Author's Note: This story is completely fictional and did not happen. All characters and names are fictional and were made up.
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Los Angeles, California
The wind blew slightly, rustling through the trees and sending littered paper trash blowing across the road and into traffic. David wasn't bothered at all while he sat behind the steering wheel of his gold plated Silver Screen Express van. A soft smile ran across his lips as the afternoon hours were under way and he was on the clock making his rounds through south L.A. After a rough week dealing with the night shift, David couldn't think negatively about anything during a hot summer day. He much rather preferred to be driving his van around town during the day and avoiding whatever could come in the darkness of night.
One week of night shift wasn't too bad, as it could've been worse. David did have quite the chance encounter with a Hollywood starlet last week. He had recorded the event in his diary, just like all the other ones. There was something about being out in L.A. during the midnight hours that made him feel so weird. 'The freaks come out at night' was something that remained in his mind at all times. He ended up getting stuck picking up drunk fares that consisted of rich socialites with enough money to burn with club hopping until midnight. Sometimes, he had to deal with older clients who were all more mysterious than the night itself for their odd hour schedules. Such people were always in the back of his taxi van during the nights, though they rarely offered much conversation.
David always found excitement as a driver since you never quite knew who would open the door and sit down in the back of a taxi van. Though the Silver Screen Express was a luxury service only for those that could afford it, he still had his share of interesting people requesting rides across town. This made the job worth it back in his youth, even before he had developed a seductive smooth talking habit with pretty ladies. The taxi was almost like a shuttle for an adventure, even if the town was so similar after two decades of driving all across it. The right person in the back of the seat could make even the most boring ride become one of excitement, all by sharing conversations with them.
It was easy to be negative when many fares consisted of quiet wealthy people just needing and pick up and to be driven back and forth. David usually didn't become optimistic with someone until they had talked to him a bit from within the back of his van. So far today, his first fares had been relatively silent but he was still in a wonderful mood since the afternoon hours were far more comfortable than the unpredictable calls that came in during a night shift. A call had just come in from a couple requesting a ride outside a bar called 'Mercy Street Inn' around Long Beach. Changing gears in the van, he grabbed the walkie-talkie device attached to the radio and called back into dispatch to let them know that he was the driver taking this fare.
He quickly changed routes, driving alongside a road between traffic of a white sports car and an old sedan. Long Beach was a fun place, if someone could afford the expensive living and entertainment distractions within town. David wasn't quite familiar with the bar's name, so he had to check on the GPS to pull up an accurate destination. He had been guessed correctly that he was close by in the area and soon, he found himself pulling up on the side of the road. The bar itself was decorated with red windows. A man and woman could be seen standing near the sidewalk wearing casual clothes and holding hands. The man was taller than her, wearing a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt bearing a logo for the New York Giants NFL football team. His hair was brown, short and he had a hue of blue in his eyes. The woman had faded blonde hair wrapped up in a pony tail with sunglasses. She wore a yellow shirt, black pants and a brown leather jacket that matched her purse. David rolled down the passenger's window, to smile and greet them.
"Hi there, are you the couple who called in for a ride?"
"Yes, can you take us back to our hotel?"
The woman smiled after speaking. David nodded to them both.
"Yeah, sure! Go ahead and hop in, I'll drive you where ever you need to go."
"Thank you, kindly!"
The voice answering him back came from the man. David sat there in the driver's seat when he heard the right side back door sliding open and then both of them climbed in to enter the cab van before sliding the door shut. She got in first, moving over to the left seat while the man was seated on the right side. David scratched his hand across his gray T-shirt before speaking up to address them both.
"The initial fee will be for five hundred dollars, where can I take you?"
"Are we both to be charged that price individually or is that all together?"
David shook his head before replying back to the woman.
"Oh no, I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. The initial fee is always for five hundred dollars, regardless if it's one person or two."
