Chapter Nine #2
He hadn’t said anything. How was it that she could read his thoughts and feelings so well? He wasn’t sure that they should be holding hands, but he didn’t want to pull away.
“I realize now that my search to turn back time was a sort of addiction,” he confessed.
“Like opium or liquor, it dulled the pain.” How had he not seen it before?
Embarrassed by the sympathy in her eyes, he looked down at their joined hands.
“This world of yours is filled with uncomfortable truths.”
“That’s always been my experience,” she said gently, and gave his hand a squeeze. “But don’t be too hard on yourself.” She let go of him and tilted her head to the right.
She pointed up at the sign that read Sneaker Stars. “Here’s the shoe store.”
When he walked in, he expected the smells of leather, wax, and polish.
Instead, the odors were faint and alien, and a wall of shelves displayed perhaps forty shoes, many in brilliant colors.
Two men in the corner of the shop were engaged in earnest conversation, and he supposed the one wearing blue trousers was the shopkeeper.
Rose grabbed a bright purple shoe. “What do you think? This would be so fun on you.”
“I have seen more tasteful shoes on circus performers.”
The shopkeeper walked over to them, asking, “Hey. What are you looking for today?”
With a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, Rose set the purple shoe back in place. “My friend here is from England, and he wants something really wild.”
The man’s face brightened. “All right, all right.” He strode over and grabbed a pair in a shocking shade of green-yellow with confusing, crisscrossing orange stripes. “These just dropped. Straight fire.”
“Good Lord,” Henry said. “They look as though they glow in the dark.”
“Yep. Shoelaces, toe box, and heel,” the man said, pointing to each.
Henry gave Rose an admonishing look, and then explained, “The lady was teasing me. In truth, I would prefer something…unobtrusive.”
“Ahh, a minimalist.” The man walked over and grabbed an all-white shoe. “These are your grails.”
“White is great for summer,” Rose said, not teasing now.
Henry hoped to be gone before summer…didn’t he? Henry scanned the wall again. There were no brown shoes, and the black ones were tall and reminded him of a horse hoof.
“Very well,” he told the shopkeeper, wondering why this white shoe had a curved patch on the side and small holes punched into the top. “How soon can they be ready?”
Rose laughed and explained the store had the shoes already made in every size. After trying on one pair that was too large, and one that was too tight, he sank his feet into a perfect shoe.
It felt…soft. He tightened the laces and tied them, put on the other shoe, and stood up. It felt as though he was standing on pillows. Firm pillows, molded to the arch of his foot.
“Who made these shoes?” he demanded.
The man said, “Uh, they’re Nikes?” His lips twitched. “Super niche, you probably never heard of them.”
“No, I have not.” Henry stood up and walked a few steps. “They are remarkable! I feel as though I am walking on clouds.”
“We’ll take them,” Rose said to the shopkeeper. She scooped up Henry’s dress shoes and tossed them into her voluminous purse. “He’ll wear them now.”
“Great.” The man picked up the box and took it to a counter. Rose followed him.
Henry walked slowly over to join them, appreciating the comfort of each step. “The Nikes are masters of their craft.”
Rose giggled as she pulled out a few of the banknotes Jason had given her. “I’m pretty sure you just like modern gym shoes.”
After they left the store, Henry said, “I noticed that Mr. Yun’s clothing was more similar to that of my time.”
“Oh.” Rose stopped on the sidewalk. “Well, yeah, he was wearing a suit, because he went into work.”
“I would like such attire, as it is acceptable.” If he’d been dressed like Mr. Yun, he would’ve felt a little more like himself.
Rose shrugged. “I mean, I could order some business wear for you, but it won’t be that comfortable.”
Henry looked down at his shapeless attire. “On the contrary. I should be much more comfortable.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, they sounded absurd to him. How could he ever be comfortable in this world?
“Ready for the planetarium?” she asked brightly.
Suddenly, the idea of going to yet another unfamiliar place, and speaking to more foreign people, seemed like too much to manage.
Even in his own time, he would have found it taxing to have lunch with two strangers such as Jason and Ryan.
Well, Rose was a stranger, too, he reminded himself, even if she did not quite feel like one.
But he had not even had time to consider the many startling things all three of them had said, and to ponder what it all meant for his current predicament.
“Might we go tomorrow?” he asked, after what he knew had been too long of a pause. “I do want to go, but today I would like some time to myself, to…to think.”
Sympathy and understanding washed over her face. “Oh, I’ll bet. You probably feel like your brain is full.”
That elicited a startled chuckle from him. “Yes, precisely.”
She gave him a winsome smile, clearly pleased that she’d gotten it right. “And with your big brain, that’s saying something. This way.” She indicated the direction with a tilt of her head.
As they walked, she said, “If you want to hole up in the guest room, I won’t bother you. You can just make yourself at home.” She winced. “I mean, not your home, obviously.”
“I understood what you meant,” Henry said. It came out too brusque, so he added, “Thank you.”