Shoe Charming – by Tracy Reed #2
I’m sorry, I keep getting side tracked. As I was saying…
my husband, Winston Xavier Anthony Geron, failed to tell me a few things about himself while we were dating.
At the top of the list, he’s royalty. That’s right, for the past nine months, I have been dating a prince.
Not only is he a prince, he’s the next in line for the throne of Rialta, the Republic of Zitmitch.
They refer to him as His Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Rialta, Count of Timzies and Duke of Arceneaux.
I know this all sounds fake, but trust me, it isn’t.
My head is still reeling. I’m on the verge of becoming queen of a country that up until two and a half months ago, I didn’t even know existed .
So, how did I become the new Princess of Rialta? It all started with a pair of shoes.
Once upon a time, I couldn’t resist saying that.
Okay, let’s get serious, it all started when I popped into Carson’s to do a mini beauty run. I told myself to stay in cosmetics…not to go near the shoe department. That was like telling a chocoholic not to go into the chocolate shop, because you know they’re likely to buy something.
I looked across the store and this beautiful pair of Manolo Blahnik blue suede and fur booties were calling to me. I couldn’t resist the call. I walked past the lipsticks and headed straight for the shoes.
Here’s where the Cinderella part comes in.
I stood in front of the shoes, salivating.
My palms were sweaty and I wanted to pick them up, but I was afraid I would leave sweat stains.
I rubbed my hands on the side of my dress, picked up the booties and it was like the entire store got dark except for this beam of light showcasing these beautiful shoes.
In that instant, they became magical slippers.
Okay, so I exaggerated a little, but the attraction was instant.
I stood with the shoes in my hand admiring them and planning our dates.
In my mind, I had the perfect three outfits and functions for them, therefore, justifying the purchase.
Unfortunately, my budget said today wasn’t the day to start a new shoe relationship, so I put them down.
I started to walk away, but I heard someone call my name.
I turned around and the beautiful blue suede booties said, “Try me…try me…it won’t hurt…you need to know what size you’ll need when you get ready to take me home.”
“Shut up.”
“C’mon, you have pretty feet and we would look so good on you.”
Like a fan girl who just spotted her favorite actor, I rushed over, picked up the bootie and caressed it like a premature baby in need of special care and easily startled by loud sounds.
“Shhh…I agree we would be good together.”
I looked around for my favorite shoe salesperson, but didn’t see him.
I’m loyal to my shoe guy. He and I have been in a serious relationship for almost ten years.
He knows my feet almost as well as I do.
He knows my style and when things come in he thinks I’ll like, he puts them aside for our next date.
I am so committed I refuse to purchase or try on shoes when he’s not there.
“I’m sorry, my lovely. Seems we’ll have to wait a little longer. ”
I walked back to the table, sighed and stroked the side of the beautiful shoe.
“May I help you?” The deep voice interrupted my conversation with the new love of my life. “Miss…”
I turned around to address the deep voice and my eyes landed on a crisp white shirt with hidden buttons. My eyes traveled up to where the voice was coming from, and my mouth dropped open and the bootie fell out of my hand.
I swallowed hard and tried to blink, but I couldn’t. It was like my eyes had been glued open.
“Uhm…”
“Let me get this for you.” He bent down on one knee and looked like my version of Prince Charming, complete with a beautiful shoe.
As he stood up, my eyes took note of his perfectly shaped dark chocolate bald head and smile.
That wasn’t a smile, but a beacon for a spaceship looking to find its way back to earth.
I’d never seen a smile so bright or teeth so perfect.
And those eyes were a cross between dark brown and black.
Wow. I think my brain just went on vacation without me.
My eyes stayed attached to him as he slowly stood up.
My God, talk about tall, dark and handsome.
He held the shoe in front of him, drawing attention to his toned mid section.
I could tell from the cut and fit of his blue suit and crisp white shirt, he had a finely sculpted body.
My eyes dropped down to his feet and I was very impressed with the shiny blue leather shoes covering his extremely long feet.
“Did you want to try these on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Was someone helping you?” His deep voice sent a jolt racing through my body and I completely forgot about my regular shoe guy.
“Uhm…” I managed to shake my head. If it means you’ll be touching my feet and legs, I’m trying on every shoe in the store. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Would you like to try these on?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your size?”
