This is a story I submitted to our Oro Valley Writers’ Forum. The story had to be 300 words or less. This is based on a real “character” in our family. Names were changed even though Lila is totally recognizable by those who know her. This story would make her smile with a wink.

The Coquette

Lila knew how to get attention. First, she always wore a hat. She liked to make a statement even when she went to the grocery store. Her closet was full of hat boxes. Lila also loved men. She was expert at catching the eye of a male. She was petite and moved like a dancer on tiny feet. Her large blue eyes cast about for prey when she entered a room. Then her lashes would lower like a butterfly folding its wings as soon as she secured the attention of a particular fellow.

One day my husband and I picked Lila up to go meet my in-laws at a favorite local restaurant. Lila wore a yellow straw hat with red cherries decorating the brim. My father-in-law set his baseball cap on the ledge at the end of the row of tables where several others had placed their hats. We ordered lunch.  I watched Lila, out of the corner of my eye, scouting the room. A tall lanky man in his mid-forties came in and was seated at a table nearby. He placed his ballcap on the ledge also. His eyes drifted to our table and Lila gave him a nod. He smiled and went about his lunch. When it was time to leave, Lila quickly got up and went to the ledge where the hats lay and, snatching up the stranger’s ballcap, announced in a loud voice, “Oh Walt, don’t forget your hat.”

“That’s not mine,” my father-in-law replied picking up his own hat.

The stranger looked up and stood. “a – that’s my hat, Miss,” he said.

“Oh I’m sorry. I could have sworn it was my friend’s,” she said, smiling sweetly. Objective met. Lila was 92 and had buried three husbands.