Carefree Highway

"No, not exactly," said Evie.

"So why, do you ride with him?" asked Bill again.

Before she could formulate and answer, bill turned to me, "Chase can Evie, take turns driving with you?" he asked me. "Does she help you much when you have to unload? Can she read a map well enough to navigate for you when you hit those stretches of roads where you can't use you GPS?" he asked me.

"Let me guess, when you pull into a truck stop for a little R&R and you see one of those truck stop Betties, Evie just makes room for her in the sleeper, or does she go and eat while you surrender to your baser urges?" asked Bill. "And all of the reports I get of her tearing up property or starting fights with waitresses who "looked at you," must not be true."

"Well speak up," he said.

"You ride together, you eat together, God knows you sleep together, and pretty fucking often from what I've heard, you live together. Hell you finish each other's God damned sentences," he said, putting his hands on his belt.

"I don't care what you call it but in more ways than one, you two already are married, so deal with it," he spat.

"Now git out of here and go to Detroit," he said ending the conversation.

The truck we drew for the trip was a big Freightliner with air ride suspension. It was a really nice rig and the sleeper was huge compared to what we were used to. We'd stopped off and got plenty of road snacks and drinks, and would pick out spots to eat and refresh ourselves from the lists of restaurants on the GPS.

As we pulled out of the yard, I think Evie could tell I needed to think so she just kissed me on the cheek and got into the sleeper for a nap. Eve would nap for a while and then come back to keep me company and watch with me when it started to get dark and we needed the extra pair of eyes.

"Are you part cat or something that you need to sleep nearly all damn day?" I snapped at her as we got onto the freeway. She knew that this was just my way of breaking the ice and starting us talking again after my quiet time. We'd been together long enough for Evie to know when something was bothering me. She also knew that there were some things I just had to work out for myself.

"Well, I don't want to get you upset, Chase, but something happened to me while we were at home," she said.

"What?" I asked, wondering what could have happened. We were together the whole fucking barely 3 hours that we'd been home.

"A big bad man stuck his thingy inside my little pussy, and made me all tired and tingly," she said smirking at me. "So I need to get some rest in case he tries to do it again."

"Do you think he might?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't know," she said, "But Chase?"

"Yes Evie," I replied.

"I want him to, because I liked it. I like it a lot," she said kissing me again.

Shady Acres Retirement Home

72 year old Malcolm Martin was leading the new guy, Brad Stevens, around the facility. He stopped and showed him where everything was located and how to find things he might be interested in. Shady Acres was a pretty big place, with a lot of amenities and Malcolm loved being its un-official tour guide. It gave him a way to meet new people and help them become acclimated, and also gave him something to do. Though Malcolm was himself a resident, not an employee, he had regular duties that if he didn't do them, wouldn't get done. Many of the residents considered Malcolm the "Mayor" of Shady acres.

Malcolm had showed Brad, who was pretty lively for an eighty year old, all around the complex and the entire building from top to bottom. He'd saved this part of the tour for last. A long time ago, this would've been the best part of the tour, but for the past 3 years it was the worst. If Malcolm had started here, Brad might not have stayed.

Malcolm knocked on a large imposing wooden door with a plaque attached to it.

The Plaque read "Directors," and there was one name under it. The space below that name was blank, but it was obvious that there had once been another name there.

Malcolm didn't wait for an answer to his knock he just turned the knob and pushed the large door open. Until about 3 years ago, this door was never closed.

As Malcolm and Brad walked into the large office, Brad saw a woman standing unmoving near the huge desk, looking out of the window.

She turned as she noticed that they had entered the room and faced them. The first thing that both Malcolm and Brad noticed was that she had almost no expression on her face. There was only a blank stare. She was probably a beautiful woman once, but she may as well have been a robot now.

