James and Carolyn

      James Conner had just left the terminal with a load heading to Texas about an hour and a half ago. He pulled into a truck stop in southern Connecticut to get a coffee. On his way back out to his truck, a young woman approached him. He immediately assumed that she was a lot lizard looking to make some money, but as she approached him she introduced herself as Carolyn Baker. This was not the usual approach from a lot lizard, so he said “Hello”. As she came up closer she asked where he was heading. “Texas” he replied.



She then asked if that was anywhere near Florida. “I’m afraid not, it is west of there and a good many miles further. Why?”

“I’m looking for a ride back home.

“Boy you sure are a long way from Florida.” James said.

“I know.” She replied lowering her head feeling embarrassed at her situation again.          

“Mind if I ask why you need a ride home? After all if you’re from there you had to get here some how, didn’t you?

“It’s a long story mister, and somewhat embarrassing.”



James could see that she was a bit frightened and completely out of place. So he offered to go back inside and buy her a cup of coffee and she could tell him about it. She eagerly accepted his offer. When he ordered her coffee, he asked if she would like something to eat too. She accepted the additional offer without hesitation.

James watched her take a small sip of her coffee and then a nibble of her sandwich, as if savoring them both. She appeared not to have eaten much as of late. She looked up at him and gave him the sweetest smile he had seen in a long time. With a soft southern voice she said “Thanks a lot mister”. My name is James he told her. She reached her hand across the table and shook his. As she took another bite of food and sip of her coffee, she began to tell him her story.



She had come to Massachusetts with her boy friend Kevin to visit some of his family. They had been dating for around six months. When they got there things were not what she thought they would be. Kevin hadn’t told anyone that he was bringing Carolyn with him so they where surprised to see her, and not pleasantly either. Carolyn immediately felt uneasy and unwelcome.



To Carolyn it was like stepping into a whole other world. As she entered though the front door, she paused in the foyer to take it all in. Off to her right was what had to be the biggest dining room she had ever seen. She couldn’t help but think that an entire army battalion could mess there. As she turned to her left she was looking into the family room, or gathering room to be politically correct. On the far wall was the largest fireplace ever. Almost big enough to have a bonfire in. and above the fire place there was this gigantic family portrait that had to be at least ten foot tall.



Carolyn would have never guessed that Kevin had come from such a class of people. He had always appeared to be a simple down to earth guy, but now she began to realize that she really didn’t know him as well as she had thought.



Before he had gone to Florida to work construction with his uncle, Kevin had been dating a local girl back there, her name was Emily, and his family had arranged for her to be there when he came home. Carolyn could tell Emily, like Kevin, had come from a family of some privilege just by the designer cloths she wore, not to mention that her shoes probably cost more than all the clothes Carolyn was wearing at that moment. She stood about 5’5”, slender with long flowing blonde hair, and wore her make up as if it had been applied by a professional.



So his family shunned Carolyn from the get go and left her out of their conversation. They proceeded with his home coming as if she wasn’t even there. And Kevin was no better, leaving her standing by herself as he hugged and greeted his family and Emily. All she could do was stand there and watch all this with the worst sickening feeling in her stomach she had ever felt.



After the first day at Kevin’s parent’s house she wished she had stayed home. Emily stayed that night till the wee hours of the morning. Carolyn found little comfort in the few conversations she did have with different family members. They mostly questioned her about her family and background. She could tell they where not impressed or pleased with her at all and of course the feeling was mutual by now.



Carolyn had lost her parents when she was about ten years old and was taken in by her beloved uncle. They lived in a modest little home in southern Florida. He was a truck driver so it was difficult for him trying to raise her by himself. He married the woman he had been with for some ten years and while he was on the road, she was left in her care. Her name was Rebecca and she didn’t have any children and by her behavior Carolyn assumed she had never wanted children. It was less than an ideal situation but Carolyn had to make the best of it.



By the second day at Kevin’s families house Carolyn was more than ready to leave. She even considered calling her Aunt Rebecca for the money to catch a bus. But she was pretty sure that she would refuse her, and her uncle was unaware that she had made the trip.



