Fallen Angel

            It was close to 2:30 in the morning; John Marsden was driving southwest through the Beaver Dam Mountains on I-15 in Arizona, slowly making his way to Los Angeles hoping to be there tomorrow morning. He had been driving all day and night and his body grew tired as each mile ticked away. His eyelids were getting heavy, his eyes irritated. The centerline of the road became hypnotic, the clatter of the tires going over the cracks in the pavement sending him deeper into hypnosis. He just couldn’t keep his eyes off of the line. As his eyelids became heavier he did the natural thing and that was to close them. He then fell into a micro-sleep, just long enough that he suddenly snapped his head back to see that he was fading to the left side of the road. He cursed at himself and took a deep breath. He rolled the window down to get a breath of cool fresh air.

            He knew he was driving out of his logbook. He looked at the odometer and he knew he had driven almost 680 miles so far today since he started out late, from Cheyenne WY. With a quick calculation he still had a long way to go. Ernie, his dispatch, kept telling him how important this load was and not to be late for the appointment time tomorrow in Los Angeles. This was a new customer with plenty of more loads for the company, if they were quick.

          " Get the load there in plenty of time if you can, John." He said. He also said he was the test case for Jester’s Transport. If he did well it would benefit the rest of the drivers. If he failed he knew Ernie would be sure to let everyone know whose fault it was. That was just the way Ernie was. A backstabber.

          "He said if I could get it there early I might even see a little extra on the pay check at the end of the week." He thought to himself. John had heard this story before. There won’t be anything extra and there certainly won’t be any appreciation for his hard work. He had worked for the company close to four years and he knew that Ernie was a slave driver and he never cared how the drivers ran as long as they got his load there on time. The appointments Ernie set were nearly impossible to reach safely most of the time. Ernie loved to do this just to impress the bosses, trying to show them he knew how to control the drivers.
            Someday there won’t be any drivers left for Ernie to boss around, John thought to himself. " I’d like to see Ernie take this load out there in the time he gave me," John muttered. "He’d never put his fat ass on the line with a tight load like this, 1200 miles in 18 hours, I must be crazy " he mumbled. "If I miss the time it’ll be my fault, maybe it would be a good time to punch that moron right in the mouth when he freaks on me for missing the load. I’d be without a job but it would be worth it,” he thought.

            He was beginning to fade again. It had been about 3 hours since he had last stopped for a coffee near Scipio, UT. Even then he was tired. Suddenly the truck shuddered violently as the tires once again ran along the rumble strips. He cursed to himself. He dozed off for just a second.  " Thank god those things are there." he thought " Geez, this is no place to take a catnap, these curves on these hills will kill me " he said out loud. " I gotta find a place to pull over for a quick nap or try and find a coffee shop." He lit a cigarette and turned up the radio just a little bit more and tried to hum to the song that was playing." Brooks and Dunn … I know this song." He said and hummed. The rumble strips awoke him again. This time it scared him, John pulled over to the side of the road, set the brakes and put on his four way flashers and got out to walk around a bit. He thought the cool, fresh air would wake him, but he just wanted to sleep. He climbed back in and got out his Exit book to see where the next coffee shop might be. " 60 miles! I’ll never make it." He closed the book and set it back on the floor. He tossed his cigarette out the window. "I guess this will be my last load for this company,” he said. "Well here goes nothing," as he continued on. John starting driving again, grinding through each gear as he climbed up to the speed limit. His eyelids were getting heavy and he was in a trance again, he knew he had at least 60 mores miles to go. He stared at the centerline as it zipped by.  His body ached for sleep and he was getting a sore back from sitting so long. He started to doze off again. The rumbles strips woke him one more time. His eyes started to close as he was approaching a sharp right hand curve.

            " Hey driver! Ya got it on in there?" The voice startled John, his head snapped back as he pulled to the left to put his truck back in the lane and checked his mirror to see who it was behind him. It was another big truck. "Looks like a Pete." he thought to himself, judging by the round headlights or an old truck. Strange, he couldn’t remember seeing the truck approaching; then again, he couldn’t remember the last time he checked the mirrors. He reached for the mic and keyed.
            " Yeah, come on back," he replied.

