Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The place is very busy with trucks coming and going. Melody studies each driver hoping to pick out the right one. There is a gentleman, that looks a little younger than her dad, who has caught her eye. She has a good feeling about him. “Excuse me sir, would you like some company on your ride?”

“Where do you want to go, little girl?”

“Anywhere but here.”

 The man looks at her for a minute.  Melody is afraid he won’t take her. “Well, I am going cross country, all the way to Texas then across to Florida and then north to Maine. It will take three or four weeks from start to end. If you want to ride with me, I can put you to work helping me tarp the loads.”

“Tarping? I don’t know what that is. I am a fast learner if you show me.”

“This is tarping.” He shows her the tarps that cover his load. “If you want to work, I’ll pay you the going rate and you get your ride.”

“I would like to go with you. Thank you so much. When are you leaving?”

“I’m leaving in fifteen minutes; first stop is New Mexico. My name is Charley.”

“My name is Melody. Can I bring my bag?”

“You’re traveling light, kid. We got room bring it along. I am going to be on the road for eight hours without stopping. If you want some drinks run in the store and get it. You might need a snack or two also. Move it I want to hit the road.”

Charley watches her run into the store. ‘That girl is running from something, I don’t know what, but I have a feeling she is in trouble.’

Melody came out of the store and ran to Charley’s truck. She couldn’t miss his royal blue truck with a wolf on the driver’s door. His load was on a flatbed trailer, right now it has a large load of wood on it, that is under a very large brown tarp. “I’m back.”

“Climb in.” Charley laughs at her trying to get in with her tiny frame.

“This truck is taller than I thought.” Charley starts to pull out of the station as Melody looks around the inside of the truck. The inside is spacious, there is even a bed in the back.

“I have a small refrigerator in the back if you want to put your drinks in it.”

“Thanks.” When she climbs in the back, she is surprised to see a small area where you could cook. It is just a microwave under a counter and a little one burner on top. There is still a small counter area to work on. “This is a cool truck, Charley. I love it, it’s like a home on wheels.” Melody for the first time since she left the resort feels like she has some hope.

“Glad you like it. We are going to be living in it for a few weeks. At least until we get to Maine. If you stay with me that long.”

“What’s in Maine?”

He doesn’t answer her at first. Melody glances at him, he seems to be thinking about something. Charley looks her straight in the eye contemplating what he wants to say. “For now, just get some rest, we will talk later.”  When he turns back to face the road, Melody feels tension in the air and becomes a little nervous.

After last night and what she went through that morning it doesn’t take long for Melody to fall asleep. She has had a lot to deal with.

Charley pulls into a truck stop near his destination and decides to get some sleep too. Eight hours of driving can tire anyone out. “Well, kid, whatever is bothering you is bad enough you are seeing it in your dream.” He watched her tossing and turning in the seat. Reaching in the back he grabs a blanket and covers her. Then steps in the back to get some needed rest.

Melody opens her eyes and stretches. At first, she feels confused, then everything comes flying back to her. Seeing the blanket on her she smiles. ‘I think I picked out the right one to travel with.’ She glanced over to see he wasn’t there. Out of the back of the cab came this god awful noise. Turning to find out it was Charley, and he was snoring. She giggled quietly so she didn’t wake him.

“I wonder where we are at. One way or another I need the rest room.” The door clicks as it open and she stills, afraid the noise woke Charley. When she sees he is still sleeping it hits her. ‘If he wakes up and I’m not here he might leave without me. I don’t want to wake him. I’ll leave him a note.’ Finding a pen in her bag and an old receipt on the floor she wrote him a note and left it on his steering wheel. ‘I went to use the bathroom; I will be right back.”

Climbing out of the truck wasn’t any easier for her than climbing in. Unfortunately, she hit the ground hard. “Shit, there has to be a better way of getting in and out of this truck.” She stretched out her sore legs and went hunting for the bathroom.

When she walked in the truck stop it had a cute diner inside. ‘I am hungry, after I find the bathroom, I’m going to try the diner out.’ She looked at all the stuff they had. To her surprise there was a step stool for sale on the shelf right by the lady’s room. “This will come in handy.” After paying for the foldable stool, she went to get something to eat.

The smells coming from inside made her stomach grumble. She hadn’t eaten any real food since the night of the dance. The place had a buffet with all kinds of food, and it all smelled so good. “Hi, I would like to get some food please.”

“Here you go sweety, take this tray, you pay by the weight, so go get whatever you want. Most people here want it to go, that’s why I gave you the foam tray. If you want, you are more than welcome to sit for a while and relax and enjoy your meal.”

“I have to take it to go, thank you.” The waitress gave her a warm smile and Melody began to look at all the food. Scrambled eggs are one of her favorites, after she put some in her tray, she felt guilty. “I should get some for Charley.”

Aggravated at herself for not thinking sooner, she turned back to the waitress who is still all smiles. “Did you forget something, sweetheart?”

“I need another tray for the road please.”

“You are really hungry this morning.”

“No, I forgot my friend in the truck, he is sleeping right now.”

“Well then here you go. If you want, you can leave that stool here while you get your food. It might be easier to hold everything.”

Th waitress is in such a cheerful mood and has such a bright smile, Melody feels relaxed and gets a big smile of her own. “That is very kind of you, thanks.”

Her next problem was to figure out what Charley might want. “I can get a little of everything, then he can eat whatever he likes.” After filling the trays, she looks for cups for the coffee. She didn’t see any, she walked back to the waitress. “I hate to bother you, but I can’t find where the cups for the coffee and tea are.”

“They have to be out again, come with me and I will give you some. You want small, medium or large.”

“Two large cups please.”

“Here you go two large cups with lids. Why don’t I throw them in on the house for making you work to get your drinks.”

“That is very nice of you.”

Melody gets a cup of coffee then a cup of tea, as she pays for the two foam trays she thanks her again for the free drinks. When she picks up her stuff the waitress stops her. “You forgot this.” The waitress is holding the stool.

When Melody got back to the truck, she looked at everything in her hands and felt stressed. After setting the trays of food on the step of the truck she set up her stool. The legs unfolded and a long pole pulled up once she set it in place she could get in the truck with the food easier. Once in the truck she saw the use of the pole, it allowed her to pull the stool up.

Charley was still asleep as Melody opened her tray of food. She set his food on the dash of the truck along with his coffee. ‘He can heat it up in the microwave.’ With that thought she dug into her food. “I didn’t realize I was this hungry.” Over half her tray of food was gone when Charley woke up.