This is an EDITED draft and the first chapter of a multi chapter novel. I have many novels in the pipeline so please be patient Thank you taking the time to read this an enjoy.
Jessica pulled into the truck stop in Albany New York at ten thirty. The nighttime temperatures dropped quickly and the roads had become a slick, cold wintry mess. The gentle wispy flurries that had started earlier in the day became heavier snow then formed into a fast moving messy storm of sleet and hail. Vehicles were skidding out all over the road. After a car nearly clipped her before spinning off into the embankment, Jessica decided she had enough.
The young woman knew the weather would only get worse. The brightly lit truck stop seemed a good respite from the highway and was the most logical choice until the weather hopefully cleared in a few hours and she could drive safely to a hotel. She'd been driving all day and desperately needed sleep. Here, at least she could rest a bit.
Earlier that month she took an emergency leave of absence from her full tenured professorship at Boston University. The dean of her department rarely granted such requests from new professors. However the shy middle age man had a major crush on the blonde. She did nothing to encourage his affections though. She was a consummate professional and knew the risks of dating colleagues or worse bosses. The dean tried in his awkward and shy way to ask her out but Jessica politely declined.
After a male professor once told her she looked like Anna Nicole Smith, Jessica worked even harder to disguise her beauty. She had to be taken seriously in the world of academia. After that, Jessica tied her long blonde hair into a severe matronly bun and opted for thick, unfashionable glasses instead of contact lenses. She wore almost no makeup. Her outfits were either unflattering pantsuits or long skirts and high collars blouses.
Jessica remained aloof from her peers because she knew they talked about her all time behind her back. The gossip was unfounded and never true but they squawked just the same.
Male peers hit on her constantly and would fawn over her. The female professors were jealous of all the attention she got and they tried to exclude her when they'd socialize outside of work.
These women resented her even more because the dean had a thing for her. The dowdy, gray haired middle age female peers gave her insulting nicknames like "Professor Barbie Doll" and the "Deans Penthouse Pet." They smeared her character viciously and it hurt like hell. She was ostracized because of her beauty and nothing more.
Jessica's credentials were impressive to say the least. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University and maintained a 4.0 throughout her entire four years as an undergrad. She continued in her academic excellence through grad school and her doctoral program. After completing her doctoral thesis she was offered a position at BU, her alma mater.
The professors all snickered when they found out Jessica was offered such a highly coveted position. They figured she got the job because the dean had a crush on her since she was a student. It never occurred to them that she was most qualified candidate and she was.
Because of her looks Jessica, dealt with prejudice and ridicule her entire life. She thought if she cloistered herself in a university she'd be sheltered from ignorance but alas, people were primitive at the core and the world of academia wasn't much different from the outside world. Her IQ was probably higher than anyone employed at the university but people only saw a tall beautiful blonde with long legs and big tits, end of story. Her disillusionment was palatable and left her raw to the soul. It was time to rethink her life.
Jessica was born, raised and cultured in Boston. She once thought the city top notch but the place had become too ridged and stifling and filled to the brim with smug intellectual snobs. It just wasn't her scene anymore
The biggest blow of all came after she found out her husband, also a professor, was screwing a twenty year old cooed behind her back. Steven chased after her when she was a twenty two year old graduate student. He liked his girls really young. So she should've known he'd do it again. Steven wasn't married when they were screwing around though. Jessica wouldn't do that to another woman. Her divorce was finalized just last week. She was still not right in the head after that.
People didn't get why Steven cheated on his stunning, classy wife. Sure the little cunt whoring around with him had perky tits and a perfect nose job but Jessica was a classic, ethereal beauty. Not pretty like a blank cookie cutter china doll but drop dead gorgeous. A face people would marvel at. She'd looked liked she'd stepped out of a painted masterpiece.
Their friends asked her why Steven would choose that stupid twat over her? Youthful exuberance and a filthy body Steven could fuck until dawn. That's why. Oh, and a bubbly personality! Jessica was anything but bubbly but she'd been in love with him and was completely devoted and faithful.
