Taxi Driver Chapter Four

Here is the fourth chapter of Taxi Driver, in case you are behind or would like to reread the previous chapters again, here is everything Taxi Driver related.

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/taxi-driver/

I apologize for taking a little longer than usual to write this chapter, but I was able to write something that wasn’t part of the plan. I think it added a nice touch to the story.

Chapter Four

Evan drove back home from visiting his father. He wipes away some of his tears, he was starting to feel bad for himself. He was keeping a secret from everyone, but he couldn’t come clean, at least not yet. He eventually grew the strength to get out of his car.

Evan unlocked the door, and hung up his jacket on a coat hanger in the hallway closet. He then walked into the kitchen, where he saw Elizabeth drinking a cup of tea.

“Hey, how’s your Dad?” Elizabeth asked.
“He’s doing okay, I guess.” Evan said, washing an apple.
“Are you okay? You look like you’ve crying? Did you want to talk about it?” Elizabeth wondered as she hugged Evan.
“Not right now, honey. I”m going to take a shower. I’ll be back shortly. You can think of dinner, I was thinking of take out?” Evan said as he walked upstairs.

Elizabeth felt like something was wrong, but she couldn’t figure it out.

One Week Later…

Evan told his sisters that Saturday mornings are for him and their Dad. His sisters didn’t seem to mind.

As per usual, Evan always bought him and his Dad a cup of tea. Evan was intrigued to find out more of his Dad’s stories. He really enjoyed spending time with him.

“Hey, son! I’ve missed you.” Theodore expressed.
“Yes, me, too. How are you feeling?” Evan questioned.
“Same old, Evan. Now let’s start reading. Stephen or Deryck?” Theodore demanded.

Evan pondered, as he noticed that Theodore hung up his grandchildren’s art work on the walls.

“Perhaps Deryck.” Evan said as he was grabbing the journal from the night stand.

“April 16th, 2004

I had picked up this teenager, who seemed like something was bothering him. But I couldn’t place my finger on it. I figured he was about my age, or perhaps younger, couldn’t quite tell. I tried talking to him, but he kept on shrugging it off. I picked him up from his house, and he was going to a friend’s house. He didn’t say much to me.”

Evan finished reading the journal entry, but he had a question.

“So, Dad, how does your power work? I don’t understand.”

“From what I have gathered, it takes some time reading people’s stories. I normally have to see them at least three times for me to read their problems, and learn what is happening. Although asking my clients questions can give me a general idea of what is going on. Now, son, we don’t have a lot of time left, keep on reading.” Theodore said, coughing aggressively.

Evan nodded, as he turned the page.

“May 12th, 2004

I saw him again, although this time he had told me that his name is Deryck, and he was in grade 12. So I realized that he was about two years younger than me. He seemed more engaging than the last time I had picked him up. He was running late to school, but that didn’t seem to bother him much. I can tell that he was happy that the school year was almost over. He didn’t bother to brush his long, shaggy hair. He seemed to be looking a bit fatigued from the last time I had saw him. He didn’t seem like he was interested in going to school. He had said that he needed to go to English class because he was going to get marked for attendance. I was hoping that I can see him at least one time to truly understand what is going on. Although I did have an idea of what was happening to him. He didn’t have enough money to cover his fare, but I told him not to worry about it. I really didn’t mind.”

Evan paused, thinking of what he could say next. Theodore looked over at him, and asked; “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking.” Evan said,

“About what?” Theodore wondered.

“I don’t even know where to start. Like how do you do it?” Evan asked.

“I am just able to read them once I know more about them. From there I try my best to figure out what would be best for them.” Theodore explained.

Evan continued reading the journal entries, as he finished drinking his tea.

“June 6th, 2004

I saw him for the third time today, and I finally knew what struggles he was going through. He sat down and buckled up, this time he had a serious look on his face. I knew what he had wanted to do before he had said anything. He wanted to rob a bank, since his dad lost his job and his mom didn’t have a lot of money. So he figured he would get the money by robbing a bank instead. I can tell he tried looking for various jobs, but no wanted to hire him. I can tell he was frustrated and hated everything that was going on in his life. I knew that he did drugs so he didn’t have to feel these emotions of not having a lot of money and the embarrassment of not having a job.

His friend would give him his money for drugs. He felt like he needed to rob this bank, in order to help others. I knew that it didn’t have to be this way. So I had to think fast, I decided to take him to an unemployment agency. He looked at me with confusion.

He realized that we weren’t going to the bank. In fact, he became confused that he never told me where he wanted to go. I decided that in order to help him, I had to tell him my secret power.

I had expressed that he was making a mistake. I later explained to him the consequences of his decisions and the lasting impacts it would have on his life. I wanted to help him out the only way I knew how. We talked about the drug use, and how he was hurting himself, which I’m sure his mom wouldn’t be happy with that. I recommended healthy ways to cope with his stress. I let him ride for free since I knew he didn’t have a lot of money.

