Going to the mall was not the way Trey Carter preferred to spend his day off, but his wife and kids had insisted on some family time at the giant shopping complex in town. So, here they were, Saturday morning and at the entrance of the mall.
The family of four entered the mall and walked for a while before stopping at a seating area placed near the center of the mall.
"I’m going to the bathroom real quick, could you guys wait here?" Trey asked his family. His family consisted of his 38-year-old wife, Marsha, his 15-year-old daughter, Cathryn, and his 13-year-old son, Jordan.
"Sure, we’ll wait here," Marsha said before sitting down at a bench. Cathryn followed her lead and sat next to her, too engrossed in her phone to even bother replying.
"Hurry up, Dad. I want to stop at the food court," Jordan said impatiently.
"Don’t worry, Jordan. I’ll be real quick," Trey said before walking towards the Men’s Restroom.
After entering and taking a quick piss, Trey washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror as he did so. A somewhat overweight 40-year-old man stared back at him. He had black hair that was receded slightly and a small bald patch at the back of his head. He sported a pair of light brown eyes and a short trimmed beard on his face that had some gray sprinkled in. Although Trey liked to proclaim he wasn’t fat, it wasn’t entirely the truth; he sported a typical dad bod with a slight layer of fat over his body that gave him a pair of moobs and a beer belly that protruded over his pants. At the moment he was wearing a collared blue shirt, some khaki pants, and some worn out sneakers.
As Trey observed himself in the mirror, he was able to see someone else enter the restroom behind him. His eyes followed them in the mirror as they walked into a stall and closed the door before a small click resounded throughout the bathroom, letting him know that they had locked the stall. Turning the sink off, Trey grabbed a paper towel and dried his hands before walking back to meet his family. As he made his way to the bench where his family was sitting, only Marsha noticed him—Cathryn and Jordan were too busy on their phones to hear him approaching.
"Hey, did you see who entered the bathroom after me?" Trey asked his family.
"No, why?" Marsha asked.
"I swear, the person who entered the bathroom was a…"