After a brief shopping session, I had eaten a light supper at a local restaurant, but, didn’t order dessert. Frozen yogurt was in my plan. Now, I sat alone at a table in a frozen yogurt shop, eating a cup of yogurt that was tasting quite good. There were other patrons in the shop, but, none were sitting nearby.
While I sat there, the shop door opened and a man of about 60 years old struggled through it. His struggle was due to a backpack and walking cane that he was carrying in his hands. He would stand about 5 feet 8 inches if he weren’t slightly hunched over. He wore brown work clothes and an overlarge straw hat. Yet, without saying anything, he conveyed an upbeat attitude; the sort of person who gets warmly greeted at a party by those who know that he will be fun to have around.
He was recognized by the clerk behind the yogurt counter, who called “Hi” to him as he entered. Yet, instead of walking directly to the yogurt counter to return her greeting, his eyes surveyed the shop interior, ultimately coming to rest on me. Then, he turned in my direction and walked directly to my table.
“Have you been left all alone here by your friends?”, he asked.
“No, I simply stopped in for some yogurt.”
“Well, I have some friends who will entertain you for a moment, and keep you from getting lonely.” He smiled and paused to be certain I wouldn’t be put off; then, he continued by placing four small toy ducks on the table in front of me. “These are Snuffy, Gruffy, Muffy, and Jake”; he pointed to them individually.
After the first few seconds, there was no question in my mind that he was flirting with me and I must admit that I was enjoying the experience. But, I also didn’t want to embarrass him by revealing too much of myself.
Over the next few minutes, he entertained me with some amateur sleight of hand making one or the other of the ducks “disappear” and asking me to guess how many remained under his hand that was on the table; an adaptation of a “shell game.” He wasn’t very practiced and I could see what he was doing, but, I was enjoying the fun. So, I played along.
He kept up a running story line about the ducks while he continued his routine, pausing periodically to ask me how many ducks were now under his hand. After I had guessed “poorly” for 4 or 5 times, he said he would give me “one more chance.” He had one of the ducks in his closed hand. “What is the name of this duck?”, he asked.
When I shrugged and didn’t know, he turned his hand over to reveal the contents. In his hand was a larger version of one of the four ducks he had been shuffling in and out. “Mama Duck”, he proclaimed with a hearty laugh. He took my hand in his and placed “Mama Duck” in it. He looked at me with kind eyes and said, “You keep Mama; she’ll keep you company.” He then winked at me, picked up the rest of his things and went on to the yogurt counter to talk with the clerk.
I’m certain that a lone male would not have received his attentions in that way. But, I was an older woman sitting alone at a table and a good foil for his fun. Yet, I have realized that I’m so unaccustomed to the attentions of a man that I was at a loss for words during most of his routine. And, yet, it was nice to be the object of his attention.
I’m not attracted to men, but, through this and a few other incidents, I’ve discovered that I enjoy the attention of men. Have any of you had men flirt with you while you were out?
