Losing Shoes in Night Clubs - by Jerry Walsh

Introduction

How did she look? Image was important, not too tarty, not too girlish, must look smart � but must look sexy and alluring.

Adrienne stood in front of the mirror and tilted her head to one side. Five foot five Adrienne was a buxom girl, good breasts, solid thighs and hips, she had a good rounded pleasing sexy, but not petite or skinny, figure. She looked at her out-fit; a thigh length electric blue long sleeved dress, with low neck line, which was accessorised by a thick black belt with a gold buckle. She wore tan hose/tights with reinforced toes. What would she wear on her feet?

With the black belt and the small black shoulder bag she was taking, Adrienne would have to opt for something black. She looked at her brand new black stilettos, they looked great, but she�d worn them for the first time last night and they�d hurt her feet. The right one, in particular, seemed to pinch round her toes, so much so that on that previous evening, whilst standing near the bar with her girlfriends, she�d slipped the right shoe off completely and stood for some time with her stocking foot resting on the cool floor. No, no, two consecutive nights in new shoes was too much. Adrienne glanced down and saw her knee length black leather boots. These were also fairly new, but Adrienne felt these would be sufficiently broken in for a long night, furthermore, as they were going to a night-club and would be dancing, the lower heeled boots were an acceptable compromise between fashion and practicability.

�Adrienne! Adrienne! Sue and Karen are here. Are you ready love?�

�Two minutes Mum!� Adrienne shouted down.

Some twenty minutes later Adrienne�s father dropped the three girlfriends off at the Nags Head Bar, a smart, oldy-world, semi-rural bar and restaurant. Here the girls were to meet Penny Malcolm and her crowd. Penny owned a hairdressing boutique � well rather her wheeler dealer father Robin had bought the boutique for his daughter to run. Tonight was Penny�s birthday and dad Robin had hired a coach to take Penny and her friends to the Romulus Night-Club in Birmingham, were Robin had organised free entry. Adrienne was a little apprehensive though, she didn�t know Penny personally, or any of Penny�s crowd. Her friend Karen went to school with Penny and Karen�s mother knew Penny�s mother. Karen and Penny were superficially friendly, but Karen didn�t get too close. From Karen�s accounts of her old school friend, Adrienne knew Penny was the spoilt, bad tempered, bitchy daughter of a crooked businessman and she wondered how she�d allowed Karen to drag her along.

�Hi There! Hi! Hi!� shrieked Penny.

�Penny!� Karen shrieked back and went over and embraced Penny and they kissed on the cheeks. Adrienne cringed, when she thought of how awful Karen had made Penny out to be, and now she was embracing her.

Penny was a tall thin heavily made-up girl with an outrageous hairdo, which reminded Adrienne of the crest of a tropical bird.

Adrienne was introduced to Penny and actually found her, despite being a little �over the top�, quite warm and friendly. Maybe it was just that Karen was jealous of Penny?

But of course Penny ran a salon and was used to being friendly with strangers.

The coach arrived and the girls finished their drinks and went out to board it. As they sat down on the coach Adrienne tried to flex her toes in her right boot. The pinching soreness of the previous night, when wearing new shoes had returned and her toes hurt. Without even really consciously thinking about, Adrienne put the toe of her left boot into the back of the heel of her right boot and pushed down � the boot had to come off. The boot gradually came away from her stocking foot, she pulled her foot out of the �neck� of the boot which, empty, fell on its side on the coach floor. Adrienne then placed her stocking foot flat on the coach floor and then turned her toes up and wriggled them, this felt good. She felt a coach ride into Birmingham with her boot off would be agreeable.

The coach seemed to be waiting for someone. �Here she is, late as usual!� shouted Penny in her affected upper-class accent, which still failed to fully diminish her local West Midlands accent. �Oh its our friend Maxine�, teased Karen.

Adrienne had known Maxine at college, they�d both been on the same secretarial course as teenagers , but had never been close. Adrienne, who�d left college with a good diploma considered Maxine tarty, a little common and not really her sort. Maxine a tiny, but loud redhead, who�d left college without a diploma, considered Adrienne a snob and not much fun. Maxine was now doing clerical work in one of Penny�s Dad, Robin�s companies and was �In� with Penny. Penny and Maxine embraced and then Maxine saw Adrienne. Maxine walked up the coach aisle to Adrienne smiling, �Hello Bab, long time no see � how are yer!�

Adrienne smiled and stood up, half stepping into the aisle and the two girls gave each other an insincere hug and kiss. �I�m working for Penny�s dad, Robin you know in admin�, Maxine said, trying to sound important, to an unimpressed Adrienne.

�Oh really�, said Adrienne, whose husky voice could erroneously convey a bored tone (which in fact she was anyway), �I�m with the Civil Service as an admin officer.�

Maxine, who�d been rejected by the Civil Service, felt she was being �put down�.

�Nice dress Adrienne, is that colour electric blue ?�

�I think so.�

�Electric Blue like the porn movies.�

�Oh I wouldn�t know,� Adrienne replied in a superior manner.

Maxine gave a bitchy smile and looked down. She looked down and saw Adrienne�s feet, a boot on her left foot and her stocking toed bootless right foot.

The coach was starting to move, Maxine looked up and smiled, �Better get a seat�, she said and departed, as she walked past Penny, Maxine bent over and whispered something to Penny. Penny looked round and stared at Adrienne.

