Lucy's pick, a businessman, settled into the back seat of the limo. Married, still wearing his wedding ring. Engineer, probably, Midwestern. He had a little tie tack that was some kind of engineering thing. Not a player. Not a guy in to score. She relaxed a little. He might be exactly right. They swung away from the curb and headed for I405. "So," she glanced into the mirror. He had blue eyes. "What are you in town for?" "A trade show. NSSA Show. National Sanitary Services of America." He was looking out the window at the traffic. She thought about making the sanitary supplies joke, but decided against it. He would have heard it before, and anyway she didn't want to be that girl. "NSSA," she said. "We call it the mop and bucket show." He did look at her. Their eyes met in the rear view mirror. Nice guy, her bones said. Genuinely nice guy. He grinned. "Maddox, the company I work for, we make those big floor cleaners. The ones that look like they should be driven on hockey rinks." "Wow," Lucy said. "There's a show for that?" "There's a show for everything," he said. "Somewhere, there's a show for rubber bands and paper clips." "I bet." She laughed. Her neck and shoulders started to ease up. It was going to be okay. "You make those machines?" "I design them," he said. "I'm an engineer." "That must be interesting," she said. "I can't imagine a pretty girl in LA would think floor waxers were interesting." He didn't say it like a pick-up line. He had pictures of his kids in his wallet. They went to the pool for swim lessons in the summer. He had one of those midwestern lawns. "Hey," she said, "I drive a limo. It's gotta be better than that." "I'd think you'd meet a lot of interesting people," he said. "I lead the most boring life imaginable," she said and yes, this was the thing to say. "I mean, I just graduated from college, I still live with my parents. But all that's going to change. Today, all my rides are free." "Free?" he said. She could see his eyes flinch. He was starting to worry, maybe this was a scam. "I joined the Peace Corps," she said. "In three days, I'm leaving for Senegal." "Senegal?" he said. "Is that in Africa?" "Right," she said. "I'm going to be working in a hospital that does AIDS awareness education. It's scary, but I'm excited." The engineer relaxed. He was leaning forward now. Talking to her, to this Lucy on the verge of a big adventure. This Lucy who was about to leave the shelter of the nest. "When I was your age, I spent part of a year working in Mexico. Best thing I ever did." "Do you miss it?" she asked. "Sometimes," he said. "But not enough to leave my family. But you're smart to do it. Do it while you're young." By the time she left him off at the hotel, she even felt young. The feeling lasted for most of the rest of the morning.
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