The day was hot and sweltering and with the cleaning, the shopping and the tight schedule was driving things crazy for her and for him.
With a pile of clothes piled on the bed, with a list of things still pending to be done, both of them were running helter-skelter. The morning was passing by and through laziness the list was becoming shorter and shorter.
They set out to meet a whim of hers. She wanted to study but she didn't know what to study. They went to this place where they gave a book that threw her into more confusion with regard to what she needed to study.
"What do I do now? Do you think I should go with my initial plan or should I look at alternatives? Do you also want to join me in doing some course", she asked her husband.
Busy driving, he just nodded his head as he drove to their next destination.
With one thing and an other being crossed from the list, they reached the final destination to do some shopping.
She picked one and he picked another, they selected one and they discarded another. With finally a few clothes selected, he went out to try them, while she waited outside.
She saw another women waiting, just like her, for her husband. The man came out trying one t-shirt after the other. It's when she saw the man give a loving and excited smile to his wife, that she really observed the women and her beautiful dress.
She thought back to the day when a stranger told her she looked gorgeous. She remembered the thrill and the happiness, the unexpected recognition gave her. She steeled herself to give a compliment to the lady on her dress, to give a unexpected but hopefully a lift to the other lady's spirits and to spread some happiness around.
She steeled herself and rehearsed what she should say,
"That dress is really beautiful..." No.... "Your dress is really nice...."
"Hmm....Well..That covered the dress but not her. Will she appreciate it?", she wondered.
"That dress is really beautiful and it suits you nicely...", "I think that should do it", she thought to herself.
The lady's husband came out in another outfit, she waited a heartbeat for the husband to return to the changing room. After all, it was too embarrassing to say it in front of somebody else.
The man didn't go, instead they stood talking.
"Should I just say it now, or should I wait for him to go", she wondered.
Just as she put her foot forward and gave a smile, they turned and walked away talking.
The time had passed, she didn't pass on her message, she didn't pass on the feeling she received from a stranger. She shook her head at her own silliness and vowed to herself that she next time she wouldn't hesitate so much.
As she looked at the couple walking away and turned with a smile, she saw her husband coming to meet her. Meeting the smile in his eyes, she smiled in return and as peace settled in her mind, they both walked away.
(Thanks to Jay - who inspired me to come back to my blog after a break.)
