Orange Moon From a Yellow Taxi

By Veronika Kowalski

He picked me up from LAX after a company training event in Denver. He apologized for picking me up late, as much of the airport was under construction and was difficult to maneuver. I told him it was no big deal, and that I recently had to drive through this mess, and that it was fine as long as I eventually got home. 

Once I got in the car, he asked me where I was coming from. I decided not to lie. My profession was impressive enough to outweigh the downsides of giving out semi-personal information to a stranger. “It was a two-day company training given by the general contracting firm I work for,” I divulged. 

“Oh,” he said softly. 

I thought that was a knee-jerk response of disbelief. As in, Really? You? In construction?

But then he continued. “I used to work for a construction company, but then I quit.” It turned out he was an accountant, and the person who had hired and onboarded him saw his talent and became threatened that he would end up taking his own job. Pavan could withstand the coworker’s harassment and accusations against himself, but decided it wasn’t worth it when the man extended these threats to his own family. He left and started his own firm with a friend. 

Then why is he driving a cab for hire at this hour, you may ask? Well, it turns out that Pavan and his friend/accounting firm cofounder decided to put their profits into a savings account and do odd jobs to cover their day-to-day expenses. So far, they had around $500k saved up; It’s probably grown since then. 

I asked if he ever takes time off, because by now, it was evident that this was a man who was constantly on the grind. He told me that he usually didn’t, unless he had some sort of event coming up. His cousin would be getting married soon, so he would be travelling to India to surprise him. 

I said I’d never been to an Indian wedding before, but I’d like to go, as I’ve heard they’re really fun. He said they’re long but they’re worth it. There’s lots of dancing, too. (I love dancing.) 

Then, we talked about travel; He recommended visiting India at some point, especially if there was a friend I could stay with (it’s better to be with someone who knows the area, as merchants tend to overprice everything for people who are obviously tourists). (Unless you can speak the local language. Then, you will be offered the best price on everything.) 

We talked about the moon while on the highway. From where we were, it was big, and orange, and it looked really close. I had never seen it so big or orange before, and I couldn’t help pointing it out. That experience is sure to connect two people at an imperceptible level. I didn’t even mean to talk to him the whole time, but forty-five minutes went by before I knew it and I was home. 

Believe it or not, I had been looking forward to a quiet, low-energy car ride initially. Funny how things work out sometimes. 

I didn’t know how to close out this experience without making it weird. I thanked him, wished him a good shift, and he turned around from the front seat to look me in the eye. He wished me a good night as well. I gave him five stars and the most generous tip option of the three prompted by the rideshare app. 

I’m not sure what a second chapter to this story would have looked like if I had decided to continue it. I’ll probably never see him again, but I hope he’s doing well. 

By Veronika Kowalski