How My Feet Turned Blue: A Short Story

HOW MY FEET TURNED BLUE: A SHORT STORY

This is a mystery that will be told in reverse. The setting: an odd day in downtown New York. The weather: fluctuating between torrential rain and crisp, cool sunshine. The date: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013. The story begins 5:30 PM and ends at 7:30 AM.

We applaud for the speaker at the closing remarks. I return to Carolyn Herfurth's booth where we pack up any stray items, reorganize the table for the following day's exhibition. She steps out of her beige high heels into violet rain boots. I move to do the same, sliding out of the painful black pumps--when I discover that my feet are black and blue as if they've been beaten.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

I am standing, sitting, squatting, at Carolyn's roundtable discussion. She flips through charts, and discusses with the sunniest of personality's her passion for business development from inception, to product packaging, to pricing, to business model strategizing. She is in her element. I am desperately moving around the packed room with the weird lighting, trying to catch a picture of this moment on my camera phone. I sink to the ground in defeat, wiggling my toes about in my shoes to give them relief.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

I have been perched at the booth not too long, directing the flow of traffic. Everyone wants to ask me questions as Carolyn is constantly occupied by an adoring fan, prospective client, or chatty friend. I don't know enough about this so I smile, pass out business cards, and try to entice the attendees to visit Section D, Carolyn's group discussion in 45 minutes. Smile. Hi can I help you? Smile.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

I make a coffee run. It's humid but cool and the streets seem to finally be drying. 1 Tall Vanilla Blonde Roast w/ cream and sugar, 1 Grande Nonfat Latte w/ 2 Sweet N Low, 1 Venti Soy Latte.

30 MINUTES EARLIER

Ghost Tweeting-- the topic of the lecture that I walk in to as I enter Women Entrepreneurs Rock the World Conference NYC 2013 about 6 hours late. I scan my mobile phone ticket, collect my badge, find a seat in the back, and immediately start taking notes. I feel extremely savvy strutting in business-casual black pumps and blazer. This conference, these women-- this is amazing.

15 MINUTES EARLIER

I am eating alone in a Mexican restaurant. I've never eaten alone before but I'm kind of enjoying it. After lunch I "use the restroom"...as a changing room into dry shoes, put on makeup, fix my rain-ruined hairdo, and use the hand-dryer to press my pants. I'm only slightly embarrassed.

30 MINUTES EARLIER

I am only slightly disoriented coming out of Union Square, which is a shock considering there are an infinite number of exits and too many Starbucks' for me to be able to center myself. I finally find my way; rain is falling in buckets and my pinstripe pants are soaked from the ankle to midway up my thigh. Almost no one else is walking on the sidewalks despite this being one of the busiest times of day. The intelligent people are huddled under the awnings and in "No Loitering" areas above subway-stop escalators. I keep moving, feeling the wet squish of my shoes.

20 MINUTES EARLIER

One more thing I can cross off of my list- AP Calculus BC Exam. It's about a 1 mile walk to the F Train, which I will take one stop uptown, transfer to the 6 Train 2 stops uptown and arrive at Union Square. The only flaw is that the streets are streaming with water so I slosh through the puddles, never daring to look under the lip of my umbrella for fear of spraying my hair.

FOUR HOURS EARLIER

As I make my way to the testing center I can feel the grimness of the day in my feet. They are damp. I power-walk through the wetness and I can feel imaginary mold growing between my toes.

The water soaks the soft leather of my shoes and the inky juices of the fabric flow into my feet, dyeing the skin a dark blue color, immune to the power of soap and warm water. The tattoo will remain as a mark around my ankles into the evening as a reminder: today it rained.

THE END