Almost 95% of this story is true though I have changed her name for the sake of this account. I have been as accurate as possible with the details and very little has been made up. What has been made up is based upon subsequent encounters that I had with the lady in question and so ultimately, everything I describe actually happened. I have also been very candid about my relationship with my first wife and I am proud to admit that I am a male survivor of domestic abuse.
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1994 was a tough year for me. I had been living in an abusive relationship for a couple of years now. Despite the physical, mental and sexual abuse that I endured at the hands of my wife, it was so hard for me to get out of it. My spirit had been broken, I was a shell of the man that I was and I just allowed my wife to abuse me in the way she did and sleep around.
Financially she had pretty much ruined us. She would spend money on a whim and leave me with very little for myself. Money got so tight that I was forced to take another job just over a year ago. I drove a mini cab. A private hire car based at the railway station of the town where we lived. I had started with just a daytime shift on a Saturday. This moved to Saturday afternoon and evening and then I picked up two further shifts on a Thursday and a Friday night.
Getting away from my wife for a few hours was worth the effort. It did sometimes cause a few arguments but I was able, most of the time to tuck a little bit of money of my own away, for a rainy day. I was pretty introvert and the years of abuse had really knocked my confidence, but the other drivers took me under their wings and helped to bring me out of my shell. I was hard working, reliable and polite to the customers which earned me a good reputation. It had also seen me gather a few regular customers that would ask to book me either by name or by my radio number.
I ended up quite enjoying my job and had we not moved from the area a year later, I would have probably stayed on for many years. I would flirt a little with some of the customers, especially my regulars and I had enjoyed a few funny and naughty moments but none like the evening I took Sally to see her friend.
It was a Thursday night. Thursdays were either busy or quiet and this particular Thursday was the latter. After a manic first hour it died. There was little in the way of booked jobs and the phone was silent. The next booked job was at 7:30. It was not very far but would probably involve a return trip later. With the prospect of a few 'two pound locals' the chance of earning five or six times that in one easy job was tempting. Add the possibility of a return trip later that would double this made it even more promising.
The controller was talking to the next driver about the job. While he was happy to do the outward journey, he was a little reluctant to commit himself to a late night return. A man came into the office and asked for a car to take him home. The driver in front looked at me and told me that I would owe him one. He left with the passenger and the controller handed me the job.
It was before the days of sat nav so I had to rely upon the good old A to Z and other local maps to find my way around. I knew where the pickup address was but I was not sure where the destination was. Before I left the station I looked it up and then back tracked to the nearest point that I did know. Once fixed in my head I set off.
I had been to the pickup address before. A big house just out of town. It was an older couple with two children in their late teens or early twenties. The man was abrupt and arrogant and I hoped that it was not him. His wife was more laid back and quiet, seemingly living in the shadow of her more dominant husband. This was a feeling that I could empathise with. The job ticket did not specify a name so I would have to wait and see. I went the longer way round to the house so that the front and rear passenger doors were presented to the customer. A little courtesy that went a long way.
I checked the time, 7:29. I quickly scanned the back seat for any detritus from a previous passenger and then sounded the horn. An outside light came on by the front door and then someone stepped out. The lady of the house turned to lock the door and walked down the drive towards me. I had never really had the chance to get a good look at her before. I guessed that she was in her early 50s, short blonde hair and a nice figure. She wore tailored jeans that were probably from some designer label, a white sweater that clung to her body and a fur gilet. Whether this was real of fake fur was anyone's guess I suppose but other than this personal anomaly, she looked great. I hoped that she would sit in the front but to my dismay she opened the back passenger door and got in.
"Hello." I said cheerfully, "How are you?"
"Fine thank you. Do you know where I am going."
"I do."
I started the car and pulled away. For a few minutes I tried to make small talk but she was not particularly interested in discussing trivial things like the mild weather for October and the like and simply gazed out of the window. Eventually I shut up and we continued the journey in silence.
Ten minutes and I was in unfamiliar territory but I remembered the route I had planned in my head and within a few more minutes I was pulling up outside the address.
"Thank you." She said, "How much?"
"Eight pounds please." I said after checking the mileage.
"Keep the change." She said handing me a ten pound note she had plucked from her purse.
"Thank you. The office said you might want to book a return with me later."
"Yes, what time do you finish?"
"Twelve, but it doesn't matter if it's later."
"Can we make it twelve then?"
"Sure. It will be double time then though, is that ok?"
"That's fine" she said as she opened the door, "There will be twenty for you later."
She got out and walked up to a nearby front door. Out of courtesy again I waited until the door was opened. Another woman greeted her and with a vague wave the woman went in.
I called clear on my radio and the controller answered with the code for return to base. I responded with a 'roger' and then booked the return with the controller.
By the time I got back to the station there was a brisk trade of 'two pound locals' for a while as two trains from the centre of London called in quick succession. This was the pattern for the rest of the evening as the trains arrived every thirty to forty minutes. There was little in the way of other jobs. The phone had been pretty quiet all evening.
By eleven, some of the drivers had called it a night so the last train from London was served by the last three drivers on shift. The familiar call of 'RTB base passengers' was all that was heard on the radio when each of us called clear. By eleven thirty we had cleared the back log and one of the drivers decided that he too would call it a night. The controller said that he too would knock off early. There would be no more trains and the phone had only rung once in the last hour and that was one of my regulars booking me for the following night.
We all got in our respective cars and headed off in different directions. The controller went home, the other driver headed off to do a return that was booked with him and I headed to mine. It was only a twenty minute drive so I had a little to spare so I took it nice and easy. I pulled up outside the address at two minutes to twelve. We were not allowed to sound our horn after eleven so I waited. If nobody had come out by twelve I would knock on the door.
I watched my clock flick over to twelve and was just about to open my door when the front door of the pickup address was opened. The lady waved and then turned to give her friend a hug. I had expected her to get in the back like she had on the way out but she made for the front passenger door and got in.
"Hello again." She smiled, "I hope you wasn't waiting long."
"Only a minute or so."
"Oh that's good. I've had a lovely evening, how about you?"
"It's been ok. I've had better Thursday nights though."
"Well it's good of you to come out for me so late. I hope I'm not keeping you from your wife?"
She was gesturing towards my wedding ring.
"Oh, it's ok. My wife and I are not how you might say, close."
"Oh dear, I'm sorry." She said and ran her finger along the back of my hand.
I did not mean to snatch my hand away, well, I did not really, I just needed to change gear.
"I'm sorry." She said, "I'm a little drunk and I get a bit touchy feely."
"Better than my wife." I blurted out not thinking, "She gets punchy kicky, and she doesn't even drink."
The woman looked at me in stunned silence. She instinctively reached out her hand and stroked the back of my left hand that was resting on the gear stick.
"I'm sorry." She almost whispered.
"No, I'm sorry. You don't need to hear this. I'm telling my troubles to a woman I don't even know."
She squeezed my hand to reassure me and smiled.
