She sat me back down, her voice shaking as she revealed the secret she’d been keeping.
‘I can’t believe it,’ I exclaimed, wondering why I had agreed to the move.
Apparently, Mr Sanders recognised a man from his past. A man who revolved in the same circles as he did when he went off the rails and participated in unscrupulous activities.
‘And not just any man, Daniel,’ Sara said. “He’s dangerous. He has a history of harassment and violence.” Mr Saunders said he’s been following him, and he noticed that this man was stalking me.”
“What!!! Why didn’t you tell me? This should be handled by the police!”
But my wife shook her head.
“Mr Saunders was trying to keep Darryl and me safe. Because he noticed that man watching me during several training sessions.”
I rested my head on my hands. Suddenly the world seemed too heavy for me. What kind of dramatic TV show had our lives turned into?
“Mr Saunders advised me not to push him away too obviously so as not to arouse suspicion. I had to tell you, darling, I’m sorry.”
‘We need to talk to him,’ I said. “With Mr Saunders. I need to hear it from him.”
Sarah nodded, tears glistening in her eyes.
When we met with him, he confirmed Sarah’s story, showing us evidence of the man’s criminal activity.
‘I spoke to one of my detective friends,’ he said. “They can’t do anything about this guy until something happens. So I’m trying to keep an eye on Sarah and Darryl. And the house.”
I didn’t know what to answer.
That night Sarah and I sat in the living room and tried to discuss the way forward and how to secure our house. Moments later Darryl burst into our room, shock frozen on his face.
‘There’s someone outside my window!’ – he shouted.
‘Call the police,’ I told Sarah.
I rushed to his room, grabbing the baseball bat we had set out in the corridor. And sure enough, a shadowy figure lurked by a tree not far from Darryl’s window.
A moment later we heard sirens and saw flashing lights of police cars. They quickly arrived on the scene, surrounded the house and detained the man.
The police officers confirmed that this was indeed the man Mr Saunders had warned us about and now, because he had been caught, he had been taken into custody.
‘I’m very sorry for causing bewilderment or upset,’ Mr Saunders said when he visited us the next day.
He brought a box of cakes, to which Darryl at once proceeded.
“The thing is, I know his type. When I’ve met him before, he’d find a young successful woman and fixate on her. When I saw him at football practice, I knew he wanted Sarah.”
‘How do you know him?’ I asked.
‘I had a rough past too,’ said Mr Saunders. “But I just fell in with the wrong company. I didn’t do anything like that.”
We thanked Mr Saunders for his help and he left our house.
Now that the threat had been removed, Sarah and Darryl seemed perfectly fine. But I still felt uneasy. As grateful as I was to Mr Saunders, something wasn’t right with me.
I wanted to leave. I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t want to stay here. I didn’t want my wife and child around Mr Sanders.
What was I supposed to do?