After her last class on the third Friday in April, Trisha ate a quick lunch then drove home for her mom, Lisa, to take her down to Hartsfield Airport. The day had come for her to go for her first shoe modeling job in New York City. Her Mom gave Trisha good advice for staying aware and safe and for not signing any bad contracts or being taken advantage of while there.
Trisha was dressed for comfortable travel in a pair of Khaki's, a pink knit blouse and a comfortable pair of black mule-style loafers with a tassel. She left her hair down on her shoulders, clipped only enough to keep some of the side hair off of her face. The hair clip was then adorned with a matching pink bow.
The plane ride up to New York was uneventful and Trisha napped much of the way. She excitedly debarked the plane and found herself in another world that seemed very fast-paced and different. She heard people speaking several different languages and wearing a different style of clothing from what she was used to back home. Few were in bright colors like her - many were in shades of black, gray or dark blue. It seemed to be a less than friendly place - a bit intimidating to a naive coed from Georgia all alone in the big city. Trisha was surprised at how small the terminal was, but she later found out that the Delta Terminal was a small stand-alone terminal with 9 gates and there were other terminals and gates elsewhere.
Mitchell, her contact at G-III who hired her, told her to call him when she arrived and see if he was able to send a driver to the airport to pick her up. If not, she would have to take a Taxi and get reimbursed for the cost.
Trisha had not taken any carry-on baggage because everything she needed fit in one bag, which was too big to take on the plane. She had not traveled enough to know that everyone needs a "just-in-case" carry-on bag with enough to get you through one night.
She strolled through the concourse away from her gate with her pretty loafer mules slipping a little with each step. Soon she located a bank of pay phones off to the right against the wall perpendicular to the concourse. These were located within the seating area of one of the gates. She stopped, located some small change in her purse and made her call to Mitchell.
Trisha stood with her left side leaning against the left partition of the open phone rack. She held the phone to her right ear and faced the phone as she made her call. Her back was to the main walkway.
"G-III Fashion Marketing, Mitchell Malone's office, can you hold please?"
Trisha said, "Yes" then started playing with her right shoe, spinning it behind her as she waited. She dipped in and out of it a few times then she slipped it completely off, exposing her nicely painted nails to everyone, and crossed her bare foot in front of and to the left side of her left foot and flexed her toes.
At one of the seats at the gate across the main walkway from Trisha, a 30-something year old man was watching pretty Trisha and her shoeplay. He enjoyed seeing the shoe acrobatics then he noticed the shoe being abandoned behind her a foot away from her left leg. On a spur-of-the moment urge, he walked over and from behind and, unnoticed in the crowd, he reached down to pretend to tie his shoe and instead slipped Trisha's one abandoned mule into a shopping bag. He continued on to the water fountain to take a drink then he took a seat again in full view to see how she responded.
Finally, the pre-recorded music finished and Mitchell's Admin, Tina, answered the phone, "G-III Fashion Marketing, Mitchell Malone's office, can I help you?"
"May I speak to Mitchell, please? This is Trisha Kendrick."
Tina recognized Trisha's voice, "Oh hello, Trisha, we've been expecting you. Are you in town, yet?"
"Yes, I'm at LaGuardia."
"Oh my, I thought you had a later flight. We haven't sent a car out there yet. Do you mind catching a Taxi? Just tell them we're at W37th St and 7th Avenue and you'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll do that. I'll see you soon."
Trisha uncrossed her right foot and fumbled behind her to replace the shoe on her foot while hanging up the phone.
Her first three attempts to poke downward to corral the shoe that was supposed to be there failed. Trisha nervously turned around and looked down to see that her shoe was not in sight.
"Oh no, where is it!" Trisha mumbled to herself as she spun around in all directions looking to see if maybe her shoe was moved away, somehow. Moments later, Trisha was on her hand and knees exposing one bare sole and the bottom of one mule looking under seats and her shoe was nowhere in sight. She walked around to some of the surrounding areas of the gate and looked out in the walkway and still found no shoe.
Trisha was about to panic now. She was supposed to go to Manhattan for her orientation and she had only one shoe. Then she remembered that she had another pair of shoes in her suitcase. With that note of comfort, she walked down the corridor a bit more confidently in her one mule and took the ride down the escalator to the baggage claim area.
The shoe thief followed Trisha from about 30 feet behind and enjoyed the sight of her walking in only one mule. He never understood why he enjoyed such a sight, but he was excited to have a rare success in getting to watch a pretty girl manage in just one shoe.
