"Them There Eyes"
It was the hottest day of the summer. I took my two kids, ages six and eight, and went to our town's public swimming pool. It is an elaborate facility with one large pool and multiple small ones for kids who can't swim. My boys are good swimmers, so I could give them free reign while I lounged on some steps in the deep end.
"Hi there Frank."
I turned and on the other side of my step saw a woman who looked vaguely familiar. We were both under water almost to our necks, and all I could tell was that she had a pretty face and a big head of blonde curly hair.
"Remember me? I'm Jane. We met at the Saunders' cookout a few weeks ago."
"Of course," I said. "I see we had the same idea to escape the heat today."
"Yea. My seven year old was driving me crazy. Now she's having a great time. I see her at the other end playing with your boys."
I got up and moved the twenty feet along the steps to sit beside her. Now I remembered talking with her at the Saunders' party. Bill Saunders was a good friend of mine, and I knew Jane was close with his wife, Kay. At the party I had thought she was flirting with me, but after my recent separation I was not in the mood to get involved.
"How are you doing Frank?" she asked, focusing her large eyes squarely on mine. "Kay has told me what you've been through. I know it's tough. I'm still not over my divorce."
At the party I had noticed she had beautiful eyes, but now in the bright sunlight and only inches away, I saw how extraordinary they were. The irises were honey colored, tinged with green, and surrounded with crystal clear whites that were like a path leading deep into her psyche. In the centers the dark pupils seemed to be pulsating as they focused and refocused, probing my secrets.
"I know a lot about you," she said gently.
"What do you know?"
"I know you are a good person. I know you love your kids and are devoted to them. I know you are smart and competent and are successful in your job. I know you had bad luck in your choice of a wife and that you feel terrible about what's happened. I know you were a good husband and father, and that the breakup wasn't your fault."
God, it felt good to hear those things. I did feel awful. I had been blaming myself. To hear this attractive woman absolve me in such a sincere way was uplifting to say the least. Kay Saunders had obviously told Jane a lot about me, and I wondered if she had been sizing me up as a possible step father for her girls.
"Thank you," I said. "That means a lot."
Her eyes maintained their hold on mine. A few times in my life I have met women who have what people call "bedroom eyes", and Jane's were certainly in that category. It was an indescribable something which radiated sexuality. The old song played in my head: "I fell in love with you the first time I looked into, Them There Eyes. You have a certain little cute way of flirtin' with, Them There Eyes."
I found myself thinking about her body. At the Saunders party she had been wearing loose clothing that gave only a hint of her curves. Through the water I could tell she was wearing a bikini, but not how she was filling it. All of a sudden those miraculous eyes took on a new cast, like she was reading my thoughts.
