The Second Chance Shoe Shop

by Marcie Steele

  ‘It’s my one vice,’ Ethan said, catching her glancing around in admiration. ‘It’s the most expensive thing I own but as I do a lot of miles around the town, it’s good to travel in style.’

  ‘As long as you don’t tell me to listen to the engine purring, we’ll be fine,’ Riley mocked.

  Ethan looked disappointed, then grinned. ‘I thought we might go to The Caramel Leaf?’

  Riley smiled. ‘Perfect.’

  The car park at The Caramel Leaf wasn’t too busy as Ethan glided into a space. Riley pulled in the collar of her jacket as she rounded a corner and a gust of wind nearly took them off their feet.

  ‘Roll on warmer days,’ said Ethan, laughing as he took hold of her hand.

  They went inside the restaurant, ordered drinks and sat down at a table in the window.

  ‘I love it in here,’ she said. ‘Their seats are so comfortable. The thing about being on your feet all day is how much you welcome getting off them at the end of it,’ Riley sighed as she settled more.

  ‘Remind me how long you’ve worked at Chandler’s?’ Ethan asked as they studied their menus.

  ‘Eight years. It’s the first job I’ve had as a manager.’

  ‘Are you worried about trade?’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ Riley wondered if anyone had overheard her talking.

  ‘You seem disappointed about the sale. I’m sorry that the article didn’t bring in more customers for you.’

  ‘I’m sure it did! Really, thank you so much for covering it.’

  ‘There seem to be more and more businesses closing down every week, especially on the high streets of small towns like this one. Aren’t you worried that yours might not survive?’

  ‘I’m absolutely terrified,’ Riley admitted. ‘If Chandler’s closed, I don’t know what else I’d do.’ She decided to change the subject. ‘How about you? Have you always been a photographer?’

  ‘Yes, since I left school.’ Ethan’s face broke into a smile. ‘If I ever feel the need to move from Hedworth, I know the experience I’m getting by working on the paper will be useful. I’m building up a portfolio.’

  ‘At least there’s no backstabbing and bitching at Chandler’s, not like there was when I was at school.’

  Ethan tipped his head to one side. ‘You don’t get that?’

  ‘Not at all.’

  ‘Well, you must be one hell of a boss. I’ve never worked in a place that hasn’t had some kind of office politics going on. Don’t any of the staff hate your guts and talk about you continually behind your back yet smile sweetly to your face?’

  ‘I hope not!’ Riley laughed. ‘Actually, I’m sure they don’t. I’ve been very fortunate to have Dan and Sadie on board. Do you live locally, Ethan? Or do you commute to Hedworth?’

  ‘I live in Somerley.’

  ‘Ah, the land of the Coffee Stop.’ Riley knew Somerley well. ‘That place is a gold mine. I love to visit whenever I have a day off or a free afternoon. They do some fabulous cakes there, too.’

  ‘Yes, it’s done remarkably well since reopening.’

  ‘You’re very lucky to have it on your doorstep. I’d never be out of there.’

  ‘I hardly ever visit because it’s so near. That’s the thing, isn’t it?’

  ‘Well, the next time you fancy a muffin, I’ll come with you.’

  Riley blushed as soon as the words came out. It sounded like a double entendre no matter which way she looked at it. She looked down at her menu again quickly.

  Ethan laughed. ‘I might just take you up on that.’

  They placed their orders and waited for their food. The chatter around them was comforting but there was no need for Riley to be nervous as the conversation between them flowed naturally.

  ‘What have you been covering today?’ she asked.

  ‘The usual stuff.’ Ethan took a sip of his drink. ‘I photographed an author visiting a local school to encourage the younger children to read and write. Then I went over to a shop because some woman professes to have found a dead mouse in a bag of crisps.’

  ‘Eww!’ Riley grimaced. ‘Did she really?’

  ‘I doubt it. I reckon she’s after compensation. Or a few free boxes of crisps. The things I’ve covered . . .’

  ‘So do you only do the happy things or do you cover worse things like . . . oh, I don’t know. Accidents, attacks?’ She paused. ‘Murders?’

