A Night Out
Ben had been looking forward to this day for weeks, dreaming of the steak and a wonderful night with Amy. As the day was coming up, he was slightly concerned what kind of driver he would end up with. He kept replaying his bad experience with a driver on the way to work, but felt more confident things would be better this time since they were getting the nicer car.
Finally the day came, Ben ordered the car, proudly selecting “Ride in Style.” A couple of options came up, one car was five minutes away and the driver was rated 4.7 out of 5, another was thirty minutes away rated 4.9, and another right around the corner at 4.3.
Ben thought, “Gosh, thirty minutes for the best rated ride. That worries me, what if traffic is bad or gets lousy on the way to the restaurant? I don’t want to be late. They might not hold the reservation. But 4.7, I remember selecting someone with a 4.7 before and that was a nightmare.”
“Honey, do you think someone rated 4.7 will be good enough for us?” Ben asked Amy, in his head thinking if the ride was bad, then it was her choice.
“What,” yelled Amy from the bathroom, finishing up.
Ben yelled a little louder, “Do you think a driver rated 4.7 will be good enough? He’s only five minutes away.”
Amy, with a slight annoyance in her voice, replied, “I’m sure it will be fine.”
Ben selected the driver rated at 4.7, and a window popped up on his screen, “Santiago will arrive in about five minutes. They will be driving a black sedan, ready to take you to your destination.”
Ben noticed the profile button for Santiago and pressed it. A bubble opened up on his screen, “Hello, I’m Santiago! I’m originally from a small town in Chile. I’m looking forward to giving you a wonderful ride! You should find water in the back seat should you want some. Feel free to let me know, when you get in the car, if you prefer conversation or would rather keep the conversation to a minimum. I’m here to make your trip as enjoyable as possible!”
Ben thought, “Geez, that’s such a relief. I wonder if it is rude, though, to tell him I don’t really want to talk?”
Ben was looking at the map on the screen and noticed that the car was coming around the corner to pick them up.
Without looking away from his screen, Ben hollered, “Honey, the car is almost here. Are you almost ready?” oblivious to the fact Amy was right behind him.
Amy yelled back, directly over Ben’s shoulder and into his ear, “Yes, dear, I’m ready!”
Startled, Ben turned around. Amy hit Ben with a “Gotcha!” smile, chuckling at Ben’s being absorbed at the image of the car traveling on his phone screen.
For a split second Ben was annoyed, but that quickly shifted to noticing how beautiful Amy was. All he knew now was how much he was looking forward to a wonderful night with her in the city.
“The car should be here any second,” Ben mentioned. “The driver’s name is Santiago, he’s from Chile.”
“How do you know?” inquired Amy.
“I read his profile. This should be a great ride. You can tell him not to talk to you,” mentioned Ben.
Amy questioned Ben’s bringing up talking with the driver, “Why would anyone do that?”
“The last time I had a driver who wouldn’t stop talking. This way we can just enjoy the ride together,” Ben replied.
“Let’s just see how it goes. Okay, Honey?” Amy mentioned with a calm voice.
“Okay,” Ben answered, “It looks like the car is here. Let’s go.”
Ben and Amy walked out the front door, Ben skipping a little bit to the car much to the wonderment of Amy.
As they got to the car, Santiago had already gotten out to let Amy in the rear door. Ben smiled knowing this would be a great ride.