The taxi driver waited outside the court for four hours

Dear Delyara, I had to give evidence against my former partner in court. I booked a taxi because I knew I would not be able to drive afterward. On the way there, the driver asked whether I wanted him to return at a particular time. I said I had no idea how long the hearing would take. He gave me a card with his number and said to call whenever I came out. Four hours later, after questioning that left me shaking so badly I could barely type, I walked through the court doors and saw his car parked across the street. He had taken a few short jobs nearby and kept returning because, he said, “I thought you might not want to explain today to another stranger.” I got into the back seat and started crying before I had even closed the door. He did not ask what happened. He did not tell me I was brave. He drove quietly, stopped once when I asked because I felt sick, and refused the extra money I offered. Years later, I remember very little about what the barrister wore or the exact wording of the judgment. I remember that car. After spending hours being questioned about whether I could be trusted to describe my own life, the first safe place I entered was a taxi where one man required no explanation at all.