Apodaca

The repetitive sound of the windshield wipers and the warmth from the heater were making me sleepy.

I was stopped at a traffic light on Constitution Avenue, thinking about heading back to my place in Apodaca, when I saw him.

A man was standing on the corner under the scant shelter of the awning of a closed convenience store.

He was waving with an urgency that caught my attention.

When I finished, he came over to me.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"That happened to you in the Apodaca industrial area, didn't it? On Fundadores Street." I was surprised he knew the street.

I had only mentioned the area.

I was carrying several tons of construction material, more specifically pallets loaded with ceramic tile.

I left the warehouse in Apodaca quite late, after six in the evening.

The plan was to fuel up in Linares and keep going without stopping until I reached the truck yard in Altamira, sleep a few hours there, and unload first thing the next morning.

I've never liked driving that highway at night.