Excerpt
Medium height and slim, she was wearing well-worn
blue jeans, an old denim jacket, and sporting a straw cowboy, or in
this case, cowgirl hat. Sure enough, it was Tanya.
Joel brought the half-ton to a gentle stop in the middle of the
long lonely stretch of highway beside the girl.
“Howdy,” offered Joel.
“Oh, hi there,” came the perky response. “It’s you.”
“Yes indeed, it is exactly that. Me.” Responded Joel. He never
was one for chitchat.
“Where are you headed?” he asked.
“Home.”
“Can I give you a lift?”
Tanya jumped into the cab and they were off.
Joel immediately recognized Tanya’s unusual zest for life. The
fact that she was at an AA meeting was probably his first clue
that her life wasn’t all peaches and cream, but no matter what
she had experienced, Tanya radiated a special spirit around her.
Tanya was of medium height. Maybe five-six or so. She wasn’t
heavy but she wasn’t slight either. Just nicely proportioned for a
young woman. Her short brown hair sparkled with a tinge of redness
and it was tied in pigtails, giving her a Heidi-like appearance.
Wholesome was the word that came to Joel’s mind. And
the fact that she was wandering merrily down the road in the
middle of nowhere confirmed that this young woman was very
much a free spirit.
After a few minutes of conversation, it seemed as if they had
known each other forever. This wholesome girl turned out to be
nineteen years old. Joel’s interest in hearing her story certainly
helped them get the conversation off to a flying start, but after
that, they just seemed to connect with each other. Kindred souls,
perhaps. They had been driving and talking non-stop for a half
hour when she pointed to the side of the highway and said, “Just
pull over here. This is my road.”
An old, dilapidated, double wide trailer straddled a rocky
wind-blown ridge about a half-mile in the distance.
Libros Libertad 