            " Where ya headed for this fine night? " questioned the other driver. The voice sounded like an older driver. It even sounded like someone John talked to in this neck of the woods before but he couldn’t place the voice. 
            "I’m headed toward L.A by tomorrow morning. Been on the road for most of the day and night but ya know how dispatchers are, right?" John paused "They give ya a 90 mile an hour load with a 60 mile an hour truck."
              " Yeah, I heard that, them office folks just don’t know what it’s like out here. They think all the roads go downhill from shipper to receiver and back," he paused, " Mind if I run with ya for a bit? I’m heading in the same direction. By the way, they call me Restless." 
              John keyed up the mic "They call me Running Wild. I guess it’s because I run a little wild now and then. Had the handle for about 5 years." John checked his mirror again just to see how close the other driver was to him. " Restless? How did ya come about that name? "
              "Well that’s a long story … Running. I got the name probably about thirty years ago and the name just seemed to stick. I’ll probably have it for another 25 years." John could hear the driver take a deep breath before he continued on. " Funny thing is driver, I don’t mind having the name it, kinda suits me. I can’t seem to sit still too long. How long ya been on the big road? "
              "I’ve had my CDL since 89 and I’ve been with this company for 4 years next month. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to the 4 year mark though." John was already going over in his head what was going to happen once he calls back to Ernie if the load is late. He figured he’d be jobless by this time tomorrow.
                " Why do ya say that driver?  Got one of those tight loads? "  the other driver asked.
                "Yup. I picked up today in Cheyenne about 3:00 and I got to deliver to some distribution place in L.A at 10:00 AM. Some place called Willow Brook. So I gotta run my ass off on this load. The boss told me I’d get a little extra if I make the appointment." John replied.

            "Wow, that is real tight, driver. I’d even say you can’t log a load like that. What is it, about 1100 miles? " asked Restless.
           
            " Yeah, the paid mileage is supposed to be about 1050. I know a little shortcut that’ll save me about 30 miles and a few minutes driving, believe me, I could use every shortcut that I know of on this load. Hopefully I won’t get pulled into any scales before I get there or I might be in a little trouble. 10-4?"

            " I heard that driver. I’ve had way too many loads like that in my time on the road,” the other driver said. "I finally learned my lesson and now I just take my time getting from one point to the other and I don’t let pushy dispatchers tell me how to run the load. Restless continued on, " Ya know driver you sound like it’s not the first time that’s happened, right?"

            " Yeah when I think about it, it happens all the time nowadays. Every load seems to be getting tighter and tighter. It’s to the point where all I got time for is a quick power nap and then it’s off down the road again. I got to run a couple of comic books now. Lately I’ve been wondering if it’s all worth it. But I just don’t know what the wife will do if I come home jobless." John stopped and thought about what he was saying. "Who am I telling this to?" he thought. " It could be another company driver for all I know. They come and go so often that I never recognize anyone anymore," he mumbled to himself.

            " Hey Restless, who did you say you ran for? " John asked.

            " I just run for myself, driver. I’m my own boss. I used to run for a company just like Jesters but I learned my lesson that eventually companies like that just aren’t worth it. Know what I’m saying?"

            There was a brief pause, John was in deep thought about what Restless had said then replied " Huh uh."

            " What I’m saying John, is that the company only cares about one thing and that’s the almighty dollar. They don’t give a darn about you or probably any of the other drivers there. They make you guys run your butts off and they likely get more from the customer if they can get the load there as fast as possible and you guys won’t see a thing."

            " Wow he’s hitting the nail on the head," John thought to himself. "Maybe he’s been through all this before." John keyed up. " I heard that. Last time I ran like this I did get an extra half-day home which turned out to be about 5 hours at home. It was okay but it was really way past due." John stopped. "How did he know my real name and the name the company?" he thought to himself. John asked, "Hey driver I don’t remember telling ya my real name. How’d ya guess it?

            " I read it on the door as you went by me. It’s just above the Jester sign there. You do remember passing me, don’t you? " Restless asked.

              John couldn’t remember passing him. He couldn’t even remember approaching the Pete. He keyed up again. " Oh yeah I remember, back there." He made a thumbing motion behind him like the other driver was going to see him doing it.

            " You see where I’m coming from driver. Running that tired just isn’t worth it. You got kids right?" Restless asked

            " A son, John Jr. He’s 5 now and growing like a weed. He’s gonna start baseball this year. He's always trying to come out here on the road with me. Maybe in a year or two." John added.

            " Well, I bet that little fellow thinks the world revolves around you right now and you never want to do anything that’ll put that in jeopardy. Ya miss him out here right? That’s the worst thing about being out here, too darn much time to think on your own. Most of the thinking is probably about the wife and kids." Restless paused waiting for John to reply and continued on. "So I guess what I’m getting at driver is maybe ya should take a break somewhere and get your second wind or maybe even a quick nap. Think of the family first before the load. Running these hills tired isn’t the smartest thing, you do that and bad things can happen in a split second? Things that can never be changed."

            Restless’ words were really starting to sink in. "Maybe he’s right." he thought. "What would Sally do without me? I never looked at it like that. But I got to do this load, all I need is a quick coffee and I’d be okay until the sun rises."

            " Hey Restless?" John asked.

            "Yeah?" was the reply. " I really appreciate what you’re telling me but I jus have to do this load, or try to, and then I’ll call Ernie and tell him what I think. Right now all I need is a quick nap or a cup-o-Joe and then I’ll be okay for the rest of the trip." John said.

