The Second Chance Shoe Shop

by Marcie Steele

  ‘Have you thought of any more ideas for how to increase sales?’ Suzanne looked at her now. ‘It’s been three weeks and, even with the article in the local news, nothing has impressed me so far. I think you need to motivate the staff more, or make them work harder. It’s your responsibility. I need to see you pulling your weight.’

  ‘I am pulling my weight. I want Chandler’s to stay open, and I want it to do well, but I don’t think threats will help.’

  ‘Threats?’ Suzanne looked insulted. ‘I’m not threatening you.’

  Riley said nothing, deciding instead to take a sip of coffee.

  Suzanne folded her arms. ‘I’m trying to save your skin, so I expect you to be a little more grateful.’

  Riley clenched her teeth to stop herself spitting out anything about the flash mob. ‘I just don’t know what else we can do to drum up more trade,’ she said, finally.

  ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something.’ Suzanne glanced at her watch. ‘I have an appointment for a manicure in ten minutes. I might call in later to see you, or it may be tomorrow.’ She tapped a finger twice on the chart. ‘This needs to improve, and quickly, or I might just tell Max to go ahead with his plans when I next speak to him on the phone. He wants to close before the three months are up. That’s not what you want, is it?’

  ‘Do you know what, Suzanne?’ Riley put her coffee mug down with a bang on the table. ‘I just might tell Sadie and Dan that Max came round quite a few times on his own last year. I know he was taking money from the till because I saw him.’

  Suzanne paled.

  ‘He told me to mind my own business and I didn’t even ask what he needed the money for. Maybe that’s the reason things aren’t as good as they seem. If he paid back what he took, then―’

  Suzanne held up her hand. ‘Whatever money went out of the till would have been taken because Max needed something for the business.’

  ‘Great, then if you can just drop off the receipts, I can enter them into the accounts.’

  ‘This has nothing to do with you.’ Suzanne narrowed her eyes, her nostrils flaring. ‘And it had better go no further, do you hear?’

  Riley said nothing. It was clear something was going on between the two of them, something that Suzanne didn’t want anyone to know about. She wondered if it had anything to do with Max not being around. It wasn’t unusual for him to go overseas, but it was strange he hadn’t been seen since last year. And Suzanne didn’t bring his name up in conversation as much as she used to.

  Suzanne glared at her once more before flouncing out of the room as quickly as she had arrived. Once the door closed behind her, Riley’s shoulders drooped. At least the flash mob was still under wraps. If word of that got out, Suzanne would try and stop it. And they were too close for that now.

  Friday night came around quickly. Riley was filled with a mixture of fear and giddy excitement as they made their way to Streetwise Dance Studios. A different girl was on the reception desk and pointed them upstairs.

  ‘Hi, guys, come on in!’ Serena opened the door and held out her arm. ‘Welcome to the room of pain.’

  ‘Sounds a bit Fifty Shades of Grey to me,’ Dan quipped.

  ‘Believe me, you will be in pain by the time I’ve knocked you into shape.’ Serena pulled him inside the studio. ‘Hey, Ash.’ She gave her friend a hug.

  ‘This is Dan and Sadie.’ Riley pointed to them both in turn.

  Serena smiled, then stooped level with Esther. ‘And who might you be, miss?’ she asked.

  ‘My name is Esther,’ she said. ‘I’m my mum’s lucky mascot. I was the apple of my daddy’s eye, but he died.’

  ‘I― oh,’ Serena looked perplexed.

  ‘Come on, poppet.’ Sadie flashed Serena an apologetic look. ‘Maybe we can show Serena how well you can dance. What do you say?’

  ‘I want to go on The X Factor, Mummy, not Strictly Come Dancing.’ Esther trotted forward, loving the sound of her feet clicking on the floor. She watched herself in the mirrored wall at the back of the room.

  ‘Tell everyone my dirty secrets, why don’t you?’ Sadie smiled. ‘I am a reality TV show fanatic, guilty as charged.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with a bit of Simon Cowell within reason,’ said Riley. She walked to the side of the studio, putting her bag on the floor and slipping off her coat. ‘Come on, Serena, put us out of our misery, and tell us what song you’ve chosen for us.’

