“These are fine.These are fine times about seventhousand.Ineedthese.”
“You’ve got seven thousand pairs of shoes, Tod.You don’tneedanything.”
“Stevie, love of my life, are you not seeing these?”
“I’m seeing them.”
“Then have you gone temporarily insane?”
“I’m thinking he has,” a girl said.
“I’m thinking if he doesn’t let you buy them, I’ll get themand you can borrow them from me,” another girl said.
“Sold!”the first (obviously gay) guy cried.
“Let’s go,” the first girl said.“Las Delicias has beenthere for years but I’m not taking any chances seeing as I need a beef burrito,STAT.”
“Box ’emup and let’s move, I’mhungry too,” the second (also gay, seeing as he was the love of the other one’slife) guy stated.
I sat with my back to them in chairs in the Nordstrom shoedepartment, listening to them go, and I didn’t turn around to look at them.Notbecause I didn’t want them to see my face.The bruises were fading good now somy conceal job was kickass.
But I did sit there thinking I needed a gay posse.
Especially if they went shoe shopping with you.
I also needed a girl posse.
But even though all the strippers were real nice, thatwasn’t my thing.I’d never managed to pull one of those together, even in thedays when I’d put the effort in to try.
And since I didn’t, I quit trying.
In my line of work, especially at Smithie’s where he tookcare of the girls in a way they didn’t feel the need to be catty, I might havebeen able to manage it.
The thing was, I was the headliner.The red velvet rope outfront was for me.
I suspected Britney Spears was probably friendly with herdancers.
But they didn’t go shoe shopping together.
And I didn’t want to turn around in Nordstrom of all places(where some dreamscametrue, even if they did thisto the tune of a credit card machine) to see what I was missing.
Not just then, but my entire life.
I knew I wasn’t meant to have any kind of posse, as much asI’d always wanted it, and especially as much as it’d be good to have it rightthen after what had happened to me.
I just didn’t need it staring me in the face when I didn’thave it.
Instead, I looked down at the shoes I was trying on.
They cost twelve hundred dollars.They were class on alollipop stick.Considering the serious hike in pay Smithie gave me a monthago, I could totally afford them (and could do that even before he jacked up mypay, but did it weirdly making me work less, but I didn’t quibble).
And they weresonot me.
“What do you think?”the shoe saleslady said.
“You got anything in denim?”I asked.
“Uh…no,” she answered.
