I was on the train when a man sat across from me, staring. I didn’t think much of it at first, chalking it up to the awkwardness that sometimes accompanies public transport. But as the ride continued, I felt increasingly uncomfortable. His gaze didn’t shift, and I could feel his eyes following me around the cabin. After a few minutes, I decided to get off the train early in an attempt to escape the unsettling presence.

I walked briskly to the platform, trying not to look over my shoulder. The moment I stepped off, my phone rang. It was my husband, and his voice was frantic on the other end. “Were you on the train?” he asked.
Confused, I replied, “Yes, why?” His voice grew tense. “Return to the station now. You’ve met my boss, and you didn’t even say hi to him. He just called me, and he’s upset about it!”
I froze. The train ride had been awkward, but this was a new level of weird. “What do you mean?” I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
Then my husband sent me a photo. My stomach dropped as I stared at the image on my phone: the same man who had been staring at me on the train. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. This man, who had made me feel uneasy the entire ride, was my husband’s boss.
I explained to my husband that I had felt uncomfortable and that his boss’s behavior was making me anxious. But my husband brushed it off. “He’s just weird. He doesn’t mean any harm. Plus, I’ve been working hard for a promotion, and this isn’t the time to upset him,” he said. He then insisted I go back to the station and say hello. He assured me that his boss was probably still there, walking slowly toward the office.
I hung up, frustrated. I didn’t want to suck up to anyone, especially not someone who had made me feel so uneasy. The last thing I wanted was to pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t.