By the end of the second day she was even considering hitching back home. As evening approached she noticed that there was a lot of whispering going on, and wondered what it was all about. So she asked Kevin who said it was nothing.



Then Kevin’s mother Jean came up to her and asked if she would mind walking down to the store and getting some milk for dinner. The store was just down the road, maybe a half-mile. Carolyn was offended by being asked to walk to the store with several vehicles in the drive, not to mention that these were not the kind of people that would normally walk to the store. But she said she would, welcoming the chance to get away from them and get some fresh air.



So she walked to the store and bought the milk then headed back. As she was walking back towards the house, she looked up and saw the vehicles leaving out of the drive. She wondered what was going on. She picked up the pace and when she arrived at the house she saw that all the cars were indeed gone.



She looked over at the front door and saw that there was a piece of paper taped to it. She walked up and read it.

“Carolyn I am sorry but I should not have brought you with me. It was a mistake, and I am sorry. I guess we are two different kinds of people. My mother said to leave you a hundred dollars for you to go back to Florida. We are going out for dinner and my mother would like you not to be here when we get back. I am truly sorry, Kevin.



The tears swelled up in her eyes as she stood there in total disbelief and read the note over and over to herself. She began to shake with anger than became frightened. A hundred dollars, what the hell was she supposed to do with a hundred dollars? Surely that wouldn’t be enough for a plane or even a bus ride back home. After several minutes she began to compose herself and gather her thoughts. She calmly poured the milk all over the front porch and took the hundred dollars, and began to walk down the road.



There was no doubt now that she had made a huge mistake with Kevin, yet another blunder in her short life. How would she ever explain this to her uncle? She hated disappointing him but that was she seemed to do the best. She began to weep as she walked along, so confused and lost that she didn’t even realize at the time that her bags with her belongings were still in the house as she set out on her way. She had only walked about two miles down the road when she felt it begin to drizzle, and before long it was raining pretty good. She continued to walk along thinking about everything and cursing herself for being so foolish. The anger came and went.



After having walked a good five miles or so, she spotted a sign for a motel. Why not, she thought. After all she was already soaking wet and the money surely wouldn’t get her all that far. Besides she could dry off and have a nice long soak in the tub while she tried to figure all this out.



Before she checked in to the motel, she stopped at the liquor store next door and bought herself a six-pack of beer. Two months ago on her twenty-first birthday, she and Kevin had gone out to celebrate; only Kevin ended up doing the celebrating and she stayed sober to drive them home. She checked into a room, which had a full size bed and a nightstand with a lamp on it. The room had a television with cable, and the bath was the perfect size for Carolyn. She ordered a small ham grinder with the works from a local pizza parlor.



As she sat in the tub sipping on a beer thinking about what she would do next, she thought of calling her uncle came into mind again, and like before, she dismissed it as fast as it entered her head. The last thing she wanted was to upset him. After all, it was bad enough he was married to that woman because of her.



She decided to wait until morning to make a decision, after all it had been a terrible day and all she wanted to do was get past it. So she washed and dried her cloths, had another beer, and then climbed into bed. And with a sigh of relief, she drifted off to sleep.



When she woke the next morning the sun was shining and it looked like it would be a nice day. She checked out and crossed the street to a little diner to have some breakfast. As she was waiting for the waitress, she looked around and saw several people there. A few of the customers were couples having breakfast together and talking. The waitress came over and asked Carolyn what she wanted. Carolyn ordered a cup of coffee, 2 eggs scrambled, with ham, and white toast with strawberry jam. After finishing her food she counted what was left of the money. She had $22.00 left.



She sighed, leaned back, and began to ponder her fate over a cup of coffee. She remembered hearing her uncle talk about how some people would go to truck stops and get rides from the drivers. She remembered hearing him tell a story about having given a ride once to a young man once that was going back home after boot camp. Sure, why not? She would do the same.



She asked the waitress if there were any truck stops around town. The closest one was about five miles just outside town. Since it was such a nice