In the night-club the atmosphere, music and night was good and the girls enjoyed partying and dancing on the floor. Adrienne enjoyed herself with Karen and Sue, but increasingly the girls felt themselves on the fringes, excluded by spoilt Penny and her clique, the favourite of which appeared to be Maxine.

After a good hour on the dance floor, Adrienne, Karen and Sue came off the floor and Sue went to the bar for drinks. Karen and Adrienne leant against a thick solid column near the railings which surrounded the area overlooking the dance floor. Sue was ages at the crowded bar. The toes of Adrienne�s right foot, not fully recovered from the previous night in new shoes and fresh from a hard session on the dance floor, started to ache again. Adrienne muttered to herself, she leant heavily against the column and lifted her right foot off the ground slightly. After a few minutes of resting her weight on the left foot, Adrienne still felt her aching toes were not being relieved enough and conceded that the boot would have to come off again for a while. Adrienne brought her right leg back behind her, at the knee, and with her right hand, grabbed her boot round the back of the ankle and tugged at it. At first this required a little effort, �Excuse me a sec Karen�, she said as she pulled. Then the boot came completely off her stocking foot � �Oooh Now that�s better�. Adrienne placed her empty boot on the floor, against the column and next to her shoulder bag. She placed her stocking foot flat on the soft carpet and this felt oh so good. She found herself more relaxed, less constrained and chatted happily to Karen.

Sue returned from the bar with a tray with six drinks on and was struggling in the dark crowded club. �We better give her a hand,� said Karen. Sue had queued at the busy, heaving bar for ages and had bought two drinks each, to cut out another timely trip to the bar. Adrienne picked up her shoulder bag and placed the strap over her right shoulder and then picked up her boot in her right hand. Going over to Sue, Adrienne picked up one drink with her left hand and then the other with her right hand. The girls walked to the railings, which surrounded the area overlooking the dance floor, as these had stands to place the drinks on and they could lean on the railings (seats were in short supply). As they approached the area, Adrienne, carrying a drink and her boot in one hand, dropped her boot. She went to lean over to pick the boot off the floor, but felt too awkward carrying two drinks. Instead , Adrienne simply kicked her boot in the direction the girls were going. The boot hit the railings, but bounced back a little from the railing, something Adrienne failed to fully notice.

The girls put their drinks down and started to have a good laugh together. As the spirits, raised by alcohol , rose further, the girls had more of a party and they were leaning on the railings looking onto the dance floor, pointing out good looking guys and laughing at others attempts to dance or be cool. Adrienne and her friends, without fully realising, moved further down the railing and away from Adrienne�s discarded boot, which was behind and to the right of Adrienne.

Penny and Maxine came off the dance floor and spotted Adrienne and her pals. They paused by the thick column. �Oh look who�s over there�, said Penny in a bitchy tone.

�Yeah�, said Maxine without much enthusiasm, �that Adrienne can�t keep her boot on.�

�Perhaps it pinches , hurts her foot,� Penny paused and gave Maxine a wicked look, �maybe she�s better off without it.�

�You wouldn�t dare!� exclaimed Maxine as she poked Penny and looked at her in a way that was clearly egging Penny on.

�Wouldn�t I dear,� Penny giggled, �watch�.

Penny walked, swiftly, stealthy and unseen over to behind Adrienne and her friends, who were all engaged in having a good giggle at the antics of a drunken would-be Romeo on the dance floor. Penny leant over, and snatched up Adrienne�s discarded boot, pulled it to her chest, turned round and leaning forward, she quickly ran back to Maxine. She passed the boot to Maxine, �Here put this under your jacket�.

�You bitch,� giggled Maxine.

�I know,� laughed Penny and they both headed up the stairs, for the Ladies.

Going up the stairs, Penny and Maxine reached a landing. By now Maxine, courage fuelled with alcohol and eager to impress Penny, started to get above herself. On the landing was a window. This overlooked the inaccessible backyard, where club bar and catering staff took empties, rubbish, waste etc. out for disposal. Maxine, giggling, opened the window and dangled Adrienne�s boot out into the darkness.

�Go on,� Penny demanded.

Maxine realised she had now put herself on the spot and she froze.

�Go on � Chicken,� Penny demanded and taunted, �CLUCK! CLUCK!�

Maxine smiled - and dropped Adrienne�s boot into the darkness.

Both girls screamed with laughter. Adrienne would not be getting her boot back.

The slow dances for the end of the evening came on. Three hopeful No-Chancer�s approached Adrienne, Sue and Karen and were politely rebuffed.

�Well we better find Penny and get ready to make a move,� Sue said.

�Yeah,� said Adrienne.

Adrienne looked down at the floor for her right boot, she looked around , she scanned the area around her, she felt a sudden feeling of concern and anxiety. She couldn�t see her boot anywhere.

She turned to her friends, with a touch of panic in her voice, �I can�t find my boot � I took it off earlier and now I can�t find it.�

The girls all looked around and looked around again. Adrienne started to feel worried, she had visions of leaving the club wearing one boot and cringed at the growing reality of the predicament. People would stare and point at her, some would laugh, she�d have to walk in one boot and her stocking foot. The boots had been a costly buy and now she was down to one. Adrienne felt a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, anger, confusion � and vulnerability. �What do you thinks happened,� Adrienne asked, �do you think someone�s swiped it for a prank or something.�

�I reckon its just been accidentally kicked along by some clumsy drunk and as soon as all the lights come on we�ll see it � probably right near us,� Karen mused, �Oh here�s Penny and her mates.� Karen walked over to Penny and explained the situation to her. Penny seemed indifferent.