Trisha patiently waited on her suitcase to arrive. She stood one shod for 15 minutes as the conveyor belt circled through its route and other passengers claimed their bags. Trisha's luggage never did show up so she walked over to the service counter and showed the clerk her claim ticket. The clerk scanned the barcode and located her bag.
"Miss, your bag was put on a later flight to LaGuardia. It should be here in about an hour."
"An hour, okay. Are you sure it's on that flight?"
'Well, as sure as I can be. The barcode scan tells me that your bag was loaded on the plane, just an hour and 15 minutes ago. Apparently, your bag was one of several removed because of weight limitations. We're sorry for the inconvenience. Do you wish to have your bag delivered to your hotel or do you plan to wait?
"It would probably be better to wait. I just need to make a call to let them know I'll be late."
During all this time, the shoe thief had taken a seat in the baggage claim area and watched Trisha in only one shoe. He pondered his next move.
Trisha walked over to the nearest phone booth and called Mitchell's office again. She told Tina about her bag being delayed and having to wait. She purposely omitted the story about her lost shoe.
The shoe thief decided he had caused enough damage to this poor girl, obviously from out of town so he walked over to the seat immediately behind Trisha’s and took her shoe out of the bag. He leaned forward and slid her shoe under his seat and it stopped part of the way under Trisha's seat maybe 12 inches from her foot that was resting on the floor. He had meant for the shoe to slide far enough underneath to bump into her other foot, but he could not do anything about it now. He walked away and left the terminal before Trisha returned to her seat.
After Trisha got off the phone with Tina, Mitchell returned to his office and got Trisha's message from Tina.
Mitchell told Tina, "I'm going to drive over and pick her up. Should take only 25 minutes to get there. If I miss her, I'll come right back. When are the others arriving?"
"You're going to drive there, yourself?" Tina asked astonished that Mitchell would not delegate such a menial task to a staff member, like Paul for example.
"Sure, I need to get off the island more often. Again, about the other models?"
"Let me see, Brooke from Dallas and Christine from Denver are flying into Newark and are due in 2 hours. I've already arranged for Paul to pick them up. Oh, and Cynthia is flying into LaGuardia from Des Moines thru Cincinnati about the same time that Trisha said her luggage would arrive. Actually, it's a few minutes before."
"Great! Then I can surprise both of them. Since they're both flying Delta, they will be at the same baggage claim area. I'll meet Cynthia at her gate, walk her to the baggage-claim area and meet up with Trisha. That should work!"
"You better get going then, Mitchell."
Mitchell hurriedly left for LaGuardia and fortunately the traffic was very cooperative it being well before rush hour. He arrived inside the Delta Terminal only 30 minutes after leaving G-III. He checked the arrival schedule and saw that the connecting flight from Cincinnati was due in the gate in a few minutes. Mitchell walked down to Cynthia's gate and only waited a moment before she debarked the plane.
Unlike Trisha, Cynthia had a small amount of modeling experience and was referred to G-III as a prospective shoe model by the manager of the Younkers Department Store regional office in Des Moines. He was a friend of Mitchell's and Cynthia worked as a sales clerk at the Ames location and had done a couple of fashion shows for the main store in Des Moines. Cynthia was a very pretty strawberry blonde with green eyes and was 5 ft 5 inches tall.
As she entered into the gate, Cynthia was cordially greeted by Mitchell who had only seen photos of her, they having never met before.
"Are you Cynthia, I'm Mitchell Malone from G-III?"
"Yes, I'm Cynthia. It's so very good to meet you." She wore a spring floral print dress tapered at her trim waist and a pair of matching pink slides with a 2-inch kitten heel on her thin but nicely-shaped feet.
Mitchell and Cynthia got acquainted on their walk down to Baggage claim, while Cynthia's slides slapped against her feet with every step.
Trisha sat in anticipation of her luggage arriving from Atlanta and tucked her bare foot underneath in order to hide her predicament. Shortly after this, Mitchell and Cynthia made their way into the baggage claim area and located Trisha sitting alone in a comfortable seat. As they made their way, Trisha looked up and recognized Mitchell from their previous meeting and wondered if the pretty girl with him was also a shoe model. For a moment she forgot she was wearing only one shoe and she stood to greet Mitchell and Cynthia. After it was too late to adjust, she remembered her missing shoe and placed her bare foot behind her still-shod foot and greeted them and introduced herself to Cynthia.
