The Second Chance Shoe Shop

R
iley glanced over her list
, all of its items crossed through with a black line. It was Christmas Eve and even if she had forgotten to buy anything – which she was certain she hadn’t – there was no way she was going out again. The fridge was crammed full of festive food. Champagne was chilling. The table was laid for two, crackers on the plates, candles waiting to be lit, the scent of mulled wine still heavy in the air from the ones she’d lit earlier. All she was waiting for now was Nicholas to arrive before she could relax and enjoy herself. She checked her watch – 5:30 p.m. Only two hours to go.

Underneath the Christmas tree, several presents of all shapes and sizes were wrapped in shiny paper, with tinsel bows and curled silver ribbon. Riley had agonised for ages over what to buy Nicholas, alongside stocking-fillers of DVD box sets, aftershave, a large chocolate selection box and the obligatory cheesy Santa socks. In the end, she’d chosen a watch, not too expensive but costing enough that he would know how much she cared.

Already having taken a long and luxurious bath, she smiled fondly as she looked at the new clothes she had laid out on her bed. As a child it had been a Christmas tradition to have new clothes to wear on Christmas Day, something that both she and her sister, Evie, had continued. Once Christmas dinner was over, there had been Christmas pyjamas to slob out in. She’d bought Nicholas pyjamas, knowing she would have great fun removing them before they went to bed.

She did indeed feel as excited as a child at Christmas. This would be the first time Nicholas had stayed over at the flat. He lived in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, visiting Hedworth for work once or twice a week. They’d met after he’d rushed into the shoe shop she managed, complaining that the sole had come off his shoe and he needed to buy another pair immediately. Only a few minutes after leaving the shop, he’d come back and handed her a business card. She hadn’t called him but he had called the shop, several times, until she’d agreed to go out with him. They’d been dating for four months now.

Yet as Christmas came upon them, she’d found herself wanting to spend more time with Nicholas. A few hours here and there during the week wasn’t enough for her any more. She’d wanted to bring up the subject of whether they would share Christmas Day in Newcastle or Hedworth for quite some time. She hadn’t been to his house yet. It was awkward with her working across six days a week, and more convenient for him to come visit her. But Christmas was different. She only had a couple of days off before the post-Christmas sales started, and she wanted to spend them with him.

When Riley had broached the subject, Nicholas’s face had been comical to say the least, and she thought she’d somehow misread the situation. But he’d laughed when she’d suggested that, saying that she had only taken him by surprise. He’d been planning to take her up to Newcastle, but he’d fallen behind in decorating his living room and it wouldn’t be finished in time for Christmas. It suited Riley more for him to come to her flat. And she knew he’d be impressed with her organisational skills in ensuring that they had the perfect first Christmas together.

A text message alert pinged and Riley reached for her phone. It was from her friend Ash. She was going into Hedworth that evening and had sent a photo of the dress she had bought that afternoon in the December sales. Riley quickly texted a message back and then shimmied into her woollen dress. Grabbing her heels from inside the wardrobe, she slipped them on and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Brown hair straightened to perfection: check. Dress fitting snugly: check. Make-up accentuating her brown eyes, slimming down her chubby cheeks and plumping up her lips: check.

Her phone rang. Her heart did an involuntary flip when she saw it was Nicholas. She answered the call as she walked through to the living room.

‘Where are you?’ she asked, not giving him time to speak. ‘How much longer before you’ll be here?’

There was silence down the line.

‘Nicholas?’ Still silence. ‘Nicholas? Hello? Are you there?’ She took the phone away from her ear to see the time ticking on the screen. The call was still connected.

Finally he spoke. ‘Yes, I’m here.’

‘Oh!’ Relief flooded through her, then a second of panic. ‘You’re not driving, are you?’

‘No, I— I—’

His pause was long enough for her to pick up on his anxiety.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘I’m a bastard. I’m a coward. A liar. A snake.’

‘What do you mean? Nicholas, have you been drinking?’

‘I’ve never been more sober in my life. That’s why this hurts so much.’

‘What does? You’re not making sense to—’

‘I’m— I’m married.’

‘Yes, I know you’re married. You told me you were going through a divorce and—’ She stopped.

