That was when I heard a familiar voice behind me.
My daughter-in-law, Melissa.
She was sitting beside the pool with two friends.
She looked me up and down, then burst out laughing.
“You’re seriously wearing THAT?”
Her friends giggled.
My face burned.
Then Melissa noticed the man beside me.
“And who is he?” she asked loudly. “Don’t tell me you’re going swimming with some stranger now.”
I tried to ignore her.
But she kept going.
“At your age, shouldn’t you be a little more… careful about how you look?”
People nearby turned toward us.
I wanted to disappear.
The man beside me said nothing.
He simply looked at Melissa for several seconds, almost as if he recognized her.
Then he quietly asked me to enjoy my swim.
For the next hour, we talked, laughed, and swam.
He was kind, intelligent, and strangely familiar with the neighborhood.
