I was recently on a short road trip with my two youngest children. We had driven a couple hours to visit a family member and were on our way home. It was the middle of the day, the sun was shining, and I pulled up to one of those massive gas stations that feels more like a shopping mall. The parking lot was full, and there were plenty of people around. I put Little Lady in her stroller, and we walked inside, with Littlest Buddy holding my hand.
As we entered, I immediately got the feeling that I wasn’t safe. Now you have to understand something about me. I can be a bit of a worrier. I’m the kind of person who keeps her guard up and is aware that bad things can and do happen. But this feeling of not being safe was like nothing I had ever felt before.
I’ve heard people say that when you are in a bad situation, you will get a “gut feeling” that something isn’t right. I’ve often wondered what that feels like, and now I know. It really is a “gut” feeling. I felt sick to my stomach and chilled to the bone, and I had an eerie sensation in my chest, combined with a warning deep in my subconscious. I believe it was from the Holy Spirit, and I think God purposefully gives us a combination of signals from various body systems in order to get our attention.
I tried to keep myself calm by attempting to convince my subconscious that it was being silly and over-reactive. There are people everywhere. This is clearly the safest place to be. Nothing could possibly happen. This big gas station is much safer than a rest stop or a smaller gas station. There must have been some sort of children’s sports tournament happening nearby because I saw quite a few families with younger teenage kids in jerseys. All the more reason to feel safe.
The kids and I walked in the direction of the bathrooms, Littlest Buddy still holding onto my hand. He wanted to browse the small toy section, so we stopped for a few minutes. It was then that I noticed a man who made me feel even more uneasy. His behavior was the definition of loitering, and he clearly was not looking at the merchandise. He sported a hat and sunglasses and was alone.
We spent a few short minutes looking at toys and then made our way through the food area. When we arrived at the bathrooms, the same man was standing outside. His back was rested against the wall, and he was very clearly scanning the crowd. There were at least 30 people within 30 feet of me, and there were about two dozen women in the large bathroom, so I still felt like this was a safe place to be.
We went into one of the big stalls, washed our hands, and then walked out. It took about five minutes, but as I came out, the man was still there, standing in the same place. He looked at me as I walked past.
It was then that I noticed a second man who was also wearing a hat and sunglasses, standing about 15 feet away, also scanning the crowd of people walking in and out of the bathrooms. As I walked past, the first guy looked in my direction and then nodded to the second guy, who nodded back. Then the first guy started walking towards the exterior door that I had come in.
When I saw those men nod at each other and look in my direction, my blood ran cold. I was suddenly fully aware that I was the only mom who was alone with young children and that I was an easy, slow-moving target.
There were several different doors to this gas station, and this man chose the one that I had come in. He walked slowly, stopping a few times to pretend to look at merchandise and to turn around and glance in my direction. I knew I needed a plan, and walking back to my car alone was definitely not the right move.
We browsed the snack section while my mind raced. I had no intention of leaving, but I needed to know if these men were focused on me, so the kids and I pretended to walk towards the door. We were still about 80 feet away, it was a large open area, and there were still dozens of people around, so we were safe.
The guy stopped a short distance from the door and waited. He stayed there several minutes as I continued to browse. I decided to make it very obvious that I was looking in his direction. Then I pulled my phone out and called Mr. Handsome and explained the situation. As I talked, the man waiting by the door walked outside, and I lost track of the second man. As I considered my options, I scanned the crowd and observed the employees. They were all about 15 years younger than me and didn’t look happy to be there, so asking an employee for help didn’t seem like a great option.
Mr. Handsome and I agreed that the best course of action would be to do what I always tell our kids to do if they get lost in a public place: Find a woman with kids, and ask for help. And in this case, I knew I needed that woman to have a husband who looked both approachable and intimidating.
I found the perfect family. They had two daughters and were clearly attending the sports tournament. The dad looked like a nice guy who could take someone down if needed, so I approached them. At that point, I was fighting back tears. I explained what was happening and asked if they would walk my kids and me to our car. They were very friendly and more than willing to help.
I didn’t see either of the men as we walked outside, but there were a lot of people and a lot of vehicles. I had my phone in my pocket, and Mr. Handsome was listening. The family walked me to my car, and I asked them if they would wait while I loaded the kids and the stroller. They said they would be happy to.
And that was it, I drove away, and we finished our drive home. Something was going on that day. Whether those guys were looking to traffic women or children, I’ll never know. The gas station was located along the interstate, about five miles from the nearest town, and close to where the interstate split into three different directions, so it would be easy to get away. Perhaps their plan wasn’t that sinister. Maybe they were just average, run-of-the-mill purse snatchers, or at worst, car thieves. But all I know is that walking out of that gas station alone would have been an incredibly naive, and dare I say brainless, decision.
Of course it wasn’t easy to walk up to strangers and ask for help. No one wants to admit that they are helpless and in need of rescuing. But I cannot imagine how I would have felt if something bad had happened and I had to come to the realization that I could have entirely changed the outcome by making a slightly different choice. God protected us that day. From what, I’ll never know, but I do know that those men were planning something.