I gave him a bit of money, and I knew he was going to use it for the best. I gave him my number in case he needed any more help with anything else. I hope he begins to making better choices for himself and for his family, too.”

Evan finished reading the journal, as he cleared his throat.

“You know, what you did for him and Alice was really nice.” Evan expressed as Theodore nodded in agreement.

“We still kept in touch over the years. We wrote to each other all the time.” Theodore said, handing the envelope that read Deryck on it.

Evan began to open the envelope.

“September 25, 2017

Dear: Theodore,

I just want to thank you for you basically saving my life, and made me really want to make better choices for my life. I am about to celebrate my first anniversary of being a bank branch manager. I know it’s quite ironic because I almost robbed a bank.

But I am happy that our paths crossed, because if we haven’t, well I know my life would be a lot different, and I mean for the worst, obviously.

I am forever grateful for you and your family. I enjoy talking to you over the past years, and learning about your family. In fact, I have great news of mine, my wife and I are expecting a baby in February. We are really excited!

Because we waited until we were financially stable, I know that my baby is going to be well, so I know she doesn’t have to rob a bank in her teens.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so much again.”

Evan stopped, as he was putting the pieces to the puzzle together.

“Wait, how could I have missed this?! Elizabeth was born in February, and her Dad is a bank branch manager. This is her Dad?” Evan asked.

“Why don’t you finish reading the letter, son?” Theodore suggested.

Evan picked up the letter, and continued reading.

“We were thinking of naming her Elizabeth Grace. I would love for you meet her when she arrives. I can already tell that she is going to be in great hands. My wife, Samantha and I have discussed that we would love to have you and Amelia as her Godparents.

We can tell that you two are amazing with Sarah and Evan. Think it over, and get back to us.

Take care,
Deryck and Samantha”

Evan just sat there. He had no idea that his father in law was friends with his father.

“Your mom and I agreed to be her Godparents. You guys always got to hang out when you were babies. How else do you think you met each other? It was long before you were in the same swimming class, like you all thought it was.” Theodore confessed.

Evan sat there in a bit of shock, he had no idea.

“Two years later, they did move because he got promoted to go to another bank, so they ended up moving for a bit. Although because your mom and I had Olivia, they later moved back here. It was a perfect time since we later signed you up for swimming lessons, which is the story of how you two first met. I first met him when he was 17, and at that time I was 20 years old. I have been a taxi driver since I was 19 years old. We have remained friends for a bit, until we became family.” Theodore reflected.

“That is actually really beautiful, Dad. I enjoyed that story. I had no idea that Deryck felt that way.” Evan said.

“I forgot to tell you that shortly after he went to the unemployment office, he found a job and he stopped using cocaine. He worked at a grocery store and eventually he saved up enough so he went off to university to study finance. He eventually obtained his Masters of Business Administration. He invited me to all of his graduations. It’s like we were brothers.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Son, I am getting really tired, but you should come back again.” Theodore said as he was closing his eyes.

Evan took that as a cue to leave, and return another day.

“I’ll swing by on Tuesday, okay?” Evan whispered, as he was grabbing his coat.

He gave his Dad a kiss on the forehead, and he carefully returned the journal and envelopes back to the nightstand, before walking out of the room.

Advertisement

Taxi Driver Chapter Three

Here is the third chapter of Taxi Driver, in case you are behind or would like to reread the previous chapters again, here is everything Taxi Driver related.

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/taxi-driver/

Chapter Three

It was a chilly and snowy Saturday in January. Evan had just woken up from a bad dream.

“What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked him, as he was shaking up from his nightmare.

“Nothing, just go back to sleep, babe.” Evan said as he kissed her forehead.

Evan knew she had been tired, since she was eight months pregnant, so Evan laid there until she had fallen back asleep. He knew he would only have to wait a minute or so for her to go back to sleep.

He quietly got out of bed, and got dressed. He walked into the kitchen and made himself a cup of tea. He remembered all of the times his Dad made him cups of tea with some biscuits. Evan always loved tea, even from a young age. He sometimes joined his sisters in their tea parties. He wanted to be just like his Dad, and he knew his Dad drank tea a lot.

He sat down at the dining room table, knowing that Elizabeth wasn’t going to wake up for at least another hour. He decided to call his sister, Olivia.

After a few rings, Olivia answered.

“Hello?”
“Hey, how are you?” Evan asked.
“I’m swell, just eating an apple, just watching the kids are play with their dolls. You?” She replied.
“I’ve just been thinking. I want to visit Dad… alone.”

Olivia didn’t say much, there was a small pause.

