Chinese restaurants and billboards for McDonald’s. Truck stops, brown corn fields and naked trees. Houses with big yards. Trailer parks.

He’d look out the window of the bus as it traveled on 30. It was April. The trees should be blooming. Grass was green. And all these diesels riding in the left lane. A sign that reads, End Of Construction. He kind of felt that way too.

His stomach was growling. Soon they’d stop at a Dairy Queen. Little benches outside. Signs that say, No Inside Dining. He settled for a vanilla cone.

And, what if she wasn’t there to pick him up? Maybe she’d changed her mind. Decided she was better off without him. He knew that day would come.

The skies grew dark when the bus stopped in Gary. He’d wait for her. He’d wait. Evening time was still ahead.