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The Saturday started like any ordinary Saturday. My wife and I shared a couple cups of coffee on the back deck as we read the newspaper and enjoyed the gorgeous morning. Later we went for a walk around a nearby lake and chatted with some neighbors that we met along the way. This had become our routine for Saturday mornings and it was wonderful. On these mornings all of the common stresses of life slipped away and it was just the two of us, sharing our lives together.
In the afternoon we did our own things for a while. Janine went happily off to the mall to do some shopping and I began watching a football game being played by a local college team. But the game quickly turned into a disaster. At the end of the first half my team was down 38-0 and I clicked off the television in disgust.
I then encountered one of those rare moments where I just didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't feel like channel surfing or doing any of the many home improvement projects that were awaiting me. I didn't feel like working, or toiling in the yard. I just didn't know what I wanted to do with my free time.
Then I decided to go to the mall. I figured I could buy a new drill or something and maybe I'd run into Janine while I was there. At the mall I wandered around for several minutes looking for Janine. I realized that I likely wouldn't find Janine in such a large place but I looked anyway. I found a directory and located a department store that would probably have tools, and started heading in that direction.
But on my way I saw Janine. She was in a popular shoe store chatting away with a salesman. I approached the door to surprise her when something made me pause. I think it was the expression on her face or maybe it was her smile. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew that something wasn't quite right. I stepped back away from the door and sat down on a bench outside the store where I would be largely obscured by a fake fern. And I watched. I felt a twinge of guilt for spying on my wife, but something just didn't feel right.
The salesman motioned for her to sit down in one of the chairs and he walked off like he was fetching a pair of shoes from the back room. When he left she started looking around the store. And that's when I noticed what had initially caught my attention. It wasn't her smile or expression; it was her attire. I hadn't noticed what she was wearing when she left the house as the game was starting, but I sure noticed it now. She had a nice pair of jeans on and a gray t-shirt from a nearby museum. Those were fine, but I couldn't believe the hat she was wearing. I can't honestly tell you what kind of hat it was, but it was brown and looked like a flying saucer. The problem was that it only covered about half of her ears! Her hair was draped over her ears so nothing was exposed, but I couldn't believe that she would go out leaving only her hair to protect her modesty.
The salesman returned carrying a pair of black shoes with heels. He kneeled down and gently took hold of one foot to begin removing her tennis shoe. As he glided it off her foot, he picked up one of the new shoes and started sliding it onto her foot.
But then it happened. Janine tilted her head down to look at the new shoe adorning her foot and her hat slipped forward and off her head. An expression of panic crossed her beautiful face followed by one of embarrassment. Her hair was still completely covering her ears but I couldn't believe that just a thin layer of hair was preventing her ears from being seen by this salesman and everyone else that was around.
He smiled at her, picked up her hat and handed it back to her. Meanwhile she was beet red from embarrassment and appeared to be apologizing to the salesman. She probably made the salesman's week, and she's the one apologizing.