Lonely Is the Night

Chapter One

A young woman with slim features and round saucer blue eyes pulled her long straight hair back in a ponytail and slipped into her pink faded uniform. She sighed heavily as she grabbed her purse and keys and headed to her car. It had started to rain, but she didn't notice. She had pulled another late night shift at the diner so it didn't matter if it rained or not. If she didn't need the money, she'd quit waitressing, but that wasn't going to happen. There was little money and a lot of bills to pay. Then there was her daughter. She couldn't let her down more than she already had been and protecting her was her priority.

Entering the diner through the back door, she nodded to the waitress just finishing her shift before making her way to the front counter where she grabbed the coffee filters, scooped coffee into one from a large can on the shelf above her and slid it into the coffeemaker. Then she filled the well with water from the coffee carafe and flipped the switch. The smell of coffee brewing filled the diner bringing with it a sense of warmth and comfort that was sorely needed against the backdrop of tiled counters and metallic cabinets and fixtures.

A sense of resignation filled her as she made her way to the back of the kitchen and fired up the grill. The graveyard shift wasn't pleasant and she was tired, but at least it was quiet. Half the time no one showed up and if they did it was only for a coffee "to go" and that was fine with her. She returned to the dining area where she reached into her apron pocket, retrieved five quarters and slid them into the jukebox at the far end of the diner and made her selections. Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton and other country music stars would be her companions for the evening and as the music filled the room, she sang along knowing the words by heart. Glancing up at the clock that was yellowed from the grease that billowed up from the grill, she saw the time was 8 pm. Only four more hours to go, she said as she wiped down the counters and swept the floor.

*****

Caleb Hunter rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. The gentle giant of a man had driven over three hundred miles that day and his eyes burned with exhaustion. The eighteen wheeler he drove had no mercy as it demanded him to stay awake as the asphalt hummed underneath the tires. He was tired, very tired, but at least he was putting distance between him and his past.

The divorce had been messy. She got the kids and the house and he got heartache and child support to pay. He didn't mind paying child support for his kids. They had been his life and now he had to put extra miles on the road to meet his obligations and the constant demand of his ex-wife wanting more and more. It never stopped. At least on the road, he could distance himself and let the rumbling of the tires lull him into believing everything would work out.

It had started to rain. A few showers at first where Caleb barely needed the windshield wipers, but he was driving into a storm and after an hour, the wipers were slapping away in a fast paced rhythm trying to keep up with the deluge of water. Highway 95 going south down to the state line would be another two hours. He was early and decided that at the next truck stop, he'd let up on the gas to get food and some needed rest.

Between the raindrops on the windshield, a faded neon sign in script caught his attention.

Eddie's Diner

flashed like a beacon. Caleb pulled the truck over into the right hand lane, slowed, and eventually stopped in the side of the parking lot where most truckers did to allow those driving cars to park without having to maneuver their vehicles around the mammoth wheeled beasts. Caleb turned off the engine and climbed down from the driver's seat and pulled the collar of his black leather jacket around his neck in a vain attempt to keep himself dry. It didn't help much. The balding spot on his head still felt the pelting cold rain as he ran to the door of the diner where when opened, the sound of a cowbell above it announced his arrival.

The diner was empty of patrons, but was filled with the smell of greasy burgers and French fries. An old juke box in the corner of the diner played country music as he gravitated towards the counter and took a seat on a stool that was old and repaired with half a roll of duct tape to keep it from falling apart. Caleb didn't mind. At least he was out of the truck and far away from his past.

A woman's voice in the back of the diner shouted, "Be right with you" while Caleb took off his jacket and laid it across the next stool equally covered with duct tape and waited. Spotting a small warped tin ash tray near the napkin holder, he pulled it towards himself and pulled a pack of Winston cigarettes from his shirt pocket. Tapping the pack against his other hand, one of the slender tubes of tobacco slid forward and he grabbed it from the pack and slid it into his mouth. Searching in his shirt pocket and finding it, he flicked the tab of his cigarette lighter and drew the yellow gold flame to the cigarette tip. He inhaled deeply tasting the rich tobacco smoke as it filled his lungs. It was comforting and he drew on the cigarette again.