  ‘A murder in Hedworth?’ Ethan laughed. ‘Chance would be a fine thing.’

  ‘I disagree. That thing that people say on the news about not expecting it to happen on their own doorstep isn’t true for me,’ Riley said. ‘Murder can happen anywhere, at any time, to any class of people.’

  ‘You’re right,’ he nodded, ‘but I bet it wouldn’t happen on my shift. So instead I’m stuck with the boring jobs such as opening local fetes, fundraising stuff and―’

  ‘Bizarre displays in shop windows,’ Riley broke in.

  Ethan grinned. ‘Well, some are far more boring than others. What about you? Have you never wanted to do anything other than work in the shop?’

  ‘You make it sound so attractive,’ she protested.

  He held up a hand. ‘I meant did you have ambitions when you were younger, something that you’d longed to do but never did?’

  ‘Well, when I was a child I always wanted to be a tennis player and play at Wimbledon.’ She hung her head in mock shame. ‘Never going to happen, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Pity. I’d quite like to see you in a short white tennis skirt.’

  Riley smiled shyly, dipping her eyes for a moment from Ethan’s intense gaze.

  ‘Now, though, I wished I’d gone to college to study fashion and design. There’s such a variety of things to do these days, plus so many ways of getting noticed with social media. It must be really rewarding to run a business online.’

  ‘It’s never too late,’ said Ethan. ‘Why don’t you go to evening classes?’

  ‘I think I’d be too much of a mature student for that now,’ Riley laughed.

  As the waiter came over with their food, Riley found herself grinning. She was hoping that Ethan hadn’t got a wife or girlfriend tucked away at home that would come out of the woodwork at the last minute, because she realised that she really liked him. And the signs were looking good that the feeling was mutual.

  ‘Have you always lived in Hedworth?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes. I’ve been in my flat for two years now. I used to share with my friend, Ash − she’s female, by the way. It’s short for Ashleigh.’ She groaned inwardly − why had she felt the need to tell him that? ‘But we have separate flats now, although still in the same building.’

  ‘I don’t live alone. I live with Jimmy.’

  ‘Is he your brother?’

  Ethan shook his head.

  ‘A lodger?’

  ‘Not exactly.’

  ‘Oh.’

  Riley’s shoulders wanted to drop but she remained still as Ethan took out his phone. He scrolled through it for a moment and then turned the screen towards her. Staring back at her was the mostly white face of a Jack Russell terrier, with one tan ear and another patch under his chin. Riley had always had a dog at her parents’ house but had never had one since. Not with Tom, and sadly not with Ash. They weren’t allowed pets in the flats. It was one of the conditions of tenancy.

  ‘Oh, he’s so sweet,’ she exclaimed, feeling a surge of relief.

  Ethan snorted. ‘Don’t be drawn in by that cute face and the sorrowful eyes. He’s a demon.’

  ‘I bet he isn’t. He looks a bundle of fun.’

  ‘How about the next time we meet . . .’ He looked at her pointedly. ‘Will there be a next time?’

  She nodded shyly, already looking forward to it.

  ‘We’ll take Jimmy for a walk. And maybe, if we can get a bit of time off during the week together, we can visit the Coffee Stop for a muffin?’

  Riley beamed, even though she knew he was teasing her. ‘Sounds like a plan to
me.’

  Chapter Eight

  Sadie sat down on the settee. She put her glass of wine down beside her on the coffee table, shifted her feet up to her side and sighed. Losing her job was the last thing she wanted to worry about right now. And then there was working on Sundays.

  She couldn’t afford to protest, not that Suzanne would even listen. She couldn’t bear to think how she would cope if the shop went under.

  Sadie loved working with Riley. She combined being a great manager and a great friend perfectly, not like some of the bosses Sadie had worked for. And she had been brilliant during Ross’s illness, and far beyond. Sadie often wondered where she would be if it weren’t for her close group of friends − Riley, Dan, Ash and Cooper. Although, to be fair, she often wondered whether they’d ever get fed up of her inability to move on, especially as the anniversary of Ross’s death loomed.

