God goes on holiday

“I need a coffee,” Aerin groaned, climbing out of the big rig, careful not to slip and harm the babe in the carry pack on her back. Her long brown hair was tied back in a tight ponytail for work and she wore a tank top and comfy pants for driving. Her legs were weak and she needed the small boost the coffee would give her to keep going.

“Coffee will ruin your bones,” replied her husband taking her place behind the wheel and beginning the paperwork to start his shift. Piles of logs and permits sat on the steering wheel. Pen in hand he began filling them out. He looked tired and she was certain the babe's cries had woken him in the night too. They would both be tired and cranky today. Hopefully, they would not argue.

Aerin left the semi and crossed over the tarmac laden with the smell of stale piss and trash littered around the sides. The truck stops provided trash cans, but they were always full so the trash made its way elsewhere and blew about in the wind like brightly colored tumbleweeds. Older drivers struggled to make it the long distance from the back of the truck stop to the bathroom. Their bottles of piss lay scattered along with the trash. She wondered at times where she would take her child to play. The grass here was hardly a safe place for a child. For now, he traveled in the pack, but that couldn’t last forever.

The heat radiating off the tarmac was hot and beads of sweat formed on her forehead and beneath her arms bringing morbid forbearing of an unbearable Texas summer day. The trucks passed in long lines, barring the few pulled too far forward or those off-kilter because the driver had pulled in tired and unfocused. Her parking job wasn’t much better. It was off to one side between the lines, but she had done her best.

 It had been a long night of driving and her child, having ridden in the car seat next to her had been up since three. He had cried and complained about the teeth he was cutting and his stomach ached making him miserable. She had distracted him while driving by singing and playing music, but he had got bored and fallen asleep.

Asleep. She longed to climb into the bunk in the back of the truck and fall asleep. It called her as she stumbled towards the truck stop. Nine months of less than five hours of sleep had taken its toll, but she had to keep going. The bills needed to be paid, and without a degree or childcare driving with her husband was the only option.

Aerin passed by the other drivers looking at her like she had gone mad and entered the store. Drivers filled the room, using the bathroom and buying their breakfast. All the men desperately needed a shower. Their body odors had been hastily covered with body spray and deodorant for those who tried. Those who didn’t reeked of long days working outside in the heat. They stared at her with confusion-filled eyes.

“You can’t bring a child here,” said one of the men.

“Back off,” she complained, “It's not like I have a choice.”

“You a lot lizard?” asked another man expectantly.

“No, shove off,” she replied, “I’m a driver, same as you.”

“Ha!” said another, “Women and their children piling into trucks? What will they think of next? They’ll let anyone be a driver these days.”

Aerin scowled at them, pushing through the crowd. She had trained to be a driver, the same as the rest of them; passing the same tests and driving the same long hours. However, she had clocked twice as many as them in preparation for the driving test. Driving wasn’t her thing and it was hard.

She saw the cooler, the object of her desire stacked in neat rows beside energy drinks and sodas. She pulled out the iced coffee from the cooler. It felt wonderful against her skin so she held it to her forehead and joined the line at the counter, tired and seething about the truck drivers and how they had treated her. Weren’t we supposed to be past all this? Why couldn’t a woman and mother be a truck driver? The baby cried and her heart sank. Everyone would glare at her and she would have to leave the coffee behind to calm her child.

“Smile,” said a jolly man dressed all in white in front of her. His eyes were bright blue and full of joy. The corners of his mouth turned up in a gentle smile. He looked out of place with his white hat, glasses, and a white beard; almost like Santa Claus in disguise. A familiarity about the man plagued her in the back of her mind. “You look like you’ve had a bad day, but it can only get better. You have a happy healthy baby. Look at him, he’s giggling at the drivers.”

Aerin’s gaze darted behind her in shock. The baby had stopped being fussy and was now giggling at the scowls on the drivers’ faces.

“You are loved dear,” said the man, “Never forget that.”

Aerin forced a smile, though she wanted to cry. Life was hard, but did she really look so miserable? She dreaded returning to the truck to sleep in the heat, but perhaps she could look at the positives. “Uh…thanks?” she responded.

The man paid for his hotdog and left. The only man fully dressed in white in a room full of truckers and traveling families in a multitude of colors, but none wore white. It occurred to Aerin she must have met some great deity or even an angel. Strange things happened on the road, so why wouldn’t it be possible that a great being might take a holiday and go on a road trip across America?

“Oh, good your back,” said her husband as she climbed into the truck. “What took you so long?”

“I think I met Jesus.”