  Serena had been teasing Riley since her first visit. Each day, she had sent her a text message with a different song choice, threatening to use each one if they didn’t get everything sorted well in time. One of them had been Abba, ‘Dancing Queen’ − a complete and utter no. The next one had been Queen, ‘I Want to Break Free’ − another no. When she had suggested the Spice Girls, ‘Wannabe’, Riley had called to give Serena a categorical no. As Serena cackled down the line, Riley had realised that she’d been winding her up. So she was excited, yet apprehensive, to hear the final choice.

  ‘Wait and see.’ Serena pointed to the middle of the floor. ‘I want you all in a line here.’

  Riley, Dan, Ash and Sadie obliged. Esther held on to Sadie’s hand.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Serena asked.

  ‘Come on,’ cried Riley ‘We’re dying to find out.’

  ‘Okay, here we go.’ Serena pressed a button on a remote control and raced to the door. ‘I won’t be a minute,’ she cried, before disappearing through it.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said Sadie.

  Before anyone could reply, the music started. Riley grinned as she looked at Dan.

  ‘It’s Pharrell Williams.’ He clapped his hands in delight. ‘“Happy”.’

  The door opened and in walked three girls. Dan’s mouth dropped open as, dressed in the highest of heels and the tightest of mini-skirts, they strutted across the floor and began to dance in front of them. Esther clapped her hands too, jumping up and down next to Sadie.

  Another two lines of the song went by before the door opened again. Three more girls appeared, this time in leggings, hoodies and trainers. They did their own style of dance before moving to join the others and all six did the same routine. Over the next two minutes, every few seconds, two or three more dancers came into the room and joined in.

  Riley looked first at Sadie, and then at Dan, and then beamed. ‘This is great!’ she cried as the door opened again and three more girls came in, this time wearing rave gear.

  As the chorus started up, the dancers moved around the room using every inch of the floor. Riley and Ash began to clap. Sadie held out Esther’s hands and she clapped too.

  Finally, the door opened for one last time and Serena was led in by a male dancer. He was slightly older than the rest of the group, dark-skinned with tight brown curls. He wore a tuxedo and held on to Serena’s hand as she sashayed across the room in the highest of heels.

  As the record came to an end, the couple came up close to Riley, Dan, Sadie and Esther. Serena twirled like a ballerina and then came to a stop in the male dancer’s arms. She arched backwards and threw out her arm. In her hand there was a card. She thrust it at them.

  It said ‘#BestShoeForward’.

  The music stopped and the dancers caught their breath. There was a moment of stunned silence before they all started clapping.

  ‘That was fantastic!’ said Riley, clapping too. ‘It was – beyond words.’

  ‘Yes, wow!’ agreed Dan. ‘I’m not often speechless but that was amazing!’ He frowned then. ‘Which part do we have to do?’

  ‘Just the bit at the end that I did with Anthony,’ Serena replied. ‘You’ll all be partnered up with an experienced dancer.’

  ‘Once we’ve finished, we could hand out flyers about the competition,’ suggested Ash.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Dan. ‘We could even have a separate word on each card. I do like Best Shoe Forward, though.’

  ‘I can’t believe you wound me up about all those songs!’ Riley narrowed her eyes at Serena. ‘You knew all t
he time that you would use “Happy”, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, sorry.’ Serena nodded. ‘I couldn’t help but tease you.’

  Riley smiled. ‘This is going to be amazing!’

  ‘Good, I’m glad you like it.’ Serena clicked her fingers. ‘Because this is where the hard work begins.’

  ‘Isn’t that a line from Fame?’ Dan whispered to Riley, who hushed him with a mock-glare.

  ‘We’ll never learn that in a week,’ said Sadie.

  ‘Of course you will,’ Serena encouraged. ‘You’re going to learn it now and then it’s practice, practice, practice!’

  ‘Are you sure?’ said Riley.

  ‘I’m absolutely certain.’ Serena waved over three boys and a girl. ‘These are your partners. So, in the words of the late David Bowie − bless him – let’s dance!’

  Chapter Twelve

  After the rehearsal, Cooper had picked them up and they all went back to Sadie’s house. It was 7:30 p.m. As they had gone straight from the shop to the dance studio, there had been no time to eat, so Cooper and Ash had now gone to collect a takeaway.