“I just felt like there was an unfinished conversation the last time we all visited. I was going to go today, and I have a favour if I could ask you.”
“Uhm, sure. What did you need?” Olivia asked.
“Well, I was wondering if you can tell Sarah to not come and visit Dad today. You know how she is, everything always has to be about her.”
“Why can’t you tell her that?” Olivia wondered.
“You know, you two have always been so close. And she would think I was being mean or whatever.” Evan expressed.
“Okay, I get it. Tell him I say hi.” Olivia said.
“Thank you so much. I should get ready to see him. See ya. I love you, Olivia.”
“I love you, too.” Olivia said, hanging up her phone.

Evan washed his mug, and left Elizabeth a note.

Elizabeth,

I went to visit my Dad, be back in a few hours. Left at 9:30. I love you.

-Evan

Evan slowly walked to his car, and paused before he started the car. He was starting to feel emotional. He began thinking about how much different his father might look. Evan knew his father was in pain.

He finally started the car, and drove to the hospital. He stopped by and picked up a cup of tea for him and his Dad in the cafeteria. He then walked into Dad’s room.

“Son, you came back! Where’s Elizabeth?”
“She’s resting, Dad.” He replied as he transfer his Dad’s tea into his mug.

“Did you come for me, or for the journals?” Theodore wondered.
“Uhm, both. But mostly just for you. Before I forget I called Olivia and she told me to say hi.” Evan chuckled.

“That’s sweet. I am going to miss everyone, you know. To be blessed with this big family. I love everyone of you.” Theodore said.

Evan walked over to the end table, and grabbed the journal.

“I’m just going to restart this journal entry, Dad. I had a hard time focusing with everyone was walking in.” Evan confessed.

“Wait, I just realized that you started with a newer journal. And her story began at the end of another journal. Unfortunately Amelia couldn’t find it, so let me tell you her story.” Theodore said, looking disappointed.

Evan nodded, taking a sip of tea.

“I had picked up this girl, she was really shy. She would always make sure we went the same route back to her house. Because she only ever paid in cash.” Theodore began.

“Did she ever tell you why?” Evan asked.

“A good story cannot be interrupted. The first time I saw her was January of 2020. I saw that she had a bruise on her neck. I didn’t think much of it, until a bit later. I normally picked her up at grocery stores or the liquor stores.”

“How old was she, did you know?” Evan wondered.

“She was 23 years old. Anyway, she told me I could only help her load her things into my car, never unload her belongings. I thought it was kind of strange, but the journals will tell you more.” Theodore explained.

“Okay,” Evan said, picking up the journal.

Evan began to read the journal entry…

“January 24, 2020

I saw her again. I can tell she was having another bad day. She always told me to not worry about her, but that only made me worry about her even more. I can tell that she was in trouble. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to do something. In the past, I have driven her to liquor stores, other times it would be to her friends’ houses for parties. Suddenly, the answer came to me, I knew what to do. This time was going to be different.

This time she had asked me to take her back to her house. I finally thought this was the time to talk to her. I told her that the house is toxic. And that her boyfriend was toxic, too.”

Evan stopped reading the journal. “Wait! How did you know that?” Evan questioned.

“Keep on reading, Evan.” Theodore said as he was drinking his tea.

Evan continued reading the journal entry.

“Alice looked confused, as I knew she would have. She asked me how I knew that despite her never telling me anything. I then explained to her that I needed to take her to a Woman’s Shelter, instead of her house. I knew she wasn’t happy with that decision. She claimed that no matter how much he has hurt her, she will always love him. I asked her if we can chat over a cup of tea, my treat. She eventually agreed. We discussed what she should do next. I told her that she should leave him. She deserved someone better, and someone that truly loved her.

She had many questions. I did my best to explain everything to her. I told her that I had an ability to take people where they need to go, instead of where they needed to be. Although it does take some time for me to get a good reading on my clients and what is happening in their lives. She was baffled, that someone in real life had that ability. I told her that I had the best interest to ensure that she would be safe. I told her I’m a father of three, and I wanted to help like she was my own daughter. I had offered to pick up a few things that she might have wanted to bring with her to the shelter. She seemed hesitant about going to a shelter.

She explained that she always bought the exact change, so her boyfriend knows she wouldn’t go somewhere else. She admitted that he would get jealous if he saw another man helping her carry groceries.

I gave her some money, since I knew he was in charge of their finances. I wanted to give her a lot of help, because I know I would never be able to forgive myself if something more happened to her. I know that I would never want my daughters to go through this.”

Evan paused from reading the journal entry and asked, “Wait, did Mom ever know about this?”

Theodore shook his head.

“I never could tell her about this magical power. Although she knew about the journals.” Theodore admitted.

“But Dad, why are you telling me this after all of these years? I mean, I was four years old, you knew about this my whole life.” Evan asked, with a bit of anger in his voice.

“Well, son, I just figured there was no moment than this to tell you until now. I am dying, you know.” Theodore explained.