The lights came on in the club and Adrienne, assisted by Sue, had another good look round. �I don�t believe it,� moaned Adrienne, � I just don�t believe it. How could I lose me boot.� Penny was now standing by Adrienne and haughtily glanced down at Adrienne�s feet, �Oh dear,� Penny announced in her affected false voice, � you really should have been more careful.�

Adrienne felt hot.

Maxine interrupted, �It�s a good job you�ve only got a low heel on that boot.�

Adrienne gave Maxine a puzzled look.

Maxine continued, �Well you�ll manage better walking in one low heel, than one hi-heel � and we�ve got a bit of a walk to the coach pick-up point.�

�But I�ve got to find my boot, I can�t go without it,� Adrienne blurted out.

�Well where is it? We�ve got to leave now for our coach,� Penny said unsympathetically.

Adrienne felt frustrated and angry with Penny�s attitude.

Karen caught Adrienne�s eye and intervened, �Come on Adrienne, we�re not going to find it and we�ve got to catch the coach, the driver won�t wait all night�.

Adrienne let out a heavy sigh, paused and nodded in reluctant resignation, �Yep, okay then � lets make a move�.

As the girls made for the door, Adrienne felt a sharp sense of loss, she was having to accept a situation she was she would never have considered. She was going home minus one of her boots. Adrienne felt very, very self conscious, maybe in black trousers, black tights and low black loafers this situation would be more passable and less conspicuous. She remembered the year before, she was on holiday with Karen on the south coast of Spain. There had been a girl, a very attractive, tall, leggy, slim brunette, in the same hotel. Adrienne saw this girl walking back from a day on the beach, with her two friends. She was in short shorts, long tee shirt and wearing only one cheap plastic flip-flop and seemingly unconcerned. But that was in a casual beach resort environment and cheap flip-flops got lost � either a strap had snapped, or it had been lost on the beach � so what, big deal; but this was a different situation. Adrienne was all dressed up, in a major city, coming out of a smart club, in full view of other clubbers and posers, she had a short dress on, fully exposing her legs, with one knee length black boot on her left foot and a bootless stocking right foot � she was a bit noticeable.

But stoic Adrienne took a grip, she decided this wasn�t going to ruin her night out, she wasn�t going to give any cliquey bitches see her upset � what could she do about it anyway? The situation was out of her control. She folded her arms and either looked straight ahead, ignoring any looks, or she just engaged in conversation with Sue and Karen, cutting out the outside world. Leaving the club, at first Adrienne again felt vulnerable, as her bare stocking foot touched the cool hard pavement. But arms folded, chatting busily away to Karen and Sue, she got into the stride of her half-shod walk and as the group walked the long walk to the pick up point, Adrienne became philosophical about her situation and was able to make light of it. She walked well and at a good pace, mainly due to the low heel of her boot, with her stocking bootless foot almost completely flat on the pavement, just the heel being slightly up. After nearly twenty minutes walk, the party arrived at the pick-up point and boarded the waiting coach. Adrienne could draw comfort from the fact that at least she was being dropped off in her street � and that her toes no longer ached!

Kaz and her missing court shoe

Kaz and best friend Tracy, 22 also a clerical assistant at the same large office, a taller, slim short haired attractive brunette entered a crowded fun-pub bar, with loud music and pseudo-American West Coast d�cor and made for the bar. After buying their drinks, the girls stood in a corner, with their drinks on a small round table. They chatted enthusiastically about their planned holiday to the Greek Island of Corfu. Life was generally good for both girls, both enjoyed the environment and social atmosphere at their work (which wasn�t too demanding either), both enjoyed the social scene, they were having a fun youth � and it was made financially easier by the fact both girls lived at home with parents who did not charge too much board. Both Kaz and Tracy had had serious relationships in their late teens, which had ended in tears, but both had survived the grief and were now out to party, and enjoy the boys, but not take them too seriously.

As they stood chatting, Kaz dipped out of her left court shoe and rested her big toe on the back of her empty shoe. Some guys came over, whom the girls knew vaguely, they were a laugh, fun to be with and sweet. The conversation became lively and light hearted. Kaz slipped her foot back into her shoe and moved round the table, to allow the lads to stand closer in the corner and rest their drinks on the table. In her new position she again dipped out of her left shoe and again rested her big toe on the back of the shoe. As Kaz became more relaxed in the company, she laughed and joked more - she also, with her big toe, played with her empty shoe, twisting it around in a circle, as she leant forward on the drinks table. At one point, Anton, one of the guys, made a really funny joke and everyone roared with laughter. Kaz screamed and giggled, and in the sudden momentum of hilarity, she toppled her empty shoe onto its side. She felt round with her bare foot to �right� the shoe, but whilst in light hearted conversation with Anton and his best pal Rob she failed to concentrate on the �job� and merely succeeded in knocking the shoe over onto its other side. Kaz, feeling flirtatious and enjoying the male company, abandoned the �job-in-hand� and merely resorted to kicking the errant shoe into a safe area under the table. Kaz rested her bare foot on top of her other foot with a shoe on. As the conversation continued, Kaz moved her bare foot off her shod foot and rested the bare foot flat on the soft carpet of the bar-lounge. Kaz, by now having a good laugh, caught a glance from Tracy, who was trying to catch her attention. �I�m going to the loo�, Tracy told Kaz. �Oh, I�ll come with you�, replied Kaz.