A young woman with long hair pulled back in a ponytail appeared from the back. Her uniform was stained and her face was thin, but her blue eyes were large and showed, much to her chagrin, the effects of a tough life that wasn't going to get any better soon. She heaved a sigh, took a small pad from her apron pocket, grabbed a pen from the other pocket and held it poised.

"What'll be?" she began in a soft tired voice.

"Burger and fries and a coffee," Caleb replied eying her.

"How do you want the burger done?" she asked not looking at him.

"Make it moo," he replied and she smiled.

"You want it still moving," she asked.

"You want me to help you kill the cow?" he said chuckling.

"I think I can handle it," she replied and he could see the dimples in her cheeks.

She poured him a coffee and set the cup on the counter in front of him.

"You want cream and sugar?"

"Yea," he answered.

The woman slid a sugar dispenser next to him along with a small metal pitcher filled with cream before heading back to the kitchen to prepare his food. Ten minutes later a plate of French fries and a rare burger on a grilled bun appeared in front of him along with cutlery wrapped in a napkin.

"Anything else?" she asked.

When he looked up he could see her name tag pinned on her uniform.

"That's it, Shelby," he said as he stubbed out his cigarette. "You alone here?"

"Yea, Milt had to go home early. One of his kids is sick," she replied as she began to wipe down the counter next to him.

"You shouldn't be here alone. It isn't safe for a woman especially at a truck stop. You don't know who will walk in," Caleb warned.

Shelby sighed deeply and continued to work, "Well worrying about that went out the window when I was promised double time if I stayed."

"Yea, I hear you. Been doing a lot of over time myself. I got kids to pay for," Caleb sighed.

By the way, call me Caleb."

Shelby nodded and saw that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring, "She took you for everything, huh?"

"Just about. And you?"

"I never got as far as the altar. Mine took off when he found out I was pregnant. I got a little girl. Beautiful little thing. She's with my mother tonight so I could work."

Caleb nodded as he took a bite of his burger, "Sometimes life just sucks."

"Well at least I got my daughter and I wouldn't trade her for anything. She's my world," Shelby said as she thought of her five year old.

"Yea, it kind of makes everything worth it," added Caleb.

"How old are yours?" she asked.

"Tanner is eight and Charlie is six. They're a handful," Caleb said between mouthfuls.

"I bet," Shelby added.

"What's your daughter's name?"

"Hannah, after my grandmother."

"It's a nice name," Caleb said.

Shelby finished wiping the counter and took the coffee pot and refilled Caleb's cup.

"You want dessert?"

"Naw. Burger and fries are enough."

The jukebox stopped and Shelby walked over and slid another quarter into the machine. The song Tennessee Whiskey began to play.

"I love this song," she said as she returned to behind the counter.

"Good song," Caleb said as he polished off the rest of his fries.

"Well, if you don't need anything else, I'm going to clean off the grill," Shelby said and left for the back room.

Caleb pushed back his plate and finished his coffee. Shelby returned a few minutes later and Caleb discovered that he didn't want to leave.

"It's a lonely life isn't it?" he said.

Shelby's face dropped, "Yea, sometimes."

Caleb looked over at the jukebox, "Play that song again."

She looked up at him, "Tennessee Whiskey?"

"Yea."

She went to the jukebox, slid another quarter in and the song began to play.

"Do you dance?" he asked.

"Just a little," she smiled. "I'm not very good at it."

Caleb got up from his stool and took her hand. It was warm and soft, "You want to dance with me? I've got two left feet, but I can move with the rhythm."

"Here in the diner?" her eyes popped open wide.

"There's plenty of room near the jukebox," Caleb said.

"I don't know," Shelby said pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail.

"Don't worry about your hair. You look beautiful," Caleb said as he came closer drawing her around the counter near the jukebox.

"It's been a long time since I danced," Shelby mumbled.

"Just one dance then I'll go," Caleb promised.

The music played and Caleb pulled Shelby into his arms and she hesitated for a moment before sliding into him.

