Stranger

Today I got out of church and it started to lightly rain. So I continued walking. But then it began to pour. I pulled off the sidewalk to underneath a tree and was debating my options. I could either...

1. Brave the rainstorm and have a nice and soppy bus ride home (not ideal)

or

2. Stay hidden beneath the tree limbs and hope that eventually the rain would stop (also not ideal)

I had NO umbrella (who knew that it would rain when it was so bloody hot), and still had like three blocks to walk to get to the bus. Not the ideal situation to say the least.

All the sudden a guy walks past me with an umbrella. He sees me standing hiding from the rain and goes "Hey wanna share my umbrella?" Seeing as I hate waiting and being wet for the bus sucks, I accepted his invitation.

Turns out, Leo (my new umbrella friend) worked around Harvard as a maintenance worker of some sort. He asked me where I was walking to and I said the bus stop and then I was like "Well seeing as its your umbrella where are you walking to?" He said he was going in a slightly different direction so I began thanking him for letting me share his umbrella (because we were reaching the point where our paths would diverge) and telling him I would just run into one of the stores to wait out the rain. To this he began offering to go grab his car and give me a ride home. I declined and said that wouldnt be necessary. But he continued to insist and said for me to just wait under the awning of a store and he'd be right back. And then he took off running back where we had just run.

As soon as he left, I was kicking myself for not being more firm about saying no. Especially as the rain began to stop. But he had very nicely let me share his umbrella and I didnt want to be rude, so I waited for him to come back so I could tell him that since it had stopped raining I would be plenty fine taking the bus. I mean I learned as a child that when offered candy never get into a strangers car. That should correlate, right?

So Leo returns in his car. But it has started to pour rain again and well... sometimes I don't know how to say no when they have solutions to all my problems (like the stranger who took a picture of my heel last year... he said it was for a paper? I know... super sketch). So I got in the car.

Many of you are probably screaming out right this second. I mean taking a ride... from a stranger... something is not adding up, I'm supposed to be smart. But Leo really was just super nice. The other strangers I've encountered have tended to be rather forceful. But Leo was just pleasant. He chatted about where he was from (Brazil) and how great it is to own his own business (which apparently he gets lots of referrals for from people he's friends with) and when I mentioned I was from Canada (cause apparently I dont sound like someone from Boston), he told me that he's heard Canada is great. Dang rights it is!

So Leo dropped me off and as I'm thanking him for the ride and for sharing his umbrella, he tells me I can email him. In my head I'm going... I dont have your email. And then he goes... Let me just get a pen so I can give it to you. I mean classy move on his part. Its not like he tried to get my information. He gave me his, in the hopes that I'll get in touch.

I dont think I'm gonna email him - I feel like thats just inviting attention I'm not interested in - but I will tip my hat to Leo. He didnt give off the "I'm a creep" vibe, nor did he seem like everything out of his mouth was a lie. He definitely played the stranger game the best of all the strangers I've met.

Stranger Danger. I apparently did not learn this sufficiently as a child. And my MANY stranger stories prove that. And dont worry. My dad told me I was not allowed to get into any more strangers cars. Doing that twice is enough apparently.