Bilateral Sock

Switching feet

He stood at the doorway to her office but she had no idea he was there. Boyd watched as his wife took one thick sock off her left foot and pulled it high on her right foot, leaving the left bare. She returned her attention to the computer screen. He was surprised she hadn’t heard him nor sensed his presence.

Leaning against the doorpost with his arms crossed, he observed her doing the same thing but on the opposite foot three minutes later, this time rubbing her socked foot as if to warm it.

Boyd had a million things he could’ve been doing at this moment, but her unusual actions with the single sock fascinated him. What was she doing and why didn’t she just grab another pair of socks from her drawer filled with matching pairs? Her focus was on the video on the computer screen and almost mindlessly alternated feet with the sock.

“Ahem!” Boyd said after a half dozen sock exchanges.

“Hi, what’s up?” Verna asked, flinching at the sudden interruption. She pulled her headsets down.

“Just curious about the sock. Why not grab the other sock to save you from switching feet?”

“Huh? Oh that? Couldn’t find the other sock and this sock is thick and warm. Love it.”

“But your other sock is under one of the legs of your office chair.”

“Really?” she asked, bending over to see what he was talking about.

“Well, there you are. I’ve been looking for you for an hour,” Verna said with her finger wagging at the sock. “Must’ve snuck out of the drawer on me. Naughty sock. Bad sock.”

Boyd said, “You know it’s probably not the sock’s fault.”

“Don’t you have something more thrilling to do except hassle your wife?”

“No, not really. Just don’t lose a shoe on our daily walks or you’ll have real problems.”

*******