Filly's Frolic #8

Despite the cold, or maybe because of it, the crowd milled around the restaurant. Comforting warm steam and delectable aromas rose from the open kitchen in the middle. I made my way to an empty table and slid onto the chair next to a table of young asian girls. They looked young enough to be in high school, but add a few years for the "asian youth gene" and they were probably young uni students.

One of the girls glanced at me and then had a double take her eyes widening in surprise and bemusement. Her expression was the same my mum used to have when she saw overtly gay men walking down the street; I know that look well. She turned to whisper to her friend next to her, her gaze still transfixed on me. Her hand was held up to her friends ear, shielding my view of her mouth. It's like when you're teasing someone at a party and you overtly want them to know that you are "discreetly" talking about them. How that is appropriate in a public setting, I do not know.

Her friend looked at me briefly, then, with a look of nonchalant disgust that can only be pulled off by a teenage girl, looked away and whispered something back. The eyes of the first girl widened a little as she giggled and stared at me again. She whispered something else and stared and giggled again as her friend nodded.

Fortunately their meals arrived and she threw me a few more furtive glances before her attention changed to something more interesting with her friends. Who said short attention spans aren't a good thing?

I enjoyed my lunch.

At home I turned on the tv and saw an ad for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. It's purpose is to put beauty into perspective and help young girls with body image and self esteem issues.

Sometimes life can be so ironic.