“We talked for a long time, and for the first time, I saw her smile. She agreed to go to a Woman’s Shelter. I told her I was happy that she was finally seeking the help she needed. I gave her my address and number if she needed anything else.”

Evan finished reading the journal entry.

“She also wrote me some letters over the years. Do you mind passing me the stack of the letters?” Theodore said.

Evan walks over to the night table, and hands them to his Dad. Theodore then goes through the three envelopes. Evan noticed that each envelope contained many letters, and that each envelope had a name on it. He finally came across Alicia’s envelopes. Evan looked intrigued.

“Here you go, son.” Theodore said handing the envelope to Evan, as Evan cleared his throat.

“December 19, 2020

Dear: Theodore,

Merry Christmas, I hope this reaches you before then. I wanted to thank you for all of the help and support you have provided me over the past year. You are an amazing human being. Your kids must be lucky to have you as their Dad. I know I would have been.

I am finally done with living my life in secrecy. I have learned so many things that I wouldn’t have learned if it won’t for you. I decided that there is so much more to my life, than being ashamed of my past.

That is why I am wanting to better my life and to help others as well. I am going to work toward being a teacher and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t even remember the last time I had any goals for myself.

Right now, I am just focusing on me, and instead of looking for love. Maybe I’ll find true love one day, but for now, I am going to love myself.

I was able to move out into a bachelor apartment for the time being. It’s my own oasis. Here is my new address.

Thank you so much again. I hope you and your family are doing well. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

Warmest Wishes,
Alice

There were many letters like that, Evan assumed, but stopped reading them because he had a lot of questions.

“You did all of that for her?” Evan thought that was the best question to ask first.

“Yes, son. I never wanted her to suffer anymore. And my secret power saved her life.” Theodore expressed.

“I’m happy you did this, Dad. How long have you had this secret power for? Like how did you get this?” Evan curiously wondered.

“As long as I could remember, Evan. Perhaps we should read another story? Stephen or Deryck?” Theodore hopefully said.

He hoped he could spend more time with Evan, since he knew there wasn’t much time left.

Evan looked a tad stressed out, and needed to leave. He looked at his phone, and saw zero notifications.

“Uhm, Dad, Elizabeth just messaged me, she wants me to grab her some lunch. I should go.” Evan lied, hoping that his Dad wouldn’t know.

“Oh, okay. If you must go, than that’s okay, hopefully you come back and visit soon. There’s more I have to tell you.” Theodore revealed.

“Yeah, of course.” Evan said, trying to hold back his dicomfort of the conversation as he grabbed his coat, giving his Dad a hug before he left.

Theodore was sad that Evan had to leave sooner than he expected. He was left alone for a few moments, until one of his nurses came in and gave him his medicine.

Evan was crying in the elevator, but he knew he had to leave for he was hiding a secret of his own. He didn’t want to tell his Dad about for that would only add more stress to Theodore’s life, and he didn’t want to do that.

Taxi Driver Chapter Two

Here is the second chapter of Taxi Driver, in case you are behind or would like to reread Chapter One again, here is everything Taxi Driver related.

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/taxi-driver/

The main portion of the story takes place in present day, 2020. But to keep things simply, in my story Covid-19 doesn’t exist.Which is why no one is practicing social distancing and engaging other precautions, just so everyone knows.

Chapter Two

The Henderson’s family of five, is a family of four right now since Amelia had to attend a teacher conference regarding her promotion in another city. So that means Theodore has the responsibility of getting the kids ready for school. Something his wife usually does since she is a teacher at the kids’ school. Theodore never had this responsibility before because he is already on the road driving his clients.

Theodore wakes up to the sound of Olivia’s screech. He climbs out of bed to attend to her needs. Olivia’s big brown eyes light up when she sees her father picking her up onto her change table. Olivia needed a new diaper, and as Theodore is changing her, he sees that it snowed last night.

He checks the detailed check list and schedule for the morning that Amelia had left for him and saw that the kids were supposed to be up ten minutes ago. Theodore lets out a sigh.

He carries Olivia to Sarah’s room to wake her up, and then they go to Evan’s room to wake him up. Theodore carries Olivia to the kitchen.

“C’mon everyone! Time to wake up!” Theodore yelled from the kitchen, placing Olivia in her high chair.

“Oh no! We are late!” Sarah screamed so loud that Theodore and Olivia were able to hear her jumping out of bed, running down the stairs.

Olivia let out a chuckle.

Theodore is preparing Olivia’s oatmeal and her bottle of milk. He adds some water to the kettle. He then grabs three big bowls, and three spoons. He pulls out some cereal boxes from the cupboard.

Sarah can see that he is busy, so she takes the milk out of the fridge. As she is pouring her cereal, Evan finally arrives in the kitchen.

“About time you joined us.” Sarah said sarcastically.

Theodore finally joins them at the table with Olivia’s breakfast.

Evan sits at the table and is pondering which cereal he wants.

“Evan, just pick one!” Theodore yelled.

“Yeah, Evan. We don’t have all day. Mommy isn’t here to make all of the decisions for you.” Sarah explained.

“I like listening to mommy. She knows many things.” Evan said as he finally decided on which cereal to have.

“You guys really got to get a move on. We’re going to be late.” Theodore explains as he realizes he forgot to write something in her journal from yesterday. He left it in the kitchen yesterday, so he opens it and begins writing.

“Well, Mommy also lets us have some orange juice. And I still haven’t had any, yet.” Sarah said as she was grabbing some juice and two cups for her and Evan. She pours herself a glass, then fills Evan’s glass.

She looks at Olivia amazed that she is able to hold her own spoon and feed herself some oatmeal. Theodore is busy writing some notes in his notebook.

Suddenly, the kettle whistles, and Theodore proceeds to make himself a cup of tea.

With his back turned away from the kids, Sarah let out a squeal, followed by a gasped. Theodore quickly turned around to see what happened.

“It was an accident. I’m sorry.” Evan began to explain.

Theodore rushed over, to try and salvage his notes as they were now soaked in orange juice.

“I should have known better to not leave this table near you.” Theodore revealed.

“I said I was sorry.” Evan said sympathetically.

“See, I knew Evan was a cry baby without Mom being present.” Sarah said laughing.

“I am not.” Evan said, trying to wipe his tears.

“Evan! You shouldn’t have spilled your orange juice like that! Especially on my journal. You should have known better, but you didn’t.” Theodore yelled, starting to lose this patience.

Olivia didn’t make things better, when she decided to throw her oatmeal at Evan. Evan’s hair was dripping of oatmeal, causing Theodore to get even more mad.

“Now, I have seen everything!” Sarah snickered looking at Evan’s messy hair, that was covered in oatmeal.

“I wish Mommy was here. She would make me feel better.” Evan said as more tears fell down his face.

“Now, we’re really going to be late.” Theodore signed.

“Wow, Olivia, you are like the strongest two year old ever! You’re my favourite sibling now. Looks like I gotta get you dressed since Dad has to deal with Evan’s mess. But that’s okay, because I love you.” Sarah said walking toward Olivia’s high chair, giving Evan an evil glare.

“Well, Evan you can’t just sit there acting like nothing is wrong.” Theodore said, grabbing lots of paper towels.

“I swear Evan is the one that needs to be fed like he’s two years old again. Even Olivia knows how to do that. And she is half of Evan’s age. Did you know that Daddy? Mommy said I’m the smartest seven year old she knows.” Sarah said removing Olivia’s bib.

“Sarah! You may be smart, but you are neither humble nor nice about your cleverness.” Theodore said, but he stopped talking because Sarah didn’t really seem interested since she started talking to Olivia.

“Well, that is something Mommy says to me all the time. If she were here right now, she would tell Evan to quit being so stupid!” Sarah said picking up Olivia.

“It was an acc–” Evan began.

“What? An accident? There are no such things as an accident. If you make an accident as a doctor, the patient dies. Gosh, I am smart and strong. I’ve got more things going for me than Evan does. C’mon Olivia, we got things to do.” She said leaving the room.

“Daddy, may we be excuse?” Sarah said holding Olivia, getting ready to depart.

“Daddy, do I have to go to school?” Evan said, crying now that Sarah has left.

“Evan, you’re four years old, you don’t have a say whether or not you go to school. Sarah is right, you can’t wait around and let your Mom decide things for you. You got to grow up a bit. You know when I was four years old I…” Theodore started saying, but Evan started to leave the room sulking, and slowly walking up the stairs.

“Hey! You didn’t asked if you could be excused!” Theodore shouted.

Theodore was puzzled as to why his kids didn’t really get along, was he really out of touch with them? As he been working too much to notice how his children interact with each other. Or were they just acting this way because Amelia wasn’t around. She had always been the one who can handle the kids better.

Evan walked to the bathroom, trying his best to rinse out the oatmeal. Amelia still washes his hair for him, so he wasn’t sure what she does. He also didn’t know how to get warm water like his Mom does, so he had to settle with cold water. Alas, the cold water became too much for Evan, so he just gave up.

He sadly looked into the mirror thinking he would just wear a toque today. He quickly ran to his room to get dressed since he didn’t want his father to get any more mad than he already is.

Sarah got Olivia dressed into a cozy sleeper since it was another cold day in January. She placed Olivia down into her crib with a few of her toys so Sarah can get dressed.

Sarah walked into her room where she grabbed the outfit that was on her hangers on her closet door. She always liked to plan for the next day. She made her bed, making sure the sheets were perfect. She carefully brushed her silky brown hair, and put on some lip balm, and carefully placed her head band in her hair. She put on her backpack and took one final look at herself in the mirror, before departing from her room.

