The Phone Stalker

I don't think I’ve told you about my "phone stalker". It has been off and on for a few months, but anyway, I met this guy in June on the piazza, Tommy. I was sitting on a bench, and he came over and started talking to me. He asked me to go and have coffee, but I said I couldn't because I was meeting some friends from school for dinner, and then the fireworks for the Fuoco di San Giovanni. We exchanged phone numbers for another time. This was probably a ½ hour encounter at the most!

I met my friends for dinner and then went to the fireworks. When I got home, my cell phone message light was on and when I checked it I had 22 missed calls from this guy! Okay.... what a freak! I decided then and there that something was wrong with that. I mean who calls that many times when someone doesn't answer? It seemed like a bad sign, and I decided I wasn't going to see him or answer any of his calls.

The next day around 6 p.m. he started calling again. Again, he must have called 30-35 times, and I did not answer.

The day after that, I got a phone call from this girl. She was American and when I answered the phone she said "May I speak to Karen?" I said "This is Karen" and she said "You met my boyfriend yesterday." I asked her who it was and she said never mind and hung up. The number she was calling from was a NYC number.

Later that day, Tommy started calling again. I answered once to tell him to stop calling and he asked me if his girlfriend had called. He doesn't speak any English and back in June my Italian was not as good as it is today. Anyway, I told him not to call me anymore. I don't know how or why his girlfriend got my number, but either she saw it on his phone or he told her. But, she did know my name. Anyway, more weirdness.

He continued to call and then started sending me text messages saying he loved me, etc., and I just ignored them. After several weeks, he stopped.

In the last week, he has resumed calling me. Many, many times per day. Yesterday he called me 64 times, and sent me 7 text messages.

Last night I told Mimo about it, and he called him and there was a lot of noise, confusion and Italian and Arab curse words flying around. I haven't received another call, but who knows. I am afraid of the guy, but thankful that he doesn't know where I live. I have never seen him again in Florence, which is odd since I see the same people all the time. Mimo took his number and said he would take it to the Polizzia if he calls me again. Mimo says that Tommy is Albanese and he could tell from his accent.

Strange..........but true.