            " Well you’re in luck driver. I know of this little diner just off the next exit. You wanna stop there for coffee? I hear it’s pretty good." Restless said.

            "There is?" "That’s strange, I must’ve missed that in the book," John said. "Well come on up here and run the front door! I’d love a good cup and maybe a snack too." John felt refreshed already with the thought of coffee just a few miles away. Restless pulled up along side of John and then continued to pass him. He looked over the rig as Restless was going by. " Wow it is a Pete. A real old one at that. It’s gotta be 25 -30 years old." John muttered. The truck and the trailer were both white in color and in perfect condition. All the chrome sparkled like the stars as Restless drove by. There wasn’t anything else on the unit. No numbers or writing identifying his company. "He must really love his truck." John muttered again as he reached for the mic.

            "Hey driver that sure is a purdy rig there. I ain’t seen a truck that clean and polished since I was over there at the Iowa 80 last summer checking out all those show trucks. Do ya put it in the shows? "

            " No. I’m just one of those drivers who loves his truck. I’m the second owner. The guy who I bought it off of took great care of it. His wife told him it was his girlfriend since it got more love and affection then the wife." Restless laughed." I didn’t think he was going to sell it to me until I told him it was going to be a highway truck. After I finally took possession of it, I just carried on with the care of the truck. I thought about the show route once, but I was just too busy to stop and take a break. John, the diner is coming up just up on the right here. Leah’s Café. It’s got the best chicken gumbo this side of Vegas, ya outta try it. " Restless said.

              " Right behind ya Restless." John added. "Well if I had that truck I’d be showing it off to the rest of the boys."

              " Thanks" was the reply.

              John followed the Pete off the interstate, stopped and turned right. There was a small sign pointing to the north that said Santa Clara UT 25 miles. He followed Restless as he pulled into a little diner on the right. It was very small with a dirt parking lot, a single light pole with a incandescent bulb burning dimly beside the restaurant. There was room for maybe 10 trucks. The Pete pulled under the light. John pulled up beside Restless. He set the brakes, shut the rig down and got out to meet the driver he felt like he’d known for a long time. As he walked in front of the Pete, he felt the wind pick up as a small wisp of leaves and paper swirled across the parking lot. He thought,  “How’d I miss this place all these time I’ve been through here?” He could see a white colored sign hanging by the front door with Leah's Cafe painted in blue, the wind gently rocking it back and forth.

              Restless was an older fellow probably in his late 50’s, John thought. He was dressed like any other driver. Blue jeans, cowboy boots, snap up denim shirt and a bandanna tied around his neck. The only thing missing was the Stetson to hide the silver hair. He was tall, maybe 6’3" John guessed and looked in pretty good shape. He didn’t have a classic spare tire around his belly that drivers had, John included. He didn’t have one when he started driving. The road certainly took care of his Marine trained body. When you spend 16 hours behind the wheel and the rest of the day in the coffee shop the spare tire’s bound to show up. At least that’s what he told the wife whenever the subject came up. John walked over and reached out to shake the drivers hand. Restless clasped John’s hand and shook it firmly.

              " Pleased to meet ya." Restless said. "It’s always nice to meet a driver who you’ve been running with. So many of the guys today just don’t have the time to stop or they just don’t want to stop."

              " Ya got that right, sir, " replied John. "Sadly I’m in the never can stop group too, but tonight I’ll make an exception. I just gotta have that cup of coffee to give me a little kick start. Oh, Thanks for coming along when ya did. Wow, I’ve never been so tired. When you showed up I was looking for some place to pull into for a quick nap."

              " Call me Ed and not sir. I feel old enough as it is. I don’t need to be reminded of it. Well the way your truck was weaving after you passed me I thought you were running some kind of obstacle course but I never saw any pylons. I figured it was time to jump in and give ya some company." Ed said with a smile.

              " I appreciate it Ed and ya know I’m John already." He said as they headed for the door.  John thought to himself, " Strange, all the times I’ve been along here and I’ve missed this place. I’ll have to keep this in mind for the next time I come through here when I need a break. Well first I’ll try the food." John opened the door and let Ed go in first. As they walked in they were greeted by a woman about 5’3" in her late 30’s, John guessed. She had an average build with long brunette hair and wore a light blue dress and white running shoes. As she approached them John noticed that she had the biggest brown eyes he’d ever seen.

            " Hiya darlin’. What’s cooking?" Ed asked. " Can ya pour a couple of coffee’s for the lad and me?"

