Her Lifelong Dream (9 page)

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon and, except for a
few college kids, Leedy had the mall to herself. She needed
to go to the kitchen shop and buy a new saute skillet and
then she would pursue her never-ending search for shoes
that were both comfortable and attractive. It had been ages
since she had roamed a mall. She resisted the impulse to
stop at the coffee bar for a latte. Maybe on her way out
she would stop.

"Leedy?" a feminine voice from behind her called. "Is
that you?"

"Yes?" she said, turning around. There behind her was
a tall young woman whom she immediately recognized.

"Do you remember me?" Deanna asked. "We ran together in the race? You know my uncle?" She was wearing
hip-hugging bell bottom blue jeans and a gray rag sweater
that Leedy suspected had been borrowed from Terry's
closet. She also carried a heavy bookbag on her back.

"Of course I remember you, Deanna!" Leedy exclaimed,
not trying to hide her pleasure at seeing the cute teenager.
"It's good to see you again. How are you?"

"Good," she said. "I didn't have any classes this afternoon so I'm shopping for shoes."

Leedy smiled, remembering the forlorn, puzzled expression on Terry's face the last time Deanna shopped for
shoes. "Me too," Leedy confessed.

"I was just headed for Crazy Joe's Shoe Shack. I hear
there's a big sale. Would you like to join me?"

Leedy couldn't think of anything else she would rather
do. "I would love to," she said and they headed down the
mall together.

The shoe store was just as slow as the rest of the malland it was a good thing too. There was a buy-one-pair, get one-pair-free sale, and the sight of the racks of shoes made
the palms of Leedy's hands sweat. "Is this heaven, or
what?" she asked, and Deanna nodded in delighted agreement.

They spent the next two hours in the store, trying on pair
after pair of shoes until they were both certain they had
driven the clerk insane.

"Those are cute on you," Leedy said.

"They're dreamy looking, but they pinch my toes,"
Deanna responded.

"I can't wear high heels anymore," Leedy sighed. "I wish
I could, but with my job ... I'm always on my feet. I have
to be practical."

"What about those purple sling-backs with the stiletto
heels? They don't look very practical to me."

"I'm going to a wedding next month. I bought this dress
that's to die for. These shoes will be a perfect match!"

It felt good to giggle with someone and Leedy wondered
how long it had been since she had spent time with a female
friend. While she was dating Brian, she had been part of
an active social circle. But after the break-up, it had seemed
too awkward to continue seeing the same group of friends
as he did. Especially with Angela now in the thick of
things. There was Brittany, of course, but between their
mutual jobs, classes, and Brittany's long list of wedding
chores, it had been months since Leedy had gone out with
a friend just for the fun of it.

She was enjoying herself as much as if she were out with
her best chums from high school. Deanna was funny and
animated and when Leedy looked at her, it was as if she
was seeing herself when she was nineteen years old.

"How many pairs are you getting?" Deanna asked.

"Well ... six," Leedy said. "But they're on sale and it's
been quite a while since I shopped for shoes."

"I know! I know!" Deanna exclaimed.

"How many pairs are you getting?" Leedy asked.

"Eight."

"Eight! Wow! I'm glad I'm not a shoe nut like you,"
Leedy teased.

"But I need every pair," she protested. "One pair is for
school and I needed a new pair of running shoes. And even
Uncle Terry says my old clogs are looking beat ..."

"What about those lime green dancing shoes?" Leedy
echoed. "They don't look very practical to me."

"But they're so pretty," Deanna said. "And they make
my big feet look smaller. And since it is a buy-one-getone-free sale, I'm really only buying four pairs of shoes,
right?" She stuck her lower lip out in an adorable pout,
heartbroken by the injustice of it all. Leedy wondered how
Terry ever said no to her.

"I guess I'll put the lime green dancing shoes back," she
sighed. "I already have a pair almost exactly like them in
blue ... and maybe I'll put back the platforms too. They
are a bit frivolous. Then I'll only be getting six pairs!
You're getting six pairs. That's not that many, is it?"