Mitchell and Cynthia just assumed that Trisha had kicked her shoe off and it was under the seat - girls sometimes kick off a shoe and tuck their foot underneath so thus far they were not alarmed that anything was wrong. Ironically, it actually was under the seat, but none of them realized it.
The sign at the baggage claim began to flash 'CINCINNATI' so Cynthia walked over to claim her bags while Mitchell took a seat next to Trisha.
"Mitchell, I have something embarrassing to tell you."
"What's wrong?"
"Well, when I called you I was playing with my right shoe and I took it off and crossed my foot over my other ankle. When I went to put it back on it was gone." Trisha untucked her foot and showed it was bare. "I have another pair of shoes in my suitcase."
"Oh that's good, then."
Before she could say anything else, Cynthia returned from the Baggage Claim with her bag and asked, "So Trisha. Where’s your luggage?"
Having again tucked her bare foot underneath right before Cynthia got within sight, Trisha replied, "It missed my flight and it's supposed to be on the next plane in from Atlanta in 15 minutes or so."
Cynthia sat next to Trisha and tried to get acquainted. "So where are you from, Trisha? What do you do?"
Trying not to seem distracted by hiding her one shod state, she smiled and replied, "I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, actually one of the northern suburbs. I'm a rising senior at the University of Georgia majoring in Accounting and Management Information Systems. How about you, Cynthia?”
"I'm a junior at Iowa State University majoring in Elementary Education. My hometown's Boone, Iowa - which is about 35 miles northwest of Des Moines. So, what kind of modeling experience do you have?"
Trisha stumbled for a few moments before replying, "Actually, this is my first job. What about you?"
A stunned Cynthia was shocked to hear that Trisha's first modeling job was this one. "Well, I've done a couple of fashion shows for the Younkers store in Des Moines."
Mitchell was feeling a little left out but he was happy to see two of his new shoe models were getting better acquainted. He sat quietly to Trisha's left while the two girls chatted about their lives back home.
Soon, the Baggage Claim sign began to flash Atlanta and Mitchell pointed it out to Trisha. Now was the moment of truth - Trisha would have to walk over to the Baggaage Claim area and show Cynthia she was missing a shoe. She decided to just walk over there in her single mule like nothing was wrong.
Cynthia did notice and she thought it was quite odd. She was very particular and was very adamant about walking in two shoes and was terrified at the thought of losing one. When Trisha reached the conveyor belt to wait on her bag, Cynthia looked under Trisha's seat and spotted Trisha's mule. She reached under and picked it up and commented to Mitchell. "I wonder why she left this behind?"
Mitchell did a double take and began to doubt Trisha's shoe loss story - but why would she lie about that? It just didn't make any sense. Trisha was happy to find her luggage after which she returned to where Mitchell and Cynthia were sitting. She about fainted when she saw Cynthia holding her shoe.
Holding Trisha's shoe out in her direction, Cynthia asked, "You walk off without one of your shoes often?"
Quickly, Trisha recalled losing her shoe and knew for sure it occurred while Cynthia was probably flying somewhere over Pennsylvania. She also remembered it was while on the phone with Mitchell that her shoe was lost. Neither of them could be responsible. She decided to simply take her shoe back, put it on her foot and say, "Thanks."
Mitchell asked if they were ready to go and Cynthia excused herself to the ladies room. Trisha took the opportunity to ask Mitchell about her shoe, "Mitchell, how did she find my shoe? She wasn't even here yet and could not have taken it. Did you see her find it?"
"Yeah, she pulled it out from under your chair."
"Wow, that's spooky. I lost it probably 100 yards from here. It couldn't have walked over here all on its own."
"Well, I suggest you try to forget about it and just be glad you've got both of your shoes again." Trisha never did figure out this almost paranormal experience.
Cynthia returned from the restroom and they were soon on the way to G-III headquarters in Manhattan. Trisha had been to New York only once and Cynthia was there for the first time. The skyscrapers and extremely large city particularly excited her. Even compared to somewhat familiar Chicago it was quite large.
Soon after getting to the G-III headquarters, Brooke and Christine showed up and now all four models were safely there and ready for their orientation.