  Riley was getting anxious now. At everyone’s insistence, Ethan had been invited along too. Although he’d briefly met Sadie and Dan, Riley had been pleased when Ash had wanted to meet him too. Yet, when Sadie invited him to her house, Riley knew the pressure it would put on him – and on them. He would be under scrutiny, even if only in a playful way. She prayed her friends wouldn’t grill him too much.

  Although Riley had known Ethan for less than a month, everything had seemed to slot into place for the two of them. It felt like she’d known him forever, yet at the same time as if they had only just met. The familiar stomach flip caused by excitement and apprehension took Riley by surprise whenever she thought about the next time she would see him. And when she got home, she sat wanting to remember every minute of each date, like she’d done many times as a teenager.

  Although it was making her nervous, shouldn’t she take a chance? She thought back to when she had met Nicholas. It was hard to get that kind of feeling when meeting someone no more than two nights a week. The relationship and the butterflies didn’t tend to build up as quickly.

  And, if it weren’t for Ethan, there probably wouldn’t be a flash mob. If he hadn’t offered to film it for them, Riley would most likely have given up. He’d even got the backing of the newspaper now. Kim was going to go big around the secrecy of it all, dropping hints on the paper’s Twitter feed on Saturday. Hedworth News’s Twitter feed had over 20,000 followers! Riley had thrown her arms around Ethan’s neck when he’d told her, so grateful for his support. He could have thought it was a mad idea and therefore not want to join in. But he hadn’t – only time would tell if he’d made the right decision or not.

  Riley checked her watch and saw that he’d be arriving in less than ten minutes, so she grabbed her bag and dashed upstairs. Sadie had said she could take a shower. She’d have to be quick, and just freshen up her make-up, but at least she could wash away the sweat she could feel on her skin and change her clothes.

  ‘I can’t believe how much I’m aching,’ said Dan when she rejoined him in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, rubbing the bottom of his back. ‘I’m going to be good for nothing in the morning.’

  ‘You’re aching?’ Riley prodded him in the shoulder as she walked past him towards Sadie. ‘You didn’t have to do as much as us girls. And you certainly weren’t flung like a whipping top across the floor. I swear I haven’t stopped spinning yet. So I think you can count yourself lucky.’

  ‘And you get double practice time as there are two of us in the shop,’ Sadie joined in as she took plates out from the cupboard. ‘You should have the routine nailed in no time, while we,’ she pointed at Riley, ‘have no chance.’

  ‘We’ll get there,’ said Riley. ‘Even if we have to practise night and day. I’m determined to stay on my feet and not make a fool of myself.’

  ‘I got a special part, didn’t I, Mummy?’ said Esther, reaching her arms up to Sadie.

  ‘You certainly did, madam.’ Sadie picked her up and began to waltz around the kitchen with her.

  Esther burst into fits of giggles as the doorbell rang. She shimmied down Sadie’s legs, shrieking, ‘I’ll go!’

  But Sadie pulled her back. ‘Let Riley go,’ she said.

  ‘I want to see Cooper!’ Esther protested, trying to wriggle from her grip.

  ‘It might not be Cooper, and you’re in your jim-jams.’

  ‘I’ll go,’ said Dan. ‘Save you blushing when I bring Ethan in.’

  Riley grinned, already feeling her skin hotting up. Ash and Cooper had texted to say they were minutes away, and she suddenly felt nervous about introducing Ethan. After being unable to share Nicholas with them, the last time they had met one of her dates had been when she’d first introduced them to Tom. When they had split up, the dynamics of the group had changed a little, as Ross and Tom had got on really well. The same had happened when Sarah and Dan had gone their separate ways. But no one had thought for a minute, back then, that Ross wouldn’t be around now.

  Dan brought Ethan into the kitchen. ‘Here she is, all fresh and lovely. Whereas I stink like a kipper after all that hard work.’

  Riley walked over and greeted Ethan with a kiss.

  ‘Don’t take any notice,’ she told him, holding onto his hand. ‘He hasn’t stopped moaning since we finished.’

  ‘Thank goodness the flash mob is next weekend, then,’ Ethan sympathised, grinning.