Kaz looked down under the table, located her shoe, righted it and slipped her pretty, little foot back into the shoe.

In the ladies toilet it was conference time. The guys were cute, nice � but they weren�t ready to have them tagging along all night, especially when there might be better opportunities yet to appear. The girls returned from their meeting in the Ladies. �Well�, announced Tracy, with a friendly smile, �we�ll probably see you later, there�s a few bars we haven�t tried yet, so we�re off and we�ll maybe catch you later.�

�Oh we�ll join you�, said Ken, but old hand Anton knew the score and cut-in, �Actually we�ll stay here for a while, Rob�s a bit slow downing his beer tonight � mustn�t rush him.�

�Bollocks and arseholes Anton�, added Rob and everyone roared with laughter.

The girls departed.

Tracy and Kaz did in fact visit two bars they�d never visited before and got talking to some more guys, but didn�t follow anything through � and the guys got the usual cute wave and excuse as the girls departed.

It was now getting late and many bars were closing, so Kaz and Tracy headed for MGM, a big night-club that would be open till the early hours of the morning. Arriving at MGM, Kaz and Tracy joined a large queue outside. In the queue some guys chatted up Kaz and Tracy, the lads seemed initially okay, but they were a little too drunk and over-the-top and the girls just smiled and humoured them, keeping them at bay. On reaching the club doors, Kaz and Tracy were briefly searched by a female member of the security staff and allowed in, however two large doormen turned Kaz and Tracy�s would-be admirer�s away, �Sorry lads, not tonight�, said the senior doorman.

�Why not � Oh come on be fair�, protested the one chap.

�What�s the problem�, protested the other lad, in a slurred voice which really didn�t help his case.

�Cos you�re already too drunk�, replied the assertive and determined head doorman. So the lads didn�t come in, much to the relief of Kaz and Tracy, who thought they might have trouble shaking them.

Inside the club the girls partied, danced, got chatted up, flirted and generally had a ball. Leaving the dance floor, Kaz and Tracy bumped into four other girls from work and soon the girlie chat was flowing. The six girls, leaving the dance floor area, moved into a �U�- shaped alcove area with seating built into its wall and a table. Kaz sat on the end and slipped her hot feet out of her shoes and pushed them under the table. As they finished their drinks, Tracy said, �Your round Kaz.�

�Yeah get the drinks in Kaz, I�ll have double�, shouted work colleague Mandy. Buying rounds of drinks in a night-club could be an expensive game for a moderately paid clerical assistant and Kaz gulped. But help was at hand.

�I�ll get this round in�, said other work colleague Joanna. Joanna, 31, was the oldest of the group and as an office manager, down for fast-track promotion, she was easily the best paid of the group.

Joanna asked everyone what they wanted to drink and asked for someone to help her at the bar. Mandy said she�d assist Joanna. Joanna, sitting in the centre, got up and squeezed between the girls and the table. As she passed each girl they stood up. As Joanna got to the end , Kaz stepped out of her seat and out of the alcove. �Thanks Kaz�, said Joanna. As Joanna came out past were Kaz had been sitting, she felt her foot touch something, but didn�t give it a second thought. What had happened was that Joanna, squeezing through in a confined, darkened space, had accidentally kicked Kaz�s right shoe out from under the table and into an open carpet area. No one noticed. Barefoot Kaz was about to return to her seat, when she saw Mandy squeezing past, �Hang on Kaz�, said Mandy a loud jolly well built girl, who was renown for being clumsy. Kaz stood back for Mandy, as Mandy came out of the seating area, in the dim lighting, she unwittingly kicked Kaz�s shoe still further away and the shoe went flying down two steps to a lower level were the bar and entrance of the dance floor were. From here, totally unknown to Kaz, her shoe, now in one of the busiest areas in the club, was unwittingly kicked along by various revellers until it was totally lost in a darkened corner, under a seat. But Kaz was blissfully unaware of this. When Joanna and Many returned from the bar, Kaz simply moved round with Tracy, so they could easily sit in their former places and avoid another tight squeeze. Had Kaz had some presence of mind, had she perhaps not been so tipsy with drink, she would have picked her shoes up; but Kaz felt no need, she was with friends, enjoying herself and glad to be out of her shoes.

Eventually Joanna looked at her watch, �Well our taxi should be here by now, see yer girls, see yer Monday ducks�. Joanna would have liked to have taken Kaz and Tracy, but four was the limit in a taxi. They all waved each other off and the four girls departed, leaving just Kaz and Tracy.

�She�s great Joanna, ain�t she�, Tracy said.

�Yeah, I wish she was our boss�, Kaz reflected.

The slow dances were now on and as there was nothing doing on the boy front, it was time for the girls to depart.

�Well time to make a move chuck,� Kaz said to Tracy.

Kaz and Tracy got up and moved round the table, Kaz now had her bag over her shoulder and was finishing her drink.

