My name is Joe. I remember turning 18 very vividly. The weekend was one I would never forget in some of the most important ways. But only one comes to mind most of all. But the things it would lead to would certainly change my life for the better.
It was a hot weekend in June. The Arizona desert hung heavy with mirages in the distance. The month before I had completed my Junior year in high school and wanted to celebrate my upcoming birthday. My single Mother had run off with her boyfriend on Friday, forgetting about the day completely (or so I thought) so I figured I'd follow along and do whatever I wanted. Despite what my situation might sound like, I was actually a fairly decent kid. I got good grades and went to all my classes, only ditching if I had a job I was doing during the day. But I tried to make sure anything that came up only occurred on the weekends. I wanted to get to graduation. It was my goal.
My mother, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I had never known my father but my mother was a travelling drunk since the age of 15. She barely had a home in Phoenix supplied by her boyfriends, who were hardly father figures. She often forgot about me but made sure to tell me she loved me... which was hard to believe. I still don't know if that part is true or not but it certainly didn't seem like it at the time. But her constant absence made me feel more distant at home, where I usually only went to sleep.
My friend Davis came over to the house one day, remembering it was my birthday, "Come on dude" he said "We're going to celebrate"
"Where are we going?" I asked, closing and locking the front door behind me,
"Up to Flagstaff. My friend's got a party going on up there"
"But how do we get there?" I wondered, knowing that Flagstaff was a two hour drive north of Phoenix,
"I got us a ride" Davis smiled, leading me down the walk. Sure enough, there was his girlfriend, Veronica, in the driver's seat of her new car. I smiled. This was going to be a pretty cool birthday after all.
To give you some history about Davis and I, we had become friends when we were in Junior High. We had ended up going to the same high school together and our bond had strengthened. We had also ended up sharing a lot of the same girlfriends though never cheating on one another's relationship. Veronica had actually been a short-term girlfriend of mine before we had broken up and she had gone to Davis about two months later. We were still friends... but not really. And since her, I hadn't had a girlfriend in almost six months. That was a record for me.
Further history was Davis and I had actually gotten drunk one night and practically messed around. While not doing anything major, I remember him and me stroking one another almost to completion. When we had awoken, sobering ourselves up, he said we were to never discuss what happened again. I said I didn't mind. He joked about it later on but assured me he was completely straight. The strange part for me was I had enjoyed it. I had never experienced anything like that before but it was a new sort of thing for me. I always wished maybe we could've done it again but the macho side of my personality would've never asked Davis again.
The drive to Flagstaff went without a hitch. Even the normally cool city was feeling a muggy and humid. The party was at Veronica's friend's house but the place was enormous. Two stories high with a pool in the back, everyone was already having a great time and the party had only just begun. Davis and I immediately got to drinking and the two of us blabbed the night away. Davis, true to his word, stayed with Veronica most of the night. A couple of girls were interested in me but I just wasn't feeling it tonight for some strange reason. 17 felt different already. There was a change coming over me I couldn't describe. The normal party monster in me had practically been thrown away and my mind was reeling for answers.
By the time 12:00 AM had rolled around, Davis and Veronica had found their own make-out room and were enjoying themselves. The house had grown even more full but I was feeling more isolated. Knowing my friends were probably going to want to spend the night, I found myself uninterested in sticking around any longer. I stepped out onto the front porch, took a look out into the night and made my way out towards the highway.
I had only walked from one city to another once when I was sixteen and even then the walk was only 60 miles before. The 120 mile gap between Flagstaff and Phoenix was going to be a long one but I didn't care. I felt like maybe the walk into morning would clear my head. I needed clarity more than anything for what I was searching for now. I was getting older and whatever was bothering me I wanted to make sure I knew what it was before too much time would pass before me. But the summer had only just begun.
Realizing the trek would be a bit more than I anticipated, I found myself sticking out my thumb to oncoming vehicles in passing. There were a few more on the road than expected but it was Friday night. More people were coming up to Flagstaff for either a good time or a nice weekend. But I hoped someone would be willing to pick me up for the drive back to Phoenix, or at least a little ways there.
I had just about given up home when a large semi pulling no trailer pulled to the side of the road in front of me. I was thrilled, sighing with relief. I made my way up to the passengers' side of the cab and opened the door, "Thank you" I said gratefully, closing the door behind me,
"No problem" I heard a gruff voice say. I looked over to see the driver. He was a man in his late 40's. He smiled at me as he shifted into gear and made his way back onto the road again, "Name's Ted"
"Joe" I said, extending my hand. He took mine in his large hand. Even his simple handshake showed how strong he was,
"What are you doing out here so late on the road?" he asked, running his hand through his hair,
"Oh I was at a party and decided to ditch it" I admitted,
"Eh, I know how that can be" he said, empathetically, "Where are you headed?"
"To Phoenix"
"I hope you don't mind, I'm on my way there but I was going to make a stop in Payson just to catch some sleep" I considered the thought. Mom wasn't waiting for me back home and Davis and Veronica were probably going to hang in Flagstaff one more day. I shrugged my shoulders,
"Sure, no problem" I said, leaning my head against the window. Payson was an hour's drive away from both Flagstaff and Phoenix so at least I would make it halfway if I decided to leave Ted and just keep walking.
We weren't on the road for that long until something began to happen. Suddenly my mind began to reel. On what, I didn't know. There was energy in the cab of the truck that I wasn't able to place my finger on. But slowly and surely I found my own eyes making their way towards Ted. I wanted to see him a little closer even in the little light that was coming from the moon.
Once my eyes laid on him, I realized I had never even gotten a good look at him in the first place. Ted was a very nice looking guy despite his age. He was Caucasian, had a beard that was almost completely white and brown hair that was also graying. He wore plain grey T-shirt and jeans that looked like they had seen better days. He wasn't fat by any means but he had a noticeably rounded belly. The life of a truck driver certainly had taken its bit of toll on Ted but not in a bad way. I thought it fit him.
I guess Ted sensed me looking at him and turned towards me. I tried to make it seem like I was only looking out the windshield. I thought it worked because he turned away again, but for some reason that energy still hung in the cabin. My eyes averted towards Ted again. I looked at his face, his body and his legs. There was something about him that I couldn't describe. It was as if I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I was almost entranced by the figure of this truck driver who had kindly picked me up.
Then I went to look at Ted's face again and found him staring straight at me. I immediately turned away but I could sense his eyes still on me,
"What were you looking at?" he asked. I was a bit nervous but there was nothing angry or annoyed in Ted's voice,
"Nothing" I said, trying to be coy,
"Anything interesting to you?" he asked. I turned towards him, looking at Ted for an answer. Could he tell me what I was feeling? "You know, I'm doing you a favor by taking you to Phoenix..." I stayed silent, "You wanna do me a favor?"