            " Sure thing hon. Haven’t seen you in a while. Where ya been hiding so long, good looking?" was her reply as she walked back behind the counter to the coffee machine. They sat down at a table by the window facing the lot with the road just beyond it. John looked out into the darkness and was thinking that he can’t spend much time here. The clock is ticking and he has to be on his way as soon as possible. As he listened to the chatter between the two , John noticed that there seemed to be one of those bonds between Ed and Leah, like the bond he had with his wife. For a brief moment he seemed to be forgotten but that was okay, he had lots of things on his mind.

            His train of thought was broken as Ed spoke. " Here and there darlin’, gotta keep all the girls happy." Ed said loudly so Leah could hear him. "You two seem pretty friendly there Ed, I guess this is one of your favorite stops?" John looked at Ed and winked at the same time. " Well driver ya might say that. That’s Leah. Cute little thang, ain’t she." Ed said, " I’ve known her a long time, I think ever since this place opened up. That’s the reason I come here, Leah, oh and they got the best chicken gumbo around. The coffee and the waitress’ ain’t too bad." he said as Leah walked over with the two cups of java.

            "Flattery will get you everywhere darling." Leah said as she set the cups down with a small pitcher of milk.

            "I’ll try some of the chicken gumbo. Ed’s says it’s the best around." John perked up.

            "You want the usual darling?" Leah asked Ed. He nodded then he looked at John. "Time." He said. John looked at him. "Sorry I was day dreaming. What did you say? " John tried to pay attention to Ed although his mind was constantly playing over what was going to happen later in the day. He picked up a menu and glanced at it, but his mind was too busy to bother reading it.

              Ed continued on as John flipped over the menu, "I said time. That’s all we think about. It seems to be so valuable nowadays. People treat it a lot different than they used too. Wasn’t like that in the old days, you know. Back then, when the sun came up, you worked, when it went down you stopped and spent time with your kin folk and admired your days work." John nodded as he put the menu down forgetting that he had already ordered the gumbo. "Now we watch the clock from the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed at night and we try to jam 30 hours into 24. It just don’t make sense any more. "

              " I couldn’t agree with ya more, Ed." John started. "Even I remember when I first started driving…things weren’t so rushed as they are today. If it were 7 years ago, I would’ve had a day and a half or maybe even 2 days to get this load to the receiver. But now the quicker ya get there the faster they put you on the next load and they don’t seem to care that you got a family waiting back home."

              " Yup." was Ed’s reply. "But I think there’s still companies that put the family in front of the load first. They’re out there somewhere. You just have to keep looking for the right one." " So Ed, are ya saying that ya found the right company?" Asked John. " Well, put it this way I don’t have to worry about tight delivery times or nasty dispatchers. I got out of that a long time ago. Now I enjoy every run I go on whether it’s short or long."

            John pondered what he was going to say. He thought to himself that whoever Ed was running for sounded like the company to work for. "Ed, sounds like the company you run for is pretty good to you. What do you get for a mile? If you don’t mind me asking."

            "I just run for myself. I’m the boss, the driver and the dispatcher. Makes the job as whole lot easier. " Ed said with a big grin.

            "You need any drivers?" John asked then smiled back. Just then Leah came out of the kitchen carrying the bowl of gumbo and a plate with some kind of sandwich on it. She placed the gumbo in front of John and the plate in front of Ed. "Thanks, this looks like it’ll hit the spot." John said.

            " Always does darling." Leah replied. " Would you like any hot sauce or anything else?"

            " Thanks, I’m all set." John said as he picked up a spoon. " That’s a different looking sandwich ya got there, Ed."

            "It’s just a grilled cheese with an egg on top. Lea’s been cooking these for years for me, she calls it an Ed Special, and I think it’s my main food. Right Darlin’?" Leah nodded and went back to the kitchen.

            John tried the first spoonful, " Wow, this is good stuff. Now I know I’ll be coming back here more often. "

            " You try one of these and you’ll want to move here." Ed bit into his Ed Special.

            " I don’t doubt that one bit,” said John.

            The two men sat in silence eating their food while Leah cleaned the tables around them and arranged the plates and silverware behind the counter. Within a few minutes the food was gone and John sipped his coffee and pondered the day ahead of him. Maybe it is time for a change he thought. Ed seemed happy with what he does. “Maybe being my own boss is the answer. I think it’s time to find greener pastures,” He thought. He couldn't quit...driving was in his blood. All he knew is he had to finish the job at hand.

              " Well Ed I think I better get my butt down the road. Hopefully I’ll get a back load quick so maybe I might run into you out here later." John continued on, "I really appreciate you coming along when ya did and giving me the company. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it out of that nasty little stretch of hills there. It’s a darn good thing there’s rumble strips or else …" John stopped and thought to himself of just what might have happened if Ed wasn’t there. He felt thankful and he searched of a way he could repay the favor to Ed. He reached out and shook Ed’s hand again. "Ed, if you ever need …" John said but then he was cut short by Ed.