"It's the only way I know how to dance," he said in her ear.

He could feel her against him. Warm and light he held her close and moved slowly on the floor. Her body was tense, almost stiff, until the strains of the song began to melt her and she molded into him. He smelled of cigarettes and coffee and somehow the scent soothed her. She could feel his heart beat as she lay her head on his chest. There were no words just the music filling them as they swayed back and forth. Somehow their feet fell into sync and they moved in rhythm lost in a world that no one else knew. He in his own world and she was hers. When the song ended she pulled away and he could see a tear in her eye.

"I want to thank you for the dance," Caleb said in a voice that was low and gravelly.

Shelby licked her lips, "Someone might come in. I better get back to the kitchen."

He picked up her chin with his finger and thumb and gently, softly pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was warm, full of tenderness and even though she didn't want to respond, she couldn't help herself. The scruff of his unshaven face scratching against hers didn't deter her, but enticed her to return his kiss with the same sensitivity. It was long and deep and when it was done, he cupped her face in his hands and she could see in him the same need that was in her.

"I want to stay," he whispered and shook his head, "but I can't."

"I know," she said pulling his arms away from her. "We both got work to do."

"Yea," he said stepping back from her. "I gotta make the run."

She nodded her head, "I understand."

"I'll be back," he said.

"It's ok," she said smoothing her uniform with her hand. "It's was just one of those things."

Caleb wanted to explain that it wasn't just a quick thrill. He wanted to tell her that he wanted more, but he could see that she had heard the words before and he stopped. Instead he watched her pull away and walk behind the counter where she began removing the plates from which he had eaten his meal.

"I'll get your bill," she said and went to the cash register and rang up the total.

Caleb reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty and gave it to her. Shelby rang the cash register out and retrieved his change, but before she could give it to him, he stopped her.

"I'll be back for it," he said as he pulled on his jacket and headed out of the diner.

Caleb felt a sense of loss as he pulled out of the parking lot at Eddie's diner. As he drove by the window front, he had hoped that maybe she was standing near to watch him leave, but she wasn't. Sighing he pulled out onto the highway and drove into the night while the rain pelted the truck as if punishing him for leaving her behind.

Inside the diner, Shelby scraped down the grease from the grill. She heard the big rig outside rumble by the diner and tried not to think about it. He was just another trucker; another man who came into her life, however so brief, and then left. It was no big deal. She'd forget him by morning.

Chapter Two

Caleb stopped at a Dunkin Donuts coffee shop around one am. He got a large coffee, cream with sugar, and climbed back into the rig and headed down the highway once more. He was tired and even the coffee and several more cigarettes couldn't cure it. It continued to rain and created almost like a numbing feeling as he listened to the endless slapping of the wipers against the windshield. He took a large gulp of the coffee and swallowed it feeling the warmth of the brew slide down his throat. He missed his kids. He missed his bed and he missed Shelby. He shook his head. He had just met the woman and she was already stuck in his head. He cursed under his breath. He'd just been alone too long. The woman probably had already forgotten about him. She had enough troubles of her own to be thinking about a lone trucker with no money and no future. What would she want with him anyway? He took another gulp of coffee and placed it in the cup holder next to him. It was hard to figure out what was real and wasn't these days. He never thought he'd be alone like this. He never thought he'd be divorced, kicked out of his home and had to ask permission to see his own kids. It was surreal so why would he think Shelby would be thinking about him as well? He lit another cigarette and puffed on it slowly. His addiction relieving the anxiety he felt that maybe he'd spend the rest of his life alone and how warm Shelby felt in his arms when they were dancing. He stubbed the cigarette out in the ashtray of the rig and reached for another one from the pack he had on the dashboard. He smoked too much and he knew it, but it was the only thing that calmed him at least for a time.

Caleb reached his destination early the next morning. Carefully backing the rig into the loading dock of the manufacturing plant that had ordered his delivery, the doors opened and he jumped down from the truck. Unloading would easy. It always was always quick. It took minutes compared to the hours that were spent hauling the goods on the highway. Caleb accepted the fact. It was a job that paid well and he had bills to pay. Exhausted, he pulled out of the loading dock and back onto the road. There was a truck rest area a few miles back and when he pulled into it he shut off the engine then crawled into the back of the truck where his living quarters were and collapsed onto the makeshift bed.