  She picked up her iPad and logged on to Grieve Together to see if Tanya was online or, if not, whether anyone else wanted to chat. Although she relished the silence when Esther was asleep, the loneliness started to creep in.

  Tanya wasn’t online but she had left her a message. Sadie clicked on the icon.

  Tanya: How has your day been? I haven’t been too bad actually. It’s been fun at work for a change. How about you?

  Sadie typed a quick message back.

  Clara: Oh, you don’t want to know. I may lose my job. If things don’t improve in three months, the shop I work in might close :( Glad to see that you’ve had a good day, though − good days are great!

  She pressed send, hoping that the message wasn’t too self-centred. Over the months that she and Tanya had become online friends, she’d given out a little more information than she had on the forum. Tanya had been great to chat to, especially in private. Somehow it had been easier to talk to a person behind a screen. Tanya knew what she was going through. She would sympathise with her when she needed, gently reprimand her when she was feeling too sorry for herself. Tanya could make Sadie smile in an instant with a silly comment.

  She took a few sips of her wine while she waited for the message to be answered. When it wasn’t, she realised Tanya mustn’t be online. She flipped through a few comments and other people’s blog posts and then wrote a little in her journal.

  The phone rang. It was Cooper.

  ‘Hi, how are my two favourite women?’ he asked her.

  ‘One is hopefully asleep and the other is fine, thanks.’ Glad of someone to talk to, Sadie took another sip of her wine and relaxed back in the settee. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘At the pub having a quick pint. I just wanted to see how you were.’

  ‘Esther wants me to tell you that she got another gold star for her essay on the garden, thanks to you for helping her out.’

  ‘I didn’t help her with the essay. I’m useless at storytelling.’

  ‘But you planted the seeds. Literally!’

  Last month, Cooper had helped Esther clear a patch at the bottom of the garden to plant some flowers in a spot where mother and daughter could sit and remember Ross. Cooper had been a great help with the garden. Sadie would never have managed it by herself: she didn’t even have an interest in learning what was a flower and what was a weed. It had been something that Ross had loved, giving them separate interests. Sadie would rather bury her nose in a book than in a flower.

  They’d been lucky enough to find a semi-detached house that boasted an extra-long rear garden, backing onto fields. Occasionally, the fields were used by the local school for sports days, but other than that it was peaceful. It had always been Ross’s dream to have a large garden, and he’d spent hours in it before he died.

  ‘The lawn needs a good trimming now,’ said Cooper. ‘Shall I pop over at the weekend and see to it?’

  ‘Thanks, that would be great. Will Sunday lunch do you as payment?’

  ‘I’m not sure yet. I might be going to watch the match. Can I get back to you on it? If not, I could come round early Sunday morning.’

  ‘Great, see you then. And you might want to make the most of it as Suzanne says Chandler’s needs to open on Sundays now, to keep up with the times.’

  ‘But I thought most of the shops on the High Street were still closed on Sundays.’

  ‘They are. In the main, it’s just the shopping centre that opens daily.’ Sadie sighed. ‘We’ll just have to eat later in the day, if I do a roast.’

  ‘I suppose. Is there anything you need?’

  ‘No, I think we’re good.’

  After they had said their goodbyes, Sadie switched on the television to catch up with the news. She smiled to herself, thinking back over the conversation. It was as if they were a couple in a long distance relationship and Cooper was phoning after a day at work. She was telling him about her day; he was telling her about his. She found it more comforting than he would ever know, and was dreading the day when another woman would take him away from both her and Esther.

  She checked to see if she had any new messages from Tanya but, again, there was nothing. She hoped she was out enjoying herself. That way, at least maybe one of them was doing something exciting.

  Footsteps padded down the stairs and a head popped around the door frame.

  ‘What are you doing out of bed again?’

  Sadie chose her most stern voice. This was the third night in a row that Esther had crept downstairs after she had been put to bed.