�Better put me shoes on Tracy�, she said reaching down under the corner of the table and immediately locating her left shoe, which she picked up, placed upright on the carpet and then placed her pretty foot into. Kaz then peered under the table to locate her other shoe. Kaz could see no shoe, she looked again, she scanned the dimly lit area under the table

thoroughly, she then looked again and round the area of the seats � and looked again.

�What�s up Kaz�, Tracy asked, suspecting the problem.

Kaz paused, straightened up and looked at Tracy with an expression of confusion and concern, �Tracy, I can�t find my other shoe� pause �Tracy, I�ve lost me shoe!�

�Hang on duck, I�ll �ave a look�, Tracy answered in a reassuring tone and bent over and had a look herself. Kaz expected Tracy to say at any second, �Eeeh you silly bitch there it is.� But she didn�t and instead went down on all fours and under the table.

After a fruitless search, Tracy stood up from under the table, she saw the look of rejection in Kaz�s face.

�Let�s have a look round this area�, Tracy said, trying to sound optimistic, �it can�t have gone too far.�

By now the slow dances had finished, the lights had all come on and the doormen were going round asking people to finish their drinks off.

Tracy and Kaz looked round the area going out from the seating area �in vain. Kaz gained full realisation that she�d be walking home in one shoe. She hobbled awkwardly over to Tracy, who was having another look around. Kaz stopped, looked down at her naked bare foot, raised her bare heel off the ground and glanced sadly at the contrast between her two feet, one neatly in its shoe and the other bare, exposed, vulnerable.

�I just can�t believe this Tracy. I mean how did this happen? � I can�t believe it, I�ve lost me fucking shoe.�

�Never mind duck�, Tracy replied comfortingly and placing her hand on her friends shoulder. Both knew they were not going to find Kaz�s shoe.

�Well� pause �we better go�, Kaz said wearily and very much sobered up.

They walked towards the club door and Kaz alternated between a flat one-shoe walk, with the bare foot completely flat on the floor, and walking mainly on the toes and ball of her foot, with her bare heel slightly off the ground. As the medium heel of her remaining shoe made walking on the flat of her foot a little lop-sided, Kaz opted for and adapted to the walking on the ball of her bare foot, with her heel slightly off the ground. As the girls left the club, Kaz was grateful that it was a hot summer�s night and the pavement wasn�t too cool on her one bare foot. Kaz was conscious of a few stares, but chose to ignore them.

Soon Kaz and Tracy were walking their usual end of night walk, through the arcade, up the shopping precinct and up to the centre of the town, where they�d have a burger and go to the taxi rank. As they walked up the arcade, there was a distinct echoing �Click� nothing, �Click� nothing, Click� nothing, as Kaz , quickly adapting to her one shoe situation, walked at a good pace. She looked at Tracy and bust out laughing, �I can�t believe this.�

�I know, what are you girl? This could only happen to you!�

Both girls roared with laughter.

Outside the burger bar, with their burgers, Kaz and Tracy bumped into Anton and his mates. �What happened to your shoe?� asked Anton.

�I wish I knew, I slipped me shoes off for a while and when I went to put them back on, one had gone � I was a bit pissed off at the time, but these things happen.� Kaz shrugged it all off.

The lads invited Kaz and Tracy to a party at Rob�s flat, but as they knew they would be the only females amongst a boozed up male group and as Rob�s flat was a local legend for being a mess, the girls declined in a good natured manner. They left the guys, giving them a cute wave and headed up the hill to the taxi rank and for home. As they walked up the hill, three guys from out of town, who had been standing nearby, outside the burger bar eyed the behinds of the two attractive sexy girls. The one guy thought to himself how sexy the cute little blond looked, with her cute little bum, sexy bare legs, walking with one shoe on and one bare foot.

Gina�s sandal loss in Amsterdam

But after Southern Italy, English weather was something to get used to for a Mediterranean girl. Gina, lover of light-weight cotton dresses, bare legs, flat slide-mules and flip-flops, went round the campus heavily dressed (much to the amusement of her new colleagues) in heavy cardigans, polar-necks, scarf�s, mittens, long skirts, thick black tights and knee boots. Slowly, gradually Gina adapted to the climate, ditching the scarf�s, mittens and thick tights, going for more of a middle ground � long sleeved blouse, thin cardigan, light-weight trousers with normal hose �and the boots went: they had to go. Gina, like so many Mediterranean girls had spent plenty of her youth and childhood barefoot; in adolescence and young womanhood, this barefoot heritage was reflected in her footwear. Like so many young Southern Italian women, her choice of footwear was based on being smart and attractive, but also based on comfort and ease to slide in and out of � she always looked after her feet. In Italy, Gina lived in flip-flops, Dr. Scholl Exercise sandals, wedge slide-mules, clogs and for evenings, out in smart places, she wore open toed high heeled mules. After months in England, encased and �imprisoned� in tight restrictive boots, Gina�s feet begged for the return of their freedom. Feeling more used to the British weather and with winter passing, Gina went for a �trade-off� � in her light-weight trousers, medium tan hose and she despatched with her boots and treated herself to a brand new pair of wooden Dr. Scholl Exercise sandals, with beige straps � she adored them like long lost old friends rediscovered and �lived� in them. At first, with tights/hose, there were a few little accidents � as in early March 2001.

