The ringtone had already identified her. The woman in his dreams and fantasies. His best friend's wife.
Beatrice had supported him through his divorce, and since then they had grown close, exchanging texts and memes several times a day, sometimes quite steamy. Her marriage was also failing, but he had no intention of entering in such a dreary mix.
He lived in a beachfront house, and he was always glad to have his friends over. They knew that they had a permanent invitation.
On the phone, her photo smiled at him, and this gave him a small smile also. He answered, and through the opening pleasantries he could hear something not quite right in her voice.
"May I come over?"
"Sure you can! You know you don't have to ask."
"Oh, I don't know that, maybe you have a girlfriend with you..." He could almost hear her delightful smile.
"Not right now, no. Don't worry, I'll hold the queue, and ask the next one to wait a bit longer."
She laughed at that, and told him she would take the first bus in the morning. "I'm going alone this time." He didn't press for information. He sensed that she needed some time for herself.
Later that night, he was tossing and turning in his bed, unable to sleep. His imagination was in overdrive, fantasizing a thousand scenarios with her. But this was not new, and he soon found enough peace in himself to sleep.
In the morning, he went to the bus stop to wait for her. The bus arrived, and Beatrice was already smiling when she saw him. They embraced fondly, and he felt the familiar smell of sunlight in her hair. He picked up her bag for the short walk to his house. She was talking quite happily about this and that, but nothing about her unexpected trip.
Beatrice was quite at home in his house, and went straight to the guest room to unpack. He busied himself in the kitchen, brewing some coffee. When she came back to the room, she was already dressed for the beach, with a gauzy mini-dress barely concealing her curves. They drank the still-hot coffee and went to the beach.
It was a cool, windy day, with hardly any clouds in the sky. They had the beach to themselves; they could see only a few people, far away. Beatrice took off her dress, revealing her bikini, and went straight to the water. He accompanied her for a while, but he soon went back to where they had left their clothes. Sitting in the sand, he feasted his eyes on her, fancying her as a frolicking mermaid.
When she came out of the water, he offered her a towel, and she let him drape it over her. They sat and drank some water from their bottles, otherwise content just watching the beach scenery.
A sudden gust of wind gave her a chill, and she pressed against him for warmth. He automatically put his arm around her, silently blessing the wind. They sat there a while yet, until she said she wanted to go back to his house.
They collected their stuff and went back. Earlier, she had been very chatty; but now, they were silent during the short walk.
Back at his house, he collected the wet clothes and put them to dry on the clothesline. Going inside, he found that she was standing near the big table, waiting for him.