‘I’m still with my wife. I lied about us splitting up.’

And then Riley began to understand.

‘You’re not coming, are you?’

‘I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to tell you the truth for some time now but I—’

‘
You
told me I would have you to myself for two days. I have presents, food, champagne!’

‘I just couldn’t. I wanted to stay with you but it’s impossible to leave my wife and kids.’

Riley squeezed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes momentarily. She remembered the hurt in her mother’s eyes when Riley had told her she wouldn’t be spending Christmas Day with the family. That was a tradition too.

‘How old are they?’ He’d told her that Bethany and Callum were grown up, Bethany at university and Callum at college. But then again, Riley was beginning to see that anything he had told her may have been a lie.

‘Five and three.’

She gasped. ‘You bastard!’

‘I’m sorry!’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she yelled. ‘Instead of letting me down right at the last minute.’

‘I couldn’t find the words. I want to be with you, Riley. But it’s impossible.’

As he continued to apologise, she glanced around the room, through blurry eyes, at the lights twinkling on the Christmas tree, at the carrot and the empty glass she had left on a plate to fill with sherry at midnight as a bit of fun, the presents under the tree that would never be opened. It couldn’t be more perfect.

Now, it couldn’t be more pathetic.

She disconnected the phone and sat down with a thump.

‘Merry Christmas, Riley,’ she said before bursting into tears.

R
iley Flynn stared
out of the window as the bus moved slowly along in the rush-hour traffic. It was a cold March morning, with not even a hint of the promise of spring. Rain poured down, the dreary weather matching her mood. She was only minutes away from work, and the thought didn’t thrill her in the slightest. In fact, nothing could make Riley smile at the moment.

Life had changed dramatically over the past few months. On Christmas Eve she had been full of festive spirit, hoping to spend the following day with the man of her dreams. Only, he’d turned out to be her worst nightmare because when he’d told her about himself he had left out one important, one
crucial,
detail. He was married. Not married in the ‘I love her but we have children and I can’t leave her yet’ sense, but married in a ‘I love her to bits and I love my family as much as I love having a bit on the side’ sort of way.

A bit on the side. Had she seen the signs? Had the truth been lit up in flashing pink neon lights and she had ignored it? Looking back – because she had analysed
everything
since she’d found out the truth – she might have had an inkling, but he’d told her he worked away from home, that he couldn’t see her as often as he would have liked. Long-distance had suited her at first, as she was still getting over the break up of a previous long-term relationship. But had it really suited her? Or had she only made herself believe that it had? She knew she’d been getting anxious, wanting more from Nicholas. But to ring her on Christmas Eve and do that to her? She’d never forgive him for lying and cheating.

She wiped a hand across the steamy window, staring out at the street as the bus inched along. People rushing past, umbrellas up, or diving into one of the row of shops just outside the town. They came to a halt again a few seconds later, but at least they had nearly reached the High Street now. The main bus station in the centre of Hedworth was only a few minutes away, and once she got off the bus another week of shoes, shoes and more shoes at Chandler’s would begin.

Even though the shop was closed on Sundays, the email she’d received on Saturday was still on her mind. The owner, Suzanne, was coming in to see the staff. She and her husband, Max, hardly ever called in. The last time had been in January when Suzanne had told them that sales needed to improve. From the tone of this last email, it was clear to Riley that she was going to bring bad news.

There wasn’t much competition for shoes in Hedworth, apart from the larger Debenhams store and the odd corner displays in some of the high street chain stores. Even though sales had been slow, Riley had thought things would pick up again, and that Chandler’s was well known enough to weather the economic storm.

Dan and Sadie had been on her mind constantly on Sunday. She had sat on the information from the email for the rest of the weekend, choosing not to tell her work colleagues and spoil the one day a week they had off. Dan Charles and Sadie Stewart worked full-time as shop assistants. Like her, they had worked at Chandler’s for years. What would happen to them all if the shop closed down? Being such a close team, Sadie and Dan had been there to see Riley through her last break up, with Tom, two years back. More recently, Riley and Dan had both been there to support Sadie when her husband, Ross, who they had all known for many years, died of cancer nine months ago.

‘So, do you fancy a pizza at mine this evening?’ a voice said.

