The adventures of a character in 'Bleary Eyed and Restless'
No, Eleanor thought, I'm not imagining it. A good-looking man, lazing on a sun-lounger not so far away and his toned body already possessing a healthy tan that made his white hair so stark and remarkable, was paying her attention and seemingly intent on catching her eye. He did so whenever she sensed that her son and daughter, Leo and Zoe, were not involving her in conversation or pointing out what was happening all around them.
Leo called over to her and she looked away for a moment and dropped her glasses down from her forehead, where they had perched and kept her hair from falling down and obscuring her slender face.
"Yes, Leo, what is it now, darlin'...?" She was mildly irritated by his intrusion as wayward thoughts of the man had begun to play out in her receptive mind.
"Zoe and I are heading off to the beach. We may meet up with Dad there...that's if we ever find him."
"I hope that you do. Take your valuables with you, because I may take a walk around or go for a swim." She had been tempted to also say, "Take your time. I want to live things out a little differently while I'm here."
Her mock wrap swimming costume made it appear like a second skin, the soft swell of her tummy shaped by the synthetic fabric and the halter neck body, with its plunging neckline, shaping her breasts and parting them to reveal her breastbone. She loved to feel the sun on her skin and now, it seemed, the attention of a man that she did not know but who made it clear wanted to know her.
She waited until her kids were out of sight and would not see that she had stood up and used a floaty wrap to cover herself, her slender feet soon shoved into fashionable white beach sandals. She grabbed her beach bag, pushed her sunglasses into it, and strolled towards the pool bar, weaving through the mass of sun loungers and people lazing on them. The man would see her, up close, and she would take time to check him out.
She already sensed what she could be getting into and had decided, just from the look of him, that a pleasant diversion from an only too routine way of life might yet be discovered. She sure needed that, just as a wild animal would rush to get to a waterhole and slake its thirst.
"I thought I'd wander over and say hello," she said, smiling at him. "My name's Eleanor Collins...from Boston."
"I know it, Eleanor...it's a fine city."
"If you do then it's a small world." She felt that his eyes were on her as she ordered a cocktail, long and fizzy. She searched in her beach bag for her purse.
"No, let me..."
"Oh, okay, thanks." She made her reply sound breathy as if she was surprised by his gesture." I've taken a moment to speak to you, seeing as my kids, and a husband, have all deserted me...or so it seems."
"It is a mystery to me that I have seen you spend so much time alone here, Eleanor. My name's Alain...Alain Mercier."
"It's a mystery to me that I should be talking to you at all, Alain, a man who has decided to talk to me as if we already know each other," she answered, smiling, and with a pout of her lips.
He sensed her hesitation. "You are still here with me and you are no longer the woman I have seen sitting alone. I...I was wondering if I could help you with that."
"You? You could help me, really?" she laughed softly, yet dismayed to have fallen into remaining close at his side, at the small bar, and talking to this captivating stranger who made no secret of being drawn to her, by her attractiveness and perhaps, now, her teasing and flirtatious ways. "Where did you say you came from, uhm...?"
"Alain, and I've told you that once before."
"So, you're French, and it's kind of hard to believe you're staying here...alone."
"It is true, Eleanor. I am here on business and leave again tomorrow...and not just to another hotel. I changed it yesterday, and now I am staying here and at the bar talking to you. Perhaps we can be company for each other...if...if we both think we could get along. No pressure...but I would like that very much."
"I am glad about that...no pressure." She took her cocktail glass from the bar and stepped away. "It's been interesting, talking to you, and thanks for the drink."
Alain closed the space between them. He too had a drink in hand and, as he sipped on it, he looked at her with unblinking eyes. "I meant what I said, we could be company for a while if that helped you...Eleanor. You are an attractive woman who should not be alone all the time."
"Who said I was alone, all the time, except you?"
"I have eyes, Eleanor, and I see a woman who should not be alone...or who feels that she is in a part of her life."
"I'm going!" she snapped and made to step away but his admiring look upon her was impossible to resist or to ignore.
Alain was persistent in his coaxing ways.
"I will give a sign to you, and...you can follow me if you have any desire for that. I see a woman that I want to be with." He saw her flinch and, for the first time, Eleanor felt his touch on her arm, so fleeting, yet it registered just as his look across the space between them had done and that was filled with holidaymakers, lounging and chattering.
That look of his, then the movement of his hand had prompted her to go to the bar. It had also taken a tilt of his head, his wondering smile, and the shock of his grey hair and neatly clipped beard that made Alain look so distinguished and attractive to persuade her to concede to what he so clearly wanted her to do.
