Leaving Arlynes
[Written 1 year ago.. ] It was 11:17 AM and my bus to Puerto Plata was scheduled to leave at 12:30. But instead of sending Arlynes home alone, I decided to ride in the Uber with her, that way we could spend at least thirty more minutes together. This was it for Arlynes and I, our last time seeing one another until some hypothetical future rendezvous. I opened the car door to Juan's silver Sonata and placed my luggage on the seat behind him. I then shimmied into the cramped middle space so I could be next to her. Rolling my eyes, I thought, of course there's no seatbelt. A common theme. It was as if all the Uber drivers in Santo Domingo held a conference and, along with agreeing to tint their windows jet black, decided to remove the seatbelts from their cars, if only to make things interesting for people like me who always reach for one. I felt exposed. Arlynes said in English "Don't worry, it is okay". But I knew better. Nothing about this was "okay", an