Scared But Okay

Somebody was watching me while I was in bed last night.

The night before, I brushed off my suspicions, ruling it out as an overactive imagination. I read my book, turned out the light and called it a night.

Last night I heard him clear his throat.

There I was, reading about Louis XIV when I heard the same sounds of feet shuffling. Again, I thought it was a figment of my imagination, but then I heard him cough a little bit.

*scary*

I carefully turned off the light and laid still, wanting to see if I could hear distinct footsteps walking away from my window. Thankfully I didn't. Unfortunately, what I heard next was even more scary and aggressive.

My doorbell rang.

At 12:30 in the morning.

This time, I didn't yell my classic, Excuse Me!! Instead, I shouted, "Who the hell is there? I'm calling the cops."

But I really ran to my bathroom and hid. Then I called Jos.

Because he's a man. Because he's single (and thereby doesn't have a family or spouse I would wake up and disturb in the middle of the night), and because he has a Glock 9 among other weapons.

Joseph, being the calm voice of reason, told me to call the police and then call him back.

"Okay," I said between tears. "Do I call 9-1-1 or do I look for the local number? Is this an emergency?" I was scared and wanting to do the right thing, and that includes reserving 911 for people who really need it.

I talked to the dispatcher then stood on my front porch in the rain, wearing hastily-thrown on jeans and a cashmere sweater, looking for someone who would make me feel a little safer.

Two Cincinnati Police officers arrived in separate cars about five or six minutes after I placed my call.

They dodged the drizzle and walked around to the back of the brick apartment building, looking for any signs of my Peeping Tom. The officers came back around to the front of the building and asked to take a look inside my apartment.

I must confess at this point in the post that my apartment looks pretty disastrous. I'm not going to share all of my indiscretions, but needless to say, my abode isn't in shape for house guests.

The police gave the hovel a quick look around and surmised that perhaps I needed better drapes to cover the cheap blinds provided by the apartment management.

Great.

New drapes are going to protect me from this freak?

Now my brain is processing other safety elements - motion sensor lights, dogs, alarm systems - and wondering how I am going to install these elements or take care of them (well, that part is mainly for the dog option).

I am exhausted today, I feel a little defeated and am more angry than frightened that some slimy schmuck had the power to disturb my confidence and sense of safety.

Dick.


Kate's Random Musings by Kate the Great is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.