The String of Shoes

Find the best ones in the most unlikely places

“Did you just see what I saw, Brenda?” Spencer asked, looking in his rear view mirror.

“I don’t know what you were looking at, so no, I didn’t.”

Spencer arched his back to stretch his upper body.

“Eh, never mind. It’s just my mind playing tricks. Maybe it’s time for a break. It’s been, what, 200 miles since we stopped?”

“About that, yeah, good idea. I’ve gotta go, too.”

“Hunh. There’s another,” said Spencer.

“Another what?”

“Another pair of shoes along the road.”

“What’s odd about that? People get a flat, stop and unload their trunks, and accidentally leave behind clothes or tools or shoes or something.”

“No, this is different. For the last 50 miles, there’ve been pairs of shoes and single shoes on the side of the road – about every 3 or 4…Whoop, there’s another pair. Ya see them? Red high heels it looked like.”

“Yeah, I did,” she said as she dropped her heels from the dashboard, and slipped her tennis shoes on. “Hmm. What do you make of it?”

“Probably kids playing a prank. You never know. It’s Wisconsin. Whadya expect?”

“Hey, hey, careful now,” Brenda said. “We Cheeseheads have a dry sense of humor. Come to think of it, we were a bit quirk…hey hey hey, stop. I like those shoes. Those were high-top Tweety Bird shoes. I haven’t had a pair of those for ages and I’ve been looking for some all over. They don’t make ‘em anymore.”

Spencer looked in his mirror, flipped on his turn signal, and pulled to the side. He backed up a hundred feet on the shoulder until he saw another car pop over the horizon. He thought about all the reasons this was a silly idea, including the shoes possibly not being her size, but stayed silent.

“There you go. Have at it. I think I can still …”

Before he was finished, Brenda was out the door and running towards the sneakers.

“Come on, Brenda, come on,” Spencer said as he checked his mirrors and drummed on the steering wheel.

Brenda got back in the car and said, “Let’s go find that Rest Stop. I’ve gotta go.”

She put on her new shoes, “They fit perfect. Thanks for stopping, Spence.”

“Where’re your other shoes?” he asked as he pulled onto the highway.

“Back there. One for one trade. Seems fair to me. I can’t believe my luck. I absolutely love these, Spencer.”

“And, it looks like the car that just rounded that hill had the same idea. They’re stopping too.”

Brenda looked back and saw as a woman got out of the passenger side.

“That’s pretty cool,” Brenda said after she was facing the front again.

“Mmm hmm,” said Spencer, not telling her about that passenger just darting into the nearby woods for what was probably an impromptu potty break.

No need to steal Brenda’s shoe thunder.

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