There wasn’t.
He was looking at me.
A few minutes later, he came over.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
I laughed.
“I’m old enough to be your mother.”
He didn’t even blink.
“I’m not looking at your age.”
That one sentence stayed in my head for days.
Eric gave me his number.
I promised myself I would never use it.
I lasted three days.
On the fourth, I sent one word.
“Hi.”
That one word became the most dangerous word in my marriage.
At first, we only talked.
Then he started telling me I was beautiful.
When I sent him a photo, he never said, “You look great for your age.”
He simply said:
“You’re beautiful.”
I started wearing makeup again.
I bought a new dress.
A new perfume.
And most dangerously of all, I started waiting for his messages.
One night Eric wrote: