My Instinct

I've always felt safer in small towns. I grew up in one and now, I raise my children in one. There's something comforting about shopping at the local grocery store. Employees may not know you by name but they always know you. They ask about your day and family. They ask small talk questions but not because that's their job but because it's what you do in a small town. Usually, you'll run into someone you know whether it's a friend of yours, a co-worker or even one of your child's teachers. I always feel safe in my little grocery store... until I didn't.

One time in my life have I felt cornered. Have I felt that I might be in danger while in the comfort of my little safe place grocery store. I was doing some shopping, wandering the aisles as I do. I had a cart and was picking up quite a bit of stuff so I was going up and down each aisle. I reach the cooler with the milk and grab a gallon. As I turn down an aisle, I notice someone is behind me. It's not someone that I know but it someone that I have seen before. It's a man that I have often seen walking around town; usually to or from this little store. Not a big deal, people walk down the same aisle all the time at the store. I continued on. Up and down a few more aisle. This man is still behind me; keeping a distance but still very much in the same aisle as me each and every time. He only has one thing in his hand; an energy drink or soda or something like that and through all the aisles that he's been in with me, he hasn't picked up anymore groceries.

The last aisle of this store is the frozen section. I needed something from frozen so I make my way down the aisle, from the back of the store towards the front so I can turn and come out right by the checkout area. As I'm looking in the freezer, remember which Hot Pocket the kid had asked for, I notice the man is roughly 3 freezers down looking into the freezer but side-eyeing me. I put the Hot Pockets in my cart and turn to head towards the front. I watch from my peripheral view that he turns to follow me; again, not adding any groceries.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?"

I shout at him. Surprising him.

He responds with "I'm not following you", and becomes immediately timid.

As if overwhelmed and over it. I continue to inform him that he was following me.

"You have been in every aisle that I have been in and you haven't picked up anything except that one drink. Leave me the fuck alone and stop following me."

Then I headed towards the checkout. Once, I was to the cashier, I see the man is speaking with another employee and I tell her that "the man over there is probably complaining about me because I yelled at him for following me".

I paid, gathered my things, and left. As I was leaving, a friend of mine is heading into the store. He does his usual and says hi and asks how I am. Once I start speaking, he can visibly see that I'm shaken up and upset so I inform him of the incident that occurred inside. He asked me if I knew who they were or if I could describe them. I described the man to the best of my abilities and informed him that he's usually walking around town and blah blah. We parted ways and I went home. I told my husband all about what happened and he wishes I would have called him but I don't think that way at all and I always fly by my instinct and my instinct was to yell and scream and make a damn scene and I did just that.

I must add that I continued to go to my local store because I don't scare away from shit and I never ran into the man that followed me again.