Chapter 1
It was an idea that never failed to entrance Beth Harper, the notion that a simple object – well, two actually – could be so utterly transformative. Just ask Dorothy Gale.
Positioning a pair of sequined red heels onto the black-and-white-striped-clad ‘legs’ she’d fashioned from a couple of cardboard tubes, Beth stood back and evaluated her work.
The famed ruby-red slippers were of course unmistakable, but perhaps the polystyrene farmhouse looked a little off? No, Beth figured most shoppers would get the theme. The Yellow Brick Road (hand-painted at home in her apartment the night before) was a giveaway.
Anyway, it wasn’t as though she could call on Hollywood resources for her displays – nope, all Beth had at her disposal were basic craft supplies, her own imagination and, of course, some of the world’s most beautiful shoes.
Thankfully she also had her boss’s blessing, especially when the management of Carlisle’s – the popular Lexington Avenue department store in which she worked – realised that Beth’s movie-themed shoe displays not only delighted shoppers, but attracted tourists to the shoe room in droves, during the holidays especially. Her in-store displays weren’t quite as popular a tourist attraction as Saks’ Christmas windows, but they were getting there.
For Beth, the opportunity to utilise her greatest passion – the movies – in her day-to-day work was a dream come true, and she loved delighting Carlisle’s customers and staff all year long by using beautiful shoes to help recreate some of Hollywood’s greatest movie moments.
Satisfied that her latest masterpiece was complete, she made a final check that everything was in place in the shoe department, before the store opened its doors to the public that morning. December was a time when people from all over flocked to the city for Christmas shopping, Broadway shows, outdoor ice-skating and the many other festive activities that made New York great.
Irish by birth, Beth had lived in Manhattan for the better part of ten years, and over that time had learned to appreciate the ramped-up energy of the city during the busy holiday season. Even though the accompanying chill wind played havoc with her hair… That thought made Beth double-check that her medium-length blond ponytail was still in one piece after all her creative endeavours. It wouldn’t do for her own appearance to let her down when the whole shop was decked in finery.
Christmas cheer exploded throughout Carlisle’s, almost as though Santa’s elves had come to do the décor. Delicate tree branches dusted with snow lined the ceiling, and fairy-lit pine cone garlands danced around the beams. Elegantly decorated fir trees twinkled on every floor, and beneath them were selections of the best Christmas fare the world’s most famous luxury brands had to offer. The holiday merchandising team had even hung random bunches of mistletoe in different spots around the store, encouraging customers to join in the fun.
But while she loved this time of year in the city, just then Beth couldn’t help but think about warmer climes. She and Danny, her boyfriend of seven years, had planned to leave for a long weekend with friends in South Florida today, but due to a pressing work issue on his part, they’d had to make a last-minute cancellation. Which was why Beth found herself on the sales floor in the first week of December, busying herself with a festiveWizard of Oztheme, and covering a shift for one of the part-timers in the department.
The distraction of setting up the new display was working wonders in helping keep her spirits up, but deep down she was a little disappointed. She had really been looking forward to a relaxing break away before the Christmas retail rush kicked off in earnest, but more importantly, she’d wanted some time alone with Danny. They lived together – had done so for the past five years – but there was something extra romantic about a break away with the one you loved, far from humdrum day-to-day habits and responsibilities.
Still, she thought, straightening a crystal and satin Kate Spade pump (which worked brilliantly as one of Glinda’s Silver Shoes) on the central display, it was no great hardship to be here surrounded by such prettiness.
While her love affair with the movies had been inspired by her grandmother Bridie – who had introduced Beth to all the Hollywood classics at a young age – she guessed her appreciation of shoes had also begun with the first glimpse of her grandmother’s vintage Mary Janes when she was a child.
She and her mother had found the wedding shoes amongst Nana’s things after she died, and 12-year-old Beth, who had never known Bridie to wear anything other than comfortable lace-up brogues, had been entranced by this completely unexpected glimpse into her grandmother’s past.
