Act I

Bob got down of the truck in the bus station. Before he knew it he was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This was the first time he left his home to go in a journey to look for a new chance to find his place in the world. However, it thought of following that new stranger he just met. They spent two hours in the Greyhound Bus talking and knowing each other and the connection they forged was instant and unbelievable. For the first time in his life, he had experienced a spark between him and a girl who he would not meet anymore, ever. After he put his bag on the floor, he had interest to look back, but even if he wanted to stay he could not. Life was not that fair, so he can't assure his place without great effort in the world.

"Hello Nennen, how are you? I am in Harrisburg now. I just arrived. How is everything?" Bob always thought of his family as a burden. Not that he did not love them, his new situation did not allow him to focus on them, because he did not have a job. He believed in family and support, but his freedom to earn his own money and to participate in the expenses of the house was important for him. That why he was away in this journey.

"Everything is OK. When are you coming back? Your mother called. She was worried to death. You know it is the first time you leave to go in another place. She does not like the idea." For as long as Bob remembered the women around him, parents mostly treated him like a child. His choice, his desire, and even his career; he needed a job right now and he would do anything to find a good one.

"Tell her I am fine and she does not have to worry. I will call you again when I am in the hotel." He hung up and sat on the stable of six feet long with seven of them aligned together. He smiled all of a sudden thinking of her, she was the perfect woman he could have in his life, but the moment they spent in the bus was precious and he would remember it for the rest of his life. He would have wanted to know what her lips tasted like, but in such situation only a holding hand during the trip was satisfactory for him. Bob never asked too much in his life and sometimes he did not ask at all especially with women.

Thirty to forty five minutes later, a minivan parked and picked him up for the destination of the hotel he would be spending two or three weeks for his training and his employment if everything went as plan. For some reasons, he was not worried if everything went to shell. He had always messed up in his life whether he had one chance or thousands.
This time failure was not an option and he had to do what he must to take much of the training and to pass the training exam. He did not have any backup plan. He was just going with his guts and God. He really did not pray much these last days. He had no idea if God was even with him. The only truth he knew consisted on him discovering the mystery behind the training exam and how to pass.

Act II

 

Bob was loner from the way he grow up in his country and when he came to US, he was not so different. So he stayed inside and avoided trouble of any kind. This did not mean there were trouble that run after him even inside his own home. One particular thing he did not like in his life. He either took care of it or left it to disappear in his own. The biggest problem of Bob right now counted to the number of 20 thousands dollars debts and university loans which he had no idea how he was going to pay them. Sure he was worried but he did not them bother him. He lived his life one day at a time. His problem stayed with him and no one could not find out and he preferred lie of admitting he fucked up nowadays. He changed a lot from the little kid her aunt grew up with principle and in God way.

Bob was an average young man who was constantly thinking of his future. He did not have a job so he could not say how tomorrow would be. By coming to New York, he identified some crucial mistakes he made while he was working at Naples, Florida. He sure wanted to rectify them but it was impossible now. He was not earning a penny. The same way Bob did not have an employment right now. He was unlucky in love. Bob only had known three women in his life for now and he lasted three months with only one. Mostly, Bob only met women with problem, women across the world hard to meet, and women who behaved childish according to his account.

However, this last woman he met during his journey to Harrisburg, PA taught him a lesson. Everything can happen while you are still alive. In the spirit of finding an employment, Bob was invited to follow a period of training to obtain his Commercial Permit in order to drive for an important company. The first step was to prepare for a permit after three days of studies on Newark, New Jersey. He went and he passed the first step with success like many other people he encountered in the program. In the fourth day after he conquered this first step, he called his God mother.

"I pass it. …The exam for the permit. Right now, I am going to station to go to Harrisburg." Bob smiled during the whole conversation.

"OK. I am happy for you. Harrisburg, how long are you going to stay there?" his Godmother voice reminded him of his mother who always worried about him. This time he needed to do this.

"Not long, my representing said the least three weeks. I hope to finish before that. Do not worry. I will call you." Bob calmed her even though he knew he would not call much. All he ever needed in his life was they trusted him a little.

