and that was fine with me, because sometimes I got tired of his yapping. He never made much sense half of the time anyway. He wasn’t too much trouble either. That’s why I didn’t mind him being a part of my run team. A guy could easily drive you crazy on a three-day run, and the older I got, the less I wanted to chance driving with guys whom I may have had problems with.
After Larry was at the wheel for a while, I got tired and went inside the sleeper to crash myself. When I woke back up, abruptly, to the sound of a police siren, it was after three in the morning, eastern standard time, and Larry had gotten us pulled over for speeding.
“Shit, Larry! How fast were you driving?”
“Ninety. What are you worried about? It’s
my
ticket, right?”
I said, “You got that right. What state are we in anyway?”
“Georgia.”
I nodded and waited to get back on the road.
The Georgia state trooper asked Larry how long he had been driving, our destination, and asked him for his medical card. Then he asked Larry if he was by himself, and I was forced to show my face and IDs.
“Shit, man!” I snapped at Larry afterward. “If this was
your
damn ticket, then why did
I
have to get up?”
“Man, fuck that honky. He wouldn’t have done all that shit to no white drivers. All he had to do was check the logbook.”
I shook my head and went back inside the sleeper. “Just get back on the damn road. Okay?”
Larry looked me in the eye and said, “You watch how you talk to me, motherfucker. I’ll
crash
this damn thing.”
“Yeah, well, you better make sure that I die if you do, because if I live, I’m gonna cut off your arms, and then your legs, and then your dick, and watch you bleed to death on the side of the road.”
Larry broke out laughing and said, “You’re a sick motherfucker, man.”
I told him, “That’s right. Don’t ever fuck with an old man, young blood. It’s dangerous.”
“You ain’t
that
damn old.”
“Yeah, but I am old enough. Now just shut up and keep driving.”
Larry was quiet for a few minutes, then he said, “Man, I gotta get to the next rest station
fast
. I gotta take me a
log
of a shit.”
I smiled. Good thing the next rest station was only two miles away. Sometimes, you get caught in between exits and have to drive ten, twenty miles before you reach the next rest room. I thought about Larry having to take a shit in the dark woods and a deer running out to kick him in the ass, and I broke out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your momma’s buck teeth,” I told him.
I caught him off guard. All Larry could do was laugh with me. You get silly sometimes after being on sixty-hour-
plus
runs with a guy. Every kind of emotion you can imagine will likely pass through you. That’s why it was so important to team up with someone you could get along with.
When we pulled over to the rest station so Larry could use the toilet, I got out and stretched. Then I found myself with an urge to call Denise and ask her if she had received the roses I sent to her earlier. I knew she had. It was simply an excuse to talk to her.
Denise answered her phone on the first ring, just like I knew she would. She was a light sleeper, and she was always concerned about her image with her sons. Late-night phone calls weren’t something she condoned. Nevertheless, she had begun to bend the rules, just a little bit, for me. I guess she understood just how much it meant to me. You get lonely on the road a lot.
“Yes, Dennis, I got the roses,” she said, before I could ask.
All I could do was smile. She knew me better than I thought she did. Sisters are more perceptive than most guys give them credit for anyway.
“Did you have a rocky trip or a smooth one?” she asked me, loud and clear. She sounded as if she was
expecting
my late-night call. Maybe she did expect it. We had been going strong for a full year, and I had driven thousands of miles away from her and always managed to call her with
After Larry was at the wheel for a while, I got tired and went inside the sleeper to crash myself. When I woke back up, abruptly, to the sound of a police siren, it was after three in the morning, eastern standard time, and Larry had gotten us pulled over for speeding.
“Shit, Larry! How fast were you driving?”
“Ninety. What are you worried about? It’s
my
ticket, right?”
I said, “You got that right. What state are we in anyway?”
“Georgia.”
I nodded and waited to get back on the road.
The Georgia state trooper asked Larry how long he had been driving, our destination, and asked him for his medical card. Then he asked Larry if he was by himself, and I was forced to show my face and IDs.
“Shit, man!” I snapped at Larry afterward. “If this was
your
damn ticket, then why did
I
have to get up?”
“Man, fuck that honky. He wouldn’t have done all that shit to no white drivers. All he had to do was check the logbook.”
I shook my head and went back inside the sleeper. “Just get back on the damn road. Okay?”
Larry looked me in the eye and said, “You watch how you talk to me, motherfucker. I’ll
crash
this damn thing.”
“Yeah, well, you better make sure that I die if you do, because if I live, I’m gonna cut off your arms, and then your legs, and then your dick, and watch you bleed to death on the side of the road.”
Larry broke out laughing and said, “You’re a sick motherfucker, man.”
I told him, “That’s right. Don’t ever fuck with an old man, young blood. It’s dangerous.”
“You ain’t
that
damn old.”
“Yeah, but I am old enough. Now just shut up and keep driving.”
Larry was quiet for a few minutes, then he said, “Man, I gotta get to the next rest station
fast
. I gotta take me a
log
of a shit.”
I smiled. Good thing the next rest station was only two miles away. Sometimes, you get caught in between exits and have to drive ten, twenty miles before you reach the next rest room. I thought about Larry having to take a shit in the dark woods and a deer running out to kick him in the ass, and I broke out laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your momma’s buck teeth,” I told him.
I caught him off guard. All Larry could do was laugh with me. You get silly sometimes after being on sixty-hour-
plus
runs with a guy. Every kind of emotion you can imagine will likely pass through you. That’s why it was so important to team up with someone you could get along with.
When we pulled over to the rest station so Larry could use the toilet, I got out and stretched. Then I found myself with an urge to call Denise and ask her if she had received the roses I sent to her earlier. I knew she had. It was simply an excuse to talk to her.
Denise answered her phone on the first ring, just like I knew she would. She was a light sleeper, and she was always concerned about her image with her sons. Late-night phone calls weren’t something she condoned. Nevertheless, she had begun to bend the rules, just a little bit, for me. I guess she understood just how much it meant to me. You get lonely on the road a lot.
“Yes, Dennis, I got the roses,” she said, before I could ask.
All I could do was smile. She knew me better than I thought she did. Sisters are more perceptive than most guys give them credit for anyway.
“Did you have a rocky trip or a smooth one?” she asked me, loud and clear. She sounded as if she was
expecting
my late-night call. Maybe she did expect it. We had been going strong for a full year, and I had driven thousands of miles away from her and always managed to call her with
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