            "You don’t have to say anything John. I try to help a driver whenever the occasion comes up." Ed replied, "and don’t forget to have a talk with Ernie or talk to his boss about these crazy loads. If he doesn’t want to get reasonable with you and the other drivers, maybe it’s time to fly the coup, right?" They finished shaking hands. Ed continued on. " Remember John, there’s no job anywhere on this world worth sacrificing your health and your home life just to keep someone else rich."

            John looked at Leah and asked for the bill. Leah walked over to the table.

            "That’s all right hun you don’t owe me a thing. Ed already got the bill."

            He looked at Ed " You did? Wait I should be paying the bill here after all …"

            " Yup I got it. I’ll tell you what, next time I run into you out here you can foot the bill, until then ya gotta promise me that you’ll use your head out here when it comes to those long runs. Especially driving tired through places where you need to be alert to get by."

            "Ed sounds like the old man talking to me now." John thought to himself. "Then again he probably kept me from getting in trouble in the hills."

            He looked at Ed. " You got a promise there, sir." John replied.

            "Have a safe trip driver," Ed said " I’m going to stay a bit and ratchet jaw with that little lady over there." as he nodded in Leah’s direction.

            John stopped in the doorway. " Thanks Restless, I’ll see ya out here again someday." He looked at Leah. " Thanks for the coffee and the gumbo and Ma’am, I hope ya don’t mind but I’m gonna tell all my friends about this place and I’ll be sure to be regular whenever I come this way. Y’all have a great day." Ed was standing with Leah now and they both smiled at him and waved. John then went out the door and walked over to his truck. As he climbed into his rig he thought about what Ed was saying and the man was right. Ed hit it right on the nail…. all John needed was to hear it from someone. He was pushing himself way too hard just to make a little extra money. The worst thing was that he was letting Ernie push him hard and Ernie seemed to be pushing harder and harder each day. He turned the key over and the truck let out a whirl as the engine started. As he was pulling out on to the road and heading for the interstate he took one last look at the small café in the rearview mirror. To his surprise he could see Ed and Leah in front of the cafe now, arm in arm waving to him. He reached up gave a little tug on the air horns to say good-bye as he turned on towards the interstate and began the final part of his journey. He could see the sun starting to rise up in the eastern sky behind him as he headed for Los Angeles. "The beginning of a new day and a new life! Yes sir!" John said out loud as he headed down the interstate. As John drove along he thought about the small amount of time he spent with Ed and how Ed’s words really had an effect on him.

            He was in deep thought the rest of the way to L.A. By the time he got to the distribution warehouse he had made up his mind about running as hard as he was…. It was time for a change. Later in the day, while John’s trailer was being unloaded, he called back to Ernie to tell him he wasn’t going to run the way he was lately. Ernie tried all the old tricks to keep John running hard, the extra time at home, more pay, a new truck. John held his ground, he wasn’t going to play Ernie’s game anymore. Ernie finally backed off when John told him he was going to get the other drivers to side with him, and Ernie knew that the rest of the drivers were saying the same things. Ernie loved to kiss up to the big bosses but he wasn’t stupid. He knew it was time to back down. As John hung, up he knew that things were going to change for the better, for John and hopefully, for the rest of the drivers.

              He then called Sally and told her about his run in with Ed and the conversation they had at Leah's Cafe. He told her of his decision. Sally told him it was the right choice to make and she loved him for making it. John’s load back was a pick-up in San Bernardino going to Pocatello, Idaho and then onwards to home. He’d be able to spend a few days there before he’d be back out again. The best thing about the load was that he’d be going right back past Leah’s Café and he might get a chance to stop in and see Ed or leave a message with Leah, thanking Ed for the words of wisdom.

              As he drove along he felt like a new man. It’s a whole new world now. As he watched the trees and the hills roll by he couldn’t help but notice how much more beautiful everything looked now.  Yes, it's going to be a different world now. "God, its great to feel this way!" Six hours after leaving San Bernardino as he got closer and closer to Leah’s Café his excitement grew. He couldn’t wait to tell Restless of how he set down the rules with Ernie, how Ernie tried to keep him running hard before finally backing down.

