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Estel: A farmgirl who's completely inexperienced with the big city.
LN: Thompson DH: William Alexander "Wil" DW: Caroline Grace (Newman) "Carrie"

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Wil met Carrie her first day in the city. She was moving into an apartment two floors down (B9, if you're wondering). It was a Saturday and Wil was on his way to see his brother Edward. She looked confused, so he stopped to ask if she needed any help. Without meaning to, Carrie broke down in the hallway. She was totally lost, confused, and didn't have a clue about city life. She was supposed to have been going to a college nearby, but they didn't have enough rooms, so she elected to rent an apartment off-campus. Since she was alone, Wil helped her move her stuff into the apartment, but didn't offer anything else.

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A few days later Wil saw Carrie again, just sitting in the hallway. Wil, being curious, didn't stop to ask her why she was sitting in the hallway, but kept an eye on her. The way the apartment building is constructed, those living on higher floors can look down and see those living on lower floors. Two hours later, Carrie hadn't moved, except to pace the floor. Wil decided he might as well see what she was up to. Turns out, Carrie lost her apartment key and the landlord hadn't let her borrow the spare (he was a not-so-nice man). Carrie has a timid personality and doesn't like conflict. She had thought to just give up and go home, but Wil pursuaded her to stay. He confronted the landlord while Carrie had a cup of coffee in his room. The landlord reluctantly gave up Carrie's room key. Wil unlocked her room, then asked the landlord to order another key since Carrie's was lost.

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For the next few weeks, Wil said 'hello' to Carrie in the hallway when he saw her, but didn't think much of doing anything else to further their acquaintence. It was Carrie who knocked on the door of Wil's apartment one night. She hadn't made many friends yet and was lonely. Wil reluctantly let her in. He isn't a very social type, but was starting to warm up to Carrie. She mentioned that she missed being in the country. That weekend Wil decided to take some time off and he invited Carrie along to visit his mother and sisters in their large country house. Carrie accepted and had a great time. It was discovered that she shared her name with one of Wil's sisters. The girls accepted her readily. Wil's mother made the mistake of saying that Wil had finally got himself a girlfriend. Wil said he didn't have a girlfriend, but on further investigation found himself mildly attracted to Carrie.

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Since this is getting long, I'll just skip to the end result. After two years of courtship, Wil asked for Carrie's hand in marriage. Carrie accepted gladly. She had grown to like Wil's family and even helped out with Edward sometimes. She was the first one in her family to finish college and get a degree. She went for something traditional--Elementary Education with a focus on Special Education. Wil still worked at the department store on weekdays, but was attending college courses on weekends. He planned to get his degree in accounting. Wil and Carrie were married on September 8th at Wil's family's house. They had a beautiful ceremony and honeymooned afterwards in England, touring the scenic towns, cities, and countryside.

This message was edited 11/20/2005, 2:16 PM