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Down in the Dirt (v142)
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A Hitchhikers Story

Christina Basher

    I hang up the phone and smile. Moving quickly, I climb the stairs two at a time and reach the top step. Turning to the right, I walk into the bedroom me and my wife share. I grab the bag that was packed for this occasion and run back down the stairs to my jeep.
    Checking my mirrors, I look at myself and realize I look goofy because of how much I am smiling. I place the key into the ignition and wait for the engine to rev to life, but there is only a clicking noise. I wait a few seconds and try again, same thing.
    This was not happening. Then out of nowhere I have a thought, hitch a ride. I run to the end of our dirt road and make my way to the highway. Cars are driving by minding their own business as I try to wave one down. Thirty minutes go by and I am still waiting for a ride.
    Finally, a blue Chevy truck slows down and pulls over to the side of the road.
    “Need a ride?” the man in the driver seat asks.
    “Yes.”
    “Where to?”
    “New Orleans?”
    “Hop in.”
    I jog to the other side of the truck and climb in. The truck smells of cigarettes but my mind is on other things. We drive in silence for a while and then the man looks at me and asks, “Whatcha headed to New Orleans for?”
    “My wife’s at the hospital.”
    “Oh, sorry.”
    “No, she’s having a baby. I’m going to be a dad.”
    “Well, congrats then,” he says as he pulls a cigarette from behind his ear and places it in between his lips. After lighting the cigarette and filling the truck cab with smoke he turns to me and asks,” You mind?”
    “Nah.”
    “You got a name?” he asks.
    “Charlie, you?”
    “Name’s Buck, I too am a dad.”
    “Oh ya, how many kids?” I ask smiling.
    “Well, there was a total of seven but we lost Johnny as a baby.”
    “Sorry to hear that.”
    Buck sighs heavily and then continues to smoke his cigarette.
    I pull my phone from my pocket to check the time and I see that twenty minutes have passed already. I don’t want to be late for the birth of my child.
    “Buck, you mind driving faster?”
    “I’m going the speed limit kid.”
    “Sorry, I just don’t want to be late.”
    “Alright, I guess I can speed up a little.”
    “Thanks.”
    “It’s your first kid, huh?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Well, savor the first one, after that they grow so fast and then they want nothin’ to do with ya.”
    “You and your kids aren’t close?”
    Buck waits a few seconds and then shakes his head but doesn’t speak. I know that I have hit a nerve and I don’t press for an answer.
    “Just keep your children close.”
    “Thanks, Buck, I will.”
    “Is it a boy or girl?”
    “We’re waiting to find out.”
    “Never understood that,” he says chuckling.
    “It was Beth’s idea.”
    “Beth your wife?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “My mother’s name was Beth.”
    We talk about Buck and his mother and he shares that once his son Johnny was born and passed away six months later he and his wife divorced and she took the children with her. His children have not seen him in nearly 15 years and he has tried so many times to contact them but never went through with it.
    “The youngest is twenty by now,” Buck says softly.
    “He’s a man now. Maybe he will understand.”
    Buck is silent. I use this moment to check the time and see that it has almost been two hours since Beth’s mother, Leah called me.
    “Buck, I hate to be pushy. Can you speed up a bit?”
    “Kid, I can’t go any faster. You want to stop and find another ride?” Buck flicks his cigarette out of the open window as he says this.
    “Buck, I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
    “Well, I think it is time you find another way to the hospital.”
    Buck pulls the truck to the side of the road and looks at me. I don’t have time to argue with him, so I thank him for all of his help.
    “Listen, Buck, it’s never to late for reconciliation.”
    Buck looks back out the front window and doesn’t say a word. I open the door and get out of the car. After closing the door, Buck pulls his truck back into the busy street and I stand there with my hands on my head.
    I look at the street sign that says Tchoupitoulas street. Pulling out my phone, I dial Leah’s number and wait for an answer.
    “Charlie, where are you?”
    “Stuck. I am about an hour away.”
    I hear a scream in the background and know that it is Beth.
    “Is she okay?” I ask.
    “She is doing great. About to give birth to your child, so get here fast,” Leah says and then hangs up the phone.
    I shove my phone into my pocket and take off in a sprint toward the hospital. People stare as I run by but I don’t slow down.
    Nearly two hours later, I run into the hospital. Covered in sweat and breathing heavy, I walk up to the front desk.
    “Beth Nelson,” I say to the lady at the front desk between heavy breaths.
    She directs me to the maternity wing and then I find my beautiful wife in her room with our beautiful baby in her arms.
    “Where were you?” she asks as I walk over to her.
    I lean down and kiss her forehead.
    “Gross. You smell terrible,” she says leaning away.
    “It’s a long story,” I say smiling.
    “Well, once you have showered you can hold our baby boy.”
    “We have a son?”
    Beth smiles as she nods her head.
    “Let’s name him Johnny,” I say smiling.
    “It’s perfect,” my wife says smiling at me and then at our son. “Now go shower so you can hold him.”
    In this moment I know that I will do whatever it takes to keep my son close and I will never let go.



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