A pretty woman smiled at me today

I was walking down the street and I saw this pretty woman walking towards me. She was tall with long dark hair and the type of self-confident walk that only really comes when you know that not only are people checking you out, but they’re liking what they see.

She was happy, very happy. She was grinning as she walked and occasionally looked down and made a half-hearted attempt to straighten her radiant features. Just before she reached me she let out a little chuckle before composing herself again.

I looked her in the eyes as she passed me and gave her a smile. She returned it with a genuine smile that had the power to stop traffic. There is something about sharing eye contact and a smile with an attractive woman; it’s why men will habitually look women in the eyes as they pass them. Women seem invariably to look away, perhaps they worry that exchanging a glance will lead to the man trying to start a conversation?

That’s why it gives me such a lift when someone returns my smile. I don’t read much into it. I don’t assume that this friendly soul is aching for me to explore her lady garden. It just feels nice.

So, why was my reciprocal smiler in such a good mood? I’ll never know, but as I instinctively turned to watch her go by (no, of course she didn’t turn round) I nearly walked straight into a lamp post.

I couldn’t help wondering if this had happened to another star-struck pedestrian a few minutes earlier.