Motorbike Taxi – Part 2: The Long Way Home

Linh came out of the building two hours later with her hands shaking. Minh was sitting on his bike across the street, the rain finally stopped, two plastic cups of iced coffee balanced on the seat.

"Well?" he called.

"I got it," she said, and then, louder: "I got the job!"

Minh whooped so loudly that a nearby pigeon fell off a wire. He jumped off the bike, handed her a coffee, and spun her around once in the wet street.

"The charm worked," he said.

"The charm is a bead on a string."

"The charm is my grandmother," said Minh, and grinned.

They took the long way home. He drove slowly this time, through the evening streets, past the lantern shops and the noodle stalls. At Hoàn Kiếm Lake he stopped the bike, and they walked along the water, the red bridge glowing in the dark and the old turtle tower floating on its island.

"Eat," said Minh, and bought her bánh mì from a woman with a wheeled cart, hot and crisp and full of herbs.

Linh took a bite and closed her eyes. "That is the best thing I have ever tasted."

"Everyone says so on the first bite," said Minh. "Then they cry."

"I am not going to cry."

"You are already crying."

She wiped her face and laughed. They sat on a bench by the lake, the city lights shimmering on the water, the bread warm in her hands.

"Can I ask you something?" said Linh.

"Yes."

"Why do you drive a motorbike taxi? You are clearly clever."

Minh was quiet for a moment, watching the lights.

"Because I like being the person who gets someone to where they are going," he said. "And because nobody ever asks me where I am going."

"Where are you going?"

"Right now, I am sitting on a bench with a woman who got the job," he said. "It is a very good destination."

Linh's cheeks warmed. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Yes."

"Would you let me buy you dinner on Saturday, to say thank you? Somewhere with a table, and no rain."

"Yes," said Minh. "But I will choose the rain."

"Deal," said Linh. "Can I kiss you now, here, by the lake?"

"Yes," said Minh. "And if you say stop, I will drive you home very slowly and sing."

"That is a terrible threat," said Linh, and leaned in.

He kissed her gently, his hand warm against her cheek, the taste of coffee and bread sweet between them. The lake rippled quietly. A bell rang from a distant temple.

When they parted, both of them were smiling.

"Green?" he asked.

"Green," said Linh. "Very green. Now drive me home, Minh. The long way again."

"Always the long way," said Minh, and helped her onto the bike.