For a few years I had been keeping an eye out for a new pair of shoes. High heels, in fact.
I told my soon-to-be husband that I was on an endless hunt for the perfect pair: the color that would look best against my skin, the heel that was neither too high nor too low, the toe that was either open enough to give the precise amount of ‘toe cleavage,’ or closed, but not too round or too pointy.
He asked, “How will you know?”
It was a fair question.
It was early afternoon, but I paused and looked toward a sunset only I could see, searching for an answer that would make sense. Finally, sighing, I said, “I will just know.”
He followed my gaze. “What are you doing?” he asked, confused. (It did look like I was staring at nothing.)
“Giving a dramatic answer, accompanied by the view of a fake sunset, with a fake slight breeze to move a couple strands of hair.”
He was skeptical, mouthing, Okay. But then he smiled at me and pointed out, “The sunset, um, fake sunset, would be behind you. A soft chuckle escaped his throat.
I moved to the correct position. “Thank you.”
It went on like that for a couple years. Every shopping trip would find me staring into shoe-store windows, and touring the shoe sections in each department store.
Then, one day at the mall, something caught my eye: a shimmer – no, a sparkle.
I shifted my gaze to look directly at that heaven-sent sparkle. Above it, there’s a beautiful gold and black animal print – perfect. The heel was skinny, but not pencil-thin.
I could not hear anything, and my vision had become impaired – blurry. Could these be my shoes?
I moved closer to the shoe display, and stood right in front of that pair of heels, gasping for air. to the heels. I stood before them gasping for air. My hands shook with anticipation. My left pointer finger gently, no – teasingly – stroked the satin fabric. Ohhhh! My vision became even more blurry. I felt wetness on my cheeks, and, reaching up, I realized I was crying.
As if at a distance, I heard my fiancé ask the store clerk if the shoes were available in my size. I didn’t hear the whole conversation, but the clerk disappeared, and I was left with the agony of waiting for his return.
Finally, he was standing in front of me, and offering a box.
I was guided to a chair. Seated, I slipped my foot out of the shoe I was already wearing, and removed my sock, replacing it with a clean stocking. I feel dazzled. I want these shoes!
The clerk knelt before me with one high-heeled shoe in his hand. Gently, he placed it on my foot, and I pressed down, adjusting until it was firmly in place. We repeat the process with the other shoe, my other foot. Oh, the thrill and ecstasy!
I stand and then I take the first steps, trying them on, trying them out. Glancing to my side I walk with new-found confidence to the mirror. I wiped my tears away, and saw myself in all my high-heeled glory.
Oh! Was that my butt? Is it just a bit more perky? Why, yes, it is! And oh! Look at my calves. It was as if those shoes were magic. (I tell you, I just about died.)
I don’t know how long I stared in the mirror, but eventually my fiancé reminded me that we had to leave, that the shoes had to go back in the box. A tearful goodbye started to happen; I wanted to wear them forever.
With a small groan, I sat back down and took them off, closing them into the darkness of the box.
I expect the clerk to reclaim them, but instead, my fiancé said we were taking them. He bought them for me, and presented me with the bag, looking at me expectantly.
I crushed the bag to my chest, holding those shoes to my heart. “I told you I would know.”
That was seven years ago. My then-fiancé is my now-husband.
And the shoes? They’re still the greatest pair of high heels ever. I haven’t replaced them. I couldn’t if I tried.
About the author, Selena Taylor
Selena Taylor is a wife, a mother, and a woman who strives to tell the many stories that occupy her mind. She is active in the Rhett & Link fandom and appreciates dark humor. She and her family live in Illinois, where she takes every opportunity to lose herself under the stars and let her imagination run wild. For more from Selena, check her out on Facebook.