Divine Will

Chapter Seven - The Taxi Driver

"Going home already?" Estelle asked me as I undid the apron from around my waist.

"Already?" I snorted. "It's about eleven p.m. I'm already late for the kids."

Estelle nodded knowingly. "Are you taking the day off tomorrow?" She asked me.

"Yes." I told her with a wide smile. "I'm taking the kids out tomorrow."

"With Mr. hot pants?" She asked me with a wink.

I laughed. "Where do you even get those names from?" She was about to answer with something dirty like always when I raised my hand stopping her. "You know what I don't want to know." Estelle pouted and I smiled. "I'll see you on Monday."

I grabbed my bag and walked out of the restaurant. I had stayed later than expected since there were a lot of customers. Frank had asked me to stay longer to help out and I begrudgingly accepted.

The cool breeze hit me once I stepped out of the restaurant making me shiver a bit. I stood by the side of the street and waited for taxi to pass by since I had already missed the bus.

"Rosie." I heard someone call my name.

I looked around for the source of the voice and found Julian standing by his car. It had been about a week since I last saw him. I had a small smile on my face as I walked towards him.

"Hi." I greeted him.

"Hey." He smiled brightly. "Do you need a ride?" He asked me.

"Are you a taxi driver?" I asked him with a playful grin.

"I'll be if you want me to be." He told me with a sincere smile.

"In that case, I need a drive home." I told him honestly.

"Please get in, my lady." He bowed playfully and I giggled as I climbed in.

"What were you doing outside the restaurant?" I asked Julian as he drove me home.

"I was waiting for you."

I looked at him in confusion. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"Well I wanted to see you." He said as he looked sideways at me. "And you still haven't given me an answer about tomorrow."

I could feel myself blushing as I answered. "Yes, um... I talked to the manager and he agreed to give me the day off tomorrow."

"That's great!" He told me. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"Well, I haven't seen you since the last time we had lunch."

Julian nodded. "Yes, sorry this week was a bit busy as I performed several surgeries."

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize nor do you need to explain to me." I could see that he wasn't happy with my answer, but he said nothing.

A little while later, Julian had parked the car by the side of the road outside my house.

"Um... I would have invited you in for coffee, but it's late."

He shook his head. "It's okay." He told me with a small smile. "Be ready tomorrow at nine a.m. I'll pick you up by then."

"Where are we going? I asked him.

"You'll see." He said with a knowing smile.

I thanked him and wished him goodnight before stepping out of the car. I opened the front door as quietly as I could. Noticing a sliver of light from the kitchen, I walked there and noticed my mom sitting on the kitchen table with a bottle of water in front of her.