The Woman in the Black Dress
Neil was fed up. He’d been in the bar for 20 minutes and already finished half his pint. He had to drive back to the office so he couldn’t really have another. He just hoped that Jen wouldn’t be too long. He glanced across the room at the group of women eating their sandwiches in the corner. They looked like they were friends from work, although one stood out from all the rest.
She had a Roman nose and a sculptured face extenuated by her hair that was put up and fixed with a large black clip. Her only concession to colour was the deep blue nail varnish that matched her eyes. Otherwise she was dressed completely in black. An ankle-length black dress with a low cut neckline and short sleeves. Her almost Gothic appearance was polished off with a pair of black leather flip-flops and gold earrings the size of curtain-rings.
She ate her prawn sandwich without saying a word, although occasionally she looked up and listened to the buzz of everyone else’s conversation. Whenever she bit into her sandwich the mayonnaise dripped onto the chips on her plate. Every now and then she put the sandwich down, stretched her long slender fingers and wiped them on the red napkin which was on the table beside her. She’d then pick up a chip and eat it seductively. Neil was captivated and watched her unashamedly. He wondered what on earth she was doing with all the other women. She seemed so out of place.
‘Sorry, the traffic was a nightmare,’ announced Jen as she scraped the chair over the floor and sat down.
Neil looked up slightly annoyed at the interruption and said, ‘That’s OK, what would you like to drink?’
