She smiles to herself as she relaxes on the park bench. It is not often that she gets to do this and wants it to last as long as possible. Shifting on the seat, she looks about the park. She would have thought that on a nice day like this, there would be more people.
Is it?
She looks up, then, and notes the overcast sky. Quickly, she amends her thought of it being a nice day. Well, it would be an even nicer day if there were blue skies showing. She shrugs to herself and pulls out her book.
After a while, she looks up from her book. She carefully places the book down on her lap and with a free hand; she picks up her bottle of water. She makes sure the book is steady and reaches up to unscrew the top. As she brings the bottle to her lips, she tilts the bottle over so the water pours into her mouth. It is then that she notices him. He sits on a nearby bench. His back is against the bench back and had one leg crossed over the other. In his hand is a cup that looks to be filled with some ice cream. He had just scooped a spoonful into his mouth when she spotted him.
As far as strange habits goes, this is probably one of the stranger ones. It does not matter what she is doing, but when she takes a drink of something, her eyes wander. She makes fun of herself all the time because of this. It is like some primal instinct left over from the past to keep an eye out as you take a moment to drink.
* * *
His stroll through the park allowed him to take his time to look at everything and everyone. It is one of the things he really enjoys doing -- observing things and people. His workday ended early. It is not as if he did not have other work, but he decides to take the afternoon off. He purchases a bowl of ice cream, then decides to sit and indulge somewhere in the park with a view. He spots her almost immediately. She is pretty. She is wearing a nice skirt and a matching blouse. He finds a bench not too far from her and sits down. A smile tugs at his lips as he starts to enjoy his ice cream and the view.
* * *
She finishes her drink of water and replaces the bottle cap. After surveying the area, her eyes had remained on this man. He notices her looking and smiles in her direction. She smiles back at him.
She is not sure why, but maybe it is the way he looks. Or the way he sat? Or, maybe, it was the ice cream. It could be his glasses. She quickly realizes she is staring at him; finding herself very attracted to him.
She forces herself to look away and back down at her book. She continues to read. She reads until she feels her head lifting again. Her eyes move to where he sits.
He sees her looking back up at him and smiles. He lifts his plastic spoon and waves. Her smile is a simple smile, not overly friendly, but he is glad he received a response. He shrugs to himself as the spoon lowers to take another spoonful.
She quickly looks back down again and admonishes herself for looking up.
The ice cream looks good though!
Well, at least she now knows what she wants for desert. She chuckles inwardly. She really shouldn't. The age old argument she is used to having with herself.
Is it worth it?
Sighing then, she once again delves back into her book.
A child runs by, nearly running into her leg. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the child coming. She quickly moves her legs and holds out her hand to steady the child. The little boy grins at her and waddles away at an almost roadrunner speed.
"Sorry about that!" A voice says. She assumes it is the child's mother. Her eyes follow the woman as she runs after the child.
"No no, it's alright? She says after her but she doubts the woman has heard.
Have to try and be polite anyway, right?
As the woman moves away, she glances at him again. He shrugs and then pouts. Wondering why he is pouting, she looks for a few seconds longer. The hand holding the spoon makes a back and forth motion, pointing at the cup. His other hand tilts the cup towards her, showing her that it is empty.
She smiles at him but quickly returns to her book.
Strange.
She feels the first drops of rain. She looks up at the sky. It did not look dark but it was raining. Or was it drizzling? She sighs heavily and quickly closes her book. Well, there goes the nice relaxing day, she thinks to herself. As she puts the book into her bag, she looks over to where the man sat. He is no longer there. Shrugging to herself she gets up and starts down the path. The drizzle becomes a steady light rain. Oh well, not a complete waste is the thought that pops into her mind. She smiles and enjoys the feel of the water coming down on her head and face. She feels like she should be skipping while holding out her arms and running about in the rain, frolicking like a child. Instead, she just tilts her head back and enjoys the feel of it some more.
Invigorating!
Well, better get going. We don't want to catch ourselves a cold, she thinks to herself. With a sigh she starts walking again.
As if sensing her thoughts, the heavens decide to increase the flow of water. Now it is almost a downpour. She really enjoys the rain and the feel of it but this much is too much. She looks around for a place to take cover -- at least somewhat of a cover until the rain eases up. She did not see anything that would help her in that regard. Spotting a tree with the most leaf coverage, she runs over to the tree. It is not great coverage but it is good enough for now.
Unless it starts to lightning, then you'll be in for a shock. The amusing idea comes to her as she steps under the relative cover of the tree. She laughs to herself that she is not that lucky as she leans against the tree. She takes a deep breath, as she enjoys the fresh air and the smell of rain.
"Wonderful isn't it?"
Crap!
She jumps, startled by the voice. She looks around.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." he says with a smile.