              "Ed is sure going to be proud of me," John said to himself. He slowed down and took the off ramp to the little state road. He could taste a bowl the gumbo already. As he made the left turn onto the state road he could see Leah’s parking lot, he pulled into the dirt lot. His eyes widened as he hit the brakes. John sat there in shock.                                                                                                                                 

              "What the …. ? John said as he looked at the restaurant in disbelief. The building he was looking at was dilapidated. It looked like no one had been there for years. The shingles were curled and missing in some places. John's neighbor, Bill Thompson's roof looked like that and he once said they hadn't been replaced in almost 25 years. They were planning on doing that job in the summer over a couple of beers. The Leah’s Café sign was old and rusted and just hung there, by one chain swinging in the soft breeze. The front door and windows were covered in dust so bad you couldn’t see in and there were weeds everywhere. One of the panes on the front windows was cracked. He pulled under the light where Restless parked last night, stopped, set the brakes and got out to look around. As he walked over to the front window, a tumbleweed danced in front of him on it's way to a final resting ground. The soft squeak of the chain on the sign just made things even creepier. He tried to clear the dust away from the window but it was inside as well. He could see a little bit inside and it was still set up the way he remembered it last night. Some of the chairs were torn and rusty and laying on the floor. There were a couple of cups, one with its handle broken off, still on the table where he and Ed sat earlier.

            "This is freaking me out. There’s no way I could’ve dreamed this." He said. " No way! It was real!" He said loudly. He could still remember the taste of the chicken gumbo and the smell of the coffee. The voices of Ed and Leah were still in his head. He walked around the building trying the doors to get in. They were all locked. He saw a garbage can by the back door, he went lifted the lid off of it. There was an old faded newspaper on top of the pile. As he picked it up the corner crumbled. It was the Sports section. The lead story was about the Russian darling at the Olympics in Montreal. Nadia Comeiche scoring perfect 10’s. "Wow ! That was in ‘76." He said. "Jesus." He dropped the paper back into the can. His heart was pounding in his chest now. He felt like he was starting to lose his breath and a cold sweat was starting to take over his body.

            As he stood there not knowing what to do next, he heard another truck pulling into the parking lot. He could hear the whirl of the turbine as the driver downshifted then the rumble of the Jake brake. Hoping it was Ed, he started walking around to the front but it wasn't.  It was a black Kenworth W900 with MacKenzie Transport on the side of the truck. It came to a stop.  As the driver set the brakes, it emitted a large hiss. Dust billowed up from under the truck. The driver climbed out, spotted John and walked towards him as he rounded the corner of the restaurant. John figured he was a bit older then him and a little shorter. He wore glasses and had a scruffy beard. He had the usual blue jeans on and a black t-shirt with MacKenzie Transport embroidered on it. “The classic trucker image," John thought to himself. As he looked at the drivers sandals he almost let out a laugh. “Maybe not the classic trucker," he thought.

            "How ya doing? " John asked trying not to show that he was scared, of what, he didn’t know.

            "Pretty good, driver," he replied. "Just thought I’d stop by this old place and take a look around. It has some good old memories for me." He stretched out his hand. " The names Ray. They call me Festus when they’re not mad at me." As he smiled, John shook his hand. He was surprisingly strong for a small fellow. "Festus." He thought to himself. Well he could see the resemblance to the old Gunsmoke character but he wasn’t about to mention it.

            "John, or ya can call me Running Wild as they call me on the road. Pleased to meet ya, Ray." John let go of Ray’s hand and they both turned to study the old restaurant. They stood in silence for a moment. John’s pulse was starting to slow down. "You say this place has some memories, does it?" He asked.

            " Yup." Ray replied.

            John waited for Ray to say more but he seemed like he was in another world. " This place has some memories for me too but they’re fairly recent," John said. Ray looked at John and then back at the restaurant for a brief moment.

            "You say this place reminds you of some place?" Ray asked.

            " No, I said it has memories for me too, although I’m thinking that maybe I might of dreamt it or maybe I was here in my other lifetime." John let out a nervous laugh thinking that Ray might think he’s a little on the crazy side.

            "Sounds like you’ve run into Restless."

            "Yes, just last night, we had a coffee and chewed the fat a little inside." "If someone else was here before, he wasn’t going crazy after all,” He thought to himself.

            "If that’s the case driver I hope you thanked him for saving your life." Ray said has he started to walk back to his truck.

            "What do you mean saved my life?" John asked as he watched Ray walk back to the truck. "All we did was have coffee and a bite to eat. We were the only one’s in the restaurant last night, I sure didn’t see anyone else around that looked dangerous."

            Ray stopped just before he stepped onto the running board. He looked back at John. "You still haven’t clued in yet, driver. I bet you were pretty tired when you came through the hills, right?" John nodded. " That’s where you ran into Restless, right?" He nodded again trying to remember every detail that happened since he drove into the hills. Ray turned around and walked back to John. " Driver, maybe I better tell you about the legend of Restless."

            John crinkled his brow. "Legend? You mean Restless is a local legend? Wait until I see him again, I’ll have to bow to him or at least tip my hat." John smiled. Ray just looked north to the hills. "If you meet him again, which I doubt, it’ll be up in those hills again. You see, the story goes around here that if you run into Restless, chances are you were just about to become a dead man."

            As he heard those words from Ray his heart began race and he suddenly felt out of breath." A dead man? What do you mean a dead man?" John asked.

