No good deed

I fell asleep two hours ago, and now I am awake. 🙁

So, here's a weird tale from my day.

The elderly woman in front of me in the grocery store line was twenty cents short. She seemed nervous and flustered by her miscalculation. I had a couple dimes in my pocket, which I handed to the cashier. The woman was very grateful. She smiled broadly "You are such a kind gentleman."

Seemingly, out of nowhere, a 30-ish, unkempt, racially ambiguous dude appeared at my side. He half smiled and said, "You will be blessed for this." No, this wasn't a "Touched by an Angel" episode. He stood uncomfortably close to me. I could feel his hot breath on my face and neck. There was a wall to my right, so there was nowhere for me to go. I looked him in the eye as if to question his violation of my personal space. Smiling, he added, "It's always good to help people out. You agree with that don't you?" "Sometimes," I answered, still wondering why he was so close.

"Yeah, I was homeless once, and I'm not doing so well now, he shared. I gave him a sympathetic look and nodded as if I hadn't stopped listening.

This was one of those bag-it-yourself stores, and I moved to the bagging counter, then placed my crackers in my bag. I could feel him staring at me as he was being waited on. I took my phone out and read emails, as I waited for him to leave. I had walked the mile over from campus, and I didn't want to be followed. Perhaps, I seem paranoid, but I have endured the type before; any act of kindness is interpreted as a sucker waiting to be had.

He waited outside the door and to the right.