Chapter 3: 3. I didn't ask for her name!
The guy opened the door to the pasenger seat for Miriam, but did not wait to close it for her and sauntered towards the driver's side and sat. After both of them settled in the car, he spoke.
"Fasten your seatbelt." He said, as he did his own and looked towards Miriam as she did hers. "Where are we going?"
"Huh?" Miriam asked, confused.
"I mean, where are you going? Um...Where am I supposed to drop you?"
"Oh, yeah. Drop me off at..." she gave him the address to her home and they hit the road immediately.
Miriam, at this point got the chance to admire the interior of the car. She couldn't stop her eyes from sweeping across the swoopy yet elegant leather interior. And as if her hand had a mind on its own, she stretched out and touched the dashboard, feeling the classy leather as she brushed her fingers across it with a smile on her face. She couldn't help it. Her brother talked about this car a lot. And he always wished to own one someday. She couldn't wait to flaunt it to him, she inwardly laughed.
"You like it?" A masculine voice with a tint of laughter pulled her from her daydream. She quickly retracted her hand as if it was never there and bit her lower lip, her face all red from embarrassment. The guy chuckled at her childishness.
"I'm so sorry." She said with her head low. The guy chuckled again, which deepened Miriam's embarrassment even more. She just wished she could vanish from there. Was she just caught goggling? She mentally slapped herself for being so silly. She couldn't bring herself to look at the guy.
"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" He asked, a little bit confused, because he didn't see the need for an apology.
"I mean, I was just caught staring, which is rude..."
"What? No! Come on, I mean its beautiful. I can't get over it myself. I do that all day." He said as he briefly turned to look at her before focussing on the road again.
This eased her mind a little bit. At least he also admitted he did that all the time.
"That's my brother's dream car." Miriam said with a meek smile. She turned briefly to look at him. He had his eyes fixed on the road and smile on his face, nodding to what Miriam said. She turned away and continued. "He could literally die for this car. He talks about it all the time. He has even carved a miniature version of it with wood. Let me show you..." She took out her phone and went to the gallery to check the picture she took of the miniature car his brother had carved to show it to him. He slowed down a bit and turned his eyes briefly towards the phone to peek at it.
"Whoa! Hold on." He quickly looked back and seeing it was safe, turned on the right turn signal and parked the car. He was thankful he wasn't driving on a highway. He took the phone from her and had a good look. Miriam cursed inwardly for being such a worrywart. How could she show something to someone who was driving? Now he seemed so focused on the picture and had even forgotten to continue the journey. After what seemed like hours, but few minutes later, the guy recovered from whichever state of mind he was in, and lifted his eyes to Miriam.
"Your brother... He did this?"
"Uhh...yeah. It's nice, huh?" She asked with a proud smile on her face. Her brother was that good. She patted her chest inwardly for having such an amazing brother.
"Are you kidding me? This is amazing!!" He said turning his gaze back to the phone to look at the picture well. He was just too amazed. He didn't know at which angle to look at it properly. He kept zooming here and there, in the process he unintentionally scrolled to the next picture, which was a pencil art of the same car, and he couldn't help but smile. "Wow!" This came out as a whisper, but loud enough. "He's really good at this."
"Yup, that's my brother." Miriam replied proudly. Her head was about to burst from so much joy and pride. "There's more, you keep scrolling. He has arts of all the family." she said with a smile. She had even forgotten about her dad.
She just got along so well with this stranger without her knowing, which was unlike her. He was the only guy she had been comfortable with enough to sit in his car and sustain a conversation with. She had this strange tranquil feeling around this guy and his deep and strangely calming masculine voice seemed to have hypnotized her without her realizing she had forgotten her mother's call about her dad being sick. She didn't even know his name.
"Wow!" He exclaimed with eyes wide opened and mouth agape. He couldn't help but give it to the boy. He was damn good at pencil art and crafts. There were videos of him at work and so many pictures of his artefacts. "This could make up for a museum in your home for a tourist attraction, you know," he said and they both laughed.
"We all say that at home. We tell him to keep all his artefacts in one room. And dad specifically gave him a room for that purpose. Dad is especially proud of..." She paused as it donned on her where they were at that moment. The mention of dad brought her back to reality. Her Dad!! What was she still doing there for Pete's sake?? "Oh no!" She exclaimed with wide eyes. "Please let's get going now. I need to get home now."
"Oh, my bad. I'm so sorry." He returned the phone and immediately zoomed off. Luckily, they were just some few minutes from her home and so they got there in no time.
"Thank you so much for the ride, um..."
"Maxwell. My name is Maxwell." he said when he thought she wanted to mention his name.
Miriam's heart skipped a beat. Maxwell... That was the name of her long lost best friend and childhood crush. She was pulled out of her thought when he spoke once again with a card in his hand.
"Here's my card. We can arrange a surprise for your brother if he wants a ride in this car." He paused for some time, gauging her reaction, then continued. "I mean you mentioned he loves this brand and I happen to have one, so..." He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
"That sounds swell." She smiled. "He sure would love such a surprise. Thanks once again. I'm sorry for the inconvenience of having to drive me all the way here." She added, feeling a bit guilty. It was about a 45-minute drive from their campus to her home. She should have insisted on not coming with him so as not to bother him. But it was already done and all she could do was to apologise.
"There's no need to apologise. I had a great time. I wouldn't have met the beautiful sister of an amazing artist," he said with his killer smile. Miriam lowered her head, her long hair covering part of her face to hide her blush.
She cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "Still, I have to thank you for the ride. I really appreciate your help."
"Okay, I guess I should say thank you, then."
"Yeah." There was some few seconds of silence before she finally decided to leave. She turned briefly to look at him and said, "I have to go in now, Maxwell. Please drive safely on your way," and without waiting for a second more, she opened the door, stepped out and closed it behind her, forgetting about the card. Maxwell himself was lost in staring at her that he didn't notice the card was still with him. It was until he saw her enter the house that he came back to his senses and realised she didn't take the card.
"Damn!" He cursed. "I didn't even ask for her name."
He stood there for some few minutes before he finally decided to drive back. He had a lot to do, and he didn't even know how he got distracted by the lady right now. Something pulled him towards this lady, and he seemed to want to spend more time with her. Well, at least, he knew her house, he thought. He would one day pass by to visit. With that assurance, he drove back to the university.
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