  ‘Are you talking about the big dance-off?’ said Cooper, appearing in the doorway, Ash behind him.

  Esther ran into his arms. ‘Cooper!’ she cried. ‘Do you have any chips?’

  ‘I do.’ He picked her up. ‘You can have . . . five.’

  ‘Five? I want more than that,’ she giggled.

  ‘You’re not having many,’ said Sadie, taking her from Cooper. ‘And then it’s off to bed for you. It’s way too late for you to be up.’

  Stomach awash with nerves again, Riley introduced Ethan to Cooper and Ash. She needn’t have worried. They did indeed welcome him into their fold as she had hoped.

  ‘Ash has been telling me all about the dance,’ said Cooper. ‘I think they should show us, don’t you?’ He looked at Ethan, who nodded.

  ‘You must be joking,’ Riley cried.

  ‘I’m up for it.’

  Dan pulled her into his arms and they began to dance around the kitchen. Three seconds in, they were all feet and laughing at Ethan’s expression.

  ‘Is that it?’ he asked, incredulously.

  ‘We’re not showing anyone all of it until the day,’ said Riley.

  ‘Is it worth watching?’ Cooper looked as doubtful as Ethan.

  ‘You’ll just have to come and watch us.’ Ash prodded him hard in his arm.

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t miss that for the world,’ Cooper said, as he held up the greasy brown paper bag he was carrying. ‘I don’t suppose any of you want this, now that your bodies are your temples?’

  Everyone decided to leave quite quickly after the food had been eaten. It was plain to see that Riley and Ethan wanted to spend time alone, so Cooper offered to give Ash a lift home and then come back. Sadie wasn’t quite sure why, but she was glad of it.

  By 9:00 p.m., the dishes had been done and the house was her own again except for Cooper, who was making a coffee before he left.

  Sadie went through to the hall. Even though Esther had been put to bed over an hour ago, she could still hear her in her room. She beckoned Cooper to the bottom of the stairs.

  ‘Listen,’ she whispered, grabbing his arm.

  Esther was singing ‘Happy’, clapping her hands. She had some of the words and some of the tune but not exactly in the right order.

  They tried not to laugh in case she heard them.

  ‘She’s so cute,’ whispered Cooper.

  ‘She won’t be when I can’t get her up in the morning,’ Sadie whispered back. ‘Esther?’ s
he shouted up the stairs. ‘Bed, young lady.’

  They heard her run across the room in a fit of giggles.

  Sadie smiled at Cooper. Without warning, she felt tears well in her eyes, and found she couldn’t do anything to stop them falling.

  ‘Hey.’ Cooper drew her into his embrace.

  ‘I miss sharing things like this with Ross,’ she sobbed. ‘He would have found that so funny.’

  ‘He would have tried to dance with her, too,’ Cooper soothed, rubbing her back. ‘I can’t do that. I definitely have two left feet.’

  ‘I miss him so much, but sometimes I can’t even remember the sound of his voice. I can’t remember his laugh. I go to sleep and ache for him to be by my side in my bed. I get up thinking of him, I go to bed thinking of him. He’s been gone ten months now. I wish I didn’t feel so lonely. ‘

  ‘Grief is a thing you get over in your own time. There are no rules to say how long it takes. You’ll go through different stages before you accept it.’

  ‘Is that why I still feel guilty?’ She pulled away from him.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  They moved back to sit in the living room. Sadie wondered whether to tell him to leave. She couldn’t burden him with her feelings. But she couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out.

  ‘I was terrible to him before he died,’ she admitted. ‘All I did was shout and get angry all the time. Why did I want to inflict such pain on him? He was the one who was suffering. Okay, I was suffering too, but I had no right to take it out on him. He couldn’t do anything. He was lying there, just waiting to die.’ She looked up through more tears. ‘And now I’m left with this pain. I have to hide my grief from Esther, and I have to hide my feelings when I’m at work. I try to hold it all in but sometimes I can’t. Everywhere I go, I see happy couples. I see people in love. It’s so unfair. Sometimes I want to run out onto the High Street and scream at everyone.’

  ‘It’s a natural reaction,’ said Cooper softly. He reached for her hand but she pulled it away.