Eager to find some way to introduce myself to the attractive young woman and finding the prospect of not seeing her again totally unacceptable, it seemed to me as if the clerk moved in slow motion as she rang up my purchase.Eager to find some way to introduce myself to the attractive young woman and finding the prospect of not seeing her again totally unacceptable, it seemed to me as if the clerk moved in slow motion as she rang up my purchase. Finally the transaction was completed and I left the store, disappointed to see an empty sidewalk in front of me as I turned in the direction she had headed. I searched the stores to my left as I walked along the sidewalk, hoping to find her in one of them. I wasn't sure yet what to say to her when I did find her, but I knew for sure I didn't want to miss an opportunity to meet her. I was so caught up in my search for her that it came as a total surprise when I walked full speed into the brick divider that had somehow materialized in front of me. The impact knocked the bag of books from my hand and I stepped back in surprise, staring at the waist high divider as if I could hardly believe it was really there. I glanced around quickly, hoping that no one had seen my awkward accident. To my chagrin, not only had someone seen the whole thing, but it was the girl from the bookstore, standing behind me, her hand covering her mouth as she supressed her laughter. "Are you okay?", she asked, trying in vain not to show her amusement. "Yes, I'm alright... I think," I responded, rubbing my right leg and dusting off my slacks. "They just built that divider this morning, its never been there before." "Uh huh, sure they did. And they built all these others just like it this morning too, didn't they?", she teased, kneeling to pick up my spilled purchases. "Yes, its a very new shopping center. In fact none of these stores were here before today. Isn't it amazing how quickly they can just throw a shopping center like this together?", I said with mock seriousness, kneeling along with her to pick up the books. Her legs were slightly parted, and I tried rather half-heartedly to avoid staring between them, my friend the garter belt winking at me again and waving. |