On my way home from the airport
after a long week at work
A man in his late sixties
with a name distinctly Arabic
pulled up in the driveway
eager to drive me
through the rains and thick traffic
Keeping me engaged with palaver,
narrating stories with passion
of how he met his wife
at the age of seventeen
And soon after married her
and still happily in love
after half a century.
She became a certifier of gems
a rare vocation
a niche she carved for herself
He kept getting good at
odd jobs that came handy.
He was particularly beaming
talking about his two boys.
The younger one, a marine engineer
with a steady girl from next door
he was soon planning on marrying
The older one, a gem certifier like his mum
also specialising in flirting with women-
"Nowadays he's into Japanese"
He said with a tinge of pride
too obvious to hide.
The boys and the wife
each with a life distinct
A story, a dream
my Uber ride was living
through them each
I prefer Uber over the train
for the stories I get to ride.
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