The not so benign powers of Annie

I kept a watching eye out the door for any sign of him and every time we walked from either house to the next I was armed with my fathers hunting rifle sure to protect the girl I loved. But he never did come that night. We left early that morning and drove to Cedarville, which is a town a few minutes from the house, we wish to buy.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel Annie phoned the real estate agent who made a 11 O’clock appointment that morning. Annie went alone for I was still frazzled and we decided it would be easier this way.

Like a child on Christmas I ran to the hotel door as I heard her returning. As soon as I saw the ear-to-ear smile on her face as she walked through the door I know it would all be ok from that point on. She told me the real estate agent was very polite and that he offered the house at a very good price. My enthusiasm was uncontrollable.

Three more days in this hotel till we start our life together. Annie and I have made plans to move all of our furniture. Though our plans are no ordinary moving plans. We are having everything moved from our houses to a storage facility where cargo moves in and out of every day. Then the furniture will be shipped the next day to our new home. It would be nearly impossible for this man to track Annie unless he was able to follow 25 moving trucks leaving the next day at the same time. And impossible for him to know which truck has her and my belongings on it. We will be safe and happy forever--just the two of us.

Today Annie is dropping off the deposit for the house; my entire savings of 85 thousand dollars. I planned on going personally with her but still lack the nerve it seems to be in contact with so many people at one time. She said it was all right and that we have our whole lives together to make things well. So I wrote out a check to Annie for her to deposit into her account so she can sign off on the mortgage and write a check out to the bank. Any minute now in fact she will be arriving and I will be able to see the legacy of our happiness in writing.

But come back she didn’t. She never came back in fact and I have been sitting here with my fathers hunting rifle in my hand for nearly 45 minutes. I phoned Annie’s house in desperation when hours passed and she never returned home from the bank. I knew it wasn’t likely she would be there but it was the only place I thought of to look. Her landlord answered and told me that Annie was being evicted and that she hadn’t paid her rent in nearly 4 months. Annie took all of my savings and ran off with the man who was supposed to be her attempted rapist and stalker, whereas he was, in actuality, her accomplice, actor and lover. The horror broke into my soul when I realized that I no longer had the love that brought me the happiness I recently knew so well or the income to fall back into my life of seclusion. I then realized only someone as desperate for the fruit of life as I am would fall for such a poorly devised plan.

The sheer fact that she had cut the only pure, untainted part of my heart out and signed it to be cashed made all the vile poisons in my body bubble up from the pit of my stomach through my trachea, passed my larynx, where they succumbed my mind. This is the hardest slap in the face with the bitterest sting. Bang!