the road to hell

Though he was the boss of the Louisiana Fed Ex, Abe had to move quite often. Now, his business centre was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but he liked to drive down to New Orleans, to the dirty quarters of the mid-town. That’s where he had some friends. Originally he had been the leader of the business but now it had got to the point where he even had to drive the orders around himself. In other words, the economic crisis had hit his business hard.

He really fit in there. He was the kind to abuse his workers and wives, because he had had several . The place he was heading for was on the edge of a tourist area, where the Preservation Hall and other sites were located. But that was a false image of the town, at least as far as his friends were concerned. They were all either alcoholic, obsessed or had brains damaged in other ways. But he enjoyed seeing them and went there whenever he could. He knew the firm was going to pay the gas for the old van, a white one with Fed Ex in red letters on both sides. Now the last order was to be sent over to Beaumont. Abe had to drive over there and so he had left Baton Rouge, made a detour round New Orleans and then westwards towards Texas.

The road over there was built on great pillars, a highway leading through the swamp. At that time of day there was no one on the road and he began feeling wary … He pictured the sky gradually darkening and saw great dark lines on the horizon. As they moved in closer he beat a solid rhythm. Feeling anxious, the memories came back to his mind : his mama constantly telling him that he was born a lucky boy and that he would therefore be a lucky man. Bob saying “You sure are a lucky man, but wait and see for when true life reaches in on you…” – What did it mean? Could it mean that his luck was going to vanish? The bad business conditions seemed to say so. Was his luck about to fade away? 

It was hard to keep the car straight, the wind was blowing so strongly, and Abe had to keep hold of the steering wheel with both hands. He had to make sure he didn’t go too fast since the water from the rain, spreading under the wheels of the car, could make it turn around easily or slip into the swamp. The setting all around him grew dark, almost black, and he could hardly see anything. The rush of the car, the fierce sound of wind mixed with that of falling rain, and Abe, alone. This sort of driving required a whole lot of concentration. He certainly couldn’t think about the stuff he had to deliver. Well, maybe he thought about it but it didn’t really matter much to him. 

Now he realized the true significance of life. He realized what a life should really be like, or at least what his life should have been like. His job had always taken on such a great importance– he had never been able to consider his life without considering his job – until now. And now he could see he was nothing but an awful fool. So many people he had treated badly, so many he had cheated on. And women, well, he had been lucky with women. He met so many nice ladies, but they never stayed very long. They couldn’t stand his character. He’d treated them like hell, and now, now he realized how harsh he’d been on his employees too. Now his business had gone upside down because of too much competition. Now so many had left that he had to drive himself. Now, he thought, the change in the weather was announcing the end of his lucky life. It would take strength of mind and a strong will to get through this nasty spell.

In the morning, after he had given the checks to the Central Texas Bank office in Beaumont, he walked over to get a coffee and some donuts. He was amazed to read in the newspaper that a tornado had cut straight through the highway that ran across the swamps on the border to Texas. “Oh, boy,” he said to the waitress who was refilling his cup of coffee, “that was the highway I was riding on yesterday night.” 

She looked amazed and replied: “Well then, honey, you sure were lucky then.” And for the first time ever, he smiled back at her.

© 2017 Matt Oehler