Malcolm had gotten used to it, but Brad found it disconcerting. It was as if the woman was a fucking Zombie. He tried to push the thought from his mind and actually looked at her features. She was actually quite pretty; she had medium length white blond hair that came to just below her shoulders and grey eyes. Her skin was very pale as if she never got any sun. Her body had probably once been beautiful as well, and it still was if maybe a little bit soft around the middle. Her breasts were large and inviting, and her legs and ass were just a trifle heavy. A few months of working out and she could be devastating though, Brad noticed. Perhaps the worst thing about her was her posture. Even as she turned towards them Brad had noticed that her shoulders slumped as if they bore the weight of the world. Her eyes seemed to be permanently cast downwards.

"Brad Stevens, meet Ann, She's the director of Shady Acres," said Malcolm.

"Co-director," said Ann in a voice like nails on a chalkboard as she extended her hand towards the newcomer.

"Nice to meet you ma'am," said Brad. Brad gently shook Ann's hand and noticed that even her hand seemed to be as cold as the rest of her. Cold and fragile he thought.

To Brad's surprise that was the extent of the conversation and the meeting, Ann had simply turned back towards the windows and Malcolm had led them from the office.

As soon as the door closed Brad started rubbing his hands together and shivering.

"Brrrrr," he said. "That is one cold ass bitch! She has potential though. I'd love to warm her up."

"A few years ago that woman was as hot as the sun. If you got too close to her you got burned. She was the sweetest most beautiful woman you ever saw. She was slimmer and gorgeous. You didn't need any Viagra with her around. This place was like a fucking construction site," said Malcolm.

"What do you mean a construction site?" asked Brad.

"Because all around her there were so many erections," said Malcolm patting the front of his pants.

"What happened?" asked Brad

"A tragedy in her personal life that I won't go into, caused her pilot light to go out," said Malcolm. "This place is nice but it's nowhere near as great as it was."

Back inside the office, the phone on Ann's desk started ringing. She looked at the display and saw that it only had three digits in the ID field. That meant that it was an internal call. She reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Hello," she said listlessly.

"Ann, there's no fucking way I'm going to be able to handle all of these people for Thanksgiving if we don't get more tables and chairs. The Med lab needs supplies too, and the grounds crew won't be able to handle the snow we're supposed to get by Wednesday. We have to do something," said the voice coming from the phone.

"Don't worry Claudia, everything has already been ordered. I'll email you the manifest if you want. The Truck is supposed to be here by Wednesday morning. That'll be plenty of time for you to set up the tables and the grounds crew to handle the snow. If we get any," said Ann hanging up the phone. She turned back towards the windows and in her crisp white blouse and gray skirt could easily have been mistaken for a statue or an ice carving.

I heard a yawn from the sleeper and smiled. I imagined Evie putting her precious iPad in one of the storage bins in the sleeper. She'd probably start taking off her clothes soon. As if in response to my thought a feminine arm reached out of the sleeper and deposited a pair of tiny black panties on my shoulder.

"Those will give you something to think about while you drive," said Evie. "And I don't want you playing any of that fucking hillbilly hippy music of yours while I'm trying to Sleep. Find me some Taylor Swift."

That's the problem with living with someone who's younger than most of my socks, I thought. She has no taste in music.

As soon as I heard Evie start to snore, I started scanning the radio dial for some music to drive to. I heard an old familiar tune that I knew Evie would hate but I kept the volume down, and frowned as the rich mournful voice of the singer came through the speakers and threatened to pull me into his melancholy mood.

Searchin' through the fragments of my dream-shattered sleep

I wonder if the years have closed her mind

I guess it must be wanderlust or tryin' to get free

From the good old faithful feelin' we once knew

Carefree highway, let me slip away on you

Carefree highway, you seen better days

The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes

Carefree highway, let me slip away

Slip away on you

A flurry of layered guitars oozed out of the stereo matching the tears rolling down my cheeks. I was totally lost in the emotions the song had dredged up.

It was a good sadness, just the kind I needed to vent some of the pent up emotions that had sprung free at the thought of going back home. Unfortunately it was short lived as the mood was shattered by a scratchy smoky voice from the sleeper.

"Chase God Damn it, turn that shit off! Nobody died so there's no need for a fucking funeral! If you have to listen to that shit at least play it backwards, so you can get your dog back, and your truck back, and your house back," said Evie. "Find me some good God Damned music. Something with a fucking pulse."