Laughter was heard from the back seat as the man and woman found him to be funny. David couldn't help but smile to himself as the couple appeared to be rather charming in their own right. He shifted gears to the van and began to move back into the streets while speaking up.
"So, are you staying at a hotel around here?"
The man from back shook his head and spoke up.
"No, we're staying back in Santa Monica."
His voice spoke in a diminished accent, almost with a British tone that had faded away. David couldn't help but chuckle at the answer. It seemed odd to him that someone would leave Santa Monica for Long Beach, given that both had their own beaches.
"Santa Monica? Well, what are you doing out here in Long Beach? The beaches are better in Santa Monica, you know. They're not as crowded with the tourists either, it's nicer there."
"It's our honeymoon! We wanted to see how it was out here instead of staying in just one place. It gets boring just being in one spot all the time."
It was the woman who spoke up. David raised his eyebrows while starring into the street and gripping the steering wheel.
"Oh wow, so you two have just been married, huh? Well, congratulations! I don't think I've ever had the chance to drive newly weds before."
"Thanks!"
"Yes, thank you!"
He spoke before she could, both of them answering him back in a delighted tone before laughing. They appeared to be such a happy couple, David couldn't help but find an interest in them. When he looked back up into the rear view mirror, they were even holding hands and looking back at one another. It was rare to see such a sight of lovers in the back of his taxi van. As each second went by, he was becoming more invested in learning about them.
"So, what's the names for Mr. and Mrs?"
"I'm Jamie-"
"I am Mrs. Jamie Bell, but you can call me Kate or even by the name I'm mostly known by, Kate Mara."
She replied before kissing her husband's cheek. David had noticed when he glanced once more into the rear view mirror. Traffic wasn't too bad in front of him, so he felt
"So Jamie and Kate, huh? When did you two get hitched?"
"About a month ago. We were engaged almost a year, it always is a long wait before getting a wedding put together. It took a while to plan out the honeymoon too since we stay busy working."
Kate had answered him back. David wanted to gaze up into the rear view mirror, but with a green light, he had to put his foot down on the pedal and move in traffic right behind a yellow sports car. A bit of whispering was heard from the back seat, forcing David to glance into the rear view mirror. Kate had whispered something into Jamie's ear and he chuckled. When David had a second glance, he noticed that her hair appeared to red but faded at the roots into a dyed gold blonde color. He couldn't stop the interest in his mind from wondering about these two. David spoke up again while driving.
"So, how did you two meet? You're quite charming back there, I must say."
"We're both into acting, we starred in a movie together and we began going out after that. It was a few years ago when we first met."
Jamie responded to David's question this time instead of her. David nodded while looking into the streets and turning the van once more through traffic. He was beginning to feel that he was a magnet for attracting Hollywood names through his job as a driver. He had never driven a married Hollywood couple, so this was something new to experience. It was a lucky coincidence, but not one he could complain about whatsoever. Driving around famous people was more fun than the usual wealthy socialites. David replied back while he remained focused on driving.
"What movie set did you meet on, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh god, I don't know if you really wanna know. It's sorta embarrassing."
Her words made David chuckle. In his mind, he wasn't quite sure what she meant by embarrassment. Jamie laughed and sighed before he answered back.
"Well, I guess it's hard to explain. The movie we were in together was received so negatively, I'm not sure if you want to know. It's not a work of art by any means."
"I can't even watch it! After all the bad reviews in the media by the critics, I'm scared to even see one of my own movies."
She laughed after speaking. David was still curious, even if the movie was an obvious box office bomb. There was something charming about Kate and Jamie that he felt it would be impossible for him to be rude to either of them.
"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'm not going to judge you anyway, you've achieved something that a regular guy like me is never going to come close to."
A sigh was heard from the back seat. Kate was looking up into the ceiling trying not to smile when David spotted her big brown eyes from gazing back into his trusty rear view mirror. Jamie didn't seem too bothered as she was in admitting the film's title as if it were a crime.
