Truck Driver Helps Older Hitchhiker Woman, Enroute She Reveals She’s His Biological Mother – Story of the Day

An older woman discovered she had cancer and decided to try to reconcile with the baby she had given up. She hitchhiked to get on his truck and told him the truth after a while, only for him to do something she never expected.

"It's going to be alright, Linda," Linda's friend, Carol, said, trying to comfort her at her house. But it was not working. Nothing would work. The doctors explained her cancer was too advanced and she should get her affairs in order. She looked at her friend and smiled reluctantly.

The truth was that Linda didn't have a lot of things left that she wanted to do, but there was one regret: giving up her son. He lived nearby, and she had always wanted to meet him but didn't have the courage. There's something about knowing you're going to die that changes everything, Linda thought and made a decision.

***

"Hello? What can I do for you?" A woman with a kind face answered the door, and Linda was surprised at first.

"Is Arthur here?" Linda asked, wringing her hands.

"You said 'things are different now.' What's different?" Arthur clarified.

"Actually, he just left. Who are you?"

"I… I work with him. I just wanted to ask him something," Linda lied, panicking and not wanting to tell this woman much at first.

"Oh, I'm his wife, Marla. Nice to meet you. If you rush to the truck yard, you might reach him. He just left, but you must be quick because he's going away for a month. He got a long route this time," she said, looking at her watch.

"Ah! Ok, thank you, Marla. I'll see if I can reach him," Linda said and rushed away as fast as she could without telling Marla anything about herself.

***

Arthur worked for a company with tons of deliveries around the country, and they had many truck drivers for their in-demand products. These poor truck drivers were away from home most of the time, and Arthur was one of them.

Linda had been keeping tabs on him since she realized how nearby he was, and she reached the trucking yard quickly. Unfortunately, Arthur had left already. But his friend gave her the general direction of his route, and on impulse, Linda got in her car and tried to follow him.

At some point on the road, she caught up to the company truck and followed him, staying far from him to avoid being noticed. Finally, she saw Arthur going into a gas station, which was odd since trucks were usually filled completely before a huge trip, and he had just started driving. Linda parked nearby and saw Arthur going to the convenience store.

Oh, he's getting snacks for the road, I bet, she thought and wondered what to do now. Should she approach him and tell him everything right now? Would that be too crazy? What could she do? Despite being brave enough to follow him, she was not ready to face him just yet.

Instead, she abandoned her car and ran towards the road, going as far as she could. Finally, she raised her hand with her thumb up and pretended to be a hitchhiker. She saw the truck drive away from the gas station and start toward her.

For a second, she thought Arthur would not stop. This was a terrible idea, she thought, closing her eyes and berating herself. But shockingly, the truck came to a stop, and Arthur honked at her. She ran towards the big vehicle, smiling and sweating and panicking at the same time.

"Hey, where are you going?" Arthur said after opening the passenger door and looking down at her.

"Chicago?" Linda said, making it sound more like a question than an answer. She knew his general route after the conversation with his buddy at the truck yard.

"Awesome! Get in!" her bio son said, and she did her best to climb into the big vehicle.

"Jeez, I've never gotten into a truck before," Linda said breathlessly when she finally settled.

Arthur laughed heartily, making Linda's chest bump in delight. "Yeah, it took me a while to get the ropes of it too. Can you keep a secret?" he asked conspiratorially, and Linda nodded. "I used a little stool for years."

Linda surprisingly laughed, and Arthur joined her. They introduced themselves and chitchatted some more as he asked why she was hitchhiking and going to Chicago, and she tried her best to lie, but then she deflected the conversation.

"Tell me about yourself. I made a resolution to get to know people better. What was your childhood like?" she asked, hoping he would agree to share.

"Oh, well. My childhood was pretty great. My dad was a trucker too, and my mom was a teacher. They adopted me as a baby, and I had three older brothers. But they were my family, you know? They never made me feel like less," Arthur started, grinning through her words. "My wife and I want to adopt too. You know, help out a kid someday."

"That's wonderful," Linda muttered, more silent now. "But have you ever wondered what about your birth parents?"

"I have. Of course. All adopted kids wonder," Arthur replied, pensive. "My parents didn't know much about them, so I like to think that they probably got pregnant by mistake and wanted to give me a better life. That's kinda nice. That sacrifice couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Linda breathed, closing her eyes at the pain of her memories.

