Son for Hire Ch. 45-55

This brings a smile to the old driver's craggy face. "I always wanted a daughter."

Kiki leans her curly haired head against the barrier that separated the seat from the stairs and adoringly gazes at the man with real love in her heart. Papi was nearly old enough to be her granddad, had a unglamorous job, and was certainly nothing special to look at but Kiki would have been his girl in the blink of an eye had he ever once suggested it. Lord knows she'd offered her services to him often enough. His heart belonged to another however.

"How is Jean?" She asks.

"The boss? Fatter and meaner than ever."

"You're so bad."

He carries on. "And her eyes are going now so she always squinting." He looks back at her with an exaggerated ogre like scowl. "Imagine coming home to that every night? I wish I was the one who needed glasses!"

"You're the worst!" Kiki laughs a hearty laugh. Never once had she heard him say a kind word about his wife yet she knew the man loved her with every fiber of his being. Just for old time's sake Kiki offers one last time. "Well, if it's that bad, if you want a night with a pretty young thing..."

He chortles, fully expecting the indecent proposal. "I'm good, thanks."

"Last chance." She says with the teeniest iota of hope. "No charge."

"No charge? No cojones."

"No cojones?"

"Yeah, me." He thumbs at his chest. "The boss finds out and...SNIP! No cojones." He straightens up in his seat. "Nice to know I still got it though."

Kiki is beaming. "You do indeed Papi." She says. "And how are the kids?"

"Pain in the ass." He gripes. "But good." He glances back at her. "Don't have sons. You won't have a moment's peace."

She laughs. "And daughters are better?"

"Mmm." He considers it a moment then chuckles and shakes his head. "On second thought, maybe not. Too many worries." He taps his temple. "Crazy boys do in your head. Drive you loco!" He taps his chest. "But girls, they do your heart."

"Do your heart?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. Seems to me anyway."

"I'm not sure what you're saying but you're probably right, as usual."

"You need to be a dad to know." He agrees sagely. "It's a dad thing."

And so it goes. With an unspoken understanding that this might be the last time they see each other the pair talk through the miles and through the night. The natural rhythm of the other riders coming and going is barely noticed as they go around and around Papi's long inner city route. The minutes speed by and quickly turn into hours as they bask in the warmth of their unlikely friendship.

Along the way something strikes Kiki. An echo of feelings she'd experienced very recently. Good feelings. As she listens to Papi tell a story of his three boys nearly killing each other by mimicking the moves of the pro-wrestling show he'd recently taken them to it hits her what it was. Papi was the only man she knew who talked to her with a particular type of care and confidence, one that she found very appealing. It was comfortable, it was safe, and it let her lower her guard. He didn't look at her with the oh so familiar veiled eyes of a man curious about her romantically or sexually. He didn't look down on her like so many men did once they found out what she did. He didn't look up to her like Donny. He simply spoke with her as equals but with something deeper going on as well. Respectful yet with a sort...masculine authority? Papi was a man who knew himself and held himself with an old fashioned kind of honor that was a rarity in the world today...just like Alan.

Papi and Alan were very different men. Alan stern and stuffy, Papi jovial and full of dad humor, Alan yearned for comfort and quiet, Papi embraced the chaos of his exuberant family and the world that he encountered on his route, Alan focused on status and material things, Papi contented with the joys of family and friends, Alan a muscular behemoth, Papi short and pudgy, and yet there were commonalities too. They were both older, both wiser, both fathers, both had good hearts, and both were well settled in their home lives and careers. The fact that Kiki had, at the spur of the moment, decided to drop the name Kitty for Alan to use certainly heightened the echoes. She keeps her focus on the moment but she found the connection of these two disparate men...curious.

Too soon Papi's shift is over. He switches the sign to 'Out of Service' and heads for his last stop of the night. They ride in silence the last few minutes until at last he pulls up the same curb he'd picked her up at. Thankfully there was nobody there waiting. He opens the door and the pair of them get off the bus. With the diesel engine chugging in the background they face each other.

"I will miss you Papi." She says with tears in her eyes. "More than you know."

He offers a hug, she takes it. "If you find your way back, don't be a stranger huh?"

"I won't."

He hugs her tight. "Look after yourself. Okay?"

"I will." She promises with all of her heart. They part and step away from each other. "Um...as soon as I have that money I owe you..."

"I know." He cuts her off, making it clear he never really expected to be paid back. "No rush."

She starts to break, a fat tear rolls down her cheek. "Y-you...don't know how much you helped us. Helped me. I couldn't have...I just couldn't have done it. You can't understand what you mean to me."

"Ah Kitty." He rests a hand on her shoulder. "You're the closest thing to a daughter I ever had." He taps his chest with his other hand calling back his talk of daughters earlier. "You're in there now." He then reaches back to pat his old bus. "And I'll be in here, if you ever need me again."

"Oh Papi!"

They embrace once more. They hug, holding it just a little longer this time, then part again.

"Well." He says. "I better get home before the boss wonders where I am."

"No cojones?"

He nods with a grave look and makes a snipping motion with his fingers. "No cojones!"

She laughs and watches him climb back into his bus. He settles into his seat and looks down through the open door.

"Goodbye Kiki. And good luck."

"Hey!" She says. "That's the first time you used my actual name."

With a smile and a wink and he closes the door then pulls away. He would head back to the garage and then home to his own family. Kiki watches Papi's bus go and stands tall. She felt good. She felt strong. She felt well. Better than she had in ages. With that done the final tether to this neighborhood had been released. She was now truly ready for her new life.

To be continued...