two
years, and though I had been fearful, having her in it with me made it much
easier to take.
I got done with my shower earlier than Deb
did as usual, and I went ahead and got us a table in the restaurant. I was
reading a paper when she came in. She wore a skirt that came almost to her knee
and a teddy with a jacket over that. My heart nearly stopped. I hadn’t really
looked at her in a long time. At least not that way. She was beautiful.
I told her she shouldn’t have dressed the way
she had because she might have to kiss me later. She smiled but didn’t answer
me. She seemed pleased that I had noticed how she dressed. She wanted me to
notice her as a woman now and not just a friend or truck driving partner.
The rest of the evening went pretty much the
same as other evenings with us talking to each other and then being repeatedly
interrupted by others who wanted to talk. That’s all that changed that night,
but it did change. Our relationship was different now, and I didn’t know where
it was going. I didn’t bring up the kiss again, and neither did she, but I
thought about it several times and caught her looking at me, probably thinking
about it.
“Stan found an agent from Texas, “Tex,” who
was finding the same things he and I are,” Jim said on his next phone call.
“Elderly people were disappearing. No bodies, no blood, and no signs of
struggle. In some cases no evidence they had ever lived.
Or they were in nursing homes and would die
suddenly when they appeared to be stable. They didn’t disappear but seemed to
have died prematurely. Some of the nursing home workers would be surprised.
Tex found something else. Every now and then,
the person who disappeared wasn’t elderly. The three of us talked but couldn’t
put anything together or make any connections.”
One day Deb asked, “Would you like to go
halves with me on another truck?”
My first thoughts were she wanted us to split
up, and each of us would have a truck to drive. I didn’t like the idea of her
and me going separate directions. What was she talking about? My thoughts
raced trying to find the best answer, but I went back to an old principle. I
needed to get all the facts. I asked how she envisioned it would work.
She said she knew a lot of truckers and could
find one who would be a good driver. I was relieved to find out she wasn’t
trying to get rid of me. She reasoned if she and I bought a truck and paid
cash, then our overhead would be really low, and we could make money when other
truckers couldn’t.
“OK, but what happens between us. I mean how
does it change you and me?”
“We would be partners, silly. You put up half
the money and I put up half. We split the expenses and the profit.”
I sat in silence, relieved she wasn’t trying
to put me in another truck. I liked being a team driver with her. When we had a
layover somewhere, we could run around together and have fun. It was a lot
better than being alone for one thing, and having her with me was better
than anyone I could imagine. I was really enjoying her company and was
wondering if we weren’t getting closer. Besides I was still sure I needed
someone to cover my back. Life was a little quieter, but this was too much to
handle alone.
“What’s your concept about the expenses,” I
asked. “For example, if I fixed something myself and saved some money by doing
it, would I get extra pay? Or are you going to do some work so we would each do
the same amount to maintain the business side of another truck?”
It was an interesting prospect, but it
concerned me that it might ruin our friendship. I saw horror stories as a CPA.
People with the best intentions would get in a situation where the company lost
money, then both partners found fault with the other, and they weren’t friends
any longer.
“Friendship for me has to be more important
than the money, but partners also need to plan well enough that neither one
gets hurt financially,”
years, and though I had been fearful, having her in it with me made it much
easier to take.
I got done with my shower earlier than Deb
did as usual, and I went ahead and got us a table in the restaurant. I was
reading a paper when she came in. She wore a skirt that came almost to her knee
and a teddy with a jacket over that. My heart nearly stopped. I hadn’t really
looked at her in a long time. At least not that way. She was beautiful.
I told her she shouldn’t have dressed the way
she had because she might have to kiss me later. She smiled but didn’t answer
me. She seemed pleased that I had noticed how she dressed. She wanted me to
notice her as a woman now and not just a friend or truck driving partner.
The rest of the evening went pretty much the
same as other evenings with us talking to each other and then being repeatedly
interrupted by others who wanted to talk. That’s all that changed that night,
but it did change. Our relationship was different now, and I didn’t know where
it was going. I didn’t bring up the kiss again, and neither did she, but I
thought about it several times and caught her looking at me, probably thinking
about it.
“Stan found an agent from Texas, “Tex,” who
was finding the same things he and I are,” Jim said on his next phone call.
“Elderly people were disappearing. No bodies, no blood, and no signs of
struggle. In some cases no evidence they had ever lived.
Or they were in nursing homes and would die
suddenly when they appeared to be stable. They didn’t disappear but seemed to
have died prematurely. Some of the nursing home workers would be surprised.
Tex found something else. Every now and then,
the person who disappeared wasn’t elderly. The three of us talked but couldn’t
put anything together or make any connections.”
One day Deb asked, “Would you like to go
halves with me on another truck?”
My first thoughts were she wanted us to split
up, and each of us would have a truck to drive. I didn’t like the idea of her
and me going separate directions. What was she talking about? My thoughts
raced trying to find the best answer, but I went back to an old principle. I
needed to get all the facts. I asked how she envisioned it would work.
She said she knew a lot of truckers and could
find one who would be a good driver. I was relieved to find out she wasn’t
trying to get rid of me. She reasoned if she and I bought a truck and paid
cash, then our overhead would be really low, and we could make money when other
truckers couldn’t.
“OK, but what happens between us. I mean how
does it change you and me?”
“We would be partners, silly. You put up half
the money and I put up half. We split the expenses and the profit.”
I sat in silence, relieved she wasn’t trying
to put me in another truck. I liked being a team driver with her. When we had a
layover somewhere, we could run around together and have fun. It was a lot
better than being alone for one thing, and having her with me was better
than anyone I could imagine. I was really enjoying her company and was
wondering if we weren’t getting closer. Besides I was still sure I needed
someone to cover my back. Life was a little quieter, but this was too much to
handle alone.
“What’s your concept about the expenses,” I
asked. “For example, if I fixed something myself and saved some money by doing
it, would I get extra pay? Or are you going to do some work so we would each do
the same amount to maintain the business side of another truck?”
It was an interesting prospect, but it
concerned me that it might ruin our friendship. I saw horror stories as a CPA.
People with the best intentions would get in a situation where the company lost
money, then both partners found fault with the other, and they weren’t friends
any longer.
“Friendship for me has to be more important
than the money, but partners also need to plan well enough that neither one
gets hurt financially,”
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