Riley had almost forgotten that her friend, Ashleigh Whittaker, was sitting beside her on the bus. She and Ash lived in the same new-build block of flats, two flats on each of its three floors. For twelve months they had shared one of the flats, but when another one became available to rent, Ash moved out. The flats were fairly small for two people, despite the appeal of sharing the rent. Now, Riley lived at number four and Ash below her at number two. Most mornings they caught the bus together.

Riley turned sharply, cricking her neck. ‘It’s eight thirty in the morning, Ash.’ She rubbed at her neck to ease the pain. ‘You’re always thinking about food!’

Ash pulled out her earphones, wrapped the cord around her fingers and then shoved them into her pocket. She pushed her blonde fringe out of her eyes and grinned. ‘I love my food more than life itself.’

‘Yes, you eat like a pig but you stay as thin as a rake, even if they are the worst clichés to use,’
Riley muttered, but her tone was friendly. When she had turned up at Ash’s flat at Christmas, sobbing uncontrollably, like the good friend she was Ash had comforted Riley as best she could. The words ‘sneaky bastard’ and ‘two-timing lowlife’ had peppered the air for quite some time. Since then, Riley hadn’t told anyone else what had happened. Humiliated by it all, she’d thought it best to say that she’d cooled things down with Nicholas of her own accord.

The bus pulled into Hedworth bus station. Ash sighed as she got to her feet. Riley shuffled along the seat before following her down the aisle. They joined the throng of people on the short walk into the town centre.

‘Nicholas was an idiot.’ Ash put an arm around Riley’s shoulder and brought her close for a hug. ‘You can do much better than him.’

‘I’m thirty-two and haven’t even been engaged once, never mind six times like a lot of women my age before they settle down,’ she joked. ‘I don’t think I’m marriage material.’

‘You don’t need a man to live a fulfilled life!’

‘Says the woman who slept with a twenty-three-year-old on Saturday night!’

‘Ah, yes.’ Ash grinned. ‘Still reliving the memory.’

Noticing her cheeks reddening, Riley pushed Ash playfully as they walked up the stone steps towards the upper level of the High Street. A few minutes later, they said their goodbyes. Ash worked in Hedworth Shopping Centre, on the first floor, in a clothes shop called Jazz. Between the two of them, Riley and Ash could kit themselves out quite cheaply with staff discounts on fashion and shoes. Although Riley often bought clothes from Jazz, it was a rare occasion that a pair of shoes would come into her own shop that she or Ash would ever buy. Chandler’s sold sensible shoes – lace-ups for school children, boots for workmen, comfortable flats for women.

Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window of the chemist’s, Riley sighed. The razor-sharp hairdo she had started out with that morning after straightening it had transformed into a dark, wavy mess. Her coat almost hung off her small frame with the amount of weight she’d lost recently. Unlike Ash, who always tried to feed her up, Riley wasn’t into comfort eating. If anything upset her, she went off food altogether.

She pulled back her shoulders and quickened her step. It was time she pushed Nicholas to the back of her mind, focused on work and began to think about herself for a change.

H
edworth was a small market town
, close to neighbouring Somerley. Sampson Street was the main shopping street, well known for its bars and restaurants. In the middle was Hedworth Shopping Centre, set over two floors. The indoor market had been relocated and was now on the ground floor, and was a good place to find fresh and locally produced food, and stalls that sold crafts supplies, T-shirt printing services, carpets and flowers, as well as a cafe.

Most of the streets had been pedestrianised three years back, with seating areas put in and stone pots filled with flowers.

Chandler’s Shoe Shop was in one of the oldest rows of buildings in Hedworth. The shop front gleamed with welcoming, freshly-painted woodwork and large windows to let in the light, as well as showcase their stock. But that hadn’t always been the case.

A year earlier, a team of builders had been hired to modernise the shop, put in the windows at either side of the door, install easy-clean laminate flooring and paint the walls a bright cream. The floor space had been cleared as much as was possible, with white shelving replacing the dark wood, and four leather-look cubes had been pushed together in the middle of the shop for customers to sit on whilst they tried the shoes.

Up ahead, Dan and Sadie were waiting for her.

‘I hate drizzly rain,’ she told them.

