"Trixie do this! Trixie do that! Trixie, don't you ever do that other thing!" I'd had it with my small town and all the idiots telling me what I shouldn't do, and what I should do and with whom. They can go pound salt! I'm over 21 and an adult, plus I have a better education than most of those ass wipe mouth breathers. At least they don't call me Patricia!
Completely fed up with the place, I packed my backpack and rode my bike out of town. It was early afternoon and I hoped to hitchhike west. I headed for the Interstate highway. I decided to cut across country toward it using back roads, since the law might stop me if I stood at an on ramp. As I got close to the Interstate, I saw a girl playing outside and gave her my bike. I couldn't take it with me, and at least she'd have some fun with it.
Working myself across a couple of open fields, I approached the Interstate and slid down the hill to the roadway. Traffic was heavy in my direction so I started thumbing and walking. After about two hours, I got a little depressed as I started thinking this might not work. No one was slowing down at all! My plan was to get into the movie business and work my way up. If worse came to worse, I could get a job as a fitness instructor. I'd taken care of myself and it showed in my strong arms and legs, and my tight, flat abdomen.
Light was dimming as twilight set in and now I was getting more worried and desperate. I didn't want to sleep in the woods, since I had no shelter or even a blanket. I was still walking with my thumb out, facing away from the buffeting slip streams of the rushing traffic. Starting to look off to the side of the road, searching for potential shelter for the night before it got too dark, I was startled by a loud roar behind me. A huge tractor trailer pulled up and off the road ahead of me with its blinkers flashing. The roar had been its air brakes.
Still walking, since I was not sure why he'd stopped, I heard him sound his horn. I took that as a signal to me, so I ran up to the truck cab. The truck was so big I had a hard time climbing up to the door. He rolled down the window and asked, "Where are you heading?"
I answered, "West. Ultimately I hope to make it to California."
He grinned. "You really lucked out, gal. I'm heading home with a load of machine parts back to a warehouse just outside of San Francisco. If you want to ride along, I could sure use the company! And it's getting too dark out for hitching, so I can at least drop you off at the next exit, if you'd rather do that."
He was an older man, clean cut and friendly. It made me more confident that he'd given me an option, so I climbed in. As we started off. I noticed how high up we were and said, "Wow! What a view you get from being up this high! It's a whole different view of the world for me! You must feel like the king of the road up here." I was still a little nervous, and trying to hide it by making small talk.
Since we were moving and picking up speed, the engine roared as he shifted gears. I was amazed how he effortlessly shifted gear after gear, never taking his eyes off the road. "Yep, there's so much weight we're hauling, it takes some doing to get up to speed. We have a lot of momentum when we're at speed. That's why I traveled so far beyond you when I stopped." The radio was turned on low, playing 70's music and the CB would pop to life every once in a while, with messages that were in a strange jargon used by these road warriors.
We chatted at this and that. I told him my name was Trixie, and he told me his name was Hank. He said, "I do most of my driving at night with less traffic on the road, so I can make the best time. If you stay for the long haul, you'll have to get in this same mode, sleeping during the day and staying awake and alert at night."
"Where do you typically haul these loads?" I asked.
"I like traveling all over. I've been to every state in the U.S. except Hawaii," he replied.
"Even Alaska?" I queried.
"Yep. That was quite a long, tough haul, though, because the icy roads can get very treacherous."
It was quite dark out now, and I was tired from my bike riding and walking alongside the road for such a long time. The view out the windshield was a little hypnotic. Yawning, I couldn't fight the tiredness, and I was nodding off from the hum of the tires on the road.
He noticed, and said, "Trixie, you can get in the back and sleep for a bit -- I can tell you've had a long day and I'm still fresh. But there's one thing. If I call you because I'm getting sleepy, I need you to climb back up front here again, and chat with me to help to keep me awake." I looked over my shoulder and realized the truck had an extended cab and there was a small sleep area in back of the front seats.
I slept for a couple of hours, which helped me a lot. It was about midnight when I woke up. So I asked, "Hi Hank... how are we doing?"
"We're making great time, Trixie. I'm going to need to stop for fuel, so are you hungry? We can get a burger at the truck stop."
"Sound's good," I answered, climbing back into my seat. We pulled into the fueling area and I got out to stretch my legs. He pumped fuel for quite some time -- trucks must be very thirsty. After that, we pulled into a long parking area designated for long trucks. We got some food and I was glad it wasn't terribly expensive, given my limited funds. We relaxed, shaking off the mesmerizing view of the pavement rushing by. Hank not only drank coffee, he had his thermos filled with coffee and also bought some snacks. After a restroom break, we were back on the road in about 45 minutes.
We drove through the night and traffic was light as he'd predicted. As the sun rose, he checked his log and pulled into a rest area where there were dozens of trucks parked neatly. It was like a little trucker city, with many drivers doing the same pattern of sleeping and driving as Hank did. With fuel and a restaurant nearby, the owners obviously encouraged the truckers to sleep there, because they'd fuel up and eat before departing.
He told me, "I need to sleep now, Trixie. It's probably a good idea if you don't leave the truck without me knowing, OK?" I agreed. As we settled in the back compartment, I noticed a picture on the wall of an attractive woman. I asked about it, he answered with a trace of sadness, "That's a picture of my wife, Trixie. She died about a year ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry I brought that up, Hank. That loss must be painful."
"It sure was at first. But after a while that pain fades, and you start remembering all the wonderful things we did and shared."
I noticed something a little odd about the picture, though. His wife was wearing handcuffs with her hands cuffed behind her. That pose forced her breasts to thrust forward and made her look really sexy. I asked Hank about it and he said, speaking a little sleepily as he relaxed, "That sort of thing turned her on. I found I liked it, played her game, and we both had fun. I do miss her so, Trixie. There's a box of her things in the bottom drawer if you want to look." With that, he drifted off to sleep.
I admit that I felt bad for him. He seemed like such a nice, gentle guy, sharing some of the story of his life with me.
Ever curious, I quietly pulled out the drawer and looked through her toys. Attracted by them, I surrendered to a naughty impulse. I picked up the handcuffs, made sure I found the keys, and closed one on my wrist as silently as possible. I held up my hand and watched the other cuff dangle from my wrist like glittering jewelry. Hank was in his bed and I was on the other side of the rear space in a sleeping bag all safe and warm. Placing my wrists close together in front of me, I closed the other cuff on my other wrist. Smiling, I too drifted off. We slept until we heard the other trucks start to warm up their engines as the sun went down.