Chapter 4...Part 2

This all happened the week of Halloween which is a big holiday for the girl. She spent the entire week praying for a way home so she could celebrate with her loved ones. She had never been away from home for Halloween before and she was heartbroken that she might not be home for the holiday this time.

The couple drove as far as New Braunfels, TX. They stopped at the TA truck stop there. This is a much smaller truck stop and didn’t have a big TV room or anything. They did find the TV room which was out in the shop area. They went out and sat out there. It was incredibly cold. There was a driver sitting in there and chain smoking. In Texas you could still smoke inside buildings.

The couple sat in the TV room until it was quite late then went to the SUV for the evening. With the truck stop being so small there was only a slim chance that they might get out of there. The girl realized getting home anytime in the near future was next to hopeless.

The next morning the couple woke up and went back to the TV room. At least it was warmer with the sun out. They saw the same driver they had met the night before. The guest explained the situation that they had decided to tell everyone. The story was that the guest’s truck had been repossessed and the girl had come down from their house near Dallas to pick him up but then they had gotten stuck because his last paycheck bounced. The driver, Bryan, offered to buy them breakfast. The couple was so grateful.

While the 3 of them were sitting there at breakfast the girl noticed a guy sitting at the other end of the bar. He had a wolf tattoo in the same place on his right arm that the girl had her own tattoo. She commented on the tattoo. This brought them to a discussion about spirit and religion. The guest rolled his eyes at yet ‘another one’. The girl enjoyed talking with the man, Charlie.

After breakfast Charlie went back to his own truck for a while. He was waiting for his paycheck the next day and then for a load. The couple walked to Bryan’s truck with him. He was waiting to get permits so he could take his oversized load over the border and into Arizona where his load was due.

The couple ended up spending the entire day with Bryan and every so often Charlie would join them to chat for a bit. Bryan felt sorry for the couple and gave the guest cigarettes. He started to ask other drivers for money to help the couple get home.

Late into the evening Charlie came over and told them that he had food to share with all of them. The girl went with him to his truck to help gather supplies for dinner. She was surprised to see that Charlie carried a lot of spices with him along with food. She teased him that he was a gourmet truck driver. In the process of gathering supplies Charlie told the girl that the guest was very lucky. He said he would love to have a girl and especially one that had the same beliefs that he did. He told her that the guest should really appreciate that he had such a loving woman to stick it out with him.

The dinner was very yummy. It was gourmet ramen as the girl called it. Charlie took ramen, added spices, canned chicken, and cheese. He also supplied sodas for them all. This was the first time in years that the girl had drunk Big Red soda. What memories that brought back to her from her childhood.

Later that evening they were all sitting in the TV room when Bryan got the last of the money for the couple. Charlie had left to take care of something else and Bryan talked 2 drivers out of money to give to the couple. Bryan gave them showers (from his gas card) and the couple got ready to leave. Before they left the girl searched for Charlie. She wanted to get his contact information to stay in touch with him but she could not find him anywhere. She finally had to give up when the guest said it was time to go.