Those Red High Heels (2 page)

As I unlocked my driver’s door and slid into my car, I smiled, and thought that maybe this wasn’t such a bad day. Right as I pushed my key into the ignition, my phone started to vibrate in my purse, and a million different scenarios came to mind of who could be calling. Greg, calling to admit his horrible ways and tell me he was ready to settle down. David, calling to grovel. Or Jess, calling to tell me Greg was dating the bimbo from last night, and we’re officially over. When I pulled my phone out and saw it was my best friend ever, Brynn, I smiled and hugged my phone to my chest.

Brynn was just the girl I needed to talk to. She always knew how to make me feel better. Brynn and I grew up together in a small farming town in southwest Illinois. The minute we saw Carrie Bradshaw prancing around New York City when we were young teens, we both knew exactly where we wanted to be when we graduated college. Our dream of moving to NYC together crumbled when a good looking, perfect smiling, amazing hairline guy stole my heart and talked me into staying in Chicago with him. Brynn, on the other hand, followed our calling and moved solo out to the Big Apple.

As I slid the answer bar across my phone, I let out a loud breath and smiled.

“Brynn!” I said with so much excitement that I made her laugh on the other side.

“Ems, you sound happy! Did you get the job?”

I sighed and didn’t say anything for a minute. “No, I’m glad you called. I’ve had a really bad day. I found out Greg was with another girl last night, and to top it off I just got fired.”

“What? Oh, Emma, are you kidding me? I’m so sorry about your job. Maybe it’s for the best, and that damn Greg. Cheating bastard. You can do so much better than him. Come out here! I miss you and I need you.”

“Come on Brynn, you don’t need me. You have Collin,” I said as I shut my eyes and let out a deep breath.

Brynn was quiet for a minute as well, but then let out a little squeak. “I was calling to tell you some really exciting news.”

She trailed off a little and I was now very curious. We talked almost once a week, so I was hardly surprised by news from her. “Exciting? Well, spill. What are you waiting for? I need some good news today.”

“I know this isn’t the best time for you, but Collin asked me to marry him and I said yes! That’s why I need you. I need my maid of honor.” I sat on the line with my mouth wide open. “Emma?” she questioned, waiting for my screech of approval.

I cleared my throat and finally pulled myself together. I’d known this was going to happen soon, and I really was happy for her. Collin was a great guy and they were meant for each other, but did it have to be right then? Right in the middle of the crappiest day I’ve ever had? I put on my happy voice and said, “Yes! Oh my gosh, that is so exciting, Brynn. He proposed to you? Now?”

Brynn giggled and it sounded like she whispered something to someone next to her, probably Collin. “He did. He talked me into playing hooky this morning, although my coworkers knew what was going on, and took me to our favorite spot in Central Park. It was magical, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. I guess he had something major planned this weekend, but couldn’t wait.” She laughed again and made kissing noises on the other side.
Puke
. I really was excited for her. I knew it was going to be great spending time with her, and planning this wedding. Only not so much at that exact moment.

Brynn cleared her throat and continued. “I hate to cut this short, but we’re going to go. I needed to call and tell you right away so you could make plans to come out here. We need to start this shindig. We want to have the wedding in a few months, so we have a lot to do in a short amount of time.”

I smiled and imagined a nice, small, intimate wedding in New York. “Okay, I love you, and really congrats. I also love that you said shindig. You’ll always be a country bumpkin,” I laughed as she called me a dirty bitch, but then giggled and hung up. Shindig, great. I looked around the parking garage and half expected to see a ninja dressed in complete black ready to carjack me at any moment.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I needed to do something to make this day from hell not a complete waste, and I needed to do it now.

Chapter Two

“Well, hello, gorgeous. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. Look at you, all soft and perfect. I can’t wait to feel what you’re like when I -”

“Can I help you?” a saleswoman asked, interrupting a moment between me and a very beautiful pair of expensive red shoes.

I looked up at her and let out a little laugh, which made her cock her other eyebrow. “Yes, I’m so sorry, but I mean look at these shoes. I have seriously had one of the worst days in my life and I figured today was as good a day as any to come down and finally buy these bad boys.”

The saleswoman let out a little breath and started to laugh as well. I must have been cleared of being a complete psycho. “They’re amazing, aren’t they? I have a pair myself, and they’re surprisingly comfortable. I highly recommend them.”

It wasn’t the first time I had cradled those babies in my arms, cooing sweet nothings to them, but I had never asked how much they cost because I knew I would be crushed. Before I could talk myself out of my rash decision I blurted out, “I’ll take them. Size eight please.”

The sales woman smiled and told me I wouldn’t regret it. I let out a little laugh because she had no clue I was now jobless, and had spent close to one month’s rent on fancy red shoes. As my grandma always said, F-it. She was a wise woman, a wise woman with a horrible potty mouth, but I needed to follow her advice. I needed those shoes. My day needed those shoes, and now I had a reason to get them, Brynn’s wedding.

I followed Priscilla,
I love name tags
, to the register and when I caught sight of the total that appeared on the screen, I had to fight back some very abnormal sounds that were making their way up through my vocal cords. I handed over my card and took one last look at my new jewels before they were boxed with perfection and placed in their signature designer bag. I thanked my new shoe buddy, Priscilla, and made my way back to my car with my purchase. Screw this day.