  ‘I need a drink, Mummy,’ she said, her voice full of sleep.

  ‘It’s too late, poppet.’ Sadie got to her feet.

  ‘Can I have a cuddle then, please?’

  ‘Just for a moment and then it’s back to bed.’

  Sadie tried not to show her smile. There was nothing she liked better than cuddling up to Esther, running a hand over her fine, brown hair and pulling her tiny frame close, even when she was supposed to be fast asleep in bed.

  And even if Esther was the only person whom Sadie could cuddle up to right now, she was the ideal solution for comfort anyway.

  Riley had gone straight to the gym after she had finished work, and was now at home. Even though she had run five miles on the treadmill, which usually allowed her mind to switch off from anything stressful, she still couldn’t relax. She rarely brought work home with her, but tonight was an exception. She grabbed a cushion and hugged it to her chest, hoisting her legs onto the settee.

  So far, despite their best intentions, the sale and the feature in the Hedworth News hadn’t brought in many more customers. There must be something they could do to stall the inevitable?

  Ash’s words from the night before came back to her. They’d been coming home on the bus together when Ash nudged Riley away from looking at her phone. ‘Why don’t you start up a campaign online?’ she’d suggested.

  Riley had frowned.

  ‘Well, we’re always on our phones. Twitter this, Facebook that. Why don’t you do something that will bring people into the shop?’

  ‘Like what?’ Riley looked on in exasperation. ‘The only thing I can think of is to walk around naked in the highest of heels.’

  ‘That would bring the wrong audience altogether!’ Ash giggled. ‘Can you imagine―’

  ‘It was a joke!’

  Riley picked up her iPad and scrolled through her Twitter feed. Maybe she should open a Twitter account for the shop − a Facebook page too. She’d asked if she could open an account for Chandler’s many times, but Suzanne was sceptical about the benefits of social media, especially for a shop such as hers. But now that Suzanne wanted to play games, Riley decided not to wait for her approval. She would use her initiative and gather some followers, maybe tweet some photos of fashionable shoes and then suggest they have nothing similar but people should come down and have a look anyway, in a jokey way. Positive tweets always got retweeted. And funny ones too. She could do funny.

  Within a few minutes, she had created an account for Chandler’s Shoe Shop and was wondering what to say in the first few tweets. She would have t
o think about it, but for now, there they were.

  She’d wanted to set up a website for the shop for a while, but had always been told that it wasn’t necessary. This could be a chance to take the business online. She, Sadie and Dan could all run the account if necessary. Maybe they could get some local celebrities to retweet things for them.

  Excitement bubbled up inside her. This could be a great form of advertising. She’d get on to it straight away in the morning after chatting it through with Sadie and Dan. But first she began to add all the fashion designers that she followed. Some of them she was quite friendly with online. Maybe they could help her spread the word a little.

  Outside on the High Street, it was still fairly quiet as Riley walked down to the newsagent’s. She could feel the sun on her back and looked up for a moment. It was getting warmer day by day. She could definitely feel a change now that March was about to turn into April.

  So far, all their hard work hadn’t paid off. The Chandler’s Twitter feed had gained a few follows and Riley was following people and tweeting photos and witty comments to try to interact with local people. All in all, it ate into her time but as she’d been on Twitter for quite a while she knew how long things could take to build up. Maybe she should look more closely at her own followers and see if she could get any of those people interested in following Chandler’s. Or maybe she could tweet about Chandler’s from her own account, to see if she could get some retweets.

  Her eyes were drawn to a young woman walking past. She wore what looked like painter’s dungarees, one strap unfastened, an oversized red T-shirt underneath. Wedge shoes finished the look off, along with a multicoloured tote bag. Riley smiled as she walked past, for a moment remembering a time when she had worn something similar.

  She stopped suddenly and hot-footed back over to the young woman.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Riley, and I work at Chandler’s Shoe Shop. You might have seen me last week in the Hedworth News? I was trying shoes on in the window. I felt a bit mad really, but it’s because―’

  ‘I remember seeing that,’ the young woman interrupted.