Cashmere in the dairy aisle
She stood amongst the cheese and things with curds. She was small and had the smooth, pore-free skin of the well bred. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, held in a tortoise clip. It was the kind of gray you wish was in your genes. Silvery with streaks of her former chestnut, it shone in the perverse lighting. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold of the aisle, a perfect shade of pink to match her shimmery lips and her fingernails.
She wore a twinset, cream colored cashmere, with only the top button fastened. Her pearls nestled into the hollow of a throat that must have been the object of lover’s kisses. Her long trousers a dove gray, perfectly ironed, resting at the perfect length above a pair of burgundy pumps. Her makeup, simple. Her handbag, classic. She stood, shivering and contemplating the gifts of the bovine.
The thin fingers of her right hand, ran over her wedding ring. An elegant diamond, set simply, catching fire in the light.
I wondered about her, immediately as she looked up from her cottage cheese and smiled. I smiled and moved slightly to the right to give her room. I wondered how it would feel to have lived and have been raised in such a time that required pearls for the grocery store. I wondered where the man was, who had wed her with that ring. Was he alive? Was she missing him as she stood, wondering what to buy? Was he waiting at home for her?
She walked slowly, with grace and I watched her. Wondered what her life had been and what it is. Blessing her silently as she glided along.
November 17th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I envy those touches of elegance (wrote up so charmingly by yourself)… but … I wouldn’t give up my jeans and sweatshirts for it. Nah.
November 17th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Ah, that was lovely.
November 17th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Ahhhh, this is sublime. She could be a character in a novel.
And she reminds me of my mother.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
This is beautiful, and mrs. chicken beat me to it. I want you to write this as a short story, her story.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
i usually see people like that and immediately wonder what they’re hiding.
so, yes, please. tell us her story.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I’ve seen her. People like her puzzle me. Why don’t they SWEAT, dammit?
*knows full well womyn don’t sweat…they perspire, they glisten, they sparkle, but they NEVER sweat*
November 17th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I tried very hard to be her for a few years.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Woman like her mystifies me..
Ahh, but this a beautiful read, my dear Flutter…
November 17th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
It would be an interesting short story! That was a good idea!
~*
November 17th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
what wonderful imagery! I think I saw her in the freezer section last week.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
There is a young lady in my logic class that matches this character sketch quite nicely. And I’ve often wondered the same things about her. She’s very personable. An easy conversationalist. A ready, sincere smile. But she’s damn near perfect. And going to college.
Her name is . . . Brandy. Does that figure? The name fits the image. The stereotype. But not the personality . . .
Beautiful writing, friend.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Loved the title. And this IS a short story in the making, Girlfriend. I also liked the questioning of what it would be like to go to the grocery story with pearls on.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
What a great character sketch! That’s the best, quietly observing other people and writing a snippet about who they are. I love people watching too.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
i am reluctant to admit it but i have never been quite sure what a twinset is. i know i could google it, but sometimes i find i’d rather leave some things for later.
ps. i could picture her. (except for the twinset). sweater over a shirt, right? don’t tell me.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Quiet elegance – a characteristic sorely missing from grocery stores in my town.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:31 am
like this lady (1), and (2)
November 18th, 2008 at 4:33 am
sorry i messed up the links in my post. this is the first link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jokerthelurcher/174653933/in/photostream/
and this is the second:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jokerthelurcher/174654154/in/photostream/
you need to see my flickr page to see what i thought when i saw this lady – very like what you have written. i wonder what people will make of us when we are old?
November 18th, 2008 at 4:58 am
i’ve never been a pearls and cashmere kind of girl, but that kind of elegance is something so sublime that i too watch and wonder.
lovely short story here sweets. xo
November 18th, 2008 at 5:10 am
I always wonder about people too. She sounds like she could be an aging Southern Belle. You see a lot of women like her around here.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:33 am
You just stop with the shivers already!
I’m totally dressing up for my next grocery run. Especially as I love the dairy section. Maybe I can inspire such brilliance in someone else.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:17 am
She sounds like my grandmother’s generation. There is a dark side to some to some of the prim and properly dressed. It’s a world of high expectations in which appearances mean more than reality. On the face it’s beautiful, beneath the surface they struggle and feel pain like the rest of us.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Beautiful.
Why is it that the well breed have such perfect skin. I’ve always struggled with this, why is it that the wealth have such fine features. Is there a study? It bugs me.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I know your mind. It’s always writing, isn’t it?
November 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am
I misread this…
“pore-free skin”
as
“pork-free skin”
Either way, it’s good to be free of that on your skin, unless you’re a pig
November 18th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I am certain the pumps were expensive, beautiful, understated. I can see her, dude. I can see her perfectly.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Lovely.
November 18th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Lovely
November 18th, 2008 at 9:57 am
(sigh)
your way with words…..
beautiful, dude.
as always.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:32 am
You must be seeing the ghost of my Grandmother. I uselessly try to be like that but it doesn’t work. … well she did leave me with one good tip: If you splash your face with cold water after a shower it closes up your pores. So you know, at least I have that. I can’t afford the pearls though. :O)
November 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Yes, a character in a novel…
I am interested in her…write more…use your imagination.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:43 am
beautifully put for something so ordinary….