She quickly, but carefully put away Olivia’s toys, before grabbing Olivia from her crib.

“Come on Evan! Let’s go!!” Sarah shouted, covering Olivia’s ears.

“I’m ready.” He said.

Finally everyone was ready to go, so they all loaded up the car, making sure everyone was buckled before pulling out of the drive way.

Theodore dropped off Sarah and Evan off at school, although Sarah wasn’t happy that they were late for her class.

Theodore spent the whole day taking care of Olivia. He also made sure he wrote in his journal. Yesterday, he came across a lady that he previously served before, so he went through his notebook trying to recall her story. He had to flip back a couple of pages to find what her story was. He first served her 12 days ago, and this is what he wrote…

January 11th, 2020

I picked up this one lady at the grocery store, she had several of bags. she told me her name was Alice. She kept on looking at her phone as if she couldn’t miss anything. She seemed very distressed, and shy. I felt that something was wrong, but that was all I could read. I guess the heat in the car was on too much, since she undid her coat and loosened her scarf a bit. She didn’t say much, other than her name who knows if that’s really her name. She was going to this house that looked like the grass hasn’t been mowed in awhile. When we got there, she had paid the exact amount, she apologized for not being able to tip, but I didn’t seem to mind. When she started placing her wallet back into her purse, she began fixing her scarf, accidentally showing some bruises around her neck. She just played it off, quickly zipping up her coat. Alice tried to carry all of the grocery bags herself in one trip. I offered to help, but got shut down really quickly. Alice told me it was okay and that I didn’t need to help her. And that was it. I wanted to help her, I really did.

All of the customers he had driven loved Theodore so he didn’t understand why she wasn’t fond of him, so he began flipping through his journal to read the second entry of her…

January 15, 2020

I was able to read and gained additional information from her, and I was truly able to see her side of the story. I had learned a lot more about her this time. This time she had asked me to be driven to a liquor store to pick a few things. She never said what she needed or who it was for. Suddenly, while I was waiting for her, it all came to me. She

He got interrupted by Olivia waking up hungry. He had to put away his journal to tend to Olivia.

Throughout the rest of the day, Olivia stayed up, and was playing with her toys. He carelessly threw her toys near where he had first grabbed them at the beginning of the afternoon.

He needed to pick up the kids from school so he raced over. Luckily he just got there in time.

“Oh, my goodness, Dad! I saw Evan in the hallway, and get this, he was wearing his toque! HIS TOQUE!!” Sarah confessed.

“My hair is messy.” Evan said sadly looking out the window.

“Hi Olivia! I missed you so much!” Sarah squealed, as Olivia had the biggest smile on her face.

They grabbed some take out on the way back home. They all ate it without any spills or arguing. Soon after the kids did their homework, and Theodore started getting Olivia ready.

Shortly after that the older kids had to get ready for bed.

Just before they went to bed, Amelia returned from her conference.

Theodore greeted her with a hug and a peck on the check.

“How were the kids?” She curiously asked.

“Uhm, it was a bit challenging. I don’t know how you do it.” Theodore said truthfully.

“I’m just going to talk to them for a bit. I’ll be right back.” Amelia said going upstairs to the kid’s rooms.

She went into Sarah’s room first. She had asked Sarah how her day was, as Sarah was finishing planning her outfit for tomorrow. Once she finished, she climbed into her neatly made bed.

“Mom, it was hilarious. Evan was having a bad day, and it was really funny to see. You missed it.” Sarah said with a huge smile on her face.

“You know, Sarah, it’s rude to laugh at someone’s bad day.” Amelia expalined.

“Not unless it’s Evan that is having a bad day. He had to wear his hat all day because Dad didn’t bother to get out the oatmeal Olivia threw at him. Dad was so angry.” Sarah said as Amelia kissed her good night.

“We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. But that doesn’t excuse your actions. I love you.” Amelia said shutting off the light, and closing the door.

Amelia walked into Evan’s room, who was crying into his pillow. Amelia climbed into his bed to comfort him.

“I heard you had a bad day today.” Amelia began saying placing her fingers through his brown hair, which was still sticky from the oatmeal.

Evan couldn’t speak so he just nodded.

“Here, let me help with this.” Amelia grabbed Evan, and they held hands walking to the bathroom.

She ran the water and began washing his hair.

“Did you try to wash it yourself?” She asked as Evan nodded.

“Well, you almost had it. You know it is okay, to have bad days. We always are going to have bad days. And that’s okay.” Amelia began explaining before Evan finally said something.

“Yeah, but Daddy was mad at me. Sarah was mean to me. And Olivia was, too.” Evan said.

“Don’t listen to what they say. They are wrong. What matters is what you and I think. You are my best friend, and I am yours. Always remember that.” Amelia said as she just finished blow drying Evan’s hair.

Evan was finally happy after facing a whole day of sadness.

