Today I was in front of the dairy case at the supermarket, trying to decide which flavor of coffee creamer to get. A man with a child in his cart rolled up next to me. He was speaking to his wife or girlfriend on the phone. After sweetly signing off, he decided to chat me up.
“Hey beautiful,” he said. It took me a while to realize he was talking to me, as I am very rarely accused of being beautiful by strangers at the supermarket. It probably has something to do with my tendency to buy groceries whilst sporting sweats and second-day hair.
“Hey gorgeous.” I realized that not only was he speaking to me, but blocking my way. I turned and faced him.
“Hey baby, what’s your name?” he cooed.
For some reason I always feel compelled to be “nice” in these sorts of situations, rare though they are. However, I’ve noticed that being “nice” generally makes things worse. What should I say? Yo no hablo inglés? I’m engaged? Fuck off?
Instead, I said, “Yeah, I’m not gonna do this,” and walked away. I sincerely hope the sting of rejection causes him to think twice before trying to pick up random women at the supermarket in front of his child… or at least get some better pick-up lines.
Wow. What a freak. You handled it well. "Fuck off" also works in that situation. Most guys would not do what he did. His behavior is disturbing and demonstrates (to me, anyway) the following: he does not respect women, he does not respect socially appropriate boundaries, and he seems at least a tad predatory. I wouldn't be surprised if he's manipulative and controlling in his relationships. What a weirdo.