The process continued and the company bought Bob the next ticket to Harrisburg, PA. He left the first hotel he stayed in Newark, Ramada around 2:30 and 3:00 o'clock. His next trip would leave the bus station at 4:45, so he lost himself in his games of Pokemon and Project X in his 3DS. Meanwhile, his headphones plug in his ears boomed the playlists in his iPod. Bob did not really have any problem to do anything as long as he brought these two gadgets with him. Sometimes they can even make him forget his hungry sensation.

The bus came in time and he left around 5:00 exactly. Bob did not rest much in any kind of trip especially trip in a bus filled with stranger. His headphones remained in his ears and he was contemplating the horizon of the street and the new state he visited in the bus. Joy filled him up thinking of the many times he traveled alone or with his father in the two hour road from Naples to Miami. They had a lot of memories. One night after three hours of drive and another three to get back, the red dodge they were in, heating up and they parked it in the highway side and lifted the hood so the engine could cool down. They laughed so many times each time they reminiscing this moment. This new road he was watching did not have much difference from the one he used. Long view from the right with wild trees, river, lake from the savage land to the mountain feet. Short view from the left, opposite lanes for the cars, and thousands of the signs in the road, to the point where you saw the factories.

After two hours of drive, the Greyhound bus made a stop at the Pittsburgh bus station. Bob did not eat much before he left Newark, but everything changed after he spoke to his father.

"How is the training? Have you any money to eat?" His father called to know how the situation developed after their last call on Tuesday of last week.

"No. I do not have any money. Remember I told you so. I will need some this weekend to buy some groceries. Can you help me?" Bob explained him the situation and he hoped he did an effort for him.

"Boss, you need to learn to talk. I thought you were of when we talked. Remember you told me you would be fine. I thought you could hold up for some times. Listen, I am going to see what I can do. I will call you back." His father hung up and went to seek some bucks to send him. He imagined he could find it from some specific place. He always asked himself how he did it sometimes. Even if he did not have a single bill, he would encounter a way to gain or to possess one. Bob imagined also many times one day he would be in such situation to provide for his own family is his own child. He only wish these days would come after he made preparation.

"Alright, I send you 100 bucks. Will it be enough? That was the only option I found." His father confessed to him his running to find this 100 bucks.

"I will manage. Do not worry. I will do my best." Bob did not want to worry him too much. Besides, he knew how to manage money in hard situation even if it meant one meal each day.

"Listen there is only you and me. We are the only family left. When you need something, you tell me how the situation is alright. I know you might be suffering but please talk to me next time OK. Be careful and take care of yourself." These last words were always the one his father and him exchanged in conversation. At one time, Bob family counted at least 10 to 12 persons. Now he only had three left, his mother, his father, and his godmother. He even thought he might die without someone in his life, because his bad habit could be a major factor in his reproduction possibility.

At the Pittsburgh bus station, he went to the restroom to relieve himself and he bought a sandwich, a large sweet tea, and a little barbecue chip pocket. He had all three items in his hands plus his tickets. He took his way back to the bus and stood in the line to check his tickets before he got in again. Bob estimated he had another two hours in the road before he reached Harrisburg, PA. His thoughts were in the air when felt someone stuck to him. He looked back to see her smile at him. He smiled back and greeted her properly.

"Afternoon, are you alright?" Bob asked him politely looking upon her with not much interest as usual. He did not bother anymore to force reality to work in his favor. When the time came, he would encounter the one.

"No. I am not fine. I am is it and I have nothing to get back to my home." These words grabbed Bob attention in a second of hearing her reply and his nature to help kicked in on the spot.

Act III

 

She had her head wrapped by a black tissue. Her big black eyes kept Bob's focused and her gentle nature invited Bob to pick interest in her situation more and more.

"What do you mean? You do not know where you are going?" Bob asked again while watching her closely. Black tissue wrapping around her hair and head from her forehead crossing behind her gears to the bottom of her head close to the neck, big black eyes, cute little nose, a sensual lip. She wore a while shirt with sewing pink flower, a black jean with a flat sandal poking between her toes. She had an additional black jacket and a bag.

"I need to get back. I am going to St Louis and I do not know what bus to take?" She responded with doubt in her voice.

"It will be better to ask the personals behind the glasses. They might help you better." Bob did not know much else to do when someone was in such situation. Helping would be the best option. His family did not teach him anything else. Besides, a girl in distress, what not to help.

