Episode 4: The (Un) Accidental Meet Up

It was the Saturday after the accidental photo send. James waited in his black pickup truck, a 2022 Ford F-150, in the parking lot of the corner store, next to the local hardware store. His eyes fixed on the road where he anticipated Annie’s black minivan to pull in.

Ever since James was fortunate enough to obtain Annie’s phone number, the temptation floated around in his mind; should he push for an in person meet up with Annie? He had to be wise about it and not appear desperate or creepy. And Annie’s suspicion of him would be high, especially since they definitely did not end on good terms. Nobody would think Annie would give him the time of day given the evil James had engulfed upon Annie after the break up.

But Annie was a Christian woman, and although James didn’t realize it, her care for those who were without Christ and the hope she now held out for others would be the open door that he needed to get back into her life. Carefully.

As the days of conversation went by with Annie, James began to collect information about Annie in his curiosity. First he had looked up her address through basic searches online. Putting things together through who her husband was, and then property records searches. Easy stuff for someone like him.

James would later decide to park his truck on the road Annie lived and take a walk down the road at certain times of the day where there was less activity. A lot of people on the road took walks. He knew how to dress to look like he was someone just walking or jogging the area. Sunglasses, a hat. Nobody would know better.

He learned some of Annie’s routine through observation and what Annie had shared through their daily texting. Enough to know that Annie would very likely be at the Hardware Store sometime between 10-11a.m. Today she was going to pick up some wood chips and grab a few other things. The Carter’s always tried to support their local businesses nearby instead of going to the big corporate stores.

Finally, after what seemed like a very long wait, Annie’s black minivan pulled into the parking lot of the Hardware Store around 10:44 a.m. Pete’s was family owned and had grown in size and capacity from the early years, back in the 1980s. Annie parked the van, looking distracted. She took off her seatbelt and pulled out her notebook.

“Perfect,” James thought to himself. “She isn’t alert enough to notice me.”

Annie got out of the van, holding her large denim purse on her shoulder. She wore a light cotton sundress, yellow with flowers, with thin straps. The dress went down to her ankles, and though not the tightest dress, she still couldn’t hide her shape. James noticed she was wearing her typical black rectangular glasses and her hair in pigtails. Very cute, and intentional, but modest and not provocative. As Annie approached the entrance, an older gentleman held the door open for her.

Once James knew she was inside, he pulled his vehicle into the hardware store parking lot.

“I’ll give it a few minutes, but not too long,” he thought to himself. He didn’t want it to look like he had followed her but didn’t want to wait so long as to miss his opportunity.

James knew he shouldn’t be doing this. Several days before he got to see the new and improved version of Annie’s wonderful body in that hot set of lingerie, James had asked Annie: