way.

The atmosphere was becoming cloudy as though it wanted to rain. People were running from one end to the other. While some people were hurrying to get wherever they were going, some were walking gently as though they didn't care about the weather. 

Lucy on the other hand, didn't care at all, because she was in a taxi that will drop her in front of the hospital, even though she would get her dad food at the restaurant beside the hospital. All she cared about was to see her dad.

As they drove closer to the hospital, the gentle beat of Kirk Franklin's worship music started to play in the taxi. 

"Isn't it too much for one taxi? The complement, the questions and now music" Lucy thought to myself. 

She had not even finished analyzing the whole scenario when she heard him humming and shaking his head to the beat of the music. At one point, he slowly started singing as she sat there. Lucy was amazed and inspired at the same time.

Kirk Franklin's music is usually soul-lifting and it lifted hers the moment the driver blended his voice with the music. Lucy loves playing his music especially when she's at her lowest. 

She had wanted to join the driver but unfortunately she hadn't mastered the lyrics of that particular music he was playing. She just sat in the passenger's seat and pretended not to enjoy the whole thing.

The hospital is just a few minutes away from them and she didn't think she would be able to endure how her head hurts because of the tightness of her scarf. Her hair was rough, so she hadn't had a chance to take proper care of herself since her dad was hospitalized, that was why she went on scarf or caps.

She slowly bent down and untied the scarf, using her hands to arrange her hair to at least have a better look.

It was such a beautiful sight to behold as she raised her head to look out of the window and saw a group of people gathered to take pictures of the couple who just got engaged. From the look, the guy had a grand engagement party that was out of the ordinary. Even passersby stop to take a view or pictures of the show. One can actually tell how happy the couples were with the way they smiled and made poses for pictures.

"It takes genuine love to be happy," Lucy said to herself.

At this point, she wished she could be as happy as those people. Even if it wasn't about the relationship, she just needed to be satisfied and happy. 

Lucy almost asked the taxi driver to stop by so that she can enjoy the show and as well take pictures before she realized that the doctor said should get to the hospital on time.

As they drove past the scene, Lucy resorted back to listening to the music being played in the taxi. It wasn't long enough and it finished playing.

"Cardi B? she asked him as the next song in the playlist was Cardi B. And it was the same song that was playing at the engagement party.

"Are you a fan of Cardi B?" The driver asked, with surprises written all over his face. 

"Yes yes, I'm a big fan of hers, I have so much love for Cardi B's music", she responded while shaking her body and singing along with the music.

"I guess it's my turn to sing and dance now," Lucy said in an inaudible voice. The driver felt left out just the way she felt while he was enjoying Kirk Franklin's song even though she enjoyed it too.

"Oh! I see! He exclaimed as he increased the volume of the song for her. Even though he didn't like the song, one could tell he was actually enjoying the way she flowed with the song, especially the rapping part. 

"Thank God I am the only passenger in this taxi, I would have inconvenienced others," she said and let out a loud laugh.

"Cardi B to the world! I love Cardi for life! Lucy shouted, clapping her hands and giving with the beat.

She really wants to get over her burden and be happy for a few minutes.

"I love her too", the driver said, and looked at her as they both laughed out so hard.

The car gave a screeching sound as the driver slowly lowered the speed of his taxi making a spiral-like movement until he finally stopped.

"Here we are ma'am", he said, looking back to look at her face.

"Oh! We're here already? So soon? She asked, making him smile hard as she wasn't ready to come down from the taxi because she was busy enjoying my Cardi B music. 

"I don't know why you didn't play this music first," she whined. She didn't mind picking up my scarf that had already fallen off from her body and folded it into her handbag.

She hopped out of the taxi and paid him for the ride and headed into the restaurant beside the hospital to get food for her dad.