Some of the men would turn to her as she passes by. It is more like a wonder on why is there someone on earth who would bravely walk along the sidewalk of that busy town with such a wild display self-expression. With hair graced with the color of the rainbow, a facial makeup comprising of a colorful variety, clothes that would put Britney Spears to shame and pointed heels that could only kill, she has been the subject of scrutiny ever since she came out of a studio in Hollywood. For a city like this and a woman like her, it would have seemed normal. Almost everyone have something going on that relates to the show business. In this city, no one would care if anyone would show up looking unusual. But the curiosity was aroused when the woman, who is actually pretty underneath that heavy facial makeup, had tears streaming down her face. She stepped on the side of the road and tried to hail a cab but she was ignored. It frustrated her more. Her self-esteem dropped lower. All she wanted is to go home and pretend that things never happened earlier.

When a cab finally comes her way, a man in a business suit hurried to catch it before she does. It’s already been a bad day for the woman and this one should know better than to mess up with her. When the man went inside the car, she followed in and quickly closed the door. She immediately gave instructions to the driver about her destination.

“Wait. I got here first. Get out.” The man with the eyeglasses told her.

“I saw it first. You just happened to have the gut to steal this cab from me and I won’t let you get away with that.” The woman glared at him.

“I’m going to be late for my appointment.” The man sighed.

“And I already had a bad day. You should know better than to mess up with me.” She replied and placed her bag in between them. The man looked at her then told the driver where to go. She insisted to be taken home first.

“No. It’s out of my way.” the man said and ordered the driver where to go. Confused, the driver stopped the cab on the side of the road.

“We’ll be in an accident if you don’t decide our destination, folks.” The old man said behind the wheel.

The woman drew a deep breath and faced the man. She takes out her hand to him. “I think that the driver should take me where I want to be first but since you’re arguing with me, let’s decide on this.” She held out her hand to him.

“Rocks-papers-and-scissors?” The man chuckled. “You’re…” he looked at her face and shakes his head, “incredible!”

“Thank you.” She rolled her eyes and they played. In just a drop of the hand, she bet paper while the man bet on stone. He groaned in frustration.

“I guess that makes the decision,” the old driver said in amusement and went back to the road. There was silence between the two. The woman settled her back on the seat as she struggled to look for something in her bag. The driver suddenly stepped on the brakes and she came forward. Most of her things were dropped on the floor. The man came to her rescue to hold her back and helped her retrieve her things from the floor.

“Sorry about that, Miss. There’s just some irresponsible pedestrian who suddenly came from nowhere.”

“No harm done,” the woman replied as she pushed the man’s arms away from her waist. She grabbed her things from his hold and put everything in the bag. “Move away.”

The man raised is hand in surrender. The two faced away from each other and gazed out in their own car windows. The driver thoughtfully glanced at the people behind him through the rearview mirror. Sometimes, he thinks that good stories start with a quiet taxi ride. He can sense the sadness and vulnerability in the woman when he saw her calling for him earlier. He saw her outrageous appearance and all he wanted is just to get her out on the streets and take her home. It seemed that it’s the best thing she wanted at the moment. And then this man appeared. It amused and irritated him at the same time. This inconsiderate man seemed to have his own issues and unfortunately, he messed up with the wrong woman. Now, instead of going straight to whatever his appointment is, the woman won their little game and will get to reach the destination first.

“Stop it right here.” The woman instructed suddenly. The driver followed her in wonder. He turned to her.

“Very good.” The dark blonde one said beside her.

“We still haven’t reached your destination, Miss.”

“Much better.” The man said again.

The two frowned to the man. The woman casts a glare to the person beside her. She paid for the fare and went out. The man immediately instructed the driver where he is going and the car sped off.



~~~



Nick Carter quickly made his way towards the prep school of his daughter, Daphne. If not for that woman with the colorful hair, he should have made it on time with Daphne’s performance. He muttered a curse then stopped himself when he remembered that he’s in a school. He saw his daughter just coming out of the mini-theater with his mother.

“Oh, baby. I’m sorry that Daddy’s late.” Nick went to pick up his daughter and carried him in his arms. His mother takes the laptop bag off his shoulders.

“You promised, Daddy.” Daphne sniffed as she only got through from crying. “I waited for you.”

“I’m so sorry, baby. I won’t do it again next time.” Nick kissed his daughter on the forehead. “I’ll cook dinner tonight and then we’ll have bonding time. My secretary gave me something for you, Barney CDs, and we’ll watch it together, okay?” He saw Daphne’s face light up. Yeah, no matter how much he hates Barney, he will do the best he can do to spend time with his four-year-old daughter.

“Where have you been, Nick?” Laura asked her son. “And where’s your car?”

“My car is still under repair. It will be ready by this weekend. My meeting got extended plus there’s this…”

“Who’s this, Daddy?”

Both turned when Daphne found something in her father’s pocket in his coat. It’s a small photo of the woman he’s with in the taxi earlier. She missed it when she dropped her things on the taxi’s floor. He decided to keep her picture when he saw it because he realized that without that ridiculous makeup and hairdo, she actually looked pretty. The photo will remind him of his silly encounter with her. Why, he never played rock-paper-and-scissors with anyone since he’s in middle school. He smiled at that thought.

“Is this Mommy?”

Nick opened his mouth to reply but Laura beat him to it. “Oh, Nick. You didn’t tell us immediately that you also met up with her.” She said.

“Mom!” Nick frowned at his mother. They know how hard it was to explain to Daphne that her mother abandoned her after she gave birth and left all the responsibilities to Nick. He hated what the woman has done but he is grateful that his daughter is alive and well. He will take every opportunity that he had just to make Daphne happy and feel loved. It seems perfect. He is performing the role well as a single parent until the child started pre-school and began asking for her mother. He can only reply that the mother is abroad and couldn’t come home because of her busy schedule at work.

“You met Mom? Why isn’t she with you?” There was an excitement in Daphne’s eyes when Nick turned to her. It pains him to see his daughter longed for someone who will never be back because she never cared.

“Uh, I didn’t meet with her. I just found her old picture and thought of bringing it here for you.” As he said it, he’s looking ridiculously at his mother. His daughter is oblivious to what is going on. Daphne is busy looking down to the picture of a woman in her little hands.

“Where is she?”

“Where is she?” Nick sighed.

“Your mother is in Italy where she studies cooking. Your mother is a good cook.” Laura filled in. She takes her granddaughter in her arms and walked ahead. “And speaking of dinner, how about we go home now because Dad said he’s preparing us something special for dinner?”

“Okay, but I want to see Mommy. Where is Italy? Can we go there first?”

Nick drew a deep breath. He doesn’t like what is happening but he doesn’t have any choice. His mother started weaving lies, or rather stories, to his daughter.