Anonymous Love

Lindsey Parker was set to marry the love of her life, or so she thought right up until the day she was standing at the altar and her fiancé Conner never showed up. He had just left her standing there having to tell everyone after thirty minutes of waiting, that there wasn’t going to be a wedding. She was devastated to say the least.

She tried calling him several times and he never answered. Finally, he changed his number. She never knew what had gone wrong, why he never showed up. He never gave her an explanation.

She had run into him about six months later. He was holding hands with a pregnant woman and they both were wearing wedding rings. It was an awkward encounter, one that she couldn’t seem to put out of her mind, right along with standing at the altar alone. He looked as shocked to see her as she did to see them. She immediately turned and went in the other direction. She couldn’t even think of anything to say, she was furious and there was nothing he could say that would explain or make it any easier. It became really clear that he had been seeing this woman while engaged to her and the other woman had gotten pregnant.

It has been two years since that encounter and not once has Lindsey been on a date. The thought of dating and falling in love again, was something that her heart just couldn’t take. She couldn’t get past her past in order to see her future. Every night she would come in from work, watch TV, drink a glass of wine, and eat dinner. Some nights she would play video games and board games on her laptop with different people from around the country. It gave her interaction with others, except for the few nights throughout the year that her best friend would get her out of the house for dinner, a movie, a bar, or some kind event like a concert.

For the last three months she had been playing Spades online with Sherry and Dwayne Brown a few nights a week. They lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana and they had all talked about getting together when they took a vacation down to Orlando, Florida since Lindsey lived in Daytona about an hour away. It had been a breath of fresh air to play with them. They had become fast friends and were in the same age bracket.

When they got ready to play tonight there was a group chat message from someone named ChrisE134 asking if he could join their group. Dwayne responded and asked a few basic questions. What age group was he in, and that he didn’t have to give his exact age. The guy responded forty-two as an exact age. Dwayne then asked was his real name Chris. The guy responded yes. Dwayne then responded, we welcome you in, but we will be keeping an eye on any chats that you do. We are a tight group of friends and are respective of each other. Chris responded thank you. Then Dwayne said, my name is Dwayne Brown and my wife Sherry. The other player is Lindsey Parker.

At this point they began to play the game. They played four games a night depending on each other’s time. Tonight, they played as individuals like they normally did because of the previous uneven number of players. The main reason was so that Lindsey could see how Chris played before they started playing as partners. They all chatted inside a group chat. They had a lot of small talk, getting to know each other. They didn’t answer questions like where they lived, or where they worked, or any questions that would give an idea of how someone could find each other. That trust would take time to grow. It was still an online game and there were a lot of creeps out there who stalked people through the internet. As a group of now friends, Lindsey, Dwayne, and Sherry, were really careful about those types of things. They had exchanged photos and Sherry and Lindsey talked on the phone a lot.

The next night, Lindsey got ready to play Spades with her friends, half thinking that the new guy Chris wouldn’t show up, that maybe him joining them was a one time thing, but the other half of her was hoping he would join. It would be more fun playing with partners.

When she got online, Sherry and Dwayne were already available. She chatted hello. They said that they would wait a few minutes for Chris before getting started. A minute later, he signed on.

While playing the game tonight, there was a shift. They were playing their second hand when she heard the ping of the chat. She was surprised to see that Chris had started a chat with her in it.

Chris: Good evening Lindsey. How was you day today?

Lindsey: It was good. Thank you for asking. How was you day?

Chris: It was good. No issues so that is always a good thing?

They continued to chat on small talk through the night. This went on for a month. They would just chat about their days, things they liked and didn’t like, goals, dreams etc. He shared some of his past relationships, but she wouldn’t open up about hers.

When they joined online tonight, he opened up their chat.

Chris: Good evening! How are you today?

Lindsey: I am good. How are you?

Chris: I am good. We have discussed a lot this last month. I am comfortable telling you that I live in Orlando, FL. It is a busy life here. That’s why it is so refreshing to get on here at night.

Lindsey: (not even thinking replied) Wait, you live in Orlando? That is very interesting since I live here too!

Chris: No way! It’s that incredible! How would you like to meet for coffee on Saturday? My treat.

Lindsey: (still trying to figure out how her mouth spoke with her brain thinking first said) Yes, that would be really nice.

They finished out the night of games and said good night to everyone in the chat, then a separate good-bye in their chat and Chris said he couldn’t wait to see her Saturday. They had decided on 9 am at Starbucks on International Drive and he texted her a photo of himself. He was very handsome. Beautiful brown eyes, black hair, and a slight beard.

Saturday finally came and she was so nervous. She almost backed out. Then she remembered that no matter how nervous she was, she had no way to contact him and she would never just not show up without letting him know first.

When she got to Starbucks, she looked around and he was already at a table. She straightened her hair with her hand before walking over.

“Chris,” she said as she got close.

“Lindsey!” he replied as he thought to himself how beautiful she was. He got up from his seat and said, “Before you sit down, do you want to go ahead and order?”

“Yes, that would be good,” she replied.

They both ordered coffee and a breakfast sandwich. He paid for everything. Before they knew it they had talked through the breakfast rush and midway through the lunch rush. Chris asked her out on an official date for next Saturday. She said yes and they exchanged numbers.

For the next week, they text every day and played their normal Spade games online. Lindsey couldn’t believe how open she was with Chris. She felt him chipping away at her walls. Could she really find true love? Could she open up and just be happy? Those were the questions she asked herself.

Saturday night came and she had met him at the restaurant, still being very cautious. It was this conversation where she opened up about being left at the altar and not dating since.

“I am so sorry. I don’t understand how he could have given you up. You are beautiful, caring, and compassionate about life and others. I personally think you are amazing,” he said.

“Thank you, Chris. It means a lot. I will be honest though, my walls are up and they are thick,” she replied.

“That’s okay. I understand. I am fine with waiting for you to be ready to move from friends into a relationship,” he said.

“Okay, thank you,” she replied.

At the end of the night, he asked her out again for the following Saturday, and after that date again for the next weekend. This went on for three months. With each date she felt her walls falling down.

In the fourth month, the unexpected happened. He told her that he had fallen in love with her and he understood if she wasn’t ready, he would still wait for her, that she was worth it. She looked at him and said, “It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you. However, I am still being very cautious of giving my heart to anyone. But I can tell you that I know you have been chopping holes in my walls.”

After dinner, when he walked her to her car, he gave her a kiss on her check and told her he would call her later and see her next Saturday.

Once she was home and laying in her bed, she thought about everything from her past, to every chat, text, phone call and date with Chris. She couldn’t believe that he had fallen in love with her. For so long she thought that she was unlovable and would never find happiness. Could she already be in love with him and just didn’t want to admit it? She already knew the answer to that question was yes. But how does she open herself up and let him in? She didn’t have the answer to that question. Maybe it was time for a girls night with her best friend Carol. She called Carol and she immediately came over, excited to hear that Lindsey had finally got out of her slump and shell.

By the time Carol left, she felt much better about the situation and it was time to start, gradually, letting him in.

For the next two weeks, she opened up more and more. She gave him her address and started letting him pick her up for their dates. A month later, she finally gave into her feelings and told him that she loved him too.

Three months later, they got engaged. Their wedding day all of her fears came back and she was scared to death that when she went to walk down the aisle Chris wouldn’t be standing there waiting for her. But when the doors opened and she looked up at the altar, there he was, smiling at her with tears in his eyes. She had finally found true love.