I believe the frame was in an upstairs closet at my grandmother’s house. It was nicely carved and darkly stained wood, and, dating from the 1980s contained a template of squares, ovals, and circles behind which by grandmother had taped photos from fishing trips and parties. Her photos didn’t work together as a set, which was maybe why it was stuffed in a closet.

But the stock photos that came with the frame and template sure worked as a whole. 1981 in all its feathered hair and polo shirt glory.

It had been on Marketplace for months. I’d had a couple of nibbles and then forgotten about it.

Until Brandi said she wanted it at 10:30 on a Thursday.

We agreed to meet in a Target parking lot the next morning. I’m usually the first one to arrive, and take some pride in being on time, but I dawdled too long after breakfast, was running late, and when traffic came to a standstill on the turnpike I knew I wouldn’t make our appointment.

Brandi was very understanding, but her car full of kids was anxious to get to the mall, so we decided to meet during lunch.

This time I was early.

I sat in the back of the van with the doors wide open so she would see me, creating what I hoped was a safe meeting, given that it was with a guy in a cargo van in a Target parking lot. She had said she was driving a silver minivan – she didn’t give a make or model, because…why -- so I spotted her when she pulled in the lot and waved.

She pulled along beside me, handed $25 out the window – a twenty, four ones, and four quarters – and I, hoping for a bit of interaction, held up the frame and said that we should take a moment to admire the glory of 1981 its photos presented. “I love it!” she said as I realized that was all she was going to offer for conversation. I passed it through her driver’s window and she pulled away.

Her profile mentioned that she likes to tell others about Jesus, but I left only with lunch money, quarters for a parking meter, and an unsatisfying encounter with a stranger.