Leedy laughed. The kid obviously had a monkey on her
back, but it was a monkey Leedy was intimately familiar
with. "It sounds perfectly reasonable to me," she said. "But
how is your uncle going to feel about it?"

"He doesn't have to know," Deanna said, a sly grin suddenly appearing on her face.

"I won't tell," Leedy said, smiling back. "Then it's settled. We'll both get six pairs of shoes. And I don't mind saying, I'm exhausted. I need a pick-me-up. Would you
like a latte?"

"How about lunch first?" she suggested. "I'm starved."

They went to the food court where Leedy treated Deanna
to soda and a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. They
found a table in a far corner of the gymnasium-like dining
room.

"How is school?" Leedy asked after they were seated.

"Good," Deanna said. "Actually, it has been a breeze.
Everyone gets you so psyched up about going off to college. It's turning out to be a cinch. Well, so far anyway.
I'll see how my midterms go."

"You'll do just fine," she said. "Your uncle tells me
you're a very bright young lady."

Deanna rolled her eyes. "He tells everyone that."

"Well, obviously, he's right. He said you're studying to
be a teacher?"

"Yep," she said. "I've always wanted to teach. Ever since
I was a kid myself. It would be thrilling to be in charge of
a group of kids. You know ... I can mold their young
minds and help make it a better world."

"What grade would you like to teach?"

"The middle school grades," Deanna said. "I'm majoring
in secondary education. I know what you're thinking. It is
the scariest group of all and probably the most difficult to
handle. But it is also a great time to come into a person's
life. A lot of kids need extra help in middle school. I know,
I was a mess when I was that age."

Leedy did the math and realized Deanna had good reason
to be a mess when she was in middle school. "Were you
rebellious?" she asked.

"No, at least not at school," Deanna said. "But I was very unhappy. And confused. It was a horrible time in my
life."

"I'm sorry," Leedy said.

"It's okay now," she added, smiling bravely. "Uncle
Terry got me through it."

Her young face clouded for a moment and Leedy patted
her hand. "You'll be a great teacher, Deanna. I wish I had
a teacher with your compassion when I was in middle
school. I was a bit of a mess myself."

Deanna smiled and then quickly changed the subject. She
spoke in the rapid-fire fashion common among most of the
teenage girls Leedy had known. As if there were too many
words to say in too little time. Deanna talked about shoes
and the fickle trends in foot fashion. Then they talked about
her classes and life in the college dorm.

"Have you met any boys?" Leedy asked. They had finished the pizza and had finally made their way to the coffee
bar. She ordered her usual vanilla latte and watched in
frank admiration when Deanna ordered the largest caramel
frappuccino she had ever seen.

"A few," Deanna said, sticking her tongue out and tasting the mound of whipped cream. "But don't tell Uncle
Terry. He'll have a cow!"

"No! Is he strict?"

"Are you kidding?" Deanna exclaimed. "He didn't let
me go on a car date until I turned seventeen! And my curfew was midnight until I graduated from high school! All
my friends got to stay out until at least one o'clock. You
should have seen the fuss he made when I told him I
wanted to live on campus!"

"Oh?"

"He said we lived close enough to the campus for me to
commute."

"Well, it is right here in Madison."

"I know, but I wanted to experience college life. It was
months before he finally agreed to let me go, but he still
worries. You know how he is."

"No," Leedy said. "Actually I only recently met your
uncle."

"Oh!" Deanna said, and Leedy heard a tinge of wonder
in her voice. "He knew you when we saw you at Mr.
Hobo's, and you both seemed so ... compatible at the race
that day. You guys seemed as if you were old friends. I
thought you had known him for awhile."

"No," Leedy said. "I had the pleasure of meeting your
uncle for the first time only three weeks ago. He was the
loan officer for a business transaction I had with his bank."