Brooke, who was from Fort Worth, was a tall well-tanned brunette with curly hair and brown eyes. She wore a very short black skirt that showed off her legs in black nylons, a cream colored blouse with a stitched design on the wing collar and a pair of 2-inch black pumps. Christine, who was from Greeley, Colorado, was a blue-eyed blonde with hair that was fixed into a bouncy ponytail. She wore a pair of shapely, but tight, white Capri pants, a soft pink sleeveless shirt and an unbuttoned light green button-down. On her feet was a pair of mid-heel tan mules that looked like the bottom part of a cowboy boot.
Trisha looked at the other three girls and thought she was out of their league. Indeed, she was the only one of the three who was not already a model. And she was also, in her opinion, pretty but certainly the least glamorous-looking of the four. Quickly, she remembered that the modeling job was for photographing only from the thigh down, so she soon felt more adequate. She felt the whispers of Brooke and Christine, who had already become somewhat acquainted, that they thought she was not up to their standard.
Tina had set up a snack table with soft drinks and finger food for Mitchell, the 4 girls, and the two main photographers - Wayne and Brad. Mitchell wanted the girls to relax and get to know each other and the photographers and him a bit better before they started to work. Meanwhile, Paul, who was an Assistant Fashion Coordinator and a student at SUNY’s Purchase campus, had taken the girls luggage into their 2-bedroom suite upstairs, which the four of them would share. It was one of several suites G-III had built for models in town on temporary assignments. With hotel and transportation costs so high, they hoped to break even on their investment in a few years.
Standing around and chatting, the photographers immediately seemed attracted to Trisha. She had the friendliest personality of the four and the other girls noticed how she seemed to have won them over. Trisha nervously played with her shoes while standing and talking to everyone. She dipped and spun one shoe at a time in a full circle, much like she had standing at the pay phone in the airport. She was the only one of the four not wearing a heeled shoe so comfort became an issue for all girls after some time. Cynthia was not into shoeplay and she kept her feet squarely in her pink slides the whole time even though she was not very comfortable doing so. Brooke at one point stepped out of both of her pumps and straddled them in her black hose. She massaged one foot with the other subconsciously while standing and talking. Christine was only a slight shoe player. A few times she slipped one foot out of a tan mule and flexed her toes on the sole at the back near the heel. This caused a rocking motion up and down that she did a few times on each foot while standing around. On one occasion, she pressed too hard and down to the right and flipped the shoe behind her a couple of feet. At this point feeling embarrassed, she stepped back and quickly recovered the errant mule.
After about an hour, Mitchell summoned the 4 models and the photographers into the studio and gave them a brief orientation and agenda for the weekend. Their weekend's photo shoot was themed "A Day in the City." It all sounded exciting to Trisha and the other girls to illustrate in their photo shoot how their Cole Haan, Kenneth Cole and Nine West shoes could help you look and feel attractive while spending a fun and exciting day in the city. At the end of the orientation, he led the girls to the parlor next door where a team of pedicurists were set up to get the girls’ feet in top shape for the photo shoot. The girls slipped off their shoes (Brooke also had to remove her hose first) and reclined on their chair and the pedicurists began to work on their toenails, remove all their calluses and apply the color of paint that matched their skin tone the best. Trisha's was a nice medium cherry red color she really liked.
The pedicurist assigned to Trisha was amazed at the condition of her feet. "Trisha you take exceptional care of your feet. I have almost nothing to do for you except give you the right color."
"Thanks. Every Sunday night I spend about a half-hour before bedtime working on them - a little less in the winter and a little more in the summer. Been doing that since I was 13."
"Really, hey everyone, come over here," Trisha's pedicurist, Judy, called to the other three who were all equally amazed.
The other girls now were concerned that Trisha had won over, not only the photographer but also the pedicurists and that every one heard them bragging on the condition of her feet. They worried that Trisha might get the better, more interesting jobs.
Once this footwork was completed, Mitchell gave them the exciting plans for the evening. "Paul, who’s a Visual Arts major at SUNY, set up the studio like a restaurant and we have a real catered dinner for you. We have 2 other male employees, Ed and Stan, from G-III's marketing staff here dressed for dinner."
Interrupting, Christine asked, "Are they also models?"
Mitchell quickly replied, "No, not this time. This shoot focuses on just our ladies line of footwear and men are only there as props. Of course, we will all be wearing men's Kenneth Cole and Cole Haan shoes in the shoots. When you come here for 2 weeks in the summer, we will have male shoe models for you to work with."
Brooke and Christine particularly seemed excited at that prospect.
