During COVID we made four consecutive vacation trips to Florida. We were drawn by direct flights and the allure of the beach, but ended up having a memorable encounter with a Lyft driver. On one of our first to south Florida, we got a Lyft to a nearby airport hotel on a late night arrival. The trip was pleasantly uneventful and would have been entirely forgettable.

During our next visit to south Florida, we made a quick detour to the airport mid-vacation to pick up a family member. On our return trip to the hotel we were surprised to find the same driver behind the wheel. We weren’t immediately sure we recognized him until we later looked in our history and doubted he remembered us.

The drive back to the hotel was smooth until dropoff. The hotel had a tricky entrance to navigate through traffic. In an attempt to simplify things, we asked to be dropped off across the street so we could walk and save him a roundabout trip. As we hurriedly exited the car, a police car pulled up, flashing lights at our Lyft. Apparently it was illegal to drop off at that spot and our driver was now facing potential consequences.

Riddled with guilt, we left as much of a tip as the app would allow, hoping it might compensate for any trouble we caused. Each time we return to that airport, we wonder if we’ll encounter the same driver, a reminder of that small-world moment and the unintended consequences of our well-meaning requests.