to them to guard against the mid-March cold. "Christ, people pay them? They'd have to pay me."
Indeed. It did seem obvious that these women would have little appeal to all but the most desperate mortals. Even in the darkness, the unsavory nature of these women's personas was easily apparent. One woman was a Negro, and emaciated to the point of cadaverous. The other was blonde and plump, her flesh puffy and sallow. Unsavory indeed, but not necessarily without their utility. But I jump ahead of myself.
Though Kern had told me March was quite a busy month due to continuing inclement weather and because every weekend featured some high school athletic tournament, on a particular Tuesday, it seemed most of my shift was spent idle in cab stands. Tacitus accompanied me through this tedium though it seemed only a matter of time before the paperback would find itself torn asunder. Having completedThe Twelve Caesars , it seemed time to rereadAnnals of Imperial Rome, though sadly, Tacitus, with his highly bureaucratic approach, simply could not provide the entertainment of the more personal histories of Seutonius.
Another cab parked in front of me at the Concourse Hotel taxi stand. The driver emerged and walked toward my vehicle. Praise to those who might deliver me from my boredom. It was Kern, whose presence, much to my surprise, had seemed to become less intolerable.
"Hey, Count," Kern said, as he climbed inside and stretched his long legs across the back seat of my cab.
"Good eeevening," I replied in my best "count" voice, drawing a hearty laugh from Kern. "I am grateful of your presence. This is quite a slow night."
"Tell me about it. And the airport really bit the big one tonight." He exhaled loudly. "And nobody's been murdered lately, so people ain't scared to walk anymore."
My hand reached for the book sitting atop the dashboard, fingers twitching, ready to rip and tear. I pulled my arm back. "I imagine there is an inverse relationship between warm temperatures and our level of business. May I presume that business is appreciably slower during the summer?"
"Yeah, but that don't necessarily mean you'll be making much less money. There's fewer calls, but there's fewer cabs, so it evens out. There's lots of out-of-towners coming in for classes and conferences. A whole month, there's the big graduate school for bankers. That's a thousand bankers per two-week session, all coming here to party. Unfortunately, they don't party like they used to."
Dexter's crackling voice broke the radio silence. "Count, where are you?"
I lifted the microphone from its cradle. "Concourse."
"Count, you have a personal at the Six-oh-two Club for Nicole. She works here."
"Ten-four." Indeed, but why ask for me?
"You dog!" Kern said, mock anger and real envy in his voice.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Hey, man, surface. Don't be drowning in the bottom of the pool." Kern shook his head back and forth slowly. "She's the prettiest woman in the fleet. And straight too. Not many of those floating around."
"Ah, well," I replied, "it would seem that if you have got it, you have got it."
"Sure, Count. Whatever you say. Must be thatOld World charm thing." Kern winked then slid from the cab.
Nicole, having been watching from the large picture window at the front of the bar, emerged just as I pulled up. She sat in the front seat, her scent most apparent, the beat of her heart loud and strong.
"Hi, Al. Glad they were able to send you." Her voice was relaxed though her words were ever so slightly slurred.
"Thank you for requesting me. It has been a terribly boring night thus far. Where may I take you?"
"Home." She sounded tired. "Three-twenty-one North Hamilton. Right at Ham and Gorham. Sorry it's such a short fare."
"Ah, but all calls are good calls, and you, as a fellow driver, will surely tip me well."
"Depends on how well you service me."
I let her last remark pass. Hopefully, she was being facetious. The image of Kern and the old woman who had asked him if he wanted to earn an extra dollar came to mind. "So, you live right by James Madison Park? It must be nice to live in such proximity of such a nice beach."
Nicole laughed. "Haven't lived here too long, have you Al? The lakes are awful for swimming, all choked with weeds and algae. And at night, there's too many bums. Besides, I'm not a beach person. I like the night, just like you do."
"The night does have a beauty all its own," I replied.