“Gray, honey, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she says. “There are a lot of crazies out there. I’m not sure you should confront one of them.”
“I want him to know I’m on to him if he really is following me.”
“No, absolutely not,” Celena says. “Gray, stand down, girl. Abort!”
I ignore her and continue to head past the aisles until I get to the end of the store. The guy isn’t there, so I head down the last aisle toward the front and start my search over. I also check the register lines, but the man didn’t have any groceries in his hands, so there would be no reason for him to check out.
Celena is in my ear the whole time, trying to talk me out of facing him.
I get to the other end of the store, but there’s no sign of the man.
“He’s gone,” I say, cutting off her monologue about stranger danger. “He must have slipped out when I made him.”
“When youmadehim?” she says. “Sweety, this is not some buddy-copshow. It’s time to take it down a notch. If you think he’s following you, call the real police.”
“No, not yet,” I say. “Like you suggested, maybe he just lives in Connecticut and happens to shop at the same store I do. I need proof I’m being followed. I already overreacted once, and it was humiliating.”
Celena stays on with me while I do the rest of my grocery shopping and check out. When I leave, I scan the parking lot to see if I spot the guy sitting in a car waiting for me, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Can you look up ‘How to spot a tail while driving’?” I ask Celena as I put my groceries in the car.
“Excuse me?” she asks.
“I don’t see the guy in the parking lot, but I want to be sure no one’s following me home,” I tell her. “Just look it up, please.”
“You’re probably going to get some BS that Google pulled from half a dozen Hollywood movies,” she says.
“Yeah, but they have police consultants on those movies, right?”
I hear her sigh, and there’s a pause as she looks up the info.
“It’s what you’d expect,” she says. “Just keep an eye out for a vehicle that stays behind you, although not necessarily directly behind you. Watch a few cars back and look for someone who turns every time you do.”
I knew most of that already.
“Ooo, here’s a useful trick,” she says. “If you’re on a highway, you should exit, then immediately get back on in the opposite direction.”
“I’m not on the highway. I’m at the grocery store.”
I finish putting my bags in the car, then wait in the driver’s seat with the car on. The car’s Bluetooth picks up the call, so I pull my earbuds out.
“So get on the highway, go up one exit, get off, then immediately get back on,” she says. “Isn’t there an entrance ramp to the highway right near the store?”
“There is. Good idea.”
“Shit, wait,” she says. “Why am I encouraging this?”
“Because you’re a good friend, and you want me to be prepared incase I’m actually being stalked,” I say as I put the car in gear and back up.
Celena sighs heavily on the other end. “Fine. Just keep talking to me until you get home so I know you’re safe.”
“Wait, should I even go home?” I ask. “If I am being followed, I don’t want to lead the stalker to where I live, right?”
Celena sighs again. “Honey, I hate to break it to you, but if you do have a stalker, he probably already knows where you live. Chances are the guy left the store and just went straight to your house to wait for you.”
My stomach bottoms out. “Holy shit. What do I do?”
“Do you want me to meet you at your house?” she asks. “I can go in with you to be sure it’s safe.”
