In Absentia

Trucking may not be best in the long haul

"By the light of the moon,
to a fifties' tune,
he pledged his love to her."

Darla identified with the old Bob Seger song on the radio. She sobbed in frustration, slamming the dish she was holding against the counter. The noise was loud as a shot in the quiet kitchen, drowning out the soft music. She jumped, startled.

She thought she knew what she was for when she married a truck driver. She had always been secure in her own space. But she could never have anticipated the yawning loneliness when Tim was gone all week every week.

Some housewives in the dusty trailer park had taken lovers; others had ongoing affairs with the bottle.

Darla considered herself a good wife. But the yearning for someone to hold had built to a breaking point, and she had begun noticing Sheriff Lyons on his daily patrols.

He spent a few minutes at each of the trailers of their little community, got to know them. The sheriff cared. And he was around. And Darla was so god damn lonely!

@-----@-----@

Day by day, the good sheriff patrolled his "garden" of lonely housewives that he "tended to" from time to time. Right now, two pieces of fruit were almost ripe for the plucking: Hetti Boomer... and sweet Darla Atworthy.

It was as he neared Darla's that he heard a gunshot and shattering glass.

The hot Tuesday afternoon turned on pin as he sped up to the light blue trailer. Tim's truck was pulled up alongside a sleek coupe, in addition to Darla's old Taurus.

He rushed to the trailer's open door and stopped in shock. Of all the situations he anticipated, this scenario was far too weird to have imagined.

"I am gonna need so much backup..."


(Word Count: 294)