Gina had overslept and was worried about being late; things were made worse by her difficulty in finding a parking space at campus. After finally parking up, she dashed across the car park to the humanities building, her wooden sandals �CLACKING� furiously as she hurried, with books under one arm and shoulder-bag under other. Entering the crowded foyer of the humanities building, Gina weaved in-between students and made for the stairs. The lift had a queue by it. As Gina hurriedly climbed the stairs, the books/folders under her arm moved and she almost lost them, Gina, suddenly and quickly aware of this tightened her grip, but in doing so, she leant suddenly forward and her right foot, instead of landing on the flat of the next stair step up, landed on the corner edge of the step. Falling forward onto a step edge, Gina�s foot slipped back and landed back on the step below. With her foot coming back so abruptly, her stocking toes came out from under the single gripper strap of her exercise sandal. �NO!� exclaimed Gina, as her Scholl sandal went flying down the steps behind her � �Clack!� �Clack!� �Clack!� �Clack!�

Gina expected the sandal to be picked up and passed back, but this was the university rush hour and in a small crowded area. With people clearly oblivious to her plight, shoving and pushing past on the busy staircase, little petite Gina was forced to �go with the flow� and carry on up the stairs with the moving crowd in one sandal. Gina reached the top of the stairs and walking partly on the ball of her stocking foot, intermittently going down completely on the flat of her foot, she walked lop-sided to the window, where she placed her books/folders on the widow-sill and pulled her bag from under her arm, adjusted the bags strap and then hung it over her shoulder. Gina then waited with her arms folded, resigned to being late, and waited for the rush hour campus crowd to pass. Gina glanced down at her stocking clad feet, her left exercise sandal and her bare right foot. She had to get her sandal back.

As the crowd cleared, Gina gingerly and self-consciously descended the stairs in her one sandal. Halfway down, Gina became very aware of Professor Ronnie McGrath who was climbing the stairs and was approaching Gina. The mid-fifties senior ranking academic was transfixed by Gina�s half-shod status and was staring at her de-sandaled stocking foot intently. Gina felt a little uneasy; �Hello Professor McGrath� � no reply- �Hello Professor McGrath!�

�Ahhh! Gina� stammered the usually assertive and superior professor, pulling his brief case forward in front of him and thus covering his groin area; �Had a mishap?�

�Yes Professor, I tripped going up the stairs in the crowd and lost my sandal, I am just going to retrieve it�.

�Oooh! Can I help you find it?� blurted out the professor, a little too keenly and with his brief case still strategically placed in front of his groin area.

Gina, on guard, smiled, �No, no Professor, but that�s very kind of you to offer�.

�Well�, the professor breathed in suddenly, �I�d better be on my way � got a busy day you know � meeting the vice-chancellor you know�. Professor McGrath departed.

Gina got to the bottom of the stairs and looked for her sandal. There was a tall, smart blond woman, about Gina�s age holding Gina�s errant sandal in her hand and eyeing it curiously.

The woman, Clare Reeves, an attractive 27-year-old, research fellow and junior lecturer was something of the English Rose, a product of the South Coast Home Counties and girls boarding school. Claire looked up at Gina and then down at Gina�s feet, observing Gina was wearing a single Scholl sandal, she said in her awfully, awfully posh English accent; �Oh its yours!� pause �lovely sandal, wouldn�t mind a pair of these myself.�

Gina smiled, �Yes � but you can�t have that one, it�s mine!�

Both girls bust out laughing � and that was the start of their friendship.

One evening, some twelve months later, Gina was sitting on the settee in her flat, reading, with one of her cats asleep on her lap (the other was asleep on the window-sill). Gina had her left leg crossed over her right and her black fluffy mule slipper dangled on the end of her stocking toes. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, which caught Gina unawares; her slipper fell onto the carpet. �Gina! You in girl�

It was Clare and she sounded distressed. Gina got up, the cat jumping from her lap and without bothering to retrieve her slipper she rushed to the door. She knew Clare was having problems with Barry, her long term boyfriend. Clare�s eyes were red, �He�s a complete BARSTARD Gina: A COMPLETE BARSTARD � and he can stick this relationship right up his bottom!�

Gina put her arm around Clare and sat her down in the lounge, before departing into the kitchen to make a coffee for Clare. As she switched the kettle on, Gina glanced down at her feet, she still only had one slipper on.

Returning with the coffee, Gina found Clare had produced another stimulant � great big marihuana joint. It was going to be a long evening.

Next weekend was Clare�s birthday and she had expected Barry to treat her � alas she was mistaken. Barry, a lecturer in philosophy, wasn�t a bad man like Gina�s ex-partner Mario; big beefy bearded Barry was neither a womaniser, nor a pig in his treatment of Clare. The problem was 31 year old Barry who�d been dating Clare for nine years still lived with his doting parents and showed no signs of leaving the nest. Additionally Clare had to compete with Barry�s other interests, his love of rugby, drinking real (beer) ale with his male friends and his model plane making. Now, Barry had forgotten about Clare�s coming birthday and was off over the Irish Sea to Dublin for a boozy rugby function that weekend. After getting stoned on Clare�s joint, Gina allowed herself to be persuaded to go off on a girl�s weekend to Amsterdam � so Clare could show Barry she didn�t care.