"Paul and I will also dress for dinner and we will sit at two tables of 4 and pretend we are having two double dinner dates. We have new shoes for you to wear and our photographers will shoot some candid shots. They may give you instructions. Just do what they say - it's that simple. And, one thing you will like. You get to take these shoes home with you.
Mitchell brought out four pairs of beautiful new shoes. A pair of black Kenneth Cole pumps for Brooke and a pair of dressy black mules for Christine, a pair of black Nine West X-strap thong sandals for Trisha and a pair of red Cole Haan mid-heeled slides for Cynthia. He instructed them to meet him downstairs in 30 minutes dressed for dinner. The girls were initially worried at the short time to get ready, but he reminded them that all photos were from the thigh down so they did not have to worry about their hair, makeup or jewelry, or anything else above the thigh. He did tell them to wear a skirt stopping above the knee - something they had each been instructed to bring along on the trip. Also, this shoot would be done without wearing nylons.
Mitchell added before the girls went to get ready, "This dinner will serve two purposes. Not only will you get your feet wet - so to speak - modeling shoes, but it will also give us a chance to all be better acquainted. Paul and I will swap tables halfway through and I'll be able to chat will all of you."
Upstairs, the girls hurriedly got dressed and put on the shoes that Mitchell had provided. All were size seven which was okay for everyone, but were slightly loose on Trisha and slightly tight on Cynthia. They were a perfect fit for Brooke and Christine.
Once they came downstairs to eat, they were greeted to a wonderful aroma of Italian food and the studio turned into a small restaurant with two tables and fine china and flatware and a white tablecloth. There were even two candles on each table. Tina was a makeshift hostess and server who served the meal. Wayne and Brad were in position with their cameras to get the shots they needed.
Paul came first and reached for Cynthia and led her to one of the tables to sit down. Similarly, Ed came to get Brooke, Stan came for Christine and Mitchell took his secretly personal favorite, Trisha. Paul and Brad took photos of everything so they would have a lot of things to choose from later.
Mitchell announced, "Our meal tonight has been catered by a place a couple of blocks away called the 37th Hideaway. It’s an excellent Italian place as you can tell by the delicious smell.
The 4 girls and their 'dates' engaged in light conversation and enjoyed a delicious meal. Brad and Rob clicked away at the girls’ lower legs and feet in their pretty shoes. Rob suggested, "Girls, try to relax and don't think about your feet. Just do what you would normally do. Some of you are just keeping your feet flat on the floor; you don't have to do that. Relax."
Of course, Trisha was not one of the ones who needed to be told to relax. She had one leg crossed then the other. She dangled her thong sandal a bit and also flexed her toes bouncing the sole of the shoe off the bottom of her foot. The photographers only gave a few directions throughout their meal, "Christine, slip your toes our of your left mule about an inch and lift your heel slightly. Brooke, cross your right leg and let your heel come out of the shoe just enough to rest on the top of the back of your pump. Cynthia, cross your feet at the ankle and let one of your slides partially come off." They took several pictures of Trisha engaged in natural shoeplay.
During dinner Trisha found out some interesting things about the other girls. Cynthia's hometown of Boone, Iowa was near a skiing area (She had assumed Iowa was all flat) and they had a large water park that was very popular. She also found out the Cynthia was crowned queen of the Pufferbilly Festival Parade back in high school - a festival that celebrated the city's railroad and train history.
She also learned more about Brooke. She was a native Texan who had lived much of her life in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University (TCU). Everyone was amused to find out that their sports teams were nicknamed the Horned-Frogs. Christine made a joke about what that said about the men who attended there. Brooke was an ambitious girl majoring Radio/TV/Film. She was the current Miss TCU and had done a little bit of modeling for the local Dillard's Department store.
Christine proved to be an interesting character. She was a real cowgirl who had been riding in rodeos since she was a little girl. Trisha learned that Greeley is known for having the largest 4th of July Rodeo in the country called the Greeley Independence Stampede. Christine was also a student at local University of Northern Colorado majoring in Political Science with a specialty in Pre-Law. Her modeling experience was limited, but she had modeled cowboy wear for Corral West Ranchwear's catalog a couple of summers during high school up in Cheyenne, Wyoming - only 40 miles to the north.
The dinner photo shoot ran late in the evening and Mitchell recommended that the girls get a good night's sleep. The girls ended up staying up a while in the common living area and chatting for over an hour then in each of their two bedrooms. Trisha and Cynthia were in one room and Brooke and Christine were in the other.
