Black Shoes

It was after the accident that he bought a new pair of shoes, black brogues, which he would wear at the weddings he was invited to that year, one in spring, another in autumn. He bought black shoes, somewhat of a treat when he couldn’t afford one, but a pair that would last for a long time and they would make him feel good for as long as they lasted.
He would be wearing them with his dark suit, the one he wore at weddings and funerals and he realized that he would probably wear those shoes when his parents were to pass, paying his last respect and the thought made him sad. And it was that way that he came to look at the shoes covering his feet now. He would be standing there wearing those shoes when his parents would be lowered into their graves, like he had stood wearing the suit he now wore when his uncle had passed. He had bought the suit for that occasion, it had been his excuse at the time. He turned back into his bedroom and started to undress. He took off the jacket and the tie and then the shirt and the shoes and the last thing he took off were the pants he had worn. He carefully folded it all and hung it back in the cupboard. He put the shoes with the other shoes and then he dressed again, put on a pair of jeans the way he did everyday, grabbed a brown shirt with snap buttons and embroidery of a buffalo skull either side of the upper chest. He left the top two buttons undone and got his old boots, that he had bought out of joy and for comfort rather than need or an occasion that would turn most eyes moist. It was that way that he went to meet Sylvia for dinner that evening, it was a special occasion and he had intended to make an extra effort, but in the end it had made him sad and now he was as he always was. When she entered the restaurant looking for him, wearing a dress with the hemline just above the knee and the décolleté cut deep enough for the full lushness of her breast to show contour, his face lit up.
It lit up when she walked in and she saw the smile that started to fill his face. That moment made her feel better than any suit could have ever done.
‘You look really happy to see me,’ she said to him.
‘I am,’ he nodded, ‘I’m very happy.’

© Marcus Bastel