It was a beautiful morning as I put my luggage in the trunk of my sedan and hung my suit in the back seat. It was going to be a long, eight hour drive especially for a two-day trip, but in the end, it would be worth it. My client was paying me a substantial amount of money to go onsite. I enjoyed driving, especially in early summer when the sky is blue, the sun is up, and there's only a few clouds in the sky. And St. Louis is a beautiful city to visit.
The road wasn't busy at all at this time of the morning as I merged onto I-76, heading towards Indianapolis, my first planned stop. I looped around Columbus after driving about two hours, hitting a little construction along the way, and then merged onto I-70 which would take me straight toward Indianapolis.
Just after four hours into the trip, I reached Indianapolis. I followed I-70 through the city and then stopped at Decatur on the other side, stopping at a fast-food burger joint to get some lunch and stretch my legs. I pulled out after I finished eating and headed to the highway. A red-light just before the highway entrance stopped me and I saw a woman walking up the on-ramp, looking to hitchhike.
I shook my head, knowing how dangerous it was in this day and age. When the light changed, I turned up onto the on-ramp and saw her standing at the top of the ramp, arm outstretched, thumb extended. She was a small, petite, slim woman... barely a woman... dressed in very short jean shorts and a tube top. Her midriff was was bare exposing her flat stomach.
I drove by, not intending to pick her up, but took a look at her. Her hair was blonde, streaked with pink coloring. I figured she was a teenager and wondered if she were even considered an adult yet. I drove another hundred yards up, just after merging with traffic when my conscience hit me. She was someone's daughter and she could be getting herself into some big trouble.
My hand hit the blinker and I steered onto the side of the road. I looked in my rear-view mirror at her and she wasn't even looking at me. I put the car in reverse and slowly backed towards her. As I got closer, I honked my horn and finally got her attention. She picked up a couple items from the ground beside her and jogged towards me.
I opened the passenger window as she walked up to it. She looked a little scared and shy and embarrassed, but determined.
"Thanks for stopping. Where are you going?" she asked.
"Saint Louis," I said. "Where are you headed?"
"L.A, but Saint Louis is good enough for me." I unlocked the doors and told her to put her things in the back seat. When she opened the door, I was shocked to see her put a small, pink suitcase... small like a carry-on case... in the back seat. Then she got into the front beside me, holding a fuzzy teddy bear. It seemed to be her security blanket.
"Finally got someone's attention," she smiled, settling in. She kept a small presence in the seat, not wanting to looking imposing in any way.
"Safety first," I said, indicating that I wanted her to buckle up.
"I live life on the edge. Cantcha tell?" she said, looking at me defiantly. I just sat, staring at her. Being more than twenty years older than her and hundred pounds larger, I could be pretty imposing. When I wouldn't budge, she put her seat belt on. "Thanks for picking me up," she said, hugging the bear.
I looked behind us and merged into traffic to get on our way. "Of course. So, what's with a pretty girl like you doing on the side of the road?"
"I'm running away from Indianapolis. I fucking hate that place," she said, resting her head on her knees, her hands holding the teddy bear's arms. "My mom and her boyfriend... they just... they're not accepting of me growing up. I'm a fucking grown ass woman. I can do what I want... even fuck who I want."
It shocked me to hear her. Had I acted like that towards my parents my ass would've hurt so much I wouldn't have sat down for a month.
"Uh, ok... How old are you?"
"A lady never tells!" she said, smiling.
"Well, I just want to make sure that neither one of us is going to have serious problems later," I said.
"I'm old enough to be out of that fucking house. Honestly!" Again, I just sat there glancing toward her every now and then as we drove down the highway, expecting an honest answer from her. "Ok, ok... I'm eighteen. I'll be nineteen next month."
"Happy early birthday. What's your name?"
"I'm Emmanuelle."
"Vince. Nice to meet you," I said, shaking her hand.
"Hi Vince," she smiled back.
I could tell that she was a bit intimidated by me, which I actually was ok with. But I felt like I should act like her father... be the real adult here.
"So... run away, get out of your house, to do what you want to do," I said.
"Yeah. But then I get stuck on the side of the road and, like, no one will pick me up. Glad you stopped," she smiled at me.
"You caught my attention, that's for sure," I said, looking forward.
She giggled. "I wonder how," she said seductively.
"Ok, ok... Calm down. I'm not a perv. I didn't pick you up to have sex with you. You just looked..."
"Looked...?" she interrupted.
"Looked like you needed someone to make sure you didn't get picked up by some serial killer."
"But how do you know I'm not some serial killer?" she challenged me.
I thought for a second and looked at her with a wry smile.. "Well, I figured, what are the odds to have two serial killers in the same car?"
She was caught off guard for a moment, looking like a deer trapped in headlights. But then she smiled, catching the joke. "Oh... that was good..." she said, giggling again.
"I thought so."
"So tell me about Vince." She turned towards me, backing as close to the door as the seatbelt would allow, her teddy bear between her legs.
"Well, I'm 41 and divorced. I'm a computer security consultant. I live in Ohio and I'm on my way to meet with a client in Saint Louis. And... I'm not sure what else to say," I said, looking mostly at the road ahead.
"Divorced for how long?" she asked.
