C h a p t e r E i g h t e e n
Charlie's Shoes
It was a relaxing day, and Charlie did, in fact, dive into the river, well to be concise, it was a lake, and anyway, his short curls eventually flattened out and his hair looked almost right again. There was still some evidence though of ribbons and curlers in his hair, evidence that was not very visible to others, but enough to me.
I prayed that Henry and Artie wouldn’t notice, for I wasn’t sure how they would react, or what they would say.
But overall, it was a bit funny.
I decided to surprise Charlie with a little gift. Something that he may not like at first, but I hoped I could somehow alter his opinion, ever unchanging.
Henry and I picked him out a pair of shoes.
And yes, I know, he hates shoes, but what would happen when winter came along? Truthfully, I wondered how he had fared in winters past before we came along. Maybe that was my destiny. To put shoes on Charlie Ferguson.
There was a little general store which had many varying things and it happened that there were but three pairs of brown boots left in stock.
“Are you sure we should do this, Annabelle?” Henry gave me a nervous glance, when we stood before the front counter. “Buy shoes for a lad who despises the things? He may refuse and never put them on.”
“Consider it a birthday gift,” I said cheerily. “Anyway, I want to do something special for him. And maybe I can change his opinion while I’m at it.”
The shopkeeper, an old man with a young smile, handed me a brown paper package, tied closed with a string.
I put my nose to it and sighed. I loved the smell of brown paper. It reminded me of lovely things.
“Thank you,” I said, and Henry and I walked out of the shop, a keen breeze sending a shiver of delight down our spines. Such a nice breeze for such a warm day.
We sat under a maple tree and Henry took the package. “Shall I open it?” he asked.
“Then the paper will be torn. I think we should leave it for Charlie.”
“What if we got the wrong size? It was a hasty and un-thought through purchase.”
“There are a very limited amount of sizes, Henry. I think it will be fine.”
Henry shrugged and handed it back to me. “Then let’s go and find him.”
At first Charlie was skeptical. He stared at the shoes, brown ankle-high boots with strings, and then he took the package. But soon he gave it back with a shake of his head. “You want me to wear shoes?” he muttered and bit the insides of his mouth. “I can’t. Uh uh,” he shook his head with the last two words, putting on extra emphasis.
“Oh Charlie, please try. Even I wear shoes, sometimes. And it’s only for the cooler days.”
“How about this day?” he wondered, very quietly.
I looked at Henry and he smiled at me.
“Today is very warm. But you will try them on, won’t you? For me, Charlie?”
“Will they fit me good?”
“Oh, but of course.”
It took awhile for Charlie to put on the shoes. I had to tie them for him, but once they were on, he stretched and eased into a slow walk.
“Do you like them?” I asked, hopeful for a good reply.
He shrugged. And then caught my gaze and grinned at me. “Aw…Annie.”
I chuckled and cleaned up the packaging while he walked around me in a circle, his feet stretching into the new boots.
After that, everyone who saw him in his shoes simply encouraged him on, giving him a little compliment here and there.
Felix came out from the Lovingale, after he had rested for awhile, and stood gaping at Charlie. “You’re in shoes!”
Charlie scowled at him. He made a strange grunting sound and walked stiffly up the porch stairs and sat down beside Felix who towered over him.
“Felix, say something,” I whispered.
“Um…” first Felix hesitated, but then quickly brightened up and exclaimed animatedly, “Would you look at those fine shoes, Charlie? They’re simply dashing!”
“I wish I had such shoes,” Henry played along.
Charlie’s mouth showed hints of merriment but he shook his head again and crossed his arms. Felix sat down on one side of the boy and Henry on the other.
“They are nice boots, my dear fellow,” Henry said quietly, but I could hear.
Charlie bit his lip and reached his fingers out and touched the heel of his boot. “No dust,” he whispered.
“They’re brand new,” Felix gave him a little nudge. “Like a little baby, you know. Every thing was new once at some point. Now come on old chap, they’re a mighty fine pair of shoes.”
The corners of Charlie’s mouth curved into a smile and he laughed, accepted the shoes, and I sighed with relief.
I wasn’t there when Artie reacted to his brother in shoes, for when I returned from taking a brief walk, he was gone again.
This day was a long one. But in the end, Charlie did eventually grow to tolerate his shoes. And then, he never took them off. So the three of us—Henry, Felix, and I—we made a plan to hide the shoes until it was cold outside, so that he would not completely wear them through.
And I believe Charlie enjoyed such praise from all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment