Candice McMichael was in a hurry to get to her meeting and had accidentally broken the heel on her right shoe as she stepped out onto her front porch. She knew her shoes were a bit worn, but she just never had the time to buy new ones. She was just so busy with all of her meetings and conferences, and such. And fashion was not high on her to-do list. Sure, she wanted to look presentable. But that's as far as it went. Being the head of the Concerned Mother's Society in the town of Lake Point, her priorities were respect, authority and conservatism, not aesthetic beauty. It just had no place in her life.
"Oh god, this is just great," she said sourly, looking down at her broken shoe. It was only a two-inch heel, but it was enough to make her feel unbalanced. That was when she noticed the flier sitting on the porch. She reached down and grabbed it. "Female Designs? Never heard of it," she said to herself. Apparently, it was a new women's clothing store in town. And today was its grand opening. "Pleasantvale Mall?" she muttered, seeing where the mall was located. It was on the way to her meeting. She could just stop by and pick up some new shoes. They didn't have to be fancy, just something she could wear.
And about ten minutes later, Candice found herself driving into the mall's parking lot and parking in front of the new store. It was odd. Usually when a new store opened up, the owners would try all they could to attract attention. But you could hardly tell that there was even a store here or even an open store. There wasn't even a business sign, lit up or otherwise.
She checked her watch, seeing that she still had about fifteen minutes to spare. She'd just run in and grab the cheapest pair of shoes, pay for them, then head to her meeting. It was an important meeting today, one with one of the middle school principals. Of course, as Candice saw it, all the meetings were important. She was doing a good thing here. She was changing the world, one step at a time.
She got out of her rusty compact car and walked into the store.
That's when Mark first saw her. She wasn't an ugly woman, but she was very far from sexy. And her clothes completed her homely conservative look: long-sleeved, high-collared starch white blouse, ankle-length gray skirt, gray blazer, and a pair of two-inch heels, one of which was obviously broken. Her hair was done up in a bun and she wore very little make-up or jewelry. She was obviously going for a professional look, although her clothes looked a little worn out. Mark wondered how a woman could seriously not have the latest in female fashions, even a conservative woman like this one. He certainly had his work cut out for him. But he liked a challenge.
Candice looked around and saw that there was nothing really special in the store. It looked like any women's fashion store, or a women's department in a store like Target or Wal-Mart. She half expected that the clothes would be ... daring. But they all seemed quite plain. But Candice liked that. Finally, there was a store that was tailored to the normal conservative women in town, not the ones who wanted to run around acting like sluts. Those were the types of women and girls that needed Candice's help the most, by the way. Having a store like this in town only helped to stabilize the moral high ground presented by Candice and others like her.
"Welcome," the man behind the counter said. His name tag said "Mark". He smiled, then said "You're our first customer. And for that, your first purchase will be on the house."
"Oh," Candice said, surprised. "That's very generous. But all I'm looking for is a pair of shoes."
"Then I've got just the thing. Follow me."
Candice seemed a little hesitant, but then followed him further into the back. He walked into what was obviously a shoe department. It was a very small portion of the store, but there were many many kinds of shoes. He picked up a pair. "Try these. Judging from your feet, they should fit like a glove. Or a shoe," he added, smiling again. There was something intoxicating about that smile. She grabbed the shoes from him and looked at them. They looked a little fancier than the ones she was already wearing, but they were still only two-inch, so they were acceptable. She had never ever worn anything higher than two-inch heels and usually she preferred to wear something less feminine like sneakers, but she couldn't wear sneakers to her meetings. She needed heels.
She sat down on a nearby bench and took off her shoes and slipped on the new ones. Almost immediately, she felt a jolt of energy shoot through her. She gasped at the feeling. Did the shoes do that to her? The feeling was simply amazing. And all of a sudden all of her worries about her meeting drifted away. She smiled, liking the feel of the shoes on her feet. It was strange, but they almost made her feel like she was ...
"So what do you think?" Mark asked.
"Huh?" she uttered, being pulled out of her thoughts.
"About the shoes. Do you like them?"
"Oh, yes. I love them." She stood up and walked around in them. "They're perfect."
"So anything else?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I just needed a pair of shoes to replace the ones I broke. I have to get to a meeting."
"Well, come back any time. Every day, I'll be getting new merchandise in. Maybe you'll see something else that you'll like."
"Okay," she said. "I'll think about it." She turned and walked towards the front of the store. These shoes were amazing. It was like she was walking on a cloud.
"Have a good day, Miss," Mark said.
"Oh, my name is Candice," she said, before wondering why she needed to tell him that. She wasn't planning on coming back. She just came in this one time for some shoes. She wasn't going to make a habit of shopping there.
"Well, then. Have a nice day, Candice," he said, smiling.
Candice smiled back at the nice gentleman and then walked outside to her car.