"Well toalk you, I asked already and one of the ladies sent me in this gate for this bus. I hope the driver let me in." She was still worried. Her voice reached lower each time and she seemed to cry but nothing could come out yet.

"What happened? Can you tell me?"

"Well, I was visiting New York today with some friends. The guy who was driving us, my boyfriend left me here and drove away with my other stuffs. I called him to buy a ticket so I can return to St Louis. He did not bother to listen to me. He left me on my own." She told him her story and Bob felt embarrassed that men like him were causing this kind of humiliation to women especially her. She was in her own for the first time and her first time also away from her home.

"I am sorry. I wish I could help. I am just passing through unfortunately. I hope you get back home soon." Every time this situation happened to Bob, he got frustrated. He got convinced day-by-day money was important. Because he could help her to take a bus to go back home if he could buy her a ticket. Unfortunately, he could not take care of himself without asking his own father. Sure Bob could help her feel better and less worried, but it would not take her home. The problem would remain until she can find a solution that can send her home.

She decided to take the bus and got in front of Bob before he presented his ticket again to the driver. He followed her. At some point she stopped because she wanted to know in which seat Bob sat during the trip.

"I am here. Maybe you should sit here." He pointed the seat in the opposite side to her and she agreed. Bob requested the seat close to another young woman who sat alone during the trip. She did not refuse to let her sit. She sat across him and Bob smiled to her to make comfortable. The conversation was over and Bob did not want to bother her anymore. She sat, covered her head with her jacket hood and close her arms around her chest to prevent her body to catch too cold from the air conditioner.

Act IV

 

Bob was hungry so he launched an attack on his sandwich, barbecue chip, and his sweet tea. He was focused on himself again and from time to time he looked at her in a sense he could have done more, but when you was poor you can only look and sighed. Bob did exactly that for the thousandth times in his life. Except the girl seemed to intent to trust Bob, she turned toward him and uncovered her head timidly.

"Can I borrow your phone to make a call or send a message?" She smiled to him and he responded with enthusiasm like every other time he met a new girl even though they could not see the good guy he was inside.

"Of course. I tried to ask you the same question and you did not answer. I thought you had way to communicate." Bob tend his hand with his phone to her and she borrowed it with her brilliant smile ever. For an instant, Bob believed she wanted to do more than just sit and look at the windows.

"Thanks. I hope he answers me right away." She sent the message and returned the phone to his owner. Bob bend a little toward her and she did the same watching him eating.

"Do you want some?" He offered to her and she chose to pick some chips from the packet. Bob smiled again and she chuckled keeping her head In the low. "So what is your name? I am Joseph and I am going to Harrisburg."

"I am Jessica and I am from Illinois. For now, I am loving at St Louis. I just moved over there. Where you from?" She took interest in Bob immediately and her misfortune linked them each passing minutes.

"I am from Haiti and I live at Queens, New York. This is the first time I leave my home to go so far from it. And you?" Bob always remained sincere with women either they were telling the truth or a lie. His theory based on the principle his parents planted in him when it was question of women. Her mother always told him to respect them and to treat them right. Bob came later with that women was his queen and he was the king and a long treated well his queen.

"So do I. This is the first time away from home. I always stay inside. I am very reserved." She admitted to Bob.

"So how did you meet this idiot who left you on the side of the road?" Bob got a little angry and nervous also seeing how Jessica had a great heart and she was a beautiful black woman.

"Well, I know him at school. He was a friend at first but later he left the town. I went to school and to college until I encountered him again. So he declared his love for me. We got engaged later but He broke it to leave me for another girl." She was not shy to express her disappointment but at the same time she found strength to show Bob the ring he proposed with.

"It is beautiful. Shame he did not value you enough to go through with the wedding. Were you in love with him?"

"To tell you the truth, I liked him but for some times he was not quite himself. He was like one moment we were in love and soon after he was a different person." Jessica seemed clueless to the situation She was facing with this boyfriend of hers.

"Did you see any sign this situation you are right now might happen?" When he was the people reaction, Bob would think beyond the capability of a normal behavior. He always thought he would become a psychologist. He was still dreaming of it but now it was no more an option than going back in time.

"I can't lie to you. I saw some signs but I did not take them in consideration. Then this happened. I wish I think of it sooner." Jessica let her body down in the chair like she did not care anymore. "I wish I meet a good guy like you."

