I started to return to my newspaper, but I wasn’t in time. Her eyes caught mine and held them for a long moment. Then she turned away.
Her face became thoughtful.
I folded my newspaper.
She sank into one of the chairs across from me, and, knowing she was about to make a detailed appraisal, I started to study the folded section of the newspaper intently until I felt the big brown eyes had seen all there was to see. Then I put the paper down. She hastily averted her glance and crossed her knee.
I made what appraisal the circumstances permitted.
All of a sudden she switched her eyes to mine, tilted up her chin and smiled. It was a nice smile that showed teeth.
“Hello, escort,” she said.
“Hello,” I replied, and grinned.
She said, “Frankly, I was debating whether to drop a handkerchief or get up and leave my purse in the chair, or ask you if you had the time. I rejected them all. I don’t like beating around the bush.”
I said, “So you went in the cocktail lounge?”