Or for her not to do it.
“Dani?”
She could almost sense Pepper’s gaze on her from a distance.
“Would you be interested in going out with me sometime?” she blurted out in one breath, the words slurring into each other.
Hiro stared at her, his shock clear by the way his brows arched and the way his lips parted a smidgen. Dani could imagine kissing those lips. Not an appropriate thought right now!
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Now I’ve done it.
“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I should go.” Dani grabbed her drink and spun around, almost spilling the hot liquid on herself.
“Dani, wait!”
She turned, unsure if her cheeks could grow any hotter, and sucked in a breath at what she saw. Hiro was smiling again, his entire face animated with joy. “I would like that a lot. Would Saturday work for you?”
“Let me check my shift schedule and get back to you?” She squeaked. Why was her voice so squeaky?
Hiro nodded. “Still have my number?”
Dani nodded. Yup, her cheeks definitely could—and did—get hotter. “Yeah, I do.”
“Good.”
The warmth with which he regarded her stole her breath away and the heat from her face travelled down her body. Dani stood there, transfixed and reluctant to walk away until suddenly, her phone blared out an obnoxious tone. Jolted out of the moment, she scrambled to turn off its alarm. She has set it up as a backup warning for when she had to be on her way after the previous day’s fiasco, but now she almost regretted it.
“I should get going.” Dani gestured over her shoulder with the hand holding the phone.
“Hey boss,” someone called out from the backroom.
“Yeah, I should go.” Hiro mimicked her gesture.
“Okay.” Dani turned around and fled the scene. She felt it happening without her control; a lop-sided grin stretched up into her cheek, threatening to become permanently affixed to her face.
As night rolled around and she pulled up to stop 11568 again, Dani saw that Evelyn wasn’t there waiting. She wanted to tell the old lady that she did it, that she took her advice and now had a date planned. With a sigh, she glanced at her watch. Okay, I can afford to wait another two minutes.
Light rain misted the night air for the first time in days, although it didn’t warrant turning on the wipers yet. Perhaps that was why Evelyn didn’t come tonight.
The waiting, however, paid off. Evelyn shuffled down the sidewalk and took her time stepping on to the bus. Dani’s eyes widened in alarm. This was far from the spriggy and mischievous woman who had boarded her bus the last two evenings. Instead, Evelyn looked pale and weak.
“Are you all right?” Dani asked, afraid of the answer.
“Hmm? Oh yes, yes; don’t you worry my dear. Just feeling my age tonight.” Evelyn settled in her usual seat and looked up at her. “You, however, look positively glowing. Tell me the good news.”
“I asked Hiro out. We have a date next week.” Dani reported, although she followed Evelyn with her gaze, worried that she was going to faint any minute.
“Good.” With a tired yawn, Evelyn leaned back against her seat. Dani’s concerns must have shown on her face, for Evelyn waved her off. “Don’t you worry about me. Drive on.”
“Okay.” Dani turned to pull the lever that closed the door and drove the bus away from the curb and into the street.
Silence settled in and for a while, Dani thought Evelyn may have fallen asleep. That was until she spoke up.
“I think this may be my last night.”
Alarmed by the finality of the statement, Dani frowned. ‘what do you mean?’
“Ah, I’ve been going over to visit my son at night. My granddaughter has been having night terrors and her father needs sleep so he will be awake for his job during the day. So, I thought I’d go help keep the wee one calm.”
It was a strange arrangement. “What about her mother?”
For the first time, Evelyn sounded angry. “The one that gave birth to her left as soon as she could. Ran off with some other man. Broke my boy’s heart. She’s no mother to my granddaughter.”
Ouch. Dani made a mental note to avoid that topic. Still, it was odd for an old woman to stay awake overnight. Then again, Dani didn’t have kids, so who was she to judge? She made a slight affirmative noise to show she was listening.
Evelyn let out a long sigh. “But these nighttime visits are draining me, and I don’t think I’ll be able to go over anymore. Hopefully the babe will sleep better now.”
With no passengers tonight, Dani was still required to wait at scheduled stops. As she stopped the bus, she glanced at Evelyn.
“You know,” Evelyn started again, this time wistfully as she stared out the window. “They’re my biggest regret.”
The urge to go sit next to Evelyn and hold her hand was great, but Dani remained in her seat although she released the buckle. Evelyn let out a long sigh.
“That righteous anger is rather hypocritical of me though.”
Dani shifted in her seat and leaned forward. “How so?”
“I did something similar. Cared more about what my boyfriend thought than my own child. My son left as soon as he could, and we have been estranged since. I hoped that helping him like this may have gone a little way to atone for how I treated him.” Evelyn’s shoulders slumped and she gave Dani a bittersweet smile. “At least I got to meet my granddaughter.”
Things didn’t add up in Dani’s mind and her fears from the first night returned once more. “Evelyn, if you need anything…”
Evelyn shook her head. “I’m fine, child. Don’t worry about me.”
It was hard not to. But it was time to continue their journey. Dani buckled her seatbelt, closed the door and drove on. When they arrived at Evelyn’s usual stop, Dani thought of keeping her on the bus, though it would be against work policy to take a passenger to the depot.
Evelyn rose from her seat leaning on her cane, a slight tremble in her posture. She walked two steps to stand next to Dani and extended her hand. At first Dani thought Evelyn was offering a shake before spotting a white envelope.
“Will you do me a favour, Dani? Can you deliver this note to my son? The address is on there. I don’t have the heart to tell him or my granddaughter that I can’t go anymore. Please.”
Dani stared at the envelope, then up at Evelyn. The woman’s eyes had filmed over. Alarm bells were going off in Dani’s head because nothing was adding up, but something propelled her to take the note anyhow.
“Bless you, child. Take care. Promise me you’ll live your life, not your job?”
Dani swallowed a lump in her throat as she nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” Evelyn gave her a last brief wave and stepped off the bus.
This time, Dani didn’t pull out of the stop right away but remained parked to keep an eye on Evelyn as she shuffled away. Dani set the envelope down with care onto the dashboard and looked out the windshield. Her headlights, combined with the streetlights, provided enough illumination for her to see the little old lady’s figure against the rain. Why don’t you have an umbrella? Dani frowned as she watched.
Evelyn’s outline seemed to be fading away.