I hadn't planned to come back for another fortnight at least (RL is beyond crazy) but I couldn't resist popping in and dropping a line to let you know how much I loved this chapter. And I can't believe nobody picked up on this but - ahem - Superman II, opening scene after the credits, anyone? In the movie, I hated that scene because Clark came off as DESTRUCTIVE bumbling idiot, and a natural one at that because no way could he have intentionally let a taxi career into even to keep up his hack persona. I love the way you've rationalized it. Now it's just plain funny and rather sweet.
Keep em coming!
Hasini.

“Is he dead, Lois?”

“No! But I was really mad and I wanted to kick him between the legs and pull his nose off and put out his eyes with a freshly sharpened pencil and disembowel him with a dull letter opener and strangle him with his own intestines but I stopped myself just in time!”
- Further Down The Road by Terry Leatherwood.