Quiet passive Gina wondered what she�d let herself in for as she looked out the plane window and down at the Netherlands early on Friday morning, with Clare seated next to her and across the aisle was Clare�s sister Pippa. During that day the girls went souvenir shopping, on a boat trip and explored China quarter. That evening, in the hotel the girls discussed the plans for evening. On Saturday night they�d dress up, go for a meal and to a smart evening venue � but Friday, they�d �slum it�. Clare and Pippa were keen to explore the seedier side of Amsterdam and wanted to go down Canal Strata and view the famous red light area, which with ladies sitting half-naked in the windows and some performing � was as much a tourist attraction as the boat trips. Also, down Canal Strata, were, of course, the famous �Coffee Shops�, legally selling high class, reasonably priced marihuana. The idea of exploring the seedier side, having a good giggle at the desperate men ogling at the performing women in bay windows and getting stoned on good hash appealed to usually respectable English Rose Clare and posh sister Pippa. Gina wasn�t so sure, but decided it was best to enter into the spirit of things. Clare and Pippa wore their jeans and trainers. Gina wore her red cardigan, white blouse with black stripes, cream flared trousers, tan tights-hose with reinforced toes and for comfort wooden beige strapped Dr. Scholl Exercise sandals. In her shoulder-bag Gina carried some chocolate bars, knowing how effective sugar was to counter �Whiteys� (sickness sometimes caused by smoking marihuana). The girls set out for their night on the darker side, heading for the central railway station, from where they could find Canal Strata.

Walking along the pavement of a long road busy with traffic but with no bars or shops and with fading light, the girls seemed to walk for ages. Then, �Look�, shouted Pippa excitedly, �Central station ahead�. She went to cross the road. �Let�s use the crossing up there, it�s safer�, said Gina � to no avail. �Come on Gina, we�ll be all right here�, laughed Clare as she grabbed Gina�s hand and pulled her arm. A momentary lull in traffic and the girls ran across the busy road, Clare tugging Gina along. A speeding car came round the bend un-expectantly and the girls were forced to break into a run. As Gina, in her tights and Scholl�s, ran and was pulled by Clare, she momentarily lost her toe grip on the right sandal. The wooden exercise sandal, released in a moment of sudden momentum went flying off Gina�s stocking right foot, bouncing into the middle of the road. �NO, NO!� shrieked Gina, still being pulled by Clare, �My sandal!� Gina screamed. The girls mounted the pavement and Clare, surprised, looked at Gina. �It�s my sandal Clare � I�ve lost my sandal!� Gina blurted out. All three girls looked into the road for Gina�s Scholl sandal. They saw it, lying correct way up in the middle of the road. Just in that instant a speeding transit van came round the corner, Gina�s mouth started to open, the van drove over Gina�s sandal, there was a sort of sudden dull, woody, crunching noise as Gina�s wooden sandal was totally obliterated. Her sandal had almost seemed to explode, it was totally wrecked, totally un-wearable and not worth the effort of retrieving. Gina�s mouth had completely dropped open and for a few seconds all three girls were in stunned silence. Pippa wanted to laugh, because of the craziness of it all, but Clare silenced any such reaction with a cold glance � she waited for Gina�s reaction. Gina remained silent, she looked serious, shocked, totally fed up and looked down at her feet � from under her flares protruded her reinforced stocking toed feet, but also visible, despite the flares resting on the top of her feet, could be seen the contrast of a beige strap, shiny buckle and wooden sole of a sandal on one foot, in comparison to the other shoeless purely stocking foot.

�Gina� pause �You okay?� asked concerned Clare.

�Okay?� murmured Gina, �Yeah sure� growing angry �Yeah sure, I�ve just lost my sandal, I�m stranded out in a big city I don�t know, at night � in one sandal�.

Gina�s eyes watered, she bit her bottom lip and looked down at her stocking foot.

�Oh I�m sorry Gina, we can go back to the hotel now if you want,� Clare said sympathetically. Gina coughed and blinked back the tears and got hold of herself � but she was still cross, frustrated and bitterly remarked, �Well its good job I have my tights on isn�t it? - Or I would have cold little tootsies.�

�Look at all the lights on around Central Station, all the lit-up window�s,� exclaimed Pippa, �they�ve got to have late night shopping up there, this is Friday evening in the capital city.�

Clare chipped in, �Yes, we can all put in together and buy you some new footwear.� Pippa nodded in assent.

Gina, always considerate of others, accepted this proposal, knowing a return to the hotel would take a major chunk out of the night. The girls headed for the Central Station, city lights and the decadent centre of Amsterdam. Gina felt very conscious of her one sandal state as she walked unevenly along and felt her stocking foot on the cool concrete pavement. She felt vulnerable in on sandal � her shoeless foot was on public display naked in a major European city, she looked out for the perils of broken glass, looked away as man walking past stared at her bare stockinged foot. Gina walked partly on the ball of her stocking foot, heel slightly off the ground, in an attempt to match the stance of her foot still with a sandal on, and she hoped her flared trousers would offer some cover to her one sandal state. All too often, however, she dropped down to walking completely on the flat of her stocking foot and a lop-sided one-shoe give-away walk. Gina also had to concentrate on keeping up with the two sisters, who as they got excited about approaching the action forgot about Gina�s plight as they excitably chatted away.

