none

On a nameless highway in the middle of Nevada, a lonely trucker pulled his load. The time was quickly approached dusk, the man started to look for a place to turn in for the night. He figured on driving another fifty or so miles, his mind constantly wandering to his ex-wife, Barbara. Their divorce had gone through two weeks ago Tuesday, but he could not bring himself to think of her as his ex-wife - it was inconceivable. His job was too much of a strain on their relationship, she started to grow suspicious of him. It seemed to her so easy for him to let his guard down and let his primitive desires take over, the thought gnawed away at her every day he was on the road. He assured Barbara it wasn't true, but that wasn't enough to stop the inevitable. Their entire relationship danced in his mind, then, he found his home for the night.

To call it a one stoplight town would be an overstatement, it was more of a one stop sign town. There were two motels, a bar and two gas stations with plenty of room for his truck to park for the night. There was probably more to the town, but he didn't care to look. He parked his truck, grabbed his coat and headed for the bar.

The man entered the bar slowly. There were three pool tables, two of which were in use. There were a good number of truckers, a bartender and some locals. He walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. He sat, solemnly, beer in hand, and thought about his ex-wife. It finally, and quite forcefully, hit him. He was alone. No one to care for, no one to care for him. The only thing he could do to prevent crying was to finish his beer and order another.

One of the women, a regular at the bar, took notice of him. He was so depressed looking, she wondered if she might comfort him in his hour of need.

She was in her early forties, about 210 pounds with a relatively bland appearance, life had not been kind to her. She walked over to the stranger and asked his name.

"Bob" he said, in a deep, rough voice.

"You look lonely. Do you have anyone waiting for you at the end of the road?"

"I have a wife in Northern California." He paused, shook his head and corrected himself. "I have an ex-wife in California, the divorce went through a couple of weeks ago, I still can't get over it. I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"The name is Sue." She paused for a moment. "I know how you feel, my marriage isn't long for this world either. Fourteen years together, the last three you might not think we were more than acquaintances. I haven't felt a loving touch in longer than I care to admit."

The two continued their solemn conversation for another hour or so, then came the question the man felt might be coming, though he wished it wouldn't.

In an awkward, quiet voice the woman spoke. "You want to go across the street and get a room?"

The man froze. He didn't know what to say. He looked to the floor, then slowly looked to her eyes. They were set deep in her face, dark rings sagged under them. Her eyes were encouraging, as if to quietly beg the man to come with her.

"I don't know what to say."

"Say yes" she quietly said. "We're two tired, lost souls who haven't experienced life for too long. I need this, you need this. It can only be for the night, but it just might save our lives, and the love we feel tonight will last well beyond that.

"I guess you're right. At least I hope you are."

The man paid the bartender and left a three dollar tip. The two left the bar, hand in hand, headed for the closer of the two motels and checked in to a room.

They walked in, the woman looked around, then headed for the bathroom. The man turned on the lamp next to the bed, hung his coat on the wall, sat on the edge of the bed and slowly removed his boots, tears welling in his eyes. The women walked out of the bathroom, and saw the man with his head hung low.

"Everything will be alright." She joined him on the bed, reached over to turn out the light, then held him for a moment.

The bond the two shared pierced deep into their souls. It was a bond that could never be broken. It was something inexplicable; neither of them would have thought it possible to be this deep. It filled a tremendous void they hardly knew existed. The bond between the two could not be explained, only experienced. The man and the woman held each other tight, so tight it almost hurt, but they held tighter still. They held until their souls intertwined endlessly, then fell asleep.

The early morning light broke through the worn curtains and woke the man. He was saddened to find the woman was gone. His heart sank deep into his body. He slowly dressed, thinking of the nights' activity. The man checked out of is room and walked to his truck.

The woman was right, though. His life would go on, it didn't seem possible the night before, but he would live.

The man opened the door to his truck and quietly spoke aloud. "Thank you Sue." He climbed in, shut the door, started up the truck. "Thank you."