A Year Later: (Abridged) Time moves on, and Jonathan and Audrey forget about their chance of almost meeting summer after summer. Yet, now and then, something reminds each of the momentary encounters they could never define. Both have now completely forgotten about the encounter and end up at a corporate rah-rah session hosted by their respective employers, one a Federal employee, the other a Federal contractor with a major government agency. Audrey is the first to take the dive into the relationship world. Several years have passed, and she has been a bridesmaid to college friends each May, June, and July for the last two summers. Fate is cruel, since she is often the prettiest woman and catches the bride’s bouquet-toss six out of seven times. Many attendees know each other from their associations. On occasion, the ‘mean-girl syndrome’ manifests itself as she hears the gossip collectively. “What’s wrong with Audrey; all that pretty, and she can’t get a man.” Another would say, “Maybe she doesn’t like men.” Audrey especially hates when she runs into Juanita and the cruel-girl-crew at the hair salon; she tolerates their teasing because she loves the way Anton styles her hair. She is accustomed to ignoring people; peer pressure is useless on her, but it bothers her to see her parents and relatives be hurt by her apparent inability to secure a boyfriend. As a big fan of Korean Dramas, Audrey is attuned to single adult children’s stress inflicted on parents. And while Americans are not sensitive to this global family dynamic, Audrey decides to indulge her mom and dad by at least bringing home a friend-boy. Audrey determines that during this spring, she would be open to dating. She is aware of her beauty but hates women who capitalized on that single aspect of femininity. Even when Audrey wears knee-length dresses, she can stop traffic. It annoys her, but still, she appreci‐ ates her gift. Audrey decides to accept an advance from a guy who suggested that he be her male girlfriend a few months earlier. At first, she thinks it an awkward suggestion, but as he explains it, the more it makes sense. Harold is a funny guy, always quick with a joke. He is charming and never makes her feel uncomfortable; he enjoys her company. It is impossible to determine if they are a couple; his protective‐ ness around her keeps would-be suitors away. Audrey suspects that he is a long-termer, meaning he would settle for years of friendship in hopes of one day becoming her man. Harold and Audrey’s pseudo-relationship lasted nearly a year. However, his subtle pressure to convert the friendship to actual dating worries her. Knowing she is a strong candidate to be sent to South Korea, Audrey passively allows the relationship to lapse, hoping for a clean break. Feeling desperate for time invested with Audrey going up in smoke, Harold makes a move that angers her. Audrey has accepted his invitation to a movie at an upscale theater with restaurant-style seating. She enjoys the film until he does something he had never done in the two years of their buddyship; he tries to hold her hand all through the film. Audrey pretends to need her hand to get popcorn; time and again, he keeps reaching for her hand, squeezing it to make it difficult for her to let go. Finally, she asks him, “What do you think you’re doing; why do you keep touching me?” His answer offends her, but she had suspected such for the last few months. “Because I want more than to be your male girlfriend. Audrey, I’ve had a thing for you; you must have felt it. I want more than friendship; I want to be your man. ” “Harold, I appreciate your admiration and adore your friendship, but it’s not reciprocal. I don’t feel that way about you. So please don’t be offended.” Harold becomes sullen and doesn’t say anything for the rest of the movie. Audrey begins to feel threatened. He had driven, and now he is responsible for driving her home. Slipping into the ladies’ room, she slips her hand-held taser into her jacket pocket, praying that she’d be safe. The ride home is difficult. He becomes curt and argumentative. She says, “The weather is so nice tonight, just a little cool.” Harold’s response is stern. “If you say so.” Then, suddenly, he says, “You’ve made a fool of me. You’ve been teasing me all this time. You must have known I was falling for you, and now you’re declaring yourself ‘not-interested’. That’s bull, and you know it. All the dates and the money I’ve invested in a future with you is what I get. I even met your parents and friends, helping you pretend to be in a relation‐ ship. Do you think I’m stupid? You can’t use a guy like that.” At this point, Audrey can sense this is going south fast. So when she gets to the next traffic light near a busy intersection, she cleverly waits till the opposite traffic light is about to turn red and grabs the door handle. “I’ll Uber from here.” Harold screams, “Get back in here; I’ll take you home.” But the traffic behind him begins violently blowing horns, forcing Harold to move forward. He curses at her as she flags down a taxi trolling for fares. Sitting back in the car, she asks the driver, “Can we just sit for a minute; I need to catch my breath.” The driver says, “I saw that back there. I was behind you for a few blocks, and your body language made me think you might be in trou‐ ble. Let me know where you want to go, and I’ll take you at no charge. I have a daughter your age, and I hope someone will help her if she ever needs it. You’re safe now, ma’am; pay it forward one of these days.” As promised, he plays relaxing music on the entertainment system and is quiet to her front door. He hands her a card and says, “If you ever need a ride, feel free to call. Have a blessed rest of your evening.” He drives off. Audrey reaches her home safely, opens her cell phone, and blocks Harold’s number forever. Still shaking from the event, she carefully looks out to all the windows of her home, ensuring that Harold is not stalking her. She is fortunate to have a townhouse with an attached garage. Exiting the garage, Audrey drives to work, still shaking and a bit nervous. She tries to talk herself out of the feeling that last night was the prelude to a physical attack of much worse. The idea of having a man-friend for the sake of appearances was just too much. Then, suddenly, after a two-year respite, she wonders for the first time in forever about her mystery man at the little grocery store in Cape St. Clair. Stopping by her parent’s home that evening, she mentions to them, “I’m flying out to Korea the next day after the cyber conference at the Dulles Expo Center. Scored an assignment from my boss to help PGP.” “Her mom asks, “Do you have time to have dinner with us? It will be ready in twenty minutes.” Audrey follows her dad to the back deck; he can sense she wants to talk. “Daddy, that guy I bought home, Harold, became violent with me when I turned down his romantic conversion. He said he didn’t want to be friends anymore. I was actually scared and thought I’d have to use the taser you gave me in college. I’ve never seen him like that; I trusted him. I felt he would’ve forced himself on me if the conditions were right. That’s one of the reasons I accepted the Seoul assignment. Am I right to be angry; you’re a man; tell me?” Audrey’s father answers solemnly. “Separating myself from being your father, I’d like to kick his you-know-what. No man has a right to impose his desire on any woman. I understand libido, and even my contemporaries told me to get a gun when you were a teenager. Why? They said, ‘Your daughter is so pretty, you will have to fight the suitors off.’ I laughed then, but as you got older, even I, your dad, could understand that you inherited what made me crazy about your mom. Still, it would be best if you didn’t have to deal with that. My advice: never see him again; don’t take his calls, apologies, or anything. Why? Because if he would work on you as a friend for nearly two years, he’s a long-con vs. a short-con. He’s the type that will make you his goal, and if you let him in the door, he will consider you the one that got away. He will suck you back into his web, and when he thinks your guard is down, he will either gently court you or rape you. So, please don’t do it. And if I ever see him again, I will tell him a thing or two; I promise he will never bother you again.” Dinner with her mom and dad is great and comforting. Audrey kisses her parents, and they wish her a safe and fun trip with loving parental hugs. Audrey tells them, “I love you guys. Sometimes when you’re grown, one doesn’t think they need their mothers and fathers; you guys are the best. Goodnight.”