I was turning onto the interstate when I got the call from the cleaners that everything was good as new in my apartment. I had already called the vet and checked in on Sadie. Apparently, she had eaten something bad, and they wanted to keep her through the night to observe her. They told me they would call me later with an update. I already missed my four-legged friend. Greg and I had decided we would share custody of Sadie, for now. I didn’t want to lose a night with her, but I took the opportunity to go back home and think about how I wanted my life to go. Maybe I could research a few more advertising firms in New York City. That’s where I really wanted to be, even if it meant leaving Greg behind. He could kiss it anyway, not putting down roots. Who says that? A playboy, that’s who. All of a sudden, I felt really pathetic that I let myself shift my whole future for a damn guy.

**

Later that night when I was snuggled up with my favorite guys, and a classic chick flick, a ridiculously loud banging noise at my door interrupted my moment of healing. The intrusive noise startled me so much that I ended up throwing Ben and Jerry over the back of my couch and almost had a heart attack right there. Damn, that was my favorite flavor. Who the hell was banging on my door this late at night? Maybe it was that ninja who missed me earlier, but ninja’s aren’t that loud. Finally, I heard a familiar voice yell, “Dammit Emma, I know you’re in there. Why are you ignoring everyone’s calls?”

Greg? I grabbed my phone and looked down at my screen. Seventeen missed calls. Two from the vet, five from Greg, and ten from Brynn. I jumped up and ran over to my door, peeked through my peephole to make sure it really was Greg, and then quickly threw open the door when I saw what a mess he was.

“Emma, my God, what the hell?” he questioned breathlessly as he engulfed me in a huge bear hug.

I pushed him back, hard, and stared up at him. “What are you doing here, and why are you acting so crazy?” I asked and turned around to sit back on my couch.

“Jesus, Emma. I thought something bad happened to you. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get ahold of you? The vet called and said they couldn’t reach you to tell you that Sadie was doing much better, which by the way thank you for letting me know, and then Brynn called and threatened to cut my balls off if I wasn’t over here in ten minutes. I called you five times,” he said quietly and ran his hand through the front of his hair.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, but then looked right back at Greg. “I know about the little redhead from last night.”

“What? Really, that’s what you have to say? I thought you might be dead and you bring up some girl from last night. Emma, we’re on a break.”

I shook my head and put my hands over my face before I totally lost it. “I’m really sorry about not answering my phone. I put it on silent and set it on the table, so I could search the web on my laptop and have a little alone time. I honestly didn’t know anyone was trying to get ahold of me. I have had a really bad day.”

Greg walked over to the chair next to my couch and sat down on the edge. He must have been staring at me because I could practically feel his gaze like a laser on my face. I slowly looked up, but then put my head back down when I saw pity on his face. Who was I? I was not that girl; a girl who mopes around with a ‘feel sorry’ for me sign around my neck. I was Emma freaking Walker, and I was awesome.

Greg cleared his throat, “Emma, look. I’m really sorry-” But I shot up and stood right above him, cutting him off.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Greg. I’ve had it. I’m not waiting around for you to figure out if I'm the one. I was the one; but even if you did decide to come back, it wouldn’t work. I wouldn’t feel the same, because you lost me. Plain and simple. I really did love you, but I’m not waiting around for you anymore. I’m not going to be stung by you anymore, and I sure as hell don’t want to hear about you hooking up with other women.” I huffed and placed my hands on my hips.

Greg looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes, but then hung his head in defeat. “I’m really sorry for hurting you, Emma. You do mean a lot to me, and if this were five years from now it would be perfect. I’m not ready to settle down.”

I walked over, placed my hand on his shoulder, and took a deep breath to calm down. He was right, he wasn’t ready to settle down. At least he was finally being honest, and I had to give him a little credit. “I know, and I hope we really can still get along. The weird thing about all of this is I’ve been waiting almost a month for you to come around. I guess I knew this was going to happen, and I’m okay with it. Oh, guess what? Brynn called me today. Collin proposed to her this morning, so I’m flying out to New York soon to help out.”

He looked up at me and placed his hand over mine. “Wow, that’s great. You’ve been saying you thought that was going to happen soon. Good for them. I can keep Sadie while you’re gone. That’s not a big deal. I don’t think I could go weeks without seeing her, and New York usually isn’t a dog friendly area.”

I turned back around to sit down on my couch. “Thanks, I don’t think Brynn would mind, but I don’t know what our schedule is going to be like. I’ll hopefully be back in a few weeks, and I can get her then. I think I should keep her, Greg. I know she’s ‘ours’, but technically she’s mine.”

Greg stood up and waved his hand around in the air. Greg may be an ass, but he loved that dog more than anything. I loved her too, and she really was mine first. I know that sounds childish, but she’s my baby. I couldn’t give her up. He looked over at me and said, “We don’t have to talk about that now. She’ll be fine here with me, just go have fun in New York. We’ll talk about that later. I’m glad you’re okay, and that my balls will stay in their correct region.”

I laughed and walked over to open the door for him. “This is weird; you know it’s finally over.”