Her name was Lisa
Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 9:09 am
Where do I start this story? Well, let's see. Go back to about 1993 when I was working as lead telephone operator for the contractor that supplied us to a well-known Federal Agency. In addition to my shift, I had to make sure people were scheduled to come in. So, one of the operators, her name was Lisa, I kind of took a liking to. At one point, I asked her to come in a few minutes early because I had to discuss something with her. The way I sounded she probably thought she was getting a reprimand. She got there, and I could see she was worried, so i picked up a small box, held it out, and said, "Happy birthday!" I don't exactly remember what it was, probably some jewelry, would not have been expensive as I wasn't the type to spend a lot of money on someone I hardly knew, my memory seems to tell me it was either a single earring or a pair, and cost about $5.
Lisa quit to move on, so I forgot about her until I end up getting a letter in the mail from her, addressed to me at work as she did not know my home address. Or maybe she called, I forget, but I ended up continuing to either exchanging letters or telephone calls. She had moved out to California, specifically Moreno Valley, near Riverside, about 65 miles from Los Angeles. At some point she ends up asking me to loan her money. I probably should have known better, but I did. I also did something else, I said I would get a present for her mother, either her birthday or Mother's Day, I forget which. I think Lisa gave me a letter to include, then I took it over to her mother's house, and delivered it.
Later, something happened that I probably should have spotted it as a red flag, she ends up "admitting" to me that she had had sex with a guy where she worked. Something like he was sleazy and talked her into it, I'm not clear on the details. I'm not sure what her motivation was (I do know now, as I'll explain later.) I guess I kind of figured it happens, women sometimes do stupid things, and I didn't hold it against her.
At some point Lisa tells me that I'm the only person who cared for her without really wanting something. So she says that I could consider her my girlfriend. I may have admitted to her that I loved her. (When you're thirsty for interest or attention from the opposite sex, getting a few drops can make you feel grateful.)
Somehow I got talked into paying for her to come see me, but she's afraid to come out alone, he wants to invite an older lady (I don't remember her name, but let's call her Julie). I agreed. Lisa also needs to take care of a problem with her mother's Social Security check, and she can visit their headquarters in Baltimore. So I will rent a car, I might just go along (at that time I had never been there). I also would rent a room for them to stay.
Lisa flies out, along with Julie. When I meet her at the gate, I go to hug her and she does not seem to be all that happy to see me. She said I surprised her. I end up driving them to the hotel and I think she drove me home. Next morning I'm expecting her to pick me up, but she never shows. I'm a little worried, and I can't get hold of her, then several hours go by. Now I'm frantic because I'm thinking I'm going to have to call the rental company and report the car stolen, oh what a mess. I'm able to reach her family, Lisa has been there, and I ask if she has the car to please stop her. I catch a bus over there, and I'm able to find her. I get my keys back, and I say I want to take a drive. Lisa, probably realizing if I left alone I might not come back, comes with me. I drive over to a picnic area and I notice the trip meter only has 25 miles on the clock. I figure a round trip to Baltimore should have been about 50 miles.
Actually, it's more than that as it was probably more than 10 miles from National Airport, where I rented the car, to the hotel, my home and back. I'm thinking that maybe I had zeroed the trip meter before I gave her the car. Or maybe she did. She tells me no. This should have been a red flag. From that part of Wheaton in Montgomery County, MD to Security Boulevard in Baltimore where Social Security headquarters is located is 31 miles each way. She said she knew a shortcut. I believed her. Instead of taking everything and leaving her to fend for herself, I let her continue to have the car, but when he came to pick me up the next day you'd better believe she was on time. I note with bemusement that this time she had zeroed the trip meter.
The time comes, and they have to catch the return flight. I drop off the car and follow her to the plane (you could still do that then, you only needed a ticket to board the plane.) After I watched it take off, I sat there for quite a while, not sure what to think. Then I went home.
A while later, I get a call, not from Lisa, but from Julie. She called to warn me about Lisa. She didn't know what was going on and called to tell me. Lisa had been staying at her house, being allowed ton stay in exchange for taking care of Julie's father. Lisa was not working. She got room and board, but did not get spending money. You can guess where she got it from. Julie was planning to throw Lisa out because Julie had discovered that Lisa was only there because she had been following Stephanie around the country, had been in a lesbian relationship with her, and this was something Julie would not tolerate in her house.
I thanked her for the heads up, as it allowed me to realize just how badly I had been played.
On a separate issue, when Lisa and Julie came by to pick me up, my mother happened to see it, and fortunately she only said it to my brother (who told me later) or I might have taken her head off. My mother said to Bill, "What is Paul doing going around with blacks?"
A while later, Lisa calls me at work, where I'm answering the phone. I'm not busy, so I listen, making occasional noncommittal responses, and I think she tries to ask again for help, and I think I said something either ignoring it, telling her I couldn't help, or otherwise having a flat tone. She noticed, as she said I sounded cold to her.
My greatest moment came when I responded, with just five words. "Lisa, I know about Stephanie." I think I scared the shit out of her. The next ting I hear?
Click.
I never heard from her again.
I blew about a thousand bucks on her. Should I have known better? Maybe. Postmortem, I can see there were red flags I should have spotted. I'm thinking Lisa made up the story about bedding the office Lothario so that I'd break it off with her, and she'd not have to pay me back. And my not realizing there should have been more than 70 miles on the trip meter if Lisa had actually had to go to Social Security headquarters.
But later Lisa wrote me how she forgot and left something behind, it might have been her ID. What unmitigated gall! The item, and her letter, went in the trash.
Lisa quit to move on, so I forgot about her until I end up getting a letter in the mail from her, addressed to me at work as she did not know my home address. Or maybe she called, I forget, but I ended up continuing to either exchanging letters or telephone calls. She had moved out to California, specifically Moreno Valley, near Riverside, about 65 miles from Los Angeles. At some point she ends up asking me to loan her money. I probably should have known better, but I did. I also did something else, I said I would get a present for her mother, either her birthday or Mother's Day, I forget which. I think Lisa gave me a letter to include, then I took it over to her mother's house, and delivered it.
Later, something happened that I probably should have spotted it as a red flag, she ends up "admitting" to me that she had had sex with a guy where she worked. Something like he was sleazy and talked her into it, I'm not clear on the details. I'm not sure what her motivation was (I do know now, as I'll explain later.) I guess I kind of figured it happens, women sometimes do stupid things, and I didn't hold it against her.
At some point Lisa tells me that I'm the only person who cared for her without really wanting something. So she says that I could consider her my girlfriend. I may have admitted to her that I loved her. (When you're thirsty for interest or attention from the opposite sex, getting a few drops can make you feel grateful.)
Somehow I got talked into paying for her to come see me, but she's afraid to come out alone, he wants to invite an older lady (I don't remember her name, but let's call her Julie). I agreed. Lisa also needs to take care of a problem with her mother's Social Security check, and she can visit their headquarters in Baltimore. So I will rent a car, I might just go along (at that time I had never been there). I also would rent a room for them to stay.
Lisa flies out, along with Julie. When I meet her at the gate, I go to hug her and she does not seem to be all that happy to see me. She said I surprised her. I end up driving them to the hotel and I think she drove me home. Next morning I'm expecting her to pick me up, but she never shows. I'm a little worried, and I can't get hold of her, then several hours go by. Now I'm frantic because I'm thinking I'm going to have to call the rental company and report the car stolen, oh what a mess. I'm able to reach her family, Lisa has been there, and I ask if she has the car to please stop her. I catch a bus over there, and I'm able to find her. I get my keys back, and I say I want to take a drive. Lisa, probably realizing if I left alone I might not come back, comes with me. I drive over to a picnic area and I notice the trip meter only has 25 miles on the clock. I figure a round trip to Baltimore should have been about 50 miles.
Actually, it's more than that as it was probably more than 10 miles from National Airport, where I rented the car, to the hotel, my home and back. I'm thinking that maybe I had zeroed the trip meter before I gave her the car. Or maybe she did. She tells me no. This should have been a red flag. From that part of Wheaton in Montgomery County, MD to Security Boulevard in Baltimore where Social Security headquarters is located is 31 miles each way. She said she knew a shortcut. I believed her. Instead of taking everything and leaving her to fend for herself, I let her continue to have the car, but when he came to pick me up the next day you'd better believe she was on time. I note with bemusement that this time she had zeroed the trip meter.
The time comes, and they have to catch the return flight. I drop off the car and follow her to the plane (you could still do that then, you only needed a ticket to board the plane.) After I watched it take off, I sat there for quite a while, not sure what to think. Then I went home.
A while later, I get a call, not from Lisa, but from Julie. She called to warn me about Lisa. She didn't know what was going on and called to tell me. Lisa had been staying at her house, being allowed ton stay in exchange for taking care of Julie's father. Lisa was not working. She got room and board, but did not get spending money. You can guess where she got it from. Julie was planning to throw Lisa out because Julie had discovered that Lisa was only there because she had been following Stephanie around the country, had been in a lesbian relationship with her, and this was something Julie would not tolerate in her house.
I thanked her for the heads up, as it allowed me to realize just how badly I had been played.
On a separate issue, when Lisa and Julie came by to pick me up, my mother happened to see it, and fortunately she only said it to my brother (who told me later) or I might have taken her head off. My mother said to Bill, "What is Paul doing going around with blacks?"
A while later, Lisa calls me at work, where I'm answering the phone. I'm not busy, so I listen, making occasional noncommittal responses, and I think she tries to ask again for help, and I think I said something either ignoring it, telling her I couldn't help, or otherwise having a flat tone. She noticed, as she said I sounded cold to her.
My greatest moment came when I responded, with just five words. "Lisa, I know about Stephanie." I think I scared the shit out of her. The next ting I hear?
Click.
I never heard from her again.
I blew about a thousand bucks on her. Should I have known better? Maybe. Postmortem, I can see there were red flags I should have spotted. I'm thinking Lisa made up the story about bedding the office Lothario so that I'd break it off with her, and she'd not have to pay me back. And my not realizing there should have been more than 70 miles on the trip meter if Lisa had actually had to go to Social Security headquarters.
But later Lisa wrote me how she forgot and left something behind, it might have been her ID. What unmitigated gall! The item, and her letter, went in the trash.