*** I'm sure there are those in the world who are the kind of thinkers who leave open the possibility that something out of the normal can occur. In this chapter, normal gets a twist. There is also sex in this chapter. For people who have always behaved in a vanilla world the sex in this chapter may be too far out there for you to enjoy reading about. Please keep in mind that I don't advocate you engage in these acts (multiple partners, anal, oral sex, incest between adults) but they are a part of the story line.***
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I backed the trailer to the dock in L.A. and took LeeAnn with me to the office. Just before we met anyone she whispered, "Remember, I'm Sammi."
"And, we're here for business."
Inside the office we were met by an older woman sitting behind an old roll-top wooden desk. Her half glasses were magically hanging at the end of her nose and wisps of gray hair were framing her face. She glanced at me and smiled big at Sammi.
"Well, it's about damn time!" She said. A wide smile crossed her face. "Is this your new driving partner?"
"Yup. Danni meet Sammi. Sammi, Danni." As I spoke her chair rolled a couple feet and she stood up. She was about six foot tall and close to two hundred pounds wearing jeans she probably bought when Sammi and I were in high school, a sweatshirt with the worn letters UCLA on the front and she was barefoot. I got passed and she wrapped Sammi in her arms and lifted her off the floor. She kissed Sammi on the cheek and put her back on the floor.
"Good girl, I been prayin for you to show up for years!" She turned, faced me and said, "Congratulations! You decided to live." Then I got a kiss on the cheek. She sat back down and slid back behind her desk, picking up papers as she did.
We stood still and watched. After a minute of shuffling papers she said, "I'm changing your load. I'll give the load for Portland to Mike. It's eleven-hundred miles. You get the rounder to Portland Maine." She handed me the papers. As I looked them over she used the mike to announce the load for my truck. I glanced out the window of her office and saw the dock crew gathering pallets of boxes and beginning to load us.
I asked, "Danni, could you possibly have time to introduce Sammi to paperwork? This is her first load and I can't think of a better teacher."
She smiled and said, "Get out! Go out on the dock and make sure those apes of mine get you properly loaded and tied down. Sammi and I will be sisters in about an hour. Maybe I'll let you take her with you when you go. Maybe." She laughed and drew a chair up next to hers as I waved and went out onto the dock.
The load was mostly machined parts shipped from Shanghai to L.A. and now on to Portland before becoming something stamped "Made in America." Danni's apes did a good job while ribbing me about "haulin around a skinny girl." I just smiled.
When Sammi came out of the office she carried a notebook and a box. The apes closed my trailer and banded it. We got in the truck and Sammi said, "Take a left out of the gate and go half a mile. Danni said that's the best place around to eat."
I drove. I parked our rig in a huge lot and we walked fifty yards to a place with the fancy name of, "The Fish Market." Lunch was huge, cheap, fresh and outdoors.
"If I eat like this every day I'll gain too much weight!" Sammi protested.
"Then don't eat like this every day. On the road we eat lots of salads and protein: fish, baked chicken, steak. In L.A. and a few other places, we splurge. Danni knows I love this place. She knows we won't put this load on the road until just before dawn tomorrow. If she wants to have dinner with us she already knows where we'll be."
"And she probably knows what you'll order."
"And what we'll each have for breakfast and lunch tomorrow!"
Friends dropped by our table to say hello and be introduced to Sammi. Some stood a few feet away and said "hello". Some shook her hand and three stood her up and hugged her. All treated her with respect and a little awe. Usually my lunches took half an hour to maybe and hour and I was back in the cab. That lunch took three hours.
When we got into the truck Sammi said, "They love you and they loved..."
"Yeah. She was easy to love." Twenty minutes later I found a nice spot to park in front of a Catholic Church across the street from my favorite Mexican restaurant on the planet, El Tepeyac. I went through our tiny fridge and cleared an entire shelf. Sammi watched.
"After we eat our fill we'll bring what's left here. We can have some for breakfast tomorrow and for lunch."
"What are we getting?"
"One burrito. You can choose pork, beef or chicken. I'll also get us a side of guacamole."
"You're drooling." She giggled.
"It's that good! There's only one thing I know of that even comes close to tasting that good."
"And where is that served?"
"Hopefully, right behind us, a little later tonight." Sammi blushed and opened the door of the cab. A priest was standing on the sidewalk waiting for her.
"Senora, please. Do you plan to be here long?"
"Are we in the way?" Sammi asked.
"Not now, but soon. It's four o'clock and at five o'clock we have a funeral scheduled. It would be good to be able to park the limos." He waved an arm showing where he wanted the limos to park. It was where we were parked.
I stayed just out of sight. I wondered if Sammi would handle it or call me. She said, "Father, We'll get our food and find another place to park. We can eat in the truck."
"Bless you. Thank you." He turned to go. Sammi turned and saw me standing in front of the truck. She said, "Was that a test?"
