Quick thinking...a little shame.

Okay, so another fun story from this past week. On Wednesday my co-workers invited me to lunch at P.F. Chang's on Mill and University. I decided to go cause I had a meeting at our Corporate office right after lunch on Mill and Rio Salado Pkwy, just down the street. Anyways, trying to be cheap and not have to walk far, I decided to just park in the Jack in the Box parking lot directly across the street on the other side of Mill Ave. Well, that really was a bad idea. Sure, there were towing signs everywhere to warn me, but I assumed those were mainly for the evening when the bars and clubs are packed. I honestly didn't think too much of it since it was the middle of the afternoon. Bad move.

I parked the car, walked across the street and met my co-workers in P.F. Chang's. Our table was near the window and I could see Jack in the Box from where I sat. I glanced across the street as I sat down and our car was GONE! I'm talking ten minutes and the car was gone. I figured I was imagining things and that I just couldn't see it from my angle. I excused myself from the table and went outside to get a better look. On my way out I called Eric to let him know what was going on. No answer. I texted him instead saying, "I think I got the car towed." He called back IMMEDIATELY. He asked what was going on. I told him what I had done. He said to just go get cash, that I'd have to figure out where the towing lot was and get a ride down there to get the car back. He said it was okay, it was an accident and to call him if I needed anything. WHAT A RELIEF! He was so sweet and loving even though I had just told him how big of a mistake I'd made. He's so amazing.

Back to the car though, sure enough, the car was gone! I went back across the street and honestly was assuming it had to be stolen since it was gone so fast. There's no way they could have towed it that quickly, right?!?

Well I went inside and talked to the employees. They weren't very helpful and just told me to call the number on the towing sign outside. I went back outside and called the number, sure enough, IT HAD BEEN TOWED! The guy told me they towed it at least 15 minutes ago (NOT POSSIBLE!) and that I needed to get a ride to the towing lot and bring $120 in cash to get the car back. I hung up feeling so stupid. Just my luck! I went back inside and spoke with the employees stating that there's no way they could have towed me that fast. One of the gentlemen working there came around the counter and asked me what happened. Trying to act quickly I made up a story.

I told him that I'd eaten at P.F. Chang's the night before and had forgotten my wallet. I told him that I parked there, went across the street to pick up my wallet and was coming back to eat lunch there (at Jack in the Box) before my meeting. He said he would call the towing company for me cause it's not right that they towed me so fast. He called just to be shot down almost immediately. I asked if there was someone else who could call. He said I should try calling their Corporate Office and ask them to call the towing company. He gave me the number so I called them next. They said that this particular location is not a franchise and is privately owned so I would need to call the General Manager on his cell phone. She gave me his name and number.

I called the GM and told him my story. He started by telling me there was nothing he could do. I persisted telling him it had only been 10 minutes and that it wasn't right to tow somebody that quickly. He told me he would come review that surveillance tape and that if it was in fact 10 minutes or less he would personally take me to get my car back. He said he was on his way there.

While waiting I went back to P.F. Chang's and ate my lunch. I filled in my co-workers on my story and they told me I might as well just pay them now. They said there was no way I would get my car back without paying. Although I was more optimistic I still stopped by the ATM on my way back to Jack in the Box just in case. I called Eric again and let him know what had happened and that I was trying to get it back. He wished me luck and again told me to call him when I had an update.

The manager met me at Jack in the Box and reviewed the security camera. It was actually 14 minutes so I though I was out of luck. However, the manager told me that his agreement with the towing company was that they were supposed to wait 20 minutes before towing. He called down there, fought with them and won. We got in his car and headed down to the towing lot. I got the car back for free and even got a ride down there from the GM of Jack in the Box. All in all, I'm really not proud of the lie I came up with. I even thought twice about blogging it cause I was embarrassed to admit that I lied. But I've come to the realization that as embarrassing as it is, it's what I did. And by not sharing it with others it would eat me alive even more and cause me more shame. I've already asked God for forgiveness for my sin and also thanked Him for helping through the situation. I also thanked Him for my amazing husband and for helping Eric to choose to love me as opposed to getting mad at me. It was a pretty lucky day to say the least.