Needless to say, on arriving in the bustling Central Station area and gateway to Canal Strata, there were no late night shoe shops open, only booze shops, news agents, countless fast-food outlets, tourist/souvenir shops, mini-supermarkets and, of course, a mass of bars & restaurants � but no shoe shops. The two sisters, initially apologetic, seemed embarrassed to mention Gina�s one sandal state and talked excitably of going down the Canal Strata. Gina herself, was reluctantly resigned to her half-shod condition now and felt compensated by the growing night darkness which would not expose her feet so much to stares, and also by her growing proficiency/confidence at walking half-shod. Going down the Canal Strata red light area added to the compensations, as the girls were able to have a good giggle at the absurdity of it all, passing rows of windows, lit up with red tinted lights, with various women of all colours, shapes, and sizes, in various states of undress on display. Many men crowded around these windows, some curious, some contemplating, others daring each other and some actually going for it and knocking on the door. In many cases, like the girls, many young men were just there for a laugh to see the display � but not to participate, as Canal Strata was just as much a tourist attraction as a red light area: some men had even brought wives along and it was all just a humorous tour. Gina drew comfort from the fact that all these men wouldn�t be staring at fully clothed women, like her group and her one sandal state would not be so obvious as the men were distracted.

Out of the side door of one red light building came a dapper, grey haired mid-fifties gent in a dark pin stripped three piece suit, who was waved off by a tall, mid-thirties, red headed prostitute in a skimpy short red night dress, black stockings and in a single black high heeled fluffy mule, with her stocking foot resting flat on the floor. �Dirty old bastard�, muttered Pippa.

�Hang about! Hang about girls�, shrieked Clare, �I�m sure that�s our Professor McGrath � our Dean of Humanities� pause �Gina! Gina! Did you see him?�

�I�m sure it wasn�t Professor McGrath, he�s not like that,� replied Gina, who always thought the best of people.

�Well it looked just like him,� replied Clare.

Gina declined to comment and the subject was dropped.

The girls headed for a coffee shop for a smoke of the weed. Gina was not overly keen on smoking dope, but welcomed the opportunity to sit down for a while, in the corner of somewhere, with her feet hidden and no one sandal walking.

The girls walked up a busy side street, a guy walking past, heard the �CLACK!� of Gina�s single Exercise sandal, and looked round at the attractive petite brunette as she walked past, he glanced at her bum, but also looked, with surprise, at a the sole of a naked stocking foot from under Gina�s flares. A second glance confirmed what he thought he saw, a nice looking girl on a night out, who�d lost her sandal. The girls walked into a coffee shop, it had a wooden floor, which exaggerated the wooden �THUD!� of little Gina�s remaining Scholl sandal. The intermittent uneven wooden �THUD!� of Gina�s one sandal walk attracted some attention. A semi-stoned girl shrieked with laugher, poked her boyfriend and pointed, �Ahh!!!! LOOK! LOOK! She�s lost her sandal!�

The boyfriend told her not to point. Gina blushed and made for a table in a dark corner, whilst the two sisters went to the buying counter.

The dope smoking exercise was not a success, Pippa declined Gina�s offer of a �anti-whitey� chocolate bar, �The sugar intake will prevent sickness,� insisted Gina.

�Well, when I�ve got your figure Gina, I�ll go back onto chocolate bars,� laughed Pippa. Some twenty minutes later, Pippa, deathly white, rushed into the ladies to be sick. Stoned Clare, who�d sensibly had one of Gina�s chocolate bars, staggered after her sister to check she was going to be okay. Gina, stoned sat dreaming in the corner and drifted onto a flight of fancy, she felt good

, chilled out, she�d lost a sandal �so what, she�d buy a new pair � big deal � who cares?� Gina sat up with a jolt, she heard a voice she recognised, a voice she associated with authority, maturity, establishment and the university.

�Eric, me old son, I�ll have some of your finest purple haze.�

�Only the best for you Ronnie my old friend,� the fifty plus Dutch coffee shop owner replied. It was Professor McGrath - in a dark pin stripped three piece suit.

Gina gasped and pulled herself back further into a corner.

�Eric,� the professor paused, �I tell you it�s getting worse, the standard of weed on campus is pretty dammed poor these days. And I mean POOR! Not like the 1960�s when I was a student. These young punks, they talk big about their raves, but they can�t tell the difference between real grass and grass in the garden � now when I come here, its back to the 1960�s.�

Eric embraced Ronnie, �Hey my friend, we never left the 1960�s�.

�Ronnie did you?� Eric paused and laughed.

�Oh you mean did I�, the professor gave a wicked chuckle, �Oh yes, yes, I did that a bit earlier � sexy red head� he lowered his voice �she was wearing mules�.

�Ha! Ha!� Eric laughed, �Come in the back my old friend, we�ll have a smoke together�. Eric handed over shop to his young assistant and disappeared with the professor. As they left the room, Gina heard Professor McGrath loudly proclaim to Eric, �I told my Mother I was at a top academic conference in The Hague, that�s why I�m dressed like this � Ha! Ha!�

Minutes later Clare and Pippa returned from the ladies; Pippa was deadly pale and totally out of it.

�We better get a taxi back to the hotel, Pippa�s totally had it�.and so, so , so have, have, I,� mumbled Clare.

�Yeah,� murmured Gina, she staggered up and felt round for her right sandal, �Hang on, I have lost a sandal,� then Gina remembered.

Minutes later, the girls were in a taxi, heading back for the hotel.

Light-headed Gina looked down at her feet, her right bare stocking foot and her left foot with a sandal on �she�d had an eventful night, mostly half-shod.