20. Gemini Black
Gemini Black
Amina and I were in the Kansas City area.
We made it here yesterday afternoon. It’s been a couple of days since my birthday, and I felt like we’ve still been on a high since then.
Even though we were able to go out, and celebrate me, having it where Amina found a nice steakhouse for us to enjoy, I still felt bad as hell not letting her know earlier that my birthday was coming up.
I didn’t expect to see her ass cry over it.
Seeing the way she reacted, made me want to start cherishing birthdays a little more, and take the time out to be celebrated.
In the past, I was used to treating my birthday like it was just another day, so I would work, and do everything else that I would typically do on a regular day.
My girl took me out, but I still footed the bill because I couldn’t see me sitting back and allowing her to swipe her card for me.
We went back to the truck, and I think that was the best fuckin that we ever did.
I damn near was shedding tears with her.
Amina was in the passenger seat right now, knocked out.
No matter how many times I’ve told her that she could go in the back, and lay down, she wouldn’t go.
She liked to be up here with me. She fell asleep with a book in her lap.
Just a few moments ago, I took the book from her lap, folded the top corner, so that she wouldn’t lose track of where she left off.
She had her legs pulled up in the seat, while her arms were folded.
Casually, her head was resting against the headrest, and she was in a peaceful sleep.
We had about another hour on the truck until I reached my drop off location. I was delivering to my last customer for the day. After that, the plan was to head to the truck stop, pull the Blackston out, so that I could cook dinner for us.
I was driving, playing an old school playlist that I had on my phone.
My left hand was on the steering wheel, while I snapped my fingers, bobbing my head and humming along to the music that was playing.
In the middle of me doing that, a loud noise sounded off that put you in mind of a gunshot.
I knew that’s not what it was though. Whatever it was, it came from the truck.
The noise was so loud that it caused Amina to jump up from her sleep.
“What happened, Gemini?” she frantically asked me, putting her legs down, and turning in her seat, so that she could look at me.
Just when I was getting ready to answer her question, it felt as if the truck jerked, causing me to put both hands on the steering wheel. Seconds later, you heard what sounded like shredded rubber that was bumping against the back of the trailer.
“Fuck! I think the tire popped. Give me a second. Let me get over in the shoulder lane,” I was calm.
I had no choice but to be calm because I knew if I freaked out, and you could hear just a little worry in my voice, that Amina was going to freak out, and that’s the last thing that I wanted.
I turned the hazard lights on, keeping both hands on the wheel, while I eased off the accelerator.
Checking my mirrors, I saw that the traffic was slowing down, so I was able to move over into the right lane.
Once I was safe with that, I took it over to the shoulder lane.
I stopped the truck, turned on the parking brakes, and I quickly opened the door.
“Gemini, wait to make sure it’s no cars coming before you get out,” you could hear the worry in Amina’s voice.
“I am. Bae, I’m good. Let me check it out,” I told her.
She nodded her head, and I was able to step out, walk along the side of the truck, looking at the tires.
I made it to the back, and it was one of the rear tires on the tractor.
The tire that was on my side of the truck.
The tire completely blew out on the highway.
I bent down, so that I could examine it.
The rubber had completely shredded. Only thing that was left was the steel belts.
Looking at this shit, I knew I could change it.
I kept spares in the back, but as a truck driver that’s been doing this shit for many years, I knew when to back down and not let my ego overpower me.
This shit was too dangerous. I had my truck pulled over on the interstate, and every car that was flying by was going at least 80 mph.
Then, there were other eighteen- wheeler trucks that were flying by, and each time they sped by, you could feel the wind rocking my truck.
I wasn’t trying to put my life in danger, neither was I trying to put Amina’s life in danger, so I stood up, and I walked back over to the driver’s side.
I stepped in, grabbing my phone, so that I could call someone to come out here.
“What happened?” Amina asked the second I was back on the truck.
“The back tire blew,” I said, and she nodded.
“You’re not going to change it yourself, right? Can’t you have someone come out here and change it for you?” she asked me.
“Ima call them right now, baby,” I let her know.
I went ahead and called a commercial roadside assistance.
Someone immediately answered the phone. I let them know what happened with the tire, sharing information that it was a complete blowout, and how I was going to need a new tire brought out.
The whole time that I was talking to him, Amina had his look in her eyes like she was freaked out.
I could tell that she was scared out of her mind.
Knowing that, I reached my hand over, trying to put it on her chest, just to see how fast her heart was beating, but she moved my hand out of the way.
I laughed at that, trying to do it again, but she pushed me again.
“Gemini, stop!” she said, sounding as if she was annoyed with me.
The operator had me on hold. He was putting in all the information that I’d just given him about the tire size and brand, searching it up, so that when the technician came, it would be the correct one.
“What you scared of?” I asked her.
“Every time the cars fly by, it feels like it’s shaking the truck,” she told me.
“I thought you said you feel protected when I’m around you?” I asked her.
“I do,” she quickly responded.
“Feel protected then. Stop acting scary,” I said, and she just picked her hand up, waving me off.
I stayed on the phone with the operator for about five more minutes.
Before we hung up the phone, he let me know that someone would be out here in about thirty minutes with a new tire for me.
After that, I went over to my customer that I was headed to for the delivery and I sent him a message, letting him know what happened with my tire, and how there was going to be a delay.
I hated it when I was thrown off schedule like this, but this was one of those situations where it was beyond my control.
I couldn’t control what was going to happen to my truck while I was on the road.
Luckily, the customer was understanding, letting me know that he was going to be home for the rest of the evening, and that he wasn’t in any rush to go anywhere.
I texted him back, letting him know that I would have an ETA for him as soon as I had a new tire, and the truck was rolling again.
I tossed my phone in the cupholder after that. Amina was no longer sitting straight and looking ahead of her. Instead, she turned in her seat, giving me her back, while looking out of the window.
Just from her body language, I could tell that something was up.
I got this feeling that it was deeper than her being on the side of the road with me, having fears about the cars flying by.
As much as I wanted to use this time to slouch back in the chair, rest my eyes until someone came out here to deliver a new tire, I also wanted to see what was wrong with her.
“What’s wrong, bae? I feel like something is bothering you,” I voiced, reaching my hand over, putting it on her lower back, and I began to rub up and down her back.
She was wearing a gray top, so I was able to slip my hand inside the top, going for her bare back, where I continued to rub up, and down.
Amina eventually turned around in the seat, so that she could look at me, and when she did, her eyes were sad. They weren’t watery or anything, but you could see the sadness. I knew it was something deeper.
“Being on the side of the road like this with you is just triggering as hell for me. It’s the same way that my father was murdered.
The same way your tire blew, and you had to pull over is the same thing that happened to him.
He pulled the car over in the shoulder lane, so that he could get out, and see what was going on.
He never got the chance to get back inside the car though because they shot him down right there on the side of the highway,” her voice cracked when she finished telling me this.
You could hear the brokenness and the sadness in her voice when she spoke on her father.
One thing I’ll say is that even though Amina and I have had deep talks on this truck, we never really speak about her father.
Every time anything was mentioned about him, she would always skim right by him.
I knew that he was a sensitive topic, and that he wasn’t someone that she liked to freely talk about, so that’s why I never pushed her to go into detail.
I’ve never really known the full details of what happened to her father.
I just remember my mom and my sister crying when it happened.
I didn’t attend Amina’s father’s funeral because just a month before he passed, I had to attend a funeral for one of my classmates in high school, who passed due to an asthma attack.
That shit was traumatic having to see that, so when my family was getting ready to attend Amina’s father’s funeral, I sat that one out.