Beth Raines sighed. Looking in the full length mirror, she appraised her 45 year old body. Old, fat and ugly, she thought. The thought was not uncommon. It arrived inside her head the day her husband had left some ten years earlier. Somehow, Beth had decided to blame herself for the divorce even though she was the petitioner. Her self worth left in the back of her ex-husband's car as she had watched it pull out of the drive that last time.
An objective observer would have drawn a different conclusion. Beth was not old. She looked old. Becoming introverted can do that. She was certainly not fat. Beth had that thickness that comes with maturity. There are not many, if any, lithe 45 year-olds slinking around the sidewalks. A petite 5' 3'', Beth saw herself in the mirror through hazel eyes that had once been brighter. Her face was framed with thick red hair that had just recently adopted a few inevitable strands of gray. She had given up dressing for pleasure a long time ago, preferring casual clothes around a house she rarely left, except perhaps to pick up groceries. Then she would wear light make-up and make some attempt to present a better appearance clothes wise. At work she simply rotated the same outfits.
Her dress to impress clothes hung in the closet waiting for the odd invitation to family functions, church, or rare special occasions.
Tomorrow's September Saturday was a kind of a special occasion. Beth always shopped early for family Christmas gifts and tomorrow was the day. She eyed her body once more, taking in its overall form. The 36c breasts had, thankfully, not yet sagged too far, and she had maintained the shaved mons her husband once loved. Beth sighed once more and wandered naked to her shower.
When she returned, her body wrapped in a thick towel, Beth went to the closet and picked out a light green, pleated, skirt suit, that complimented her hair and eyes, a slightly darker green bra and panty set, and a mid-green, translucent nylon blouse. She finished drying herself, sprayed a light body spray over her naked form and donned a comfy pyjama set. Beth had not slept in the marital bed for a long time. This though, was as much because it had become uncomfortable as for any emotional reason. She moved to the couch she now used as a bed, lay down and drifted off to sleep.
Saturday arrived crisp, minimally cloudy, and quite breezy; Beth awakened quite enthused at the prospect of the Christmas shopping. She ran her list through her mind as she dressed, brushed her hair, and applied her make-up. Rising from her dresser chair, she turned, checked her purse and headed towards the front door. Stepping out of the house Beth surveyed the morning sky and reached down as a wind gust played at the hem of her skirt. She went to the white Grand Prix she owned, got in, and headed to the mall some 6 miles away.
When Beth arrived at the mall it was all but empty. The doors had not yet been opened and the parking lot was dotted with just a few of what Beth surmised were employee vehicles. She looked at her watch, almost 9:00 a.m. Nothing will be opening till ten, she thought; she parked the car near a Denny's, one of the many restaurants that circled the mall and went in to eat breakfast before beginning her expedition.
The restaurant was not too crowded. A few office workers sat talking or reading the morning news. A utility crew surrounded a table, talking animatedly, laughing and joking. Beth picked a seat, and when the waiter came, ordered coffee and a cheese omelette. She ate, and observed the comings and goings at the restaurant. People grabbing breakfast on the go.
Beth too was being observed. The man had entered after she had and had chosen to sit at one of the few seats out of Beth's field of vision. He too watched the restaurant activity as he ate.
Jeff Parks was a tall, strong, rugged, journeyman carpenter, travelling the country, staying in motels, and picking up construction jobs where he could. His last job had finished just yesterday. His billfold bulged with pay, and he had come to the mall to buy a few clothes to replace those worn out during his travels. He was just over five feet ten inches tall and bore the tan of one who worked outside a lot. His sandy-blond hair was tousled, sitting atop a forehead that sported a half-inch white line angled above his left eye and ending at his hairline, one of the many 'war wound' scars on his upper body gathered on the job. His face was covered in a light stubble. His muscular frame was clothed in a denim jacket, plaid shirt, jeans, and boots. He looked comfortable. He should, he wore little else, except perhaps for the rare special occasion he was invited to attend.
Jeff rose from his seat, exited the restaurant and walked across the mall parking lot to one of the doors that would soon be unlocked. He leaned on the wall, lit a cigarette, and waited. It was 9:45.
Beth, done with her omelette, paid her bill, went to her car and piloted it across the lot to a parking space near the doors. Looking at her watch, she sat and listened to the radio, inventoried her list, and periodically checked the mall doors.
In the lot, the wind gusted, rustling the early fall trees, bowling the odd piece of litter across the tarmac, and disturbing various birds. Beth watched as the parking lot began to slowly fill.
At 9:55 Beth turned off the radio, unlocked the door, and got out of her car. Her purse and list lay on the passenger seat of the Grand Prix; Beth leaned across to reach it. As she bent into the car to reach the purse, a capricious wind gust swirled behind her lifting the light green skirt high up the back of her legs. High enough that an observer would see the translucent, darker panties and the shadow of cleavage between her fleshy buttocks. Beth felt the gust, and heard the wolf whistle from behind her. She grabbed her purse, closed the car door, locking it, and repositioned the skirt with her free hand. She turned toward the mall doors. One person stood there, his boot extinguishing the remains of a cigarette on the sidewalk. Inside, Beth roiled. She was embarrassed and slightly angry. Outside her cheeks flushed a little. She inhaled, steeled herself, grasping at her bag, and strode toward the mall doors, inwardly praying that they were now unlocked. She glanced at the man leaning on the wall and as she passed him, she hissed, "Rude!", and entered the mall.
Beth was an organized person, and headed for the toy shop located at the far corner of the mall from the doors through which she had entered. She would work through her list and back toward those doors. As she walked she considered the incident in the parking lot. By now, her flush had subsided, along with her anger at the man's whistling at her exposure. She half smiled. He had whistled at her. Perhaps it was not as rude as other possible things he could have said or done. She tried to remember the last time she had been whistled at that way. He was ruggedly good looking too, she opined. The smile broadened a little, warming her insides.
How the man had got ahead of her Beth didn't know, but there he was, sitting on a bench at the crossroads of the mall. She walked toward her destination. As she approached the bench, the man rose and walked alongside her.
"I am sorry ma'am," he said, "it was a compliment. My whistling. I in no way intended to offend you."
Beth glanced sideways and quietly harrumphed.
"My name is Jeff," said the man, "Forgive me please?"
Beth kept walking. Jeff kept walking with her.
"What if I tell you I don't whistle at unattractive women," he commented.
"You embarrassed me," Beth half snapped back at him.
Inside, her other half was warming again. Did he just say I was attractive, she thought.
"I didn't mean to," said Jeff, "What I saw was attractive, very attractive."
"Oh," said Beth, looking at him again. "And just what did you see?"
Jeff smiled at her. "I don't need to tell you that," he said, "nor do you need to hear it. Suffice it to say that what I am seeing in this moment is interesting and attractive."
Beth looked at him. "You find women your age are unattractive?" she asked.
"Pretentious," Jeff said, "still figuring out their own nature."
"But they are sexy," Beth proffered.
Jeff was ready for her.