Despite my frustration, I had to smile because Evie never let me wallow in sadness. She always cheered me up no matter what. And though I'd never actually said it, I hoped that she knew I love her, with all of my heart and soul. I decided that instead of dreading what might never happen, I'd concentrate on the good things. Things like finishing this fucking haul, and buying my truck. Evie and I would still work for Bill but we wouldn't have to pay that hefty rental fee for using one of Bill's trucks. Of course if the truck broke down, we'd have to pay for it ourselves; but we'd stand to make a lot more money overall. And maybe we could really settle down. I couldn't believe I was even thinking that after what happened last time. I knew that Evie thought of me as her savior but in reality it had been she who had saved me in more ways than one.

As she snored in the sleeper, I thought back to our meeting. I'd been just about to pull out of a truck stop in Wichita when a figure had dashed across my path. The small form was running as fast as she could but was being gained on by two bigger ones. I jumped down from my cab and did what I do best, I chased them. As I caught up to them the figure they were following had tripped. They never got to her though because I had grabbed them both by their collars from behind and pulled them off their feet. Then I got between them and the smaller figure and balled up my fists. I was bigger than either of the two men. They got up sputtering and fuming, with one of them holding up his hands like they were knives. I had gone through some martial arts training when I was in the army, and I didn't like the way the guy was standing.

The little guy looked like he knew his stuff and was getting his wind back after being thrown down, so I decided to end this quickly.

"I'm a third degree...,"started then little man as I just barreled into him using my superior size and strength to bowl the guy over. Once he was on the ground I knocked him out with one punch to the jaw. It always paid to get those smaller faster guys on their backs where they couldn't use any of their fancy moves. I once had a guy who was only about 5'8" clean my clock with a fancy spinning jump kick. Never again will that happen to me, I thought as I turned to face the other guy.

All I saw of the other guy though was back, ass and feet, as the guy sprinted away leaving his friend unconscious.

"You'd better run Ass hole," screamed the small hooded figure that was now standing next to me. I turned to go back to my truck and heard that same smoky voice behind him. "Hey, guy, thanks," she said.

I just grunted and kept on walking. When I got back to my truck, I started it back up and watched as the small hooded figure stood on the edge of the freeway and looked down the highway. As I started to pull out the figure looked my way and stuck out her thumb, just as the snow began to fall.

"Fuck," I said under my breath. I'd thought I was in luck because she seemed to be headed in the opposite direction.

Well I could still just drive right by her. As I slowly gathered speed the hood fell off and I saw all of that black hair tumbling down. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and before I knew it I had stopped the truck.

"I knew you weren't going to drive by me," she yelled trough my open window.

"Where are you headed?" I'd snarled.

"Probably to Wyoming and the wide open spaces" she said cheerfully.

"Well I'm going to Little Rock," I said, "Sorry."

"Ooh I've always wanted to see Little Rock," she cooed, "It's my dream town and it's right on my way to Wyoming."

"Get in the Fucking truck," I snapped. She was so tiny I'd had to lean over the seat and stretch my arm as far as I could to help pull her up.

Once I got her inside the truck I knew she was going to be a handful, immediately. "Where are you going again?" I asked her.

"I told you I'm going to Wyoming, but if you can only take me to Little Rock, that's fine Mr. Grumpy," she said.

"Wyoming is North West of us," I snapped, she stuck out her lip, and frowned a little but not much. "Little Rock is South East of us, the exact opposite direction. Every mile we drive will put you farther away."

"Okay so we're going the long way," she said as if we were going to be traveling together for a while or something.

"How old are you?" I asked her, before putting the truck back in gear.

"Twenty two," she snapped, "Mr. Policeman, do you want to see my ID?"

"You bet your sweet ass I do," I snapped right back.

She reached into her backpack and pulled out a driver's license, her name was Evelyn Sanders and she actually was twenty two years old. She leaned back in the seat next to me and put her backpack on the floor. Then for some reason, as I started down the road, she just started talking to me. Did I have a sign on my forehead that read please start a conversation with me?