            "Well as the story goes, when Restless shows up on the road up there, it’s usually when a driver is real tired. In fact the driver is probably just seconds from going over the edge because he fell asleep. That’s a fact."

            John thought about it for a moment. It was in the hills and he was real tired. " So Restless has a knack for finding sleepy drivers and helping them through the hills? It sounds like something he might enjoy doing. Don’t know how ya make money like that though."

            Ray shook his head. "You still haven’t figured it out. Well here it is. You just spent some time with a ghost. He doesn’t exist, except to drivers about to meet the Almighty because they were pushing it too hard. Drivers with the Grim Reaper hot on their tail. I bet you were getting real close to crossing the line for the last time, until Restless showed up."

            " What? I don’t believe .. " John broke in.

            " Let me finish the story John. Maybe you’ll think different then." Ray leaned against John’s truck, took a deep breath and continued on. " Way back in the early 70’s, Restless ran this part of the country and up and down the west coast. He loved to drive. It didn’t matter how the roads were as long as he was out there tearing up the interstates and the two lanes, he was happy. People who knew him well said they don’t know if the guy ever slept because he’d be on a big run and he’d be back faster than any other driver, even faster than the guys who would double up on a hot load." As Ray went on, he began searching his pockets. "The guy just loved his job and I think he probably made some pretty good coin too." Ray looked at the old beat up Café. " Whenever he had a few minutes to spare this was his main hang out. I guess him and Leah had something going but they never showed it in the restaurant. I asked him one day about Leah and he told me that it would make the drivers jealous if they got any closer to each other in there, and that was bad for business. Hell, all you had to do is see them together and ya could see that bond between them. Like Bogie and Bacall."

            "Who? " John asked.

            "Nevermind. They’re before your time, I guess." Ray paused. "I think it was in July of ‘74 that he made a drop just south of here and picked up another load to Richfield, north of here. It was in the evening when he stopped by to have some coffee. I guess he asked Leah if she wanted to run up there with him."  Ray stopped and pulled out a half smoked cigar from his shirt pocket and lit it. " Would you like one? Got some more in the truck. " Ray asked.

            "No thanks, never could get into cigars. If I did the wife would divorce me on the spot," John said.

            "Good thing John, these things will kill ya faster then those hills will," Ray said with a smile. "Guess the place wasn't busy so Leah went with him and they left about 10:00 pm. One of the cooks remembered the time because some show called Night Gallery was coming on and she loved the show. She remembers Restless telling her he’d have good news when they made it back and he winked at her as they left. They never made it back. "

            Ray's voice cracked a little. "Early in the morning the cook started to worry and called one of the other waitress’ to get them to stop by Leah’s to see if they were there. No one was there either. On her way to the restaurant she noticed a guardrail in the hills was ripped out. She traveled the same way every day and it wasn’t like that when she went home at 5:00 pm the night before so she stopped. There at the bottom of the ravine was Restless’ truck. I guess the poor girl was in shock for a while after she saw that. I saw the truck later, you couldn’t tell it was that white Pete of his."

            Ray took a drag of his cigar and tried to make smoke rings as he exhaled. "Damn I don’t know why I keep trying to make those things," he said and continued on. " They say when they found the bodies Restless had his arms around Leah. He lived long enough to get to her and hold her. I guess she had a big ole diamond on her finger. He must’ve proposed that night."

            Ray paused for a moment. "I went to the funeral. Neither of them had any family but it was one of the biggest I ever saw," his voice cracked again," and the saddest. There were drivers from all over the country, who knew Restless and Leah. You’d never meet a nicer pair of folks." John nodded. " All of the folks that worked for Leah were there too. At the end of the service we all met back here to trade stories and memories about Ed and Leah. When we left we gave a quick pull on the horns for Restless. You could’ve heard them for miles. Man, I still remember it like it was yesterday." Ray paused as he rubbed his eyes. " Smoke." He said.

            John could tell that Ray was wiping a tear from his eye. "The folks who worked for Leah tried to keep the place going but it just wasn’t the same. I mean the food was still good but it was missing something ..... Leah. The place closed up about a year and a half later and no one’s ever tried to reopen the place,” he said as he dropped his cigar on the ground and stepped on it to put it out. "Later on, after the police finished the investigation, they said that the cause was probably Restless falling asleep at the wheel. They said there were no skids marks, no blowouts or pieces of tire up there. Nothing. He just went over the edge. You know John, I always hoped that Leah was sleeping too when it happened. It would of been quick for both of them."  Rays voice trailed off and he stood in silence again. He wiped his eyes again. " Smoke." He said.

            John looked at crushed cigar on the ground, "Yup," he said and walked towards the restaurant stopping at the front window. Ray could tell he was still trying to make heads or tails out of what he just said.

            "I think I was one of the first." He said. John looked back at Ray.

