Yesterday was my first time out where I would actually interact with other people. I had been out just driving around, getting gas, going to the beach when it was cold and I knew no one would be there but never around people. I’d been planning my debut for months; I would go to the Independence Mall in Wilmington, NC, I would do my best to look like a soccer mom out shopping. I wore jeans, a shirt and sandals. Just enough light blue eye shadow to tell I was wearing makeup, grey wig, 2 inch clip on hoop ear rings, a dainty gold plated necklace and a few gold colored bangles. The mall was a 50 mile drive which was pretty much uneventful.
I walked around the mall for a while just to see if I could judge how I would be accepted, out of all the people there only one lady gave me one of those sideways stares for more than a second. My confidence was building and I was feeling fairly comfortable. After a 50 mile drive nature was calling, it’s time to find a restroom.
I stood in the hallway for a long time looking at the restroom doors; women to the left, men to the right and North Carolina has public restroom laws. I wasn’t sure about anything except the fact that there was no way I was going in the men’s room dressed like that. The good thing about the women’s restrooms is that they have lots of stalls; I turned left and nonchalantly walked to the first empty stall, heart beating so loud I was sure someone would hear it. I took care of my business there, washed my hands and walked out into the hallway. No one had even given me a second glance.
I had come to the mall to buy a shoulder bag, so into JCPenny I went. I found a bag I liked and took it to the cashier counter; there was a 40% off tag on it. The lady was very professional; she smiled and told me that if I applied for a JCPenny card, she could give me another 15% off. I said sure and she ask me to answer a couple of questions on the credit card reader, which I did and all was well. Then she said “I need to see your driver’s license.” (You mean the one with a picture of me in a full beard and moustache? Yeah, that one). I had gone too far to back out so I gave her my license. She never missed a beat, took down the information she wanted, smiled, said thank you and handed my license back. I walked around for a while, really feeling good about everything. But that was about to change.
I walked out to the parking lot and my car was gone… I had left the keys in the car and was sure that I had locked the doors with the little clicker, but the car is not there. My heart sunk as I was thinking about how was I going to get home? I can’t call anyone to come get me, not dressed like this. I wonder how much a 50 mile taxi ride is going to cost. I called the bank and cancelled the credit card that was left in the car and called the police to report my car as stolen. The dispatcher said he was sending a patrol car and asks what I was wearing so the policeman would know who to look for; I said jeans and a blue shirt. I wasn’t going to try to explain anything else on the phone. The patrol car with two policemen showed up a little while later, I walked out and waved them over. I told them what had happened and then he wants to know if I have my driver’s license on me (you mean the one with my picture in a beard and mustache, yeah that one). They were both very professional, very nice and treated me well. They ran my license to get my plate number and gave it back. Soon a second patrol car shows up, now I have two patrol cars and four policemen with me standing in the middle of the parking lot. Then the mall security guy shows up in his car and two other mall security guys come out to join us. Now I have four cops and three security guards with me in the middle, the folks coming and going from the mall were getting a good show. The head mall security guy asked me if I was sure that I had come in that door, I said yes I’m sure. He asked me to ride in his car to the other side of the mall; there was another identical entrance and my car parked right where I left it. I thanked everyone for their help; they had all treated me with respect and were very professional about the entire incident.
The drive home was very thoughtful, “Well Nikki, how was your first trip out?” Just remember, its 90% attitude and if that’s the best life can throw at me, I’m in pretty good shape.
I'd love to hear about other first time experiences.