She'd been working her way from somewhere to wherever she got to, I didn't find out for almost a year what she was running away from. But she would work at a truck stop waitressing or whatever, until she got enough money to move on or got a ride. She hadn't worked much for the past week or so, and was out of money. She'd met up with those two idiots back there and they'd offered to feed her.

"I'm not stupid," she said in that smoky scratchy voice that sounded like cigarettes and liquor, but was actually just another of the things that God had lavished on her.

"I asked them right up front, what I'd have to do for the food and a ride," she said.

"The Karate guy," she said, laughing as she remembered me beating his ass. "He said that it was a way of balancing the scales. They had money and I didn't, so to balance the scales, they'd share."

"Later on I found out that I was expected to balance the scales too," she continued, "I have pussy, and they don't, so I was supposed to share."

She turned and looked at me, as if she was taking inventory or something, and I couldn't look at her and drive so I averted my gaze.

She giggled a little and then leaned back and closed her eyes. "How'd you know?" she asked.

"How did I know what?" I replied.

"That I have a really sweet ass," she said," It's covered by my jacket, but it is really sweet."

That was two years ago and we haven't looked back since. We did initially have problems; we both had trust issues to overcome. Her issues stemmed from escaping an abusive family. And mine were from just mistrusting everyone, especially women. She seemed to trust me up to a point, from the beginning though, but beyond that initial level took weeks. It was nearly a month before I stopped asking her if she wanted to go our separate ways at the next town. That was the start of out first argument.

It started out innocently enough. We were hauling some rolls of paper to Wyoming and when we started getting close to the state line, I remembered what she'd told me originally and just to start a conversation I asked, "Is there any particular place you wanted to be dropped off in Wyoming?"

"I can get out wherever you want to leave me," she said quietly. I looked over at her and for the first time since we'd been together I saw her crying. I felt like an ass and I didn't mention it again. The first time we stopped in Wyoming, I noticed that she took her backpack out of the truck. She only did that when we were at places that had laundry, so I knew something was up. I saw her talking to a kind of creepy fat guy and him leering at her and smiling. They turned towards his car and I saw her cringing as he put his arm around her. I dropped the things I'd picked up and got to them just before they got into his car.

"If you don't get your fucking hands off of her, I'll kill you," I growled at him through tightly clenched teeth.

"Dude, she came up to me," he whined. "If you don't want your daughter to ride with me just say so, and I'm gone."

"I'm not his daughter," smiled Eve. "I'm his girlfriend, but he wants to dump me."

He got into his car and peeled out of the lot.

"Why'd you chase off my fucking ride if you want me gone so God damned bad," snapped Evie as she lit into me after the guy was gone.

"You said you wanted to go to Wyoming, we're in fucking Wyoming," I snapped back just as quickly.

"Well you did your job, you got us here, so I was just leaving so you won't have to put up with me any fucking more, since it's such a burden," she said.

"Did I say you were a fucking burden?" I asked.

"Is there a problem here?" asked a State patrolman who'd come up on us as we were screaming at each other.

"No problem, Officer," I said.

"You bet your ass there's a problem," she said, "He chased off my fucking ride."

"Okay folks can I see some ID," said the Trooper.

I got out my driver's license and handed it to him, Evie did the same. He thanked us and looked at the cards. "You're 40 sir, and your daughter is 21, so you're technically both adults. I know it's hard as a parent sir, but sometimes we have to let our children make their own decisions. At 21, legally if she wants to go off with someone you can't stop her. But you young lady, should listen to your dad, he obviously cares for you and just doesn't want to see you hurt." said the trooper. "Have a nice day and try to keep the swearing down, this is a family area."

We just stood there and glared at each other for over a solid minute with neither of us speaking.

"Why'd you chase him off?" she quipped.

"Because he was creepy, and he was looking at you like he was hungry and you were a fucking steak," I snapped, "And because you really didn't want to go with him. I watched you cringe when he put his arm around you."

"Why do you care? You've wanted to get rid of me from the very fucking beginning," she snapped back at me, "If I wanted to be somewhere that no one wanted me, I just hitch-hike back home. So Okay we're here in Wyoming, the scale is balanced. You've done your good deed. See Ya."