There was yet another thing her husband wickedly cheated her out of, a baby. She desperately wanted a child. They'd been trying for many months before Jessica found out about his 'slut on the side,' Tricia. All Steven left her with though was an astronomical mortgage payment on their brownstone and a pile of legal bills.
'Hope she's worth it and I hope she takes you for all you're worth. He's your problem now, little bitch.' Jessica would mutter to no one but her pain and anger. Late at night she'd lie awake thinking about the man she'd thought she'd spend the rest of her life with fucking another woman.
The hurt he caused her was agonizing. She thought people who ran away from their problems were weak. Well she'd taken a huge choking dose of her own medicine! She was running away. Like a hurt, errant child, she'd disappear into the heart of America where no one could easily find her.
Bitter? Her? Not any more. Bitter was so yesterday! She was empowered. Empowered enough to rent out her Boston Back Bay brownstone to a middle-aged married couple and put her beloved Audi A8 in long-term storage.
Jessica bid a fond farewell to her friends telling them she was off to become a wandering gypsy. Now a single woman, she didn't have anyone to tell her what to do, no commitments, schedules, nada. She'd write about her travels for the book she'd dreamed about writing. This wasn't running away from her problems, she decided, she was running towards a dream.
Jessica wanted to write about big rig truck drivers. These denizens of the open road were always overworked. They left their families for weeks at a time. Many people complained that truckers were rude road hogs but when these same people needed food, cars or pretty much anything else you could name, truckers were their lifelines to commerce.
She had a lot compassion for this sub culture of American society after she heard an NPR radio program about the lonely life of long haul truckers. After that she was compelled to dig deeper into their solitary lives and write their story from their perspective.
A long haul trucker's workplace was the entire country. Nothing boxed them in except for the trailers that traveled behind them. They had a whole network and social infrastructure that ran the gamut across America.
For the last few weeks while researching the subject Jessica had her nose stuck in books and a computer screen. This approach was too clinical though. In order to add a breath of life and reality into her story she had to travel alongside an actual road warrior. A seasoned road gypsy who knew the lay of the land and would be willing to let her experience the real nitty-gritty of a trucker's life.
In many ways, she envied them. No real boss, no co-workers and all the peace, quite and solitude an introvert's soul could ask for. That was her Nirvana. Was it an average truckers heaven too? The only way to find out was to spend a significant amount of time with a driver. Break into their somewhat secretive world. Her friends would think this idea was ludicrous and even dangerous. For this reason she told no one her real plan.
Earlier that day, Jessica packed two duffle bags, picked up her rental car, packed a small cooler and gave a set of keys to the new tenants. Today began her journey. While she drove, Jessica laid out her plans to attach herself to a trucker. Boston was in her taillights and she didn't look back.
The city was a long way off but she'd hoped to get even further away from its reaching grasp. She pressed forward even when the flurries turned to wet, heavy snow. Jessica made good time until the real heavy precipitation blew in.
****
So, here she was on a cold winter night in Albany, New York at a brightly lit truck stop. Garish bold letters set in bright neon lights brazenly announced the rest areas accoutrements. "24 Hour Diner! Hot Showers! Truckers Lounge!" All spelled out in gaseous colors of green, red and blue. These stops were a trucker's temporary home away from home. A place to eat, shower, commiserate and socialize. She was eager to find out a lot more about this lifestyle hopefully sooner than later.
Jessica parked her white rental car. She was in awe when she stepped out and saw the blacktop was covered with big rigs. There had to be at least fifty. The whole masculine environment gave her a weird intimidating vibe.
Nearly every man stared at her when she walked into the truck stops restaurant. Jessica felt uneasy knowing dozens of eyes were leering at her from under their dirty and threadbare caps. She was an uninvited guest who'd just entered the boy's sandbox, no doubt about it. Stuff like that didn't bother her much anymore though. She learned to ignore the attention a long time ago.