November 18th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I love the way you see people…
November 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
My mother dresses up to go to the grocery store. When I was growing up, she always lamented how Americans wear sweats and rollers to the store. She’s Greek, and dressing up to go grocery shopping is just what you do.
Beautiful post–it reminded me of my grandmother.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
it’s amazing what we can make of someone’s life just walking by them… I do it too, and then wonder if I was wrong.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
What a lovely, simply written, but highly effective vignette. It’s amazing what a little people watching can inspire. Well done!
November 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
This post reminds me to shut my mouth and just watch…or in some cases, to be quiet so I can just listen.
Beautiful.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
i love the beautiful people — most of the time.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
The older I get, the more I hope to become graceful and elegant, just like that.
Beautiful, Flutter.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Flutter stop it! Weird. Stop it Flutter. I’ve written something and this reminds me of it. Not in the characterization or the movement of the woman but in the voyeurism involved. It’s out at my place in a couple days.
Maybe not so weird. Maybe we are simply two voyeurs.
You wrote her perfectly. I could see her neck.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:15 am
This was beautiful. The common thread certainly exists (even for those of us in sweat pants in the dairy aise).
November 19th, 2008 at 7:53 am
nice.
i love when people capture my imagination like that
November 19th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I aspire to making that sort of impression at the grocery store. But I don’t think the per usual yoga pants with a sweater tied around my waist are going to cut it.
Miles to go…
This was beautiful. I love how you really see the world.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Sometimes when I drive in the passenger seat of my car, and I watch the other drivers stream by, I wish I could jump inside their conversations, their intimacies, just to know a stranger for awhile might be such an empowering thing.
I love the way you write.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I think she goes to my church. Ssrly. There is a woman at my church who my daughter and I always called “the perfect lady.” But not in a snarky way – we really thought she was perfect. Beautiful silver hair, tall and slim, gorgeously dressed. I want to be her when I’m old, but I guess in order to accomplish that, I’d better start working on it right now.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I know women like her, absent the smile.
Thanks for offering a bit of some people watching, and something a bit deeper as well.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
The age and elegance thing is so tough to pull off. I always sort of admire anyone who gets that combo right. But I’m sure there’s some heaviness and heart ache behind that tortoise shell clip, reflected in that 50 year old engagement ring – nobody who’s lived at all doesn’t have a story to tell.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
That was beautiful.
And the sort of thing that no one is ever likely to write about me…(she thinks, sitting in her baggy men’s corduroy pants and pilly black sweater with a hole in it, hair coming loose from her pony tail that is not clasped in tortoise shell.) On the other hand, I have been known to contemplate things with curds.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I’m always so soothed after I read your words. I wonder why that is? They have such a smooth, and calming way about them.
And, yes, I have seen this elegant creature, and have often wondered what path she has tread.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
You’ve downright captured her. You’ve simply and elegantly mirrored 3D essence with 2D form.
You excellent writer, you.
(grinning at your talent)
November 19th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
And, as stated above, I am likewise soothed when reading your words.
Another sign of natural talent…giftedness.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
As everyone before me has said, this was truly lovely.
Note to self – gray hair definitely looks better long.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Still thinking about her color combo – what a nice palette! Beautiful writing, honey.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Beautiful. What a scene. How that owuld look on camera….
anyhow. shakes head, back to reality, I look at women like that all the time and wonder about them as well. How are they so pulled together? Immaculate.
Then I always wonder what the inside of their heads looks like. What they carry.
some people just make it look so seamless…..
November 20th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Oh, keep going!
November 20th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Can totally feel/picture her. I too am constantly wondering what people’s lives are like, based upon the character they bring out in public. I think the one that hits me the hardest is the older person who is dining alone…crushes me…
November 20th, 2008 at 10:38 am
The gifts of the bovine.
Beautiful little portrait there.
November 20th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I see you have been busy while I’ve been gone. Nice work.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
This sounds like my grandmother…she will be 95 in a couple of weeks. She is simply dazzling.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
So vivid and lovely. You’re the real deal.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
how do people manage to look so perfect?
I wonder if crazymumma is right and inside they are a mess.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:43 am
Well, that was totally me. Why didn’t you come up and say hey…I mean enchante.
November 21st, 2008 at 7:14 am
Flutter – this was just beautiful. I wanted to know her too. To know where she went after the grocery store. Your words were just captivating.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:28 am
It’s been awhile since I visited here. I almost forgot how beautifully you write. It’s always a treat. Like that little bit of chocolate the hotel leaves you.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
does it make me a shit if i mention that so many of us, our mothers, grandmothers have/had pearls, twinsets, diamonds, and decent genes/jeans and still… what if cottage cheese is the highlight of her day? what if she’s wondering where you’re going or what you’re thinking? what if she’s blogging about it?