"I do not know about good but I respect the woman I am friend with or in relation." Bob was a modest guy who did not like to present himself a savior but instead let people judged him for his actions. Bob was surprised to see where he actually met a woman. In a bus, in his trip to grab an employment in another state, he could not believe the way life worked. Bob and Jessica interest grew up each time they got to know each other better. The only problem Bob thought was the distance and the state Jessica was from. There was no way to see her again except for a visit in Illinois. Sure there were Facebook and Twitter but her phone did not have anymore batteries to support her needs. She was alone with Bob in the world.

Act V

 

"How is Illinois? Can you tell me?"

"Illinois, it is a. little town with plantation and cheap. I was a professor in my town." She was happy to talk about his town instead of this jerk who left her in the road.

"Can you see the sun? I am a big fan of nature." Bob was going further in the personal level with this confession and she was in joy to see his interest in her.

"Yeah, you can see the sun."

"I would be happy on this town. I love nature. In my country in Haiti, in front of my house, I used to wake up early to admire the beauty of the sunrise. The yellow and orange mix behind the mountain. I missed it since I came here. I can't even see it because there are a lot talk building and the sun rises in the opposite of the US States." they both laughed at the statement Bob just admitted to her.

"Do you have a girlfriend? A young man like you should have a great girlfriend." She tend her hand to Bob's and he responded by looking at her engagement ring. She did not dissimulate. She was curious about the answer.

"I had a girlfriend but we broke when I was coming to New York. She was a little older than me. We had a great time." Bob got a little nervous after his answer thinking Jessica might get a little down from his confession that his relationship went well. Bob peeked at her flawless face to see her dad again.

"He was fine at the beginning and we were together and happy. All of a sudden, he became someone different." She stated the obvious again and Bob phone rang of a message that just came in. Bob tend the phone to her and her eyes widened considerably. Bob knew the response did not go in Jessica's favor. He watched her replied to the text with anxiety and fear. He only wished he could get her load over his. Bob always seemed to understand people pain. He would put himself in their place and it would make it affect him to his expression. He did the same for her and she noticed. She let her hand down pending over the rest bar of the chair. Bob only reached her and they felt it. The connection between them, the spark that made things happened and the source of all meeting between a man and a woman.

"Tell me a lot more about you. What are you doing?" She got curious after the message and Bob decided to go all the way even if it was only for this moment.

"I am unemployed. I loved at New York with my godmother. I have a bachelor in legal assistant and I have a big debt on my back. I am happy I am here right now." Bob smiled watching her blushing and shyly peeking at him.

"Why?" She dared asking him with the intention to hear his reply, which she had an idea already.

"Because I am with you right now and we meet. You are a beautiful woman and I like you a lot. I hope I got a chance to meet you again." Bob confessed his real intention toward her and she did not flinch hearing these words. Only she worried Bob might be the same type of guy as her last boyfriend.

"You can call me or send me a message."

"Well then, can I have your number? It will be much easier to do with it." She passed her number to him and he did the same. He knew the future. He had 95% possibility they won't meet again, she wont call and he will call but won't find her. This was important he was always opened to the possibility something different might occur and Destiny would play in his favor. "And you, what did you do in your town?"

"As I told you, I was a teacher but I quit because I did not like it anymore. I studied at the university also and I have my own debt. I am going to St Louis right now." She trusted Bob enough to tell him her story besides her bad experience from her last relationship.

"Do you have any sister or brother." Bob asked curiously in a hurry.

"Yes. I have a sister and a brother. They are living with my pop. We are not in good term because I left home. But I am seriously considering to get back home, in Illinois." She was not sure but she was looking for the bright answer or someone to encourage her.

"I understand you. I am in the same position. I am at New York and I can't find a proper job. I am thinking of going back in Florida. New York is nothing from what I heard all these years back." Bob was disappointed from the experience he had in New York. He could not find a simple job of routine between 8 to 5 and to get back home. So simple, it was the only little activity he needed. He experienced life too much to know not to complaint anymore, under any kind of situation.

"What do you think? Should I go back home or not?"

"Definitely, family is family. Just call your dad. Do what you must do and go back home. He will be happy to see you again."

"You really think so." Bob smiled and grabbed her hand to kiss her gently and she knew he was into him enough to advise her with good intention. He sure dreamed to meet her again inn the future.

Act VI

 

Jessica had turned long enough to have his face in front of Bob eyes during the whole trip. During that time, it only existed two people in the whole bus, Him and her. Their hand was still clamped together and there was nothing that could break this short union. Bob felt a little uncomfortable with her engagement ring. She did not hesitate to change it hand and Bob smiled.

"See I have the engagement ring and another one. This one is from...my mother. She is pretty right. I think I am going to give him back his ring. I do not need it anymore." She was admiring it almost wishing the guy who have it to her was as constant as the diamond.

"I heard from some women that you do not give back a engagement ring to the guy who have it to you."

"Really. I did not know that. Well, I will keep it simply for his worth to me. It is a beautiful ring." Jessica did not feel much for him anymore. He had made his last mistake and she was decisive not to see him again. Bob heard it in her voice. "You see there are some people who can make a connection so easily while others… will we meet again? I will love to see you.?"

"I will love to come visit you in your town in Illinois. Maybe one day I will make a trip down there. I will call you first. Will you come meet me?" Bob would love nothing more to see that day happened on the same spot. He started imagining how he would feel seeing the sun again close to his new girl. Having her for woman in house and counting at least four children together.

"You know I have never been in a relationship with someone the same color as me. This is my first time meeting a black man. I heard when you go black you do not go back." Bob and Jessica laughed to her statement and he felt proud for being a black moment after what she said.

"Well, I can't neither confirm or deny such statement. All I can tell you is the truth is closer than you think." She tend toward Bob and somehow she reached his shoulder and put her head down there in the place she felt secure and safe. Bob realized in a second time in his life He had met a woman who would have made a great wife for him, but he was no coward to make a woman in that position without an earning possibility possibility in order to respond to the responsibility of a man in a family. Bob wanted a family in joy and with happiness, not a family that would swallow wind instead of proper groceries from market. Sure Jessica might accept him without a job now, but what will happen in two, three months? He could not assure to her he might be earning something, because himself did not see it in his future or even his present.

Act VII

 

Bob searched in his phone to see how close he was to Harrisburg. 15 minutes out and he could already see the lights of the city and the beauty of the of the lights who reminded him of Florida streets in the night. Sure these images came into his mind, but now he was more concerned about his goodbye to Jessica. The end was near and he wanted to do more with her than just holding hand. He hoped to meet her again but he knew better than that. He wanted to taste her lips, but the occasion did not favor him that much.

"What is wrong?" She mumbled as she knew the time had come for Bob to leave her.

"I am at my destination. I will leave in about 10 minutes. I am happy to meet you and I would like to see you again or hear from you." Bob held her hands firm like he wanted to follow her at the end of the earth wherever she would go. Yet, he could not because his vision to find the right employment waited for him just behind the wall, the streets, and the buildings of Harrisburg. The future only could tell him if it would succeed or not, but for now he had to try anyway to score this employment of truck driving.

"I will and I wish we could have met in better circumstances. You are a good guy and I think we would have made a great couple." Jessica was already thinking the same as Bob, but she could not leave home for a stranger she met for only two hours. True, the connection was undeniable and passionate but the reality did not always agree with the choices or the connection between two people. If it did, Bob would not be so lonely to meet someone in this trip and to have his heart torn in two. He would have been married and with children.

"I will text you when I get to my hotel to know if you arrive St Louis in good shape. Wait for my call." Their love might be declared in other words since they knew one another well enough to say that one was made for the another.

"Good bye." These last words were hard to come from Bob mouth, but they came out anyway he did not have a choice in the matter. His destination was there, his condition was taken and sealed, his word was law, and his expectation of his own effort was in play. He had always asked if he had the brain he acquired at school since he did not remember any important things from school studies or general knowledge. He came down he had been cursed from the beginning of his entire life. He sometimes feared his life would not make any difference in the world despite his love for writing and saying what he understood from the world.

He turned black to see her in the window only she could not see him back. Then Bob remembered this could only last two hours and it was a great experience. He smiled and sat on the stable he found in the bus station. Expecting one day life would smile to him more than it owed him for all these mistreatment.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.08.2016

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I dedicate it to people who believes in spark and strong connection between two people. Do not lose hope it might right around the corner.