“For Sarah, and for your Dad, I will definitely talk to them tomorrow. So don’t worry. Always be happy. Mommy loves seeing your smile.” She said.

“Mommy, will you ever leave again? I missed you!” Evan expressed as Amelia hugged him.

“I’ll try my best. Come on it’s time for bed.” Amelia said, hanging up his towel, and tucking Evan under the blankets. She had grabbed his favourite stuffed penguin that fell on to the floor.

She gave him one final good night kiss. She then walked out, shutting off the light and closing the door behind her.

Amelia then quietly opened Olivia’s room a bit just to see her before she got ready for bed herself. She walked into their room, and Theodore had fallen asleep reading his journal. Olivia was always curious about that journal, but Theodore had told her it was just work stuff, and she shouldn’t worry about it.

She seemed sad that Evan didn’t have a good day. She was also upset how Sarah and Theodore behaved in her absence.

Amelia then put his journal on his night table, although she was curious to read to it. But she never did. Instead she turned off the light and went to bed.

Taxi Driver Chapter One

Hi everyone, I’m not sure if everyone knows, but I am working on a short story, which I’m pretty exciting! I am planning on releasing a chapter a week, every Wednesday, so please feel free to provide me with feedback, discuss your favourite character, etc. any feedback is appreciated.

I have provided readers with some background and some character information here; http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/2020/07/29/taxi-driver/. I used it as a tool to start brainstorming some ideas for the story, and I figured I would share it with everyone. So without further ado, here is the much anticipated chapter one.

Chapter One

The hospital scenes takes place in 2056.

Theodore Henderson is laying in a hospital bed, surrounded by his wife, their three children, and their four grandchildren. Theodore is now 72 years old, with stage three pancreatic cancer. His family has been by his side since he got the news of his diagnosis just before Christmas, seven months ago.

He is a retired taxi driver, but when he was still working, he was well liked. Throughout his 53 years old of service, he has inspired many people to make better choices in their lives. Although what his clients didn’t know was he has a secret. No one else knows, not even his wife, Amelia knows. Amelia and Theodore have been married for 45 years now. Amelia is a retired first grade teacher.

Amelia has brought some of Theodore’s precious items from home since he is living in the hospital now. She has brought his favourite books, his favourite blue koi fish mug for his tea, and his journal. She has been trying her best to make this hardship a bit more bearable for him.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” Olivia asked with some worry in her voice, as she was lifting her baby, Sophie onto the bed.

“Same old, same old, Flower.” Theodore replied.

Olivia always loved when her Dad called her Flower. She was the youngest so she felt like she got the most love from her parents compared to Sarah and Evan.

“Sarah, and Olivia, perhaps we should grab your father some lunch, and a cup of tea.” Amelia said grabbing her purse.

“Bye bye Teddy Bear!” Sophie’s sister, Emma squealed, waving at her Grandpa. Theodore waved back, trying to be strong for his grandchildren. He was in a lot of pain, but always tried his best to disguise it in front of them.

The ladies left with their children, holding hands walking out of the room as Evan stayed with his father.

“Son, can you pass me my journal?” Theodore said tiredly.

Evan walked towards the wall where his stuff laid on a night table. Evan grabbed his Dad’s journal, and saw that he was reading To Kill A Mockingbird.

It brought back many memories of when Sarah was in high school and told Evan that he had to read this book because Sarah loved it. Evan knew that that book had inspired Sarah to become a lawyer herself. Evan followed his Dad’s footsteps and became a taxi driver since he lost his job not too long ago. As for Olivia, she followed her Mother’s footsteps by becoming a third grade teacher. Evan’s nieces and nephew get along well just like him and his sisters do.

He handed the journal to his father, and his father began flipping through his journal recalling the memories of when he was a taxi driver.

Evan is the middle child who felt like Theodore’s heart always belonged to Sarah and Olivia. And that he felt like he was the forgotten child and that his parents only cared and worried about his sisters. He kept on thinking that he didn’t get much attention since Sarah was the overachiever and always had to be the smartest one, and between Olivia’s sportiness by signing up for baseball, cheer leading and the school band, there wasn’t much for Evan to achieve. He was the last one to find love, get married and start a family with his wife, Elizabeth. He was envious of his sisters who had better jobs than himself.

“Hello? Evan? Can you hear me?” Theodore asked him with a bit of anger and a sigh.

Evan realized that he must have zoned out, getting caught up in his thoughts about the past.

“Sorry. Pardon me?” Evan asked all confused.
“I asked you if you know what this is.” Theodore said.
“No. What it is?”
“It’s my journal. I have written my conversations in several journals throughout my career. It’s about my past clients and our lessons we have shared over the years.”

Evan nodded his head, wondering if his Dad was going to be disappointed since he doesn’t keep a journal of his clients.