            "First? First what?"

            "The first one Restless saved up in the hills there. It was about 2 years after he passed.  I was driving through them, it was about 2:00 in the morning and I was real tired. I took this hot load and I just had to try and get about another 100 miles in and I’d be in Mesquite where I could take a break. The last thing I remember was hitting the dirt off of the shoulder and it scared the crap out of me. I just shook my head, lit a cigar and kept rolling."

            Ray started to search his pockets for another cigar and not finding any continued on. "That’s when someone sounding exactly like Restless came on the radio. I thought it was some smart ass trying to play games. I was cursing at him when he started talk about the time I ran with him from Laredo one night. Then that really freaked me out. I wanted to stop and really see if it was him or if I was going crazy. He just stayed behind me and talked about that time and also about being tired out here."

          Then Ray put his hand on John's shoulder. "You know something, I knew I lost my mind but it was real comforting to talk to a ghost." John nodded in agreement.

          " As we drove by Leah’s he pulled off and said he was going into Leah’s to have an Ed Special and some coffee. I never even realized we were at that exit and I drove right by, besides, the place was closed for about 6 months by then. I watched his headlights take the off ramp and disappear. I just kept going because I was scared. I didn’t know what would be there if I turned around and went back."  Ray looked at John. " You want to know the craziest thing about that?"

          "What’s that?" John asked.

          "After Restless left, I never felt so awake in my life. The rest of the way to Mesquite was a breeze. When I got there I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow, I slept like a baby. For the longest time I never told anyone about that night. If I did , they'd think I was crazy. One day I’m coming by here and I stopped just to reminisce and to pay my respects, my way. I pull in and there’s a driver here just like you are now. He’s got the same story too. Every time there’s a story about Restless, it’s told by a driver who doesn’t remember the hills because he was running through them tired."

          John broke into Ray’s story. " I thought I was crazy too when I pulled in here. After hearing this, maybe it’s time to start believing in ghosts."

          "Or God." John looked at Ray and nodded.

          "I guess I was lucky last night. After what Restless said, I decided that I’m going to make changes to the way I run. I already called my dispatch and set down the new rules. My rules."

          "That’s good John. Restless is probably smiling right now. You know it seems to be his job now, making sure that no one ever meets the fate he did. But one things for sure…"

          " What’s that? " John asked.

          " He’s with the true love's of his life ... Leah and his rig. Think about it John, if that happens to you or me up there, we die alone.I never want that to happen to me or anyone else. Restless made me see the light. Food for thought John." Ray turned and walked to his truck. As he started to climb back in he stopped. " Well I better hit the road now. If ya ever see someone up there in the hills or anywhere else for that matter who looks tired, talk to them. Give them a hand before Restless has too."

          "I sure will Ray. I better get down the road too. You have a safe trip out there. Maybe someday we’ll cross paths again." John turned and started to walk back to his truck

          "You can count on it John." Ray said as he started up his truck. He looked at John, gave a little Army salute, released the brakes and headed for the open road. 

          John climbed into his truck and sat there trying to believe what he had just heard. It just didn’t make sense to him and then again it did. He sat there in silence and tried to remember all the details of his meeting with Ed and Leah. All he could remember was bits and pieces of his conversation with Ed on the road. All he knew was that he was alive … thanks to Restless. He convinced himself that that’s all he needed to know.

          "Should I tell Sally about this?" he thought to himself. That all the stuff he told her on the phone was really a chance meeting with a ghost who likely saved his life? Suddenly his heart felt like it skipped a beat, he became breathless. As he took a deep breath he felt his emotions rise , he tried to hold them intact, he couldn’t, he cried. As he cried he could see images of Sally and John Jr. back at the house. He could see them running up as he pulled into the lane way to give him hugs and kisses. He smiled. Then he thought if it weren’t for Restless he would never see that again. Then he saw them dressed in black, standing over his lifeless body. They were there because he tried to get in a few extra miles, all because he let himself get pushed around by the dispatcher. He became angry. For a brief moment he hated Ernie. Suddenly he could see Ed and Leah again in his mind. His anger stopped. He cried again. This time it wasn’t from sadness, it was because he was overjoyed that he was given a second chance in life so he promised himself that things were going to be better for him and his family and he wasn’t ever going to let anyone change it. Ever. As he wiped away the last tear he looked at the restaurant and released the brakes, pushing in the clutch and putting the truck into gear. "Sally’s not going to believe this," he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath. As he pulled out of the old dirt parking lot and on to the small state road heading for the interstate he took one more look at Leah’s Café. There was a cloud of dust rising up behind him. When the cloud disappeared , to his surprise, he saw Ed and Leah standing there, arm in arm, in front of Ed’s truck waving good-bye to him. He smiled and waved back at them as he drove away.