“Size?”
He stepped back slightly and looked at my feet. “You look like a size seven. Am I correct?” He smiled.
“Seven.” I blinked. “Oh, yes. Size seven.” I smiled.
“You have a seat and I’ll get these in your size.”
“Okay…thanks.” It took my brain a couple of minutes to process what he said. Once it did, I realized I was standing in the middle of the shoe department looking like an idiot. I closed my mouth and found the first available empty seat and sat down.
I quickly reached inside my bag for my compact to check my hair and makeup. I didn’t want to be obvious about the touch up, but if I could have rushed over to the nearest cosmetic counter for a quick make over, I would have.
Then it hit me. Oh crap! I missed my pedicure last week and I was trying to remember what state my feet were in.
I squinted my eyes and looked up and then down at my feet.
The shoe prince had distracted me, and I forgot I was wearing textured hose covering my questionable toe nails.
Thank God. I let out a deep sigh and checked my email.
I was waiting for a reply from a client and I got tired of sitting in my office so I decided to get out, clear my head and run a few errands.
“Okay, let’s give these a try.”
I looked up at the fine shoe salesman and shifted on the seat. “I see you brought a few sizes.”
He pulled the stool up, sat down, picked up my foot and slipped my shoe off and my breath caught.
My size seven foot fit perfectly in the palm of his hand.
It looked like a sausage in a bun. He placed my foot on the sloped ledge of the stool, opened the top box, and pulled out the beautiful blue bootie.
He gently lifted my foot and slipped on the shoe and placed my foot down.
I looked at my foot and my face lit up. It was even more beautiful on my foot than I had imagined.
“Want to try the other one on?”
“Yes.” We repeated the same shoe dance and when I started to stand up, he grabbed my hands and helped me onto my feet. “Thank you.” I walked over to the mirror and looked at my feet, and then at the man standing behind me.
“They look good.”
“They do, don’t they?” I stood in front of the mirror prancing a little longer and then walked back to the sofa. I started to take them off and he took over. The care in which he took in putting them on, he also used in removing them from my feet. “That’s the perfect size.” I reached for my shoes.
“I also brought some things I thought you might like.”
“Oh, but I was…”
“Indulge me.” He smiled.
I looked at my watch. “Okay.”
“Do you need to be somewhere?”
“No.”
He took the top box off the stack, opened it, and pulled out a classic black patent leather bootie with a gold ring zipper up the back, and presented it to me. “I thought you might like these.”
I smiled. “They’re hot.”
“I guessed right.” He smiled.
“That you did, but I already have them.”
“Okay.” He put the shoe back in the box and went on to the next one. “What about these?”
The beautiful turquoise suede pumps were stunning. I sighed and cringed. “I umh…”
“Let me guess. You have those.”
I nodded. “Yep. I also have them in pink.”
“You probably know the stock better than I do,” he joked.
“I wouldn’t say that.” I smiled.
He looked at me with that beautiful smile and then he stood up. “I’ll be right back.” He picked up the boxes of styles I already had, and left me with the beautiful blue suede booties. I was envisioning my budget trying to see if it were possible for me to take them home today.
I looked up and Shoe Charming was back. He sat down on the stool and placed the beautiful red and gold box next to the stool.
I was very familiar with the box. I only had a couple of pairs of Rene Caovillas in my shoe wardrobe.
He lifted the lid, picked up the red cloth bag and pulled out a jaw dropping delicate rhinestone covered sandal.
My mouth and eyes were at war to see which could get wider.
I reached my hand toward the beautiful piece of shoe art and he pulled it back.
“Oh, my God” I was scared to blink in case the shoes and the man were both dreams.
“I take it you don’t have these?” He smiled.
I shook my head. “Where did you get these?”
“They were a return from another store.”
I swallowed hard. “I need to try these on.”
He slipped the beautiful sandals on and I lifted my feet up admiring the shoes while enjoying my shoe-gasm. I felt like a junkie that had just been hit with a premium dose of…well, I was on a shoe high.
He stood up and extended his hands to me. “Want to walk over to the mirror?”
I nodded, took his hands and stood up. He escorted me over to the mirror and I looked at my feet from all angles. “These are gorgeous. Wow.”
“You have beautiful legs and I’m not flattering you so you’ll buy the shoes.”