The wisp of a smile

Like everything else about a woman, her smile is mysterious. It's hard to say why it affects us so. It's a simple matter, the curve of her lips, the rise in her cheeks, maybe a flash of her teeth. Part of it, of course, is like the look in her eyes: it shows us she's listening, attentive, warming to our company. But it seems a waysign pointing us on to more. A smile is so often the prelude to a kiss.

There are two smiles I really like. The first is the light smile, that comes and goes like sun-dappled shade beneath the spreading branches of a wind-touched tree. Youth, energy, eagerness all go along with this smile, and, of course, the need for constant entertainment. She lets you know the second she isn't having fun. And fun is what this smile is all about. A little flirt, a little play, just for tonight and maybe the next day, but there are no worries here.

But if a woman is to have a serious smile, it should be an arch smile. There should be something of the diabolic there. With this woman, you never know how you're doing, and you probably don't want to know. She's taking you where she wants to go, and after you've been there, there's nothing to do but log the memories and count your losses. Almost always, there's nothing you can lose that's more precious than the memories.

These are rare and special pleasures, but almost any woman's smile is worth taking a moment to say hello and put out the invitation of your own smile, and maybe add a little compliment.