My name is Marilyn Jackson, from a small town in Arkansas (pronounced Arkensaw, in case you didn't know. Don't ask me why). The town of Magnolia, where I've lived my whole life, is a nice place. Unremarkable to the casual tourist you might say, but it's a small town with secrets.
There had always been things going on behind closed doors and rumors going around, just like any small town. But something very unusual happened in the summer of 2022 that deserves writing down for posterity, so I guess it should be me who does it.
Anyone familiar with the state of Arkansas knows that it's a central hub of the trucking industry in the States. My husband Dom is a lifelong trucker, and most of my best friends had truckers for husbands. For me and other trucker wives, we'd all gotten used to our husbands being away a lot when they were working.
We all supported each other, some of us with local jobs of our own as well as raising families. It was an arrangement I'd gotten used to and I was happy with my lot in life. I'd raised two sons, Denny and Lee, pretty much single-handedly and they'd both turned out to be good boys.
Not even the pandemic of 2020 stopped my husband and his fellow truckers from working, they were basically on the front line, making sure everyone got the food and supplies they needed to keep going.
Hell, Dom probably worked harder during those two years than ever before, and he was lucky that his health stayed strong. The problems began when the inflation hit in 2021, which even I saw coming, the way the damn government were printing money like crazy.
When that happened, everything went up in price including the price of gas. Suddenly, every trucker in town was starting to get mad about this as it meant they were expected to work just as hard but for much less money.
In the spring of 2022, all our trucker husbands decided to join in with the strikes that began happening all over the country. That meant that us trucker wives suddenly had our husbands at home day after day and we weren't used to it. It didn't help that all the stress and drama over the strikes was taken out on us wives, who were trying to be sympathetic.
But as the strikes and the negotiations with the truck companies went from weeks to months, it had to be said that we were wives getting pretty darn tired of having our hubbys around. It's true what they say about a man eventually becoming his job, and my husband Dom was just miserable and morose around the house, he wasn't a homebody and never had been.
He was just made for driving a truck, it was what he was used to and I couldn't wait to see him driving off and knowing he wouldn't be back for a while. I know that sounds terrible, but it's how all the truckers' wives felt at the time. We were just sick of the sight of them!
Just when I was getting so uptight that I thought I might end up throttling Dom in his sleep one night, I was mightily relieved to find out that the truckers had finally reached a pay deal in line with inflation. The palpable sense of relief was huge and I realised that the only reason I'd stayed married to him for so long was because he was hardly ever around!
My sons Denny and Lee respected their dad and kind of liked having him at home with us - at first. But he'd become resentful that they both had jobs, nothing special, just hospitality work.
Yet here he was, not earning a dime and his pride had really taken a hit. Fortunately, before it got unbearable at home, the pay rise came through and major father and son drama was averted.
By the time May came around Dom was clearly itching to get back to his trucking and had planned a busy itinerary with his company.
"Honey, what with all these strikes I've lost a lot of money in potential earnings, but if I work hard over the summer with this pay rise then I should be able to get back what I've lost and then start making good money. Now I know you've liked having me home....".
I had to fake a smile as he said this...
"....but you know that I'm only going to be working so hard to provide for us. Once I've made enough for us to be financially secure again, I won't have to be away quite so much. You're not mad, are you hun?"
I sighed, pretending I really would have preferred him to stick around the house and carry on driving me crazy.
"You do what you have to do, Dom. I have loved having you home but this situation is what it is. I'll be ok here, I can look after the house and keep an eye on the boys. They're sure gonna miss you..." I said.
"And you'll miss me too, right?"
I nodded slightly over dramatically.
"Oh absolutely, Dom. Absolutely. A lot."
I didn't think I sounded convincing at all but he smiled and announced he was heading to the bar for his last weekend of freedom. He came home steaming drunk that night and I had to pretend I was pleased when he woke me up at 2am for two minutes of grim, unenjoyable sex. He rolled over and fell asleep instantly as soon as he came and l, as his loud snoring began, I felt so relieved he was starting work again on Monday.
We all got up early that day to drive to the company depot and I stood waving goodbye with my two sons as he climbed inside his huge truck and started it up, waving his baseball cap out of the window as he drove off.
"Well, that's the last we'll see of Dad for a while, huh?" said Denny, my oldest son at 22.
"Yeah, guess so..." replied his brother Lee, a year younger.
I think they were expecting me to be emotional about it but I suggested we go get some waffles at the local cafe, wanting to celebrate without using that word. That night, even though it was a Monday, I rang up all the truckers' wives I was friends with who all felt exactly as overjoyed and relieved as I did!
My best friend Pennie summed up how I felt completely when she said, "I swear to god, another week with Bob at home and I'd have become an axe murderer!".
We both laughed loud and hard at that one and I knew just how she was feeling. I told her I'd been chatting to the other wives we were friends with and all of us agreed that we were going to party while our husbands were away like we'd never partied before.
It was only May, the beginning of summer, and it was already scorching hot almost every day. We'd all put on a few pounds since our husbands had been home on strike and we all wanted to look our best for the summer.
"I know that going to the gym is a pain but I want my figure back if the weather is going to stay like this all summer! We might be a landlocked state here, but I like the thought of getting out of here for a few days and going somewhere with a beach...." I said, wanting to feel sexually attractive again even if it was just for a few admiring glances.
"I'm with you! I need something exciting and fun to look forward to...why don't I ring the girls and get us signed up for Tommy's? It's the best gym in town and there's usually some hot guys in there...".
"Now you're talking", I replied. Within a week there were six of us all signed up and we began working out together. I guess I should tell you about my other friends, who all have trucker husbands. Aside from Pennie, there's Cassie, Nora, Liza Jane and Jacqueline but we all just call her Jackie.
