Bob - Bernard J. (distant reading TXT) 📗

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.

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