I went to Subway to pick up sandwiches for Wife and Kids.
I go to open the door. It didn’t open. Huh? Maybe my fingers slipped, try again. Nope. I try yet again with a little more oomph, maybe the door is just stuck? The door still didn’t open. A few more tugs and eventually the “sandwich artists” realize the door is locked and one of the patrons unlocked it for me.
How… odd. Why would the front door to the Subway be locked? and how could it happen? It was a bolt, and when the other gentleman opened it for me it certainly took a few twists of the knob to get it to fully unlatch. So I highly doubt the bolt was in any sort of position where it could have dislodged on its own.
So, that immediately put me on edge. Apart from the 2 ladies working the counter, there were 3 other patrons: the older man who opened the door for me, then two younger tattooed guys. I have nothing against tattoos, but the way they were acting was something to note. Of course, those two guys were almost done getting their sandwich and the older guy was the last in line… the one closest to the door and likely the last one that came through that door before it locked. I kept an eye on everyone’s hands. I kept my distance, minded my location, and just watched and prepared. Yes, I was in Condition Orange.
Things progressed for a couple of minutes while sandwiches were being made.
Then — to my surprise — a young black male walked out from the back hallway, where the bathrooms are located. He walked out from there, through the door, and out the front door. No one else paid him any mind, so maybe he was a patron that had finished his sandwich and opted to use the facilities before leaving. But it doesn’t matter. The point was simple:
I had forgotten about the place I couldn’t see.
In the end, nothing happened. Got my sandwiches and left. I’m still curious how the door became locked, but it doesn’t really matter now. What sits with me more is that I missed thinking “hey, could there be someone or something going on in the back that I can’t see?”
Just sharing a little learning point. It reminded me of something, and hopefully you can learn from my mistake.
Stuff From Hsoi 
trippy stuff, man. glad nothing happened. awareness of your surroundings is key, especially when you already have a negative vibe about a place.
It was a really strange situation. Why was the front door locked? I can’t imagine it locked accidentally (always possible I guess), so who did it? And why? Was something going to go down? Or was it just one of those odd things? Never will know, but it was enough to weird me out a bit.
Just have to remember tho to think more about what I can’t see… like was something ugly going down in the back of the store.
Crazy.
TXGunGeek learned early in our relationship… if a restaurant (or anywhere else) gives me a bad vibe, we go elsewhere. Immediately.
Whatever might or might not be going down in the back of the store, I don’t want to be in the vicinity to find out.
Hrm. Good question as to why I just didn’t leave. I’ll need to figure that out. My initial guesses are 1. too fascinated by the question of “why was the door locked?” or 2. I knew Wife & Kids were on their way back home and I was charged with procuring food (actually not just food, Subway) and I was just stuck to my mission.
Hrm. Something for me to think on.