Stranger

Moments earlier she seemed to be spotlighting her curves for me. I didn’t know if she might be coming on to me, but I didn’t want to assume. She probably had a lot of guys coming in buying gifts and she probably did this all the time. Maybe she worked on commission. Either way I guess I was smiling enough to suggest that I wanted her to try on the sweater because she headed for the change room.

The change room had a curtain that was smaller than the stall door in a public bathroom. It didn’t cover you completely. I guess women weren’t as worried about seeing each other’s bodies. When she went into the room she barely moved the curtain, and I could see her almost completely. Maybe she was a sister to the girl I used to know? I wondered to myself. She had her back to me and even that was enough to turn me on. The whole thing was starting to become more surreal. If I had known her before I couldn’t see me ever rationally losing touch with her. She was truly a sight to behold.

She turned back and caught me staring, but she just smiled a little. Maybe she realized it was her who hadn’t closed the curtain. I guess I also may have looked pensive while I was trying to figure out if I knew her, and so she may have thought I was just actually seeing if the sweater fit all right. I wasn’t sure how I should take the smile. Was she inviting me? I would never jump to that conclusion. But what if?

She stepped out with the sweater on and it fit well enough. She did a little twirl to show it off. I wanted to apologize for invading her privacy but the twirl told me she couldn’t have been too offended. And besides the words just wouldn’t come. She didn’t seem put off by me staring I was beginning to think that she may have even liked it a little.

"Yeah, that fits great. I think that will do."

She went back to the change room and took off the sweater and put on her shirt. She closed the curtain this time. She came out and rang up the sweater. I was still looking at her trying to figure out whether I knew her or not. I had to say something to try and save me from racking my brain.

I handed her my credit card and then before long I was outside in the cold again with the sweater. I guess it wasn’t her. She probably would have said something. I noticed she smiled when she looked at me, but there wasn’t really any signs of recognition. Perhaps she was just a very good sales person which was obvious because under no other circumstances would I have paid eighty dollars for a sweater like I just did.

CHAPTER 2

It was a pretty good party. She seemed happily surprised by the sweater I bought her. I’m not sure whether she liked it or if she just knew how much it cost. There were plenty of her friends I hadn’t met. When she introduced me to them she was overly kind. Obviously she was pretty happy about the gift. Since she had talked me up so much it would have been a perfect opportunity to try and take one of them out at a later date. As I tried to carry on benign conversations with them I think a few of them were actually hoping I would. But I couldn’t.