‘Ah, that rain that gets you wet,’ Sadie muttered. ‘Where did that silly saying come from? All rain will get you wet if you’re out in it.’

‘I look like a drowned rat.’

‘You look as gorgeous as ever,’ said Dan, waving Riley’s comment away before rubbing the palm of his hand over his head. ‘And at least you have hair. I’d kill not to be losing mine.’

Riley located her keys and unlocked the front door. Sadie switched on the main lights and shrugged off her coat, brown curls cascading down her back as she pulled off her woollen hat.

‘I can’t wait for the summer,’ she said. ‘I hate winter with a passion.’

‘Sea, sand and plenty of the other. Give me some of that right now.’ Dan handed his coat to Sadie. ‘Your turn,’ he smiled sweetly.

Riley grinned and passed her coat to Sadie too. The shop had been refitted to a high and modern standard upstairs, but behind the scenes it left a lot to be desired. The basement where their staffroom was located wasn’t a nice place to be, so they avoided it as much as possible.

‘How was your weekend?’ Riley asked Dan as she made her way to the till.

‘So-so.’ Dan flicked on several switches as he followed her.

‘Daaaan,’ she said.

‘Yeeesss?’ he replied.

‘You said you had a big date on Saturday.’ Riley raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

‘It didn’t turn out to be a big date. The woman I met was about five foot two.’ Dan pointed to his head. ‘She was so tiny, I could have eaten her and I wouldn’t have been full.’

Riley laughed. At six foot two, Dan towered over most people. He had joined a dating agency in January and the stories of his escapades and near misses had become the highlight of each morning for Riley and Sadie in the few minutes before they opened the shop.

Sadie joined them. ‘What are you two talking about?’ she asked.

‘Dan’s latest date.’

‘Ah. So this one wasn’t a match either?’

‘Definitely not.’ Dan shook his head. ‘Setting aside the fact that I turned into the hunchback of Notre Dame every time I spoke to her, she was not on my wavelength. I mean, she enjoys watching
The Sopranos
and
Breaking Bad
over TOWIE and Corrie.’

Riley caught Sadie glancing at her and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. There was something wrong with every woman Dan dated. She wondered if he ever wanted to settle down or if the dating game kept him on the market, open to relationships but not exactly interested in having one. More likely he was still nursing his broken heart after splitting up with his partner, Sarah. Riley tried not to laugh out loud. With the two of them unlucky in love, Chandler’s was like a lonely hearts club at the moment.

‘I love
The Sopranos
,’ Sadie teased. ‘Do you not like me?’

‘I
love
you, you daft mare,’ Dan teased. ‘But you’re my friend anyway. I want a woman to fall for, not another BFF.’

Riley flounced off then, mildly irritated by Dan’s banter. Why did everyone think that having someone to love was the be-all and end-all? It wasn’t.

‘
Get a grip, Riley Flynn
,’ she spoke in a hushed tone.

‘What was that?’ Dan turned towards her.

‘Oh, nothing.’ Riley shrugged. ‘I’m just deciding what exciting task to tackle first today.’

Riley booted up the computer and scanned through her emails while Sadie and Dan opened up the shop. Dan turned the radio on, and almost immediately a Pharrell Williams song began playing. Riley dipped her head quickly behind the computer screen.

‘Riley, they’re playing our song!’ Dan cried out, making the one person who had come into the shop jump in the process. ‘Sadie!’

‘I’m not in the mood.’ Sadie marched past him quickly. ‘You’ll have to do it by yourself today.’

‘But,’ Dan grabbed her arm and pulled her back, ‘you know the rules. Whenever it comes on, we dance. No matter how we are feeling, no matter what we are doing. It’s our thing! Come on, Riley!’

But Riley wasn’t listening. As Dan and Sadie stood side by side in the middle of the shop floor, clapping and dancing to ‘Happy’, she re-read the email she had received on Saturday, her shoulders drooping more with each line.

As she was still the shop manager for now, Riley decided to leave her staff dancing to the remainder of the record. Let them have a bit of fun while she worked out what the long-term effects of the email would be.

She went downstairs to the staffroom and made coffee for them all. Then, adding a packet of biscuits to the tray, she went back up to the shop floor.

It was time to break the news.