"Oh," Deanna said and paused. "You should get to know
him better," she said after a moment. "You will like him.
He's kind of a screwball sometimes, but he's a good guy.
And some women think he's ... okay looking ... for an
older guy, that is."

"How old is he?" Leedy asked. "I thought he was about
my age."

"Sorry," Deanna said. "I didn't mean to imply that
you're old, Leedy. Uncle Terry is way older than you. He's
twenty-nine! Almost thirty."

"That old?" Leedy said, with feigned horror.

"Sorry," Deanna said. "I guess that isn't very old. But
he seems older to me. I think of him ... um ... kind of
like a dad. How old are you? If you don't mind telling me,
that is!"

"I'm twenty-seven," Leedy said. "Almost twenty-eight."

Deanna smiled, delighted. "That isn't so bad," she said.
"Much better than thirty. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No," Leedy said, not minding that the conversation had
turned more personal. If she could ask Deanna about boys,
why couldn't Deanna ask her?

"How come? You're so pretty!"

"Thank you," Leedy said. "I date occasionally, but my
job keeps me busy. And I'm happy with my life the way
it is. Besides, boys aren't everything, are they?"

"I agree one hundred percent," Deanna admitted. "Boys
are not everything. But they do keep things interesting
sometimes."

"True," Leedy nodded. "They're good for that much, I
suppose."

"Uncle Terry says you're trying to open a restaurant."

"Yes."

"He told me it's going to be a wonderful place. He said
he'd take me there when it opens."

"Your Uncle Terry sounds quite sure of me," Leedy said,
surprised. "I wish I had his confidence, and I hope he's
right."

"If Uncle Terry says your restaurant will be wonderful,
it will be wonderful," Deanna said. "He has a good head
for business." She suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh, no!"
she gasped, jumping from her seat. "I should have been
home an hour ago! Uncle Terry and I have dinner together
every Wednesday. He's probably worrying about me!"

"I have my cell phone. Do you want to call him?"

"No," Deanna said. "If I can just get to the bus stop
and ..."

"I'll give you a ride home."

"Oh, would you?" Deanna cried. "Freshmen are not al lowed to have cars. It's such a drag. I have to keep mine
at home. Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"Not at all," Leedy said. "I'll get you home in a jiffy.
You can call your uncle from the car."

The ride from the mall to Terry's house took only ten
minutes and Deanna had been right about her uncle being
worried. Although Deanna had called him from Leedy's
car, he was standing on the front porch with both hands
shoved deeply into his pockets when they pulled up.

"There you are!" Terry scolded Deanna as she climbed
out of the car, a worried expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Terry," she said. "I was shopping with
Leedy and we lost all track of the time."

"I can see that," he said. "But you and I had a dinner
date, did we not?"

"Yes," she said. "We did. And I'm sorry to have kept
you waiting."

"It was my fault that Deanna's late," Leedy said, climbing out of her Jeep. "I kept her longer than she would have
stayed. The time got away from us."

Terry gave Leedy a secret wink when Deanna wasn't
looking. "I doubt that it took much persuading on your part to keep Deanna at the shops," he said. "And, judging from
the number of bags in the back seat, you two had a busy
day."

"There was a sale," Deanna said. "And Leedy bought
just as many pairs as I did."

Leedy's face reddened. "Well ... uh ... I ..."

"Are all women crazy for shoes?" Terry asked, befuddled. "I own four pairs of shoes, and I get along just fine."

"Not all women," Leedy said. "But, yes, some women
have a passion for shoes. I, on the other hand, am more
practical."

"I'm sure you are," he said. He had a look in his eye, as
if he wanted to say more, then he remembered Deanna was
standing next to him. He wagged his finger at her. "Well,
young lady," he said. "You're home, safe and sound, and
at least you had the good sense to call me from Leedy's
car." He then playfully punched her on the shoulder and
tousled her hair. "And since you brought a beautiful woman
home with you, you're back in my good graces. This time!
But next time I expect you to be here at the designated
time, understand?"