"All right! I got my own stalker!" "You're so lucky; I have to share my stalker with five other guys at work."
It's days like today that make me wonder where my creepy-man-magnet is located. Sometimes, one could assume it would be right between those things that require me to double-up on sports bras when working out, but when you're wearing
this twins-hiding jacket (and those exact same jeans, come to think of it) you've got to figure it's something else. No make-up, hair in a ratty bun, and I'm sort of ashamed to admit this, but I hadn't even showered yet (although I showered last night just before I went to bed, and I was only running out to the store and I wanted to work out when I got home, so it sort of makes sense, right?... oh, ferme-la.)
Ok. So the stage is set, right? We have an image of a sorta-icky don't-mess-with-me Zannah in our minds, right? Then would SOMEONE please explain to me WHY ON EARTH a creepy man followed this sorta-icky Zannah around la place Léon Blum for half an hour? He's headed in the same direction I am, I notice him around the McDo, maybe 150 yards/meters later I notice him REALLY checking this lady out, looking up and down, which I think is kind of cute because she's like 60 and shall we say "lumpy," and I think "how nice - there really IS someone for everyone." A few steps later he pauses in front of the Monoprix, I walk around him and go into the store, stopping downstairs to pick up some cotton balls. As I reverse direction and head upstairs, I see the same guy browsing through the coats in the women's clothing section, right next to the escalator going up. Now, it's sort of early/middle of the day, and it's past time to work and before lunchtime, so a 50-something dude in a suit and dress overcoat is kind of sticking out. Because I'm a people-watcher and I like to figure out people's stories, I wonder who he's planning to buy a gift for - a daughter, perhaps? (Another people-watching thought: Lady with the Purple Coat, please don't also wear bright purple tights and a weirdly short black dress. Not attractive.) I don't really see him upstairs - just once near the frozen foods - but after I've paid and I'm on the way out on the down escalator, I hear someone get on, walk down a few steps and come to a stop just behind me.
I glance back and it's the be-suited old guy from earlier. He tells me that he's not in a rush (i.e. don't move out of my way) or maybe he asked if I was in a rush - I don't know; I wasn't paying attention. I say nothing, he asks the back of my head if I speak French, I shake my head no, and he asks what I do speak. I again say nothing, and I haven't looked back at him since that first glance. I left the store from a different door than I normally do, because the security guard is right there, which happened to be the way I came in. As I'm walking on the street, roughly where the be-suited old guy checked out the older lumpy woman, I notice the very reflective glass acting as a mirror, and I realized that he was checking out my reflection and not Mme Lumpy. I also notice that the guy? Still following me, although he's three or four paces back.
At this point, I want to go home, but also don't want this guy to follow me home. And every window I passed was additional verification that he was indeed still following me. Having recently watching
The Recruit during one of my recent Old Lady Evenings, I found myself analyzing my options. Do I look for a choke point? Except... he *wants* to talk to me, he's not just following me, so bad idea there. I stopped at this little place on my way back to get an ink cartridge for my printer refilled - this is at least a quarter of mile away from where he first started following me, mind you - and the guy was just standing across the street while I stood at the front desk. I've never been so glad for the French customer service that is both attentive and slow, because I was in there for almost 45 minutes. I was on edge the entire time - every time someone walked in the door I jumped. I'm not sure when the guy left, but the fact that he followed me that far, for that long? Insane.
So I repeat, where is my Creepy Man Magnet, and is possible to get it removed? Does this happen regularly to any of you, too?
