Katie's Shoes

Katie's Shoes

"There Disgusting, I'm not wherein them!" Katie blurted out laud on purpose, so as to embarrass her parents into submission and hopefully take her out of this ancient throw back of an excuse for a shoe shop.
"Your having them Katie, I don't care what you say, we've been in all the shoe shops in town and non have been bloody right" Marie shot back an equally defiant look, yet infinitely more terrifying as only a mother can, So sensing defeat and desperate now Katie did the only thing she know.
"Daaad, do I have to have them, there horrible, Jo's got some with heels on I'll just look daft in these, PLEEEASE, look they haven't even got a NAME!" she said as sweetly and as innocent as she could.
"Ermmm, err" put on the spot now, Tom who had been sitting on the side lines just hoping that this nightmare would end, tucked away as far in the corner of the store as he thought he could get away with. "Well, erm, if that's what you really think sweetheart" Marie as quick as a flash some ten paces away shot him a gaze as if from the barrel gun. He could feel the heat was upon him. Wisely he pretended not to notice. "Err, listen to your mother she knows what's best for you darling" He felt the heat ease of the side of his face as Marie looked away back to Katie, still scouring
"It's not fair, I don't want them! I hate them¦" Katie petered defeated into her own breath, but deep down she was just getting tied and she know it, they were quite comfy after all. She'd just have to ware them out quickly she thought.
"Ohh, hurry up, why cant we just go home, I'm bored!" piped up Barry sat in the corner with his Dad in his whiney sort of way.
"OHH shut up Barry, all you want to do is get back to your playstation, you're just a big geek!"
"Katie, don't talk to you brother like that!" Marie interrupted sharply trying to hush the imminent fight between them
"Well at least I'm not a big fat pig! Who's¦"
"Barry" She interrupted "Stop it, keep your voices down I can't take you two anywhere" Marie, losing what little patience she had left glared menacingly at them both. This shut them up; they knew best not to mess with Mum when she uses one of those looks. So did Tom but he know he was safe. It wasn't directed at him this time. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife in that shop. Tom looking down at his quite old but still neat trainers, just staring at nothing he was, just wanting to go home to, but he dared not say it, best to keep out of the way for a while when she's like this and the kids irritable he thought. Barry just went back to reading his computer magazine, flicking throw the pages noisily. While Katie was now looking desperately in the mirror, wondering if she could pull off wearing such bad shoes with out getting arrested the moment she stepped outside the door, The shop assistants and other customers around them meanwhile seemed to have taken no notice to the little domestic at all and carried on in there own little worlds. Marie's furrowed brow was beginning to ease; suddenly it was if nothing had happened, they were at peace again.
"Tom! Tom! TOM WOODALL is that you!" Came a loud squeaky voice form the other corner so as everyone could hear. "It's me, Debra, I thought it was you. Tom it is you!" a small roundish, pretty woman with streaky blonde hair was now coming over to where Tom was sat in the corner, quickly waving her arms and smiling. "It's me Debra! It is you, Tom Woodall do you remember me? Well I could never forget someone like you" she beamed "Wow, on that motorbike how could I ever forget"
Tom startled and bewildered stared blankly in disbelief at the woman now standing in front of him beaming and looking down at him in his sheltered corner.
"Wow the things we did on that motorbike" she carried on oblivious to all the staring faces now turned towards them as if remembering past times wistfully and then with a sparkle in her eyes said "Have you still got it, your bike I mean"
Tom stud up quickly with an awkward half smile now on his face looking at the woman aware of Marie's eyes burning into him again from over the other side and said "Hi, err Debra wow how are you, looking good, err, I don't believe you have met my wife" And now gesturing "my lad Barry" He pulled up
Barry that was sitting next to him with the force of a father that doesn't quite know his own strength so that Barry dropped his magazine as he rose sharply. "This is Barry, my youngest, say hello to Debra Barry" He said through a smile that was a little to toothy to be real
"Oh hello Barry, my how handsome you are, just like your father I bet he'll be a right looker when he's older" She said finishing her words looking at a still smiling nervously Tom right in the eyes
"Hello" came the awkward reply, Barry watched this woman now looking at his dad as if he wasn't there and he could have swore he saw her wink.
"Oh, err, and this is my lovely wife Marie, Debra I don't believe you have met" Marie had come over now to meet this woman that most of the other people in the shop was now looking at and talking to her husband.
"Oh, hi, so you're the lucky one are you" she said smiling at her, but glancing at Tom for a moment and then looking back again. "I'm Debra, me and you're fella know each other from way back, he's quite a catch you've got there" she looked again at Tom briefly "All the girls was after him back then, what with those black leathers and that bike" she looked down now slightly wistfully again "It was a big bike wasn't it Tom" she now beamed at tom with almost childlike excitement.
"Hello!" She said looking at her strangely, not really knowing whether she was wired up right, "Tom hasn't got his old motorbike anymore, we sold it when Katie was born, and then when Barry Came along he couldn't get into those old leathers anymore anyway"
"Oy watch it, I could still squeeze into them now" came Tom's defensive reply.
"Ohhh, I remember¦ they were a tight fit, made your bum look dead sexy in um, mined you they came of quicker than they went back on if I remember correctly, ehh Tom" Said Debra and shot a loud machinegun like laugh that ricocheted of the walls hitting what seemed like everyone else in the shop.
"Excuse me!" Marie gasped but meant more serious than she let on, then tried to stem the rising embarrassment this woman was causing her and her family by forcing out a half laugh, half grimace to brake what would have been an awkward situation with Debra laughing and the rest of them just stunned. This woman is well and truly off her rocker, she thought.
"Oh, the times we had on the back of that bike" She said still laughing loudly "Do you remember Tom?"
"No, err, not really Debra"
Marie smirked slightly as she looked at Tom and Debra's stopped laughing
"You do, you remember"
"No, it's a long time ago, I'm sorry"
"You do, you know, in that field" she paused, looking for a response from him, Tom stared on blankly. "On the open road" she paused again "You know when we got caught on the¦"
"NO" interrupted Tom quickly, his face turning scarlet and suddenly feeling the muggy heat of the shop. Then there was a silence for what seem a very long time while they just looked at each other, it was as if time had stud still, each one not knowing what to say
"Can we go home yet!" came a little voice, impatient but sweet sounding enough to break the awkward silence and ease the tension. Katie was staring up at her parents as innocent and hopefully as she could.
"Yes darling, I think its time we did" Said her slightly relieved mother
"It's been a long day, I think we're all tired" Said Tom looking between his wife and Katie
"Well err, nice meeting you Debra, I'll have to ask tom all about it" she said glancing a Tom then spinning on her heal to head off
"Oh, yes err, seeya, mice meeting you to, oh and take care Tom"
"Bye" He said relieved, as he turned away he noticed Marie had already started to walk out the door holding the hands of Barry and Katie and was walking so fast she was almost dragging them along. As he got to the door he looked back to see Debra still smiling that crazy smile and trying to catch up with him waving and carrying Barry's magazine. She did still look very pretty he thought. He watched her come all the way up to him and as she handed him the magazine back her soft fingers just lingered long enough on his for him to notice them.
She lent forward closer up to his face and whispered "You were the best I've ever had" Winked slowly then kissed him on the cheek. Tom stunned, smiled and said awkwardly "thanks¦" then he turned away. He smiled to him self all the way back to the car, and then pretty much all the way home. Things were a little funny for a while but they soon got back to normal. Funny, they never talked about or even mentioned Debra again, and as time went by they forgot about her too, though it took Tom a little while longer.