"What?" Arthur questioned, and Linda had to breathe deeply.

"I am… your biological mother, Arthur," Linda revealed, making Arthur turn to her head for a second before he looked back to the road.

"What?" he said more loudly.

"It's true. I knew it was your truck. I have been following you for a while. One of your friends at the yard told me your general route. I finally caught up with you on the road, and then you stopped at the gas station, so I acted like a hitchhiker," she explained further, her tone ashamed.

"WHAT?"

"I know it sounds crazy, Arthur. I'm so sorry. I don't live that far from you and your family, but I was always too scared and too ashamed to visit and introduce myself," Linda began, rushing through her words and not letting him speak. "But things are different now, and I had to take this chance. All I wanted was to know you and check that you had a good life. Your wife is lovely, and I'm glad you're happy."

"What is different now?"

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"You said, 'things are different now.' What's different?" Arthur clarified.

"I… have cancer. It's terminal. But I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I just wanted to meet you, ask about you, and know that you were alright," Linda said. "And you were right. Twenty-seven years ago, I was an idiot teenager. I got pregnant, and my boyfriend didn't want anything to do with the baby. Everyone wanted me to get rid of my pregnancy. But I couldn't."

Arthur's eyes turned to her for a second. "What happened next?"

"I kept the pregnancy. My boyfriend was dumped, and my parents were angry, but they loved me, so they supported me. But it became pretty clear to me that I could not give you a good life, so I decided to give you up for adoption," Linda continued. "I didn't exactly regret it. But you always wonder, 'what if.' I'm so sorry for not trying harder to be your mother and raise you."

The truck remained quiet when Linda finished speaking. It took a few minutes before Arthur said something. "Thank you," he said quietly, and Linda could sense that he was trying not to get emotional. But she was shocked.

"So, you forgive me?" she asked expectantly.

"There's nothing to forgive. I have to thank you. Thank you for having me and for giving me to my family. You did it because you loved me. You did the best for me. I can't fault you for that," Arthur cleared things up.

Linda couldn't stop the tears that gathered in her eyes. She didn't understand until that very moment that she didn't want to ease her regrets. She wanted his forgiveness all along, and now she had his gratitude. "Thank you for understanding," she choked up. "Can you tell me more about your family? Your plans with your wife?"

"Sure," Arthur said, clearing his throat. "Well, she wants to have like five kids, which is crazy in this economy, but she comes from a big family too. My family loves her. We are like best friends…"

Linda smiled throughout the conversation, and when Arthur asked what her life was like, she answered happily. She had never gotten married or had kids, but she worked at a women's shelter, helping people escape bad situations. She often tended to the kids and loved every minute of her work.

"I had many friends, but I was never interested in dating. I love reading, driving around, and a good glass of wine on a Sunday night," Linda added. "I kept tabs on you and was happy to watch you from afar until my final diagnosis."

"What's going to happen with that?" Arthur wondered more solemnly.

"I don't know. The doctors said I had a few months left, but I don't know how bad it'll be," Linda answered, looking at her lap.

"Can we see each other again during that time?" Arthur asked, and Linda was once again astonished.

"Yes, of course."

And they did just that. Linda accompanied Arthur through his month-long trip around a few states and was with him when they returned. She met his wife again but told her the truth this time, and Arthur introduced her to his family, who thanked her for her sacrifice.

Arthur and Marla were right there as her cancer got worse. She was eventually placed in hospice, and they visited her often, along with Linda's friends.

She grabbed Arthur's hand when she was at her weakest and said, "I thought I had been happy, but I wasn't until I told you the truth. I die a happy woman, dear son," she croaked.

"Me too, momma," Arthur said, squeezing her hand. He knew his adoptive mom would not have a problem with him calling Linda his mom too.

She died a few minutes later, and Arthur cried and was held by his wife. They visited her grave yearly, and Arthur was happy that he had stopped to pick up that strange hitchhiker.

What can we learn from this story?

• Apologize and forgive quickly because life is short. Linda didn't know she wanted Arthur's forgiveness until she had it. But most importantly, she had his gratitude for her sacrifice.
• Sometimes, you have to take a risk and act crazy to get what you need. Linda followed his truck and hitchhiked to meet her bio son finally, and her risk paid off.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a truck driver who helped an unconscious lady in the middle of the road and met her again days later.

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