*****

Shelby called her mother just before she closed up the diner. Hannah was sleeping and her mother would have her ready for school the next morning and Shelby wasn't to worry. That was no easy task for Shelby. She worried about the child all the time. She was supposed to worry. It was part of her job. It came with the territory. She told her mother she loved her and disconnected the call then locked the doors and made sure the grill was turned off and set the coffee pot for the morning shift. A quick mopping of the floor ended her day and she left Eddie's diner, climbed into her car that she had finally paid off and drove to her apartment. It had been a long day and even though she was tired and her body ached, she pulled out the change from her pocket and began to count it. It had been a good day especially when Caleb gave her the extra cash when he paid his bill. He said he'd come back for it. She chuckled and placed the money in a jar on top of the refrigerator before going to bed. Sure he would.

Chapter Three

Life went on as it always does and it was weeks later before Caleb got another run south. This time the weather was cooler and the roads were dry. That was at least something to be grateful for as he headed down Rte. 95 late in the afternoon. It was easier driving at night. The traffic was light and he could make good time and there definitely would be the stop at Eddie's Diner and maybe see Shelby. He smiled to himself. It was a nice thought as he barreled down the highway into the night.

*****

Shelby was in the back of the diner filling napkin holders when the cowbell rang announcing that a customer had come in the diner. As usual she called out that she would be right there, but as she got to the front counter, the strains of "Tennessee Whiskey" filled the room. When she looked at the jukebox, she saw Caleb smiling at her.

"Wanna dance?" he asked smiling at her.

Shelby caught her breath, "I didn't think...I didn't know..." her voice trailed.

Caleb pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I missed you," he whispered in her ear.

Shelby closed her eyes, "Don't say it unless....."

"But I do mean it," Caleb said. "I've been thinking about you a lot."

Shelby bit her lip as they swayed to the music. "Don't fall. Don't fall," she whispered to herself.

"I'm scared too," said Caleb, "But I have to find out. I have to take the chance."

Shelby took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I don't know if I can."

Caleb lifted her face to him and kissed her lips, not like the last time that was gentle and sweet, but with passion of a man that had been denied life and love too long.

"Oh, my God," Shelby said as she melted.

"My sentiments exactly," Caleb said.

"But I have to work," she managed between kisses.

"I'll wait until you get off shift or do you have to get your daughter?"

Shelby shook her head, "No, she's at my mother's."

"Good. You live nearby?"

"Yes," she caught herself saying without thinking.

*****

Shelby and Caleb talked the rest of her shift and when the clock struck twelve and as if by magic, the doors were locked and both were heading towards her apartment with Shelby in her car and Caleb in his truck. Parking the eighteen wheeler in a lot across the street, the two walked the stairs to her apartment. Shelby could feel her heart pound in her chest as she opened the door slowly as if it were opening to a vault that only few had permission to enter. Now Caleb was in her world and she couldn't help but wonder if he was like the rest.

She flipped on the lamp that sat on the small kitchen table allowing a warm buttery glow to the fill the room. Caleb could sense the nervousness and took Shelby's hand.

"If you don't want to do this, I'll understand," he said.

"I just don't want to get hurt," she replied in a soft quivering voice.

"I don't want to hurt either. I don't know how to explain it, but I need to be with you. There is no one else. I just want to be with you just for a while," his voice cracked.

Shelby turned and buried herself into Caleb's chest as if a wall that had been built with cement and stone had finally cracked and the world slipped away into nothingness.

He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. Not like the first time nor the second, but a kiss filled with desire, of want, and of need. His tongue slipped inside her mouth and she sucked on it. He moaned as he pushed his tongue in further and it danced with hers. His hands travelled down her neck then to her breasts where he needed the mounds beneath the fabric of her uniform. He withdrew tongue and whispered to her.

"I need to touch you. I need to feel your skin against mine."