"No, and if it had been, you passed. Let's get our burrito and be gone." I put my hand on her back and guided her across the street. A tiny old man stood on the curb watching us approach. I knew it was Manuel, the owner and that he was at least eighty years old. He said, "Mr. Nick! I thought that looked like your truck. Chicken, beef or pork?"
"Manuel, this is my new driving partner, Sammi. Sammi this is Manuel. This is his restaurant."
He kissed her hand and winked at her. He said, "When you leave here, go to Las Vegas and marry her. If you don't, may I propose?"
"Manuel, you're married!" I jousted with him.
"She is old! I need young and beautiful!"
Sammi hugged him and said, "If he doesn't marry me, I'll be back for you."
"Pork, beef or chicken?" He asked again.
Sammi answered, "Chicken, this time and please not too spicy. Oh, and a side of guacamole please."
He bent his head and asked, "You have diet Cokes in the truck?" We both nodded.
A young woman came to us carrying a cardboard box that originally carried a case of soft drinks. It was heavy and covered in aluminum foil. She handed the box to Sammi.
Manuel said, "This one is a gift from me to you, my bride to be, if Nick is stupid." I shook his hand and we walked back across Evergreen Street and got back in the truck. In just five minutes we were on I-10 headed towards the desert. The smell of the Manuel Special filled the cab with odors from heaven.
"There's only one burrito in here?" Sammi asked.
"Only one."
"Is it full of chicken?"
"Chicken, rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, red sauce, a few jalapenos, and some guacamole."
"Find a place to park, Ok?"
"About five more miles." True to my word five miles later we were parked near the edge of a big mall. It was seventy degrees outside so we set up a folding table and two chairs. The Manuel Special filled the table. Sammi got silverware and diet Cokes from inside and we sat to our feast. No plates. We started at one end of the burrito and ate our way towards the middle.
We made the appropriate noises for something that good.
Suddenly I heard a car door slam. We had been so focused I hadn't seen or heard a vehicle approach. I twisted around and saw two security officers from the mall. Both were Hispanic.
"Why are you parked here?" One asked.
I said, "My lady has never been to Los Angeles before. We stopped at El Tepeyac and got dinner. The smell was too much. We had to get off the highway and eat!"
The other guy stepped closer and said, "Jose' look! It's a Manuel! A Manuel con pollo!"
Sammi said, "If you have something to carry it in, you can have a little. We don't mind sharing, but leave us enough for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow, Ok?"
They looked in their car and found two plastic forks. I said, "Good for one good bite each along with a chip of guacamole."
We let them savor their bites and chips. As they left they said, "We get off at nine. You need to be gone by then, Ok?" We waved and they were gone.
We packed up breakfast and lunch and Sammi stowed it inside. I folded the table and chairs and stowed them. As we drove out of the mall parking lot the sedan pulled up and honked. Our two friends waved and we waved back.
On the I-10 Sammi said, "You take me to the best places!"
"Yeah! Every woman I know wants to eat dinner in a parking lot with security guards." I was thinking how she deserved so much better than a life in a semi truck.
It was quiet in the truck all the way out to the turn onto I-15 to Las Vegas. As we climbed the Cajon Pass Sammi loosened her seat belt and knelt beside me. She said, "Keep your eyes on the road. There's something I want you to know. I have dreamed of living with you in a truck for most of my life. Your life is out here. I want to be a part of that life. I've had money and fancy cars and clothes. When you made love to me, held me naked in your arms I knew I was home, safe and loved. Momma knew it. I knew it. I think Dad knew it, too. All I ever want is to share your life."
She kissed my cheek and sat back in her seat. I didn't say anything. She didn't press.
Near Barstow I looked over and she was reading the notebook Danni gave her.
I said, "If possible, the best course is through Barstow and Baker without stopping. Prices are high and it's usually hotter here than in Vegas."
"I'll remember." She waited until we were past town and asked, "Can we talk?"
"Sure, Honey."
She almost hurt her head by turning it so fast. It was the first time I had called her Honey.
"If you don't want to get married in Las Vegas it's Ok." She said.
"I don't. I've been thinking and this is what I propose: Let's stop in Denver on the way to Portland and get the license. In Portland we'll call Momma and invite them to meet us in Denver for the wedding. That will give them three days to get three hours drive away from home."
"I'll bet Momma is packed!"
"Call her when we get to Las Vegas. I'll ask Dad if she's packed."
As we crossed Stateline and headed for Las Vegas our cell phone rang. Sammi hit speaker and said, "Peterson Trucking, may I help you?"
Momma laughed. "I have an idea. How about you stop in Denver and get a license and on your way back to Los Angeles you stop again in Denver and we come to the wedding?"
"How do you know where we're going and that we're coming back to L.A.?" I asked.
"Momma knows everything. By the way, call your lawyer sometime tomorrow. He has interesting news for you."
"Can't you just tell us?" I asked, "Momma knows everything."
