Introduction

Looking back in retrospect, this wasn't the worst decision I've made, he thought to himself. The old truck sputtered a couple more times as it rumbled down the road, the engine making its loud dull roar just below the volume of the radio. Outside, the rain continued the steady drum on the windshield, while the wipers did their familiar wop-wop sound trying to keep it clear. Looking in the mirror, he saw the spray of water come up from the tires of the trailer he was pulling. Shaking his head, he looked back front to the road ahead of him.  Looking down, the speedometer showed him doing 64 miles an hour on the highway, the lines passing by in a semi blur.

Humming along to the radio, his thoughts were interrupted by the ring of his phone. Picking up his headset, he talked into the microphone, telling it to answer. The voice on the other end piped up. "Yo bro, what's kickin?", his friend said. "Not much man, where ya hiding out at?" he replied. "They got me hauling this pile of monkey crap down to Atlanta, then pickin up to go to California," his friend quipped. "Better you than me, man. Gettin soaked here in Arkansas heading to Chicago," he retorted. "This stuff is really slowing me down. I wanna try and unload early so I can get the next load going towards home. Momma is getting fussy about how long I've been out this time."

" You really do need to be home more often," his friend replied. "I understand that you're trying to get that truck paid off sooner, but it ain't worth losing your marriage over man."

"True," he replied, "but the faster this one gets paid off, the sooner I can get it traded in on a new one. This thing has cost me a chunk of change getting it fixed up enough to get it home. With everything else taken care of, this is the last thing left."

"I hear you man, but you gotta make sure that you take care of the family. No woman that I've ever been with has waited very long for results. If it takes too long, there may not be anything to salvage. Money isn't the only thing that makes a marriage. Besides, 3 months is a long time for anybody to be away from home. Women got needs too, bro," his friend reminded him. "They ain't gonna wait forever."

"I know, but I need to make sure that everything is done beforehand or it may get put off again, and that's not how I roll. You above all know that. Remember the last time we worked together and that company kept jerkin us around? I don't plan on that happening again," he responded.

"Geez, don't remind me," he shot back. "That place had more issues than National Geographic. Every time you tried to get a breather, they'd shove you back in the grinder. I'm surprised you didn't keel over from that load of BS."

"Well, like the old saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Besides, now that I set my own pace and meet my goals, things run a lot smoother. I've even lost 17 pounds since I been home. That diet seems to be working pretty good, don't you think?" he asked.

"Really? I knew you said you lost weight a few weeks ago, but you never said how much. Good work man!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks," he replied. "You guys had a big hand in it too, calling me out when I tried to cheat on it. Not easy staying away from that garbage they call food at the truck stops."

"Don't I know all too well," his friend retorted. "I think that weight you lost found its way to me. I swear my pants are gettin tighter."

"Well, give it a shot, you might like it," he chuckled.

"Maybe, " his friend said. "Whoops, gotta run. Company's callin me again. I'll holler at ya later, bud."

"You too bud. Keep it between the mustard and the mayo," he laughed. "Later."

Disconnecting the call, he turned back to the road, watching the traffic roll by him. Some cars were going by slowly, not really in a rush, while others sped by him like was sitting still. He continued on like this until he reached the outskirts of West Memphis, and decided to head for one of the local truck stops.