Dude with a half-empty bottle of wine.

So, this happened to me last weekend. I’ve been to this bar once before and it was chill. This time, I had been out with friends beforehand and were just grabbing a last drink before I ended the night. There’s a small bar outside and the main bar inside. Outside there’s also a fire pit. I went outside for a smoke and after I finished, I went back in and grabbed my drink. I went outside again to kill some time before last call. I was pretty buzzed already, so my memory of events may be a bit wonky, but this is what I remember.<br><br>It was a bit chilly out and so I decided to hang out by the fire pit. A man comes out and while I don’t remember much about his appearance, I recall he was maybe early 40s, average height with short dark hair. I don’t remember what he was wearing, or his eye colour, or much else to be honest. What I do know is he was drunk. When he first came out, he brought a glass of red wine with him. I thought it was weird since they were closing up in a half hour, but he sat down in the chair opposite the fire pit and I ignored him, figuring he’d just drink up and leave.<br><br>During the time I’m there, nobody else goes outside. We had a brief conversation; he asked if I was doing ok, I told him I was fine, we talked about the weather for a bit and that was it. After a few minutes of silence, he goes back inside. I figured he was going to the bathroom, but when he comes back out, he’s still holding the same glass of wine. In other words, he hadn’t gotten a new drink. I thought this was a little strange, assuming they stopped serving drinks already.<br><br>After a bit, I start to feel cold again, so I finish my drink and decide to head home. As I get up, he gets up too and starts walking in the same direction as me. I didn’t think much of it at first, but when I turn and start walking down the block, he also starts walking the same way. Now it was pretty clear to me that I was being followed. I cross the street, he follows. I turn onto another street, he turns too. By now, I’m most definitely being followed. I figure the best way to handle this is just to go back to the bar and tell them what’s going on. I have to walk back the way I came, cross the street again, and turn onto another street. And every step of the way, there he is.<br><br>I go back inside the bar and walk up to the barkeep. I explain to him what happened and ask if I can stay until I sober up a bit or if he can call me a taxi. He tells me to hang out at the bar and that he’ll take care of it. I sit at the bar and stay there in silence as the bouncers kick people out and employees clean up. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, I finally ask the bartender how much longer it’ll be. He says the bouncer will walk me out and be with me until I’m safe. I tell him it’s fine and that I can just call a taxi. I don’t want to bother anyone. He insists and so I ask when he’ll be ready.<br><br>“Give me about ten minutes.”<br><br>I tell him that’s fine and sit back down. After sitting and waiting, I hear the front door open and close and the sound of peoples’ voices. The barkeep turns to me and says “Alright, I think you’re safe to go now.”<br><br>So I go outside and sure enough, the man with the half-empty bottle of wine is not there. I figure maybe he just wandered off to some other bar. I walk down the street and grab an Uber. Nothing else happens; no one follows me this time. I call it a night when I get home.<br><br>It wasn’t until the next morning I realized that the man I talked with outside couldn’t have been a regular patron of the bar, because if he was, he should have known they were closing. Plus, why bring out a glass of wine if the place is closing? Unless, of course, he already had the bottle of wine on him. I think back to our conversation and I realize we didn’t have one. He didn’t even ask for my name. When I asked him how he was doing, he just grunted and went straight into the weather. There was no small talk. For some reason I also don’t remember his voice very well, just that it was deep. Not as deep as Barry White or anything, just deeper than what I’d consider average. That part really bothers me though, because I usually have really good auditory memory.<br><br>The thing is, when I left, I felt watched, even after getting into the Uber. I kept looking out the back window, half-expecting to see the man with the half-empty bottle of wine following me. He wasn’t, but even after getting home, I felt like I was being spied on. But every time I looked out the window, there was nobody. I’m glad I got out of there unscathed, but it really creeps me out to think I was potentially in danger. And the craziest part is the bartender and bouncer seemed to know exactly what to do as if they'd dealt with this guy before.