It was a hot, sunny Tuesday in mid July when it happened. I was working in my private office on the top floor of little four story building. I had been going over taxes, profit/loss margins, estimates and other boring stuff for hours on end now, and I was mentally drained. I realized my mind was just about fried for the day, and soon it began to wander to just about anything other than the spreadsheets in front of me.
I decided to get up and take a little walk outside to clear my head a bit. I walked out of my office toward the elevator in the main hall. "I'm going out for a bit Christine." I called to my secretary, as I pressed the call button for the elevator.
"Leaving so soon, Mr. Thomas? Why the sun is still out and the birds are still chirping! Is everything ok?" my secretary teased.
"I just need a break. Maybe a quick walk will wake me up some and charge my batteries." I said over my shoulder as I entered the elevator door. "But don't worry. I'll be back before the sun goes down" I smiled and said to her before the doors closed.
The elevator took me straight down to the ground floor nonstop, which was rare. Someone is always coming in and out of our building at all times of the day. Many people visit the law offices on the 3rd floor, and many more visit the sales offices in floor 2. The ground floor is nothing more than a giant lobby, made to impress potential clients, and it serves its purpose grandly. The marble floors are polished and shiny, and can blind you on a sunny day like today.
I reach into my suit jacket pocket, and pull out my classic Ray Bans. They have not really been in style for a long time, but I still like them. Like me, they are somewhat dated, but still fashionable.
I exit the building onto the busy street, and begin to wander aimlessly, enjoying the California sun. As I pass people, I notice all the young beauties walking by in their halter tops and short shorts. None of them even give a middle-aged guy like me a second look.
"Eye candy." I mumble. Long ago I figured out that I would never be married. Too many long hours at work to get a head when I was still young, and good looking enough to attract a woman. Now, at 45, a little gray is creeping in around the temples. The two hours a night I put in at my home gym are more for necessity than for pleasure, as they were ten short years ago. Seems everything I eat these days seems to go straight to my waistline, which I fight to keep at size 34.
A lady my age walks by me, with a child in tow. I think at first it might be hers, but then I realize that she is pushing a stroller, and the child is helping her walk the empty stroller.
"Has to be a grandma." I think dejectedly. "My age and already a grandma." The thought saddens me some, knowing that I have chosen my career over a family and a "normal" life. But the choices I have made and the sacrifices I have made have all lead to the Sr. Partner position I now enjoy, complete with corner office, private secretary, and $250,000 annual salary.
"Grandma can keep her brats." I mumble, walking on. "I'll keep my lifestyle." The thought makes me giggle, and feel a little better. But not completely.
God it's hot! What I need is something to cool me down. I think back, and about a block after I left my office I remember seeing a small storefront ice cream and deli. I turn back, almost running into a young female jogger, and began to fight my way upstream against the flow of humanity.
Finally, I make it to the door of the little shop. When I open it, a loud cow bell announces that I have arrived, and I hear a female voice call out "Be right there!" from somewhere behind the little counter.
I move up to the ice cream counter and begin to look to see what flavors they have.
She came out of the doorway behind the counter with a huge smile on her face. "Sorry about that." She says, drying her hands on the bottom of her apron. "Was cutting meats in the slow time. What can I get ya?" she kindly stated as she smiled at me.
The woman is in her late 20s or early thirties I would say. She is quite large, in every way. She is close to 6 feet in height, but quite heavyset. I would guess she was about 270 lbs. or so. I tried not to stare, but could not seem to pull my eyes from her.
She was oblivious to it. I don't think she noticed that I was staring. Certainly she could not be used to men staring at her, being the size she is, I thought.
"So, what's your poison?" she laughed and asked again, pointing to the ice cream. "You look like a pistachio man to me."
"Pistachio?" I looked at her like she was from another planet. When she raised her arm, I noticed that a large amount of flab hung down from her arm when she pointed. Her shirt was sleeveless, and unbuttoned in the front about a third of the way.
"Yea." She smirked. "Green one. Third from the end. You look like a pistachio man. Maybe I am wrong, but I bet you are."
Again she smiled. One quality she had was a beautiful smile. It was tucked in between round cheeks and a round chin, directly above a second chin, but it was a beautiful smile, none the less.
"Ahh, no." I replied, once again trying to look at the ice cream in the freezer before me.
"Hmm. Strange. I am usually really good at guessing the flavors a man likes. Well, maybe I am wrong." She shrugged it off, then returned the smile back to me. I smiled back, staring at her face.
She has beautiful blue eyes, I noted. This woman would be very pretty if she just lost about a 150 pounds, I kept thinking.
She began to tap lightly on the glass between us with her thick fingers. "Soo..." she started again, laughing out loud.
Her laugh made me smile, and I laughed a little bit too. I felt my guard drop some, and my mood lighten. The weight of the world seemed to roll off me at that counter.
"I don't know." I finally shrugged. 'You suggest something!"
"Well, I like the bubble gum chip. Its bubble gum flavor with little chocolate chips in it. Yummy!" she said rubbing her big belly, laughing.
I smiled uneasily. "I have never had that kind. Maybe something more traditional?"
Again she smiled at me, disarming me completely. "You know, I still stick to my guns and say you're a pistachio man. Since you are undecided, I have to ask. Have you ever tried pistachio?"
I nodded my head slowly no. You know, looking at her and imagining her a little lighter, this woman would be very attractive, I kept thinking.
"Pistachio. No can't say I ever have." I laughed, as I leaned in closer to her against the cold freezer. The coolness of the freezer felt good against my skin.
She leaned in directly over the counter, close to me. She was so close I could smell her. Suprisingly, it was a pleasant smell, like wildflowers. It was quite nice for a cheap perfume, I thought.
"So here's a question for ya, big shot." She laughed. "How do you know you don't like something if you have never tried it?" Again she flashed that million dollar smile. It was so disarming.
I chuckled a little and stood upright. "Good point. You would have made a great lawyer!"
She smiled and snorted a little laugh. "So is that a 'yes, I'll take a spoonful, Angie, and give it a try?'"
