Sally immediately logged on to her computer to report to M what had happened on her trip to Payless. She wanted to pour her heart out but wasn’t sure how to begin. There were so many conflicting thoughts and feelings running around inside her. She was proud of herself for not being swept away by her obsession, but also ashamed at the moments when she lost control. She had snarled over those cheap shoes like an animal!
A deep sense of disappointment colored everything. She missed how she used to be transported out of her pointless little life, filled with a force that was larger than herself, eclipsing all of her daily worries and complaints. The tiny jolts of sensual pleasure she had felt only served to remind her of what once was.
She tried to explain this all to M while they chatted online. M was as understanding as always, but surprised her by suggesting that she go right back out again to an even better store! It was the first time that Sally doubted M’s judgment. Didn’t she understand how hard this experiment had been for her? Sally said she would think about it and logged off.
The next day she went to visit her sister Melissa. They were not a particularly close family, but were friendly enough. Melissa had everything she could possibly want in life and was constantly pushing Sally to be a better person. She appreciated the effort—after all, if it wasn’t for her concern, Sally would probably be living in a dumpster behind Barneys—but sometimes she just wanted her to give it a rest.
Sally was listening to Melissa go on about how Sally should improve herself—color her hair, sign up with eharmony, lose 10 pounds—sitting on her bed while Melissa folded laundry. Her two bright and charming children had left their toys absolutely everywhere else. There were cars, trains, legos and action figures scattered all over the floor and every other available surface. In fact, Sally suspected that there was a My Little Pony or some such piece of glittery plastic currently digging into her thigh from under the duvet. How her sister could constantly criticize Sally for her faults while allowing those precocious monsters to trash her house, she could never figure out.
After finishing both her laundry and her diatribe on Sally’s faults, she turned to Sally and insisted on giving her a make-over. Sally was so dispirited she didn’t even resist, just grumpily shrugged her shoulders and sat up to allow Melissa to fuss with her hair and make-up. There wasn’t much that could be done with her limp dirty-blond hair and pale skin and eyes, but that didn’t stop her sister from trying.
She then pulled her to her feet and insisted that she try on dress after dress. Sally was getting impatient with this and was about to call a stop to it when Melissa suggested that she now try on her shoes to see what would go with the dress she had on. She became instantly alert and guarded. What did Melissa think she was doing? Was she crazy? She knew what Sally had gone through to get to this point, but it looked like she thought it was all over. She had never really appreciated how powerful a hold the shoes had held over her. She just thought Sally was weak-willed and selfish.
After her experience the previous day, she thought she could probably handle Melissa’s selection of good-girl pumps and flats. One would never use the word “alluring” to describe her sister, who used Martha Stewart as her role model. Sally took off her crocs and looked over her choices neatly lined up in Melissa’s closet. They all looked so alike Sally wondered why she had so many pairs. The heels varied only about half an inch and the hues consisted of ecru, navy, camel and matte black. You would think her sister was an elementary school teacher from her wardrobe.
Then she spotted a box behind the sad rows of dowdy shoes with “Prada” on it. What could that be doing there? She pulled it out and asked her sister what it was.
“Oh, someone gave them to me, but I could never figure out where to wear them,” Melissa said. “You can have them if you want them. You deserve it—you’ve come so far in the last year, sweetie.” She smiled indulgently and a bit patronizingly as if she were giving a piece of candy to a small child. Was her sister really this stupid?
“Thanks,” was all Sally could say. She paused just as she was about to open the box as if it might bite her. Steeling herself, she opened the box and peeked inside. What she saw was so amazing and out of place in her sister’s closet that she gasped. They were black patent-leather triple buckle slingbacks with 3-inch heels!
“They just aren’t me,” her sister said, which was the understatement of the year. What friend of hers would give her these shoes? Sally wasn’t about to question her good fortune too much. It must have been fate that had kept them quietly waiting for the right time to be united with her. They must be her reward for her fortitude yesterday.
Her breathing quickened and blood rushed to crotch, making it tingle. She could feel her fluids starting to flow as her nipples stiffened. She must try them on right now, but she needed privacy for this. She could not possibly allow her sister to witness this unseemly union.
She told her sister that she needed to use the bathroom, taking the shoes with her.
to be continued...
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