Perpetually Sporadic

The One Where I Neglected To Warn A Woman About A Murderer: Part I

Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to apologize for the recent lack of posts. I’m sorry.

Whew! Much better. Moving on….

If you’ve ever worked retail you know what I mean when I say we’ve all had THAT customer. The one that’s a little bit creepy. The one that talks a little too much. The one that stares. The one that makes you wish you had pepper spray in your hand, ready to go. THAT one.

A few years ago, August, 2008, to be exact, I moved to Chicago. I was talking classes at The Art Institute of Illinois and working at Starbucks. I loved working at Starbucks. The coffee was free, the coworkers were nice, and the customer made me smile. Most of them anyway.

The Saturday before Halloween I was working a closing shift with Colleen, a shift leader, and Joe, a high schooler. (Yes, Joe being a high schooler is pertinent.) When I arrived at work at 2pm there were a few other people working. It was fairly busy for a while, so I took little notice of the customer sitting at a table, laptop open, cellphone in hand.

When I took my first break, at about 4pm, I sat at the bar near the espresso machines, where I usually sit. When the customer with the laptop went to the counter to order his beverage, I noticed that he looked familiar. I couldn’t figure out how. When he walked towards me, to pick up his drink, I realized why he looked familiar. The customer with the laptop was a dead ringer for chef Mario Batali.  More than that, though, I noticed his odd behavior.

As he picked up his drink he began to talk to a couple of young girls. At first, it seemed like he was making polite conversation “Isn’t it a nice day?” But the more I listened, the more alarmed I became as seemingly innocent questions became more personal and intrusive. I focused on the newspaper in front of me as the girls would walk away without incident. Not long after the man went back to his laptop, I got up and went back to work.

I mentioned the exchange to my co-workers who informed me that the man with the laptop had been there since mid morning and had yelled at one of the cashiers because she had to get a manager to get change of a hundred-dollar bill. This new information left me feeling even more uncomfortable about the man with the laptop. But I pressed on, shifting my focus away from the creepy man with the laptop and to the work that had to be done.

Before I knew it, a few hours had passed. Everyone but Joe, Colleen and I had left and it was time for me to take my 30 minute break. After clocking out I walked to the backroom, heated up my dinner, and headed back to my favorite seat at the espresso bar. It was about 8pm and the man with the laptop was still in our store. I’d barely begun to eat when he got up and ordered another beverage. I made it a point to not look over at the man with the laptop and started talking to Joe, the barista in front of me, hoping that keeping them engaged in conversation would keep him from talking to me, the only other person in the Starbucks.

To be continued…..

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