White satin, adorned with white fluffy ostrich feathers and tiny jewelled roses on the vamp, and in the low-heeled Mary Jane style that was the fashion of the time, they were impossibly glamorous and Beth had fallen in love almost immediately. And she listened captivated as her mother told her what little she knew about her own parents’ wedding day, other than that Bridie and James had married just before the Second World War, and James had died in battle a year later while Bridie was pregnant with Beth’s mother.
There were no photographs of the event, so no clue as to what her grandmother’s wedding dress had been like. Beth’s mum recalled Bridie talking about having to pawn her wedding ring to keep them afloat after James died, leaving the shoes as the only memento of that special day.
From there on in Beth had spent countless hours trying to imagine the wedding and how her grandmother had managed to hold on to those shoes when other, more valuable possessions had been lost. They must have been particularly precious to Bridie.
She realised then that her grandmother’s great passion for 1920s Hollywood glamour wasn’t just restricted to the silver screen, and that the romantic classics so beloved by her – and readily shared with Beth – had been an escape of sorts, a vicarious glimpse into the kind of romantic life Bridie had imagined for herself before her marriage was so cruelly cut short.
Beth remembered wonderful nights at home in Galway at her grandmother’s house, tucked up under a blanket on the sofa in the darkness, she and Bridie watching rapt while Humphrey Bogart proclaimed his love for Lauren Bacall, and swooning as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn played out their great passion onscreen.
Her grandmother had been a huge influence on Beth, but had died when she was twelve, and she guessed evoking the movies was her way of holding on to those memories of her beloved nana so many years on, and especially now when she was so far away from home.
Thankfully, Beth’s mum had let her hold on to Bridie’s shoes, and to this day they remained in her New York wardrobe; in the original worn box, wrapped in the old delicate tissue paper. They were about her size, and Beth promised herself that as a tribute to Bridie, when (or if) she ever walked down the aisle to marry the love of her life, she would be wearing her grandmother’s beloved Mary Janes.
Now, standing in front of the display shelves, she gently ran her fingers along the various shoe designs, caressing the soft silky material. As was her habit, she tried to imagine where each pair would end up, the kind of women that would wear them and the adventures they might have.
The sparkling silver and gold sandals were easy to place: these were ideally suited to glamorous, sophisticated events, a night at the opera or a gala ball at the Met. While the easily identifiable red-soled slingbacks were sexy and fun, perfect for a cocktail party or a girls’ night out, the glorious satin crystal-encrusted creations were so exquisite that they were surely destined for a romantic encounter worthy of one of Bridie’s beloved silver-screen classics.
Beth looked at her own feet and smiled as she imagined herself as a movie heroine wearing the shoes; her blond curls pulled up in a sophisticated chignon à la Grace Kelly, her petite figure dressed in a gorgeous flowing gown (Oscar de la Renta, maybe?) and in Danny’s arms, dancing to Sinatra in some beautifully picturesque location… under the Eiffel Tower or at the base of the Spanish Steps in Rome, beneath a sky awash with stars.
Her face broke into a grin as she allowed her imagination free rein, and heard the accompanying film soundtrack swell in a spectacular crescendo in her mind as she pictured Danny wearing a tux, his dark hair slicked back Clark Gable-style, and his aquamarine eyes shining as he leaned forward and softly placed his lips on hers…
Her idyllic Hollywood daydream was interrupted when a couple meandered into the department.
Ah – her first customers of the day.
Glancing around, the woman immediately made a beeline for Beth’sWizard of Ozdisplay and, stopping in front of it, she smiled and gleefully clapped her hands. The man pulled her close and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Buoyed by this obvious show of appreciation, Beth smiled and, smoothing down her red knee-length woollen dress, moved to greet the couple. ‘Hello there – is there anything I can help you with?’ she asked cheerfully, her green eyes sparkling with warmth.
