I don't dance through my workdays wearing my red leather Dankso's but that is how much fun it is to wear them. Accompanying the man who would become my difficult customer were his doe-eyed wife and daughters. The baby screamed while her older sister stumbled around the store wearing a pair of two hundred dollar shoes that had been hand made in Israel. The shoes her mother was wearing fit as if they had been made for her but the color she wanted wasn't available in her size. Music is one of the things that keeps me sane at work. That day one of my favorite songs started playing while customers swarmed into the store. I left the family of four I had been assisting to greet an elderly couple. The aisle was crowded and I nearly bumped into a jean clad guy who was reaching for a pair of shoes.
Two minutes later I returned with the shoes in his size. With a clap of his hands he danced before the mirror. "My girlfriend would kill me if I bought these things. They are so comfortable though." Sobriety settled over the man who had been moved by the music as he followed me to my other customer. "These are really good shoes." He said to the man on the bench. "You're going to make the right decision, aren't you buddy?" Disdainfully the man shrugged. On his way out the man in blue let his finger trail travel over cordovan colored leather. He tossed a dispay shoe in the air, blew it a kiss and told the shoe to wait for him because he'd be back. A pair of red tab Levi's made it past the slipper display before turning. Breathlessly the man in blue ran back, grabbed the box I was still holding and slipped his feet back into the shoes he loved.
Two of my coworkers were cleaning soda off of shoes the little girl had spilled on while I rang up the sale. At the register the man who had been trying on shoes told me I could keep the box and the bag. He bought a jar of beeswax, stuck that in his pocket and threw his old shoes in my garbage can. Together we made our way past the soda slick but at the double glass doors we paused, feet tapping expectantly. The tips of his Dansko's were perpendicular to mine when he spoke. "Now all I need is a new girlfriend." Diamonds on my left hand sparkled as I waved him on his way. I hope he finds a partner he can dance with soon. This writeup is dedicated to the man who purchased a cordovan colored pair of size 46 Dansko professional clogs from Mayfair Mall at 2:36 PM CST on Thursday, July 23, 2009. Wherever you are, keep on dancing.