“What kind of things did you write in it?” Evan curiously asked.
“Over the years, I had three favourite customers. They really meant a lot to me.” Theodore began explaining.

Evan then sits down in one of the chairs that is now empty since his nieces and nephew had left to go to the cafeteria.

Before Theodore could fully explain why, he had something he wanted to tell Evan.

“Son, I often felt like you were the one that got left out the most. I am sorry if you felt that way. I am proud of you. I am happy that you found Elizabeth. You two are made for each other. You shouldn’t feel the need to compare yourself to your sisters. From what I learned, life isn’t a race. You shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone, actually. Achievements are achievements regardless of when you accomplish them. You got married at 35, and it was still beautiful regardless.”

Evan nodded in agreement, as his Dad started flipping through his journal, three envelopes fell out of the journal. Evan curiously looks over at the envelopes. Theodore smiles, although he quickly becomes sad as a tear rolls down his face, Evan pretended to not notice his Dad was crying.

“Now, son, let me show you something. I wrote down all of the meaningful conversations I have shared with my clients. I have learned so much from these wonderful people. I want to share this with you. You need to know these things. I have also kept in touch with my three closest clients. We wrote each other letters over the years.”

Theodore handed Evan his journal and those three heavy envelopes.

“Go on, and read them out loud. Start with the journal.” He said, as Evan looked puzzled when his Dad handed him the journal.

Evan sighed, as he opened the journal. He began to read the first journal entry…

January 24, 2020

I saw her again. I can tell she was having another bad day. She always told me to not worry about her, but that only made me worry about her even more. I can tell that she was in trouble. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to do something. In the past I have driven her to liquor stores, other times it would be to her friends’ houses for parties. Suddenly, the answer came to me, I knew what to do. This time was going to be different.

“Dad, not to sound ungrateful, but what does this have to do with me? I was four years old at the time.” Evan questioned.

“Hey, son, we don’t have a lot of time left. Do you really want to be wasting it?”

Evan was about to continue reading, but one of his Dad’s nurses came in to give him his medicine. She then started asking Theodore some questions, but Evan used that time to flip and skim through some of the pages.

“There are some things I need to tell you, before I go.”
“Dad, don’t talk like that.”

It made Evan realize that they really didn’t have much time left, but that was something he didn’t want to accept.

“One of many things I want to tell you is I just want us to enjoy the time we have together. I am really happy for all of your accomplishments. I know things have been rough for you since you lost your job. Don’t feel like being a taxi driver is a set back. I loved being a taxi driver. I got to help out a lot of people. It just means that the road you want to be at, is under construction. You are just taking a detour to your goals. There’s no need to beat yourself up over it. Things will get better. You just got to believe in yourself, and never give up.”

“When I have my baby, I hope I can give my child the best advice like you do.” Evan expressed, still pretending not see his Dad crying.

“Your son will love you so very much…” Theodore began but got interrupted by Evan.

“How do you know I’m having a son?” Evan asked with confusion.

“Well, I just know these things, and that is all I can say right now.” Theodore explained, and Evan was wondering what Theodore was holding back from him.

He tried to think and wondered what he should ask next.

But before he could, the rest of their family returned with a cup of tea, and a bowl of chicken noodle soup for Theodore and a sandwich for Evan.

Amelia pours Theodore’s tea into his favourite mug.

“Oh, wow. Dad is letting you read his journals? That was always the forbidden fruit when I was growing up. Dad never let me read any of that.” Sarah said, trying to disguise her jealously.

“Oh, you mean I have something you’re jealous of? The tables sure have turned.” Evan said in a superior tone.

“Kids, now, now. Any disagreements like that isn’t good around your father. You know better.” Amelia said with worry, as Evan returned the journal and envelopes where he found them.

She always tried to make sure there was no stress around Theodore.

A few seconds after that, a nurse came in, with some papers in a folder.

“Hi, I’m Stephanie and I am his nurse for today. I have some bad news. I am so sorry. We thought he had more time, but unfortunately, the cancer had progressed and it only looks like he has about three months left. But we are trying our very best. I’ll leave you to discuss, but I’ll be back shortly.” She said as everyone began crying.

Evan came to accept the fact that the end was near. He began to cry as he looked over at the journal.

Writing Wednesdays

Hey, yesterday I took the day for myself, so welcome to Writing Wednesdays on a Thursday!

I was planning on writing a short story. I haven’t decided on which one I would like to pursue first. That is still a work in progress.

But I can let you know that I will be publishing my chapters, and some character developments and some fun facts about the characters on a weekly basis. I haven’t done anything like this before but I did start working on some cool ideas.

My first idea is going to be about a taxi driver. The catch about this story is, he doesn’t ask you where you need to be, he takes you where you need to be.

I haven’t thought of a title or much of the character names, but I will definitely be brainstorming some ideas tomorrow and over the weekend. I am so excited to start this project. I will have something ready for Wednesday!