Chapter 5: Real — A Trucker's Long-Distance Love Story
Elena said step by step. Daniel heard steps. That was not quite the same thing. To Elena, step by step meant: Slow down. Let this become whatever it becomes. Do not make tomorrow responsible for promises today has not earned. To Daniel, steps meant there was a sequence. And sequences could be followed. One. Two. Three. Progress. He had spent most of his adult life trusting processes. A truck did not simply arrive somewhere. There was pickup. Weight. Fuel. Hours. Route. Weather. Traffic. Delivery. A thousand things could go wrong, but there was still a destination printed on the paperwork. Relationships, Daniel was discovering, apparently came without paperwork. He disliked that. Elena seemed perfectly comfortable with it. * * * They had known each other less than a week when Daniel began talking as though they had already entered something. Not a relationship, exactly. But something with borders. He did not want to continue talking to other women. He did...