When I woke up and crawled back into the passenger seat of the truck we were coming into Joburg. I saw many lights shining in the tall buildings and fleets of cars whizzing by. I had never seen so many cars on the roads before. And the roads were good, nothing like the roads I was used to that were full of potholes.

“Welcome to Jozi, Rudo. But just you wait. This is nothing compared to Cape Town,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll love it there. This place is too fast for you.”

As if he wasn’t too fast for me either. Aah madhara anonetsa, (old men are a problem) I thought to myself, and looked aside. Once I get on my feet I’ll leave him I thought. I will certainly leave him when I start working in Cape Town.

We dropped off some of the goods he was transporting and went to buy something to eat at KFC. This time I ate slowly and Sam ate too. We ate in silence. You could hear the sound of a nail falling. My mind was caught up in thinking about the journey that lay ahead of us. I was really tired now from not sleeping on a proper bed. The bed in Sam’s truck was narrow and uncomfortable.

“Another thousand kilos and we’ll be in Cape Town,” Sam said, as if he read my mind.

We got up to leave the KFC. As we walked back to the truck some people stared at us. Truck drivers had a bad record for being sugar daddies, but Sam wasn’t that bad. That’s what I told myself and what my mind wanted to believe.

Sam drove the truck with great expertise and we didn’t stop in any of the smaller towns on the road, because he had filled up in Jozi. Not until we reached Beaufort West, that is. It was a small town with old buildings that all looked the same and were painted the same colour.

“This place seems lifeless,” I said, looking at Sam. “You can see by the way people are walking. I wouldn’t want to stay here.”

“It’s a good town for the old people who have seen life and just want to enjoy their retirement.” Sam added, “Some people enjoy this quiet place.”

Sam got out to buy some food for us and came back carrying a plastic bag. This time he had come with a proper meal – pap and beef stew. He mumbled something about where we were going, but I didn’t pay attention. My focus was on this delicious food in front of me.

After a while Sam started stroking my cheek again. When he did that I knew what he wanted and I had to give it to him to repay his kindness. This time he looked for some condoms on his dashboard, but couldn’t find any. If he didn’t have anything for protection I wasn’t going to sleep with him again. I’d heard stories about how truck drivers were womanisers.

“Don’t worry Rudo, I’m HIV-negative,” he said, pulling my face towards his. “Since my wife and I got divorced I have never slept with anyone else besides you. You’re a beautiful woman and I promise to marry you.”

***

Tell us what you think: Do you believe Sam?