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He Didn’t Look Away

Kerry Lown Whalen

    I can conceal what I’m feeling as well as the next person. Perhaps better. But this was different. While waiting for a bus this morning a man stared at me. It wasn’t in a curious I-think-I-might-know-you kind of way. It was more intimate than that. I felt uncomfortable because he didn’t look away.
    I boarded the bus and sat beside a woman reading the Sydney Morning Herald. When I reached into my bag for Fifty Shades of Grey the man leered at me from across the aisle. How could I read a racy book with him looking at me? Luckily the woman alongside offered me her newspaper and I buried my head in it.
    Time ticked by as the bus lumbered through peak-hour traffic. It stopped at snarled intersections and lurched forward when the traffic lights changed to green. When the bus approached their stop, passengers stumbled down the aisle, shoes clunking on the metal steps as the door whooshed open. My heart pounded. What if the man followed me from the bus?
    A block from my stop I sneaked a look at him. He winked. I dinged the bell and headed for the door, sensing he was behind me as I clattered down the steps. Dodging pedestrians I dashed along Pitt Street and into the foyer of my building. The lift took forever to come and I caught my breath while waiting. As it ascended it stopped on every floor. When it reached mine I charged along the corridor to a window overlooking Pitt Street. On the footpath opposite I could see the man gazing up at my building, his fair hair lifting in the breeze. I jumped back, pulse racing. Why was he there?
    I decided to tell my boss and stood outside his door gulping air to calm my nerves. Then I knocked.
    ‘Come in.’
    ‘Excuse me, Mr Granger. I have a problem.’
    He set down his coffee cup. ‘What’s up Kelly?’
    ‘A man followed me from my bus stop to work.’ I sucked in a deep breath. ‘He’s downstairs on the footpath opposite.’
    Mr Granger swivelled to look out the window. ‘Where?’
    I pointed to him.
    ‘Recognise him from anywhere?’
    ‘No. Never seen him before.’
    ‘He’s a well-dressed young man. I wonder what he wants.’
    I shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea.’
    ‘What do you want me to do? There’s no law against standing on the footpath.’
    ‘But I’m terrified. He followed me here and is waiting on the street.’
    ‘Are you certain you don’t know him?’
    ‘Positive.’ I wrung my hands. ‘I’m scared.’
    ‘There’s one way to find out.’ Mr Granger pushed back his chair. ‘We’ll confront him.’
    My legs shook. ‘I don’t think I can.’
    ‘You’ll be fine. It’s a busy street. There are people everywhere.’
    I didn’t want to go near the man and was sorry I’d involved Mr Granger.
    ‘Come on Kelly. You can do it.’
    In the end I had no choice but to go downstairs with him.
    As we crossed the street, the man waved. ‘Hi Kelly. I knew it was you.’ He leaned close. ‘I wasn’t going to let you go this time.’
    What did he mean? Who was this guy? ‘And you are?’
    He grinned. ‘Jason Somerville. From Bondi.’
    I shook my head. I’d never heard of Jason Somerville. Puzzled, I studied his face, a vague memory stirring. I’d only been to Bondi once. In fact, I’d nearly drowned in the surf there. Then I remembered. It was Jase. The lifesaver who rescued me.

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