Besides getting to know each other better, they wanted to compare how they were "discovered" or how they got this job.
Brooke went first and explained that she was modeling swimwear at Dillard's in Fort Worth and a local modeling agent thought she had nice legs and feet that would be good for shoe modeling. She was doing her first show in Houston and Mitchell happened to also be there. He liked her work and made her the offer.
Cynthia explained again how she was modeling for Younker’s in Des Moines and their store manager was a friend of Mitchell's and knew he was looking for shoe models. Her manager put in a good word and Mitchell made her an offer over the phone - sight unseen.
Christine was doing a rodeo in Denver and Mitchell happened to be in town for a Fashion Show and was in attendance. He had gone to school with the Fashion Marketing director for Corral West Ranchwear who had invited him and some of the others to come to the rodeo of which they were a sponsor. Many of the riders including Christine, were wearing his western wear. After she was done for the day, Christine changed into dressier western wear and wore a pretty pair of white boot-style high heel mules. Mitchell had the opportunity to meet her and similarly to Trisha, thought she wore her shoes well, analyzed her feet and made her an offer.
Trisha told her story as well about being discovered in the airport. All were surprised that her lack of experience did not matter. However, none of the girls had straight shoe modeling experience.
At 7:00AM, Saturday morning, the girls given wake-up calls and given an hour to be in the studio dressed in khaki shorts and no nylons. Mitchell told then that they'd be given their shoes to wear down there. At 8AM, all four were ready and excited about their first full day modeling. Once downstairs they saw that all traces of the restaurant had been removed and the studio was now decorated like a city park complete with a foot bridge over an imaginary stream, indoor turf to pose as grass, a bicycle leaned against a wall just waiting to be ridden and cute Cocker Spaniel in a crate just waiting to be walked. There was also a bagel cart that was a prop and also stocked with hot fresh bagels, cream cheese and various juices.
Paul explained the set. "This morning's set is suppose to be a beautiful warm spring or summer morning in the city park. Therefore we have some more casual Cole Haan sandals for you to wear for this shoot. We'll let each of you pose with each of the props and rotate around. “
Mitchell added, “Before we get started, go ahead and grab a bagel and a glass of juice if you like." While the girls began to get their food, Paul distributed the shoes for the girls to wear. Trisha was given a pair of reverse T-strap thong sandals with a reptile print on the upper; Brooke had a pair of wishbone leather thong sandals; Christine got a pair of black high-heeled slides, and Cynthia wore a pair of brown loafer mules.
After the girls finished their breakfast, Mitchell explained what to do. 'We're going to pair you up for this morning's shoot. Brad, take Trisha and Brooke; you'll be mimicking the summer morning where thong sandals might be appropriate and Wayne, take Cynthia and Christine; you'll mimic the spring morning where mules and slides might be more appropriate."
Brad took Trisha and Brooke over to the grassy area and got out Rex, the Cocker Spaniel from his crate and attached the leather leash to his neck. "Which one of you girls is a dog lover?" Both girls raised their hands but Brooke was more aggressive in reaching for the leash. "Actually, I'm going to let both of you have the dog half the time. This will be easy, just walk the dog back and forth on the grassy area and walk by the Bagel Cart. I'm going to try to get both of your sets of shoes and the dog in the shots. One thing you need to try to do is not walk in unison. Try to stagger your steps a little as you walk along. Most importantly relax and have fun. Put a spring in your step." Trisha and Brooke slapped along and had fun with the cute dog while Brad took a lot of photos.
Meanwhile, Wayne took Christine and Cynthia over to the footbridge and grabbed the bicycle. “Christine, I want you to stand on the footbridge looking out onto the water. Cynthia, I want you to ride the bicycle back and forth - take your time to turn around at each end. I'll switch you back and forth so it won't be so tiring.” He explained to them that the girl standing next to the bridge should not stand flatfooted. He gave them direction throughout the shoot to arrange their feet in certain ways such as dipping out of one, flexing one foot leaving the toes on the sole, resting their foot on the bottom railing, things to show off the shoes better. Wayne got quite a few good shots of the girls on the footbridge.
The girls then swapped stations but the photographers stayed on the same part of the studio. Trisha and Brooke went to work on the footbridge and Cynthia and Christine got to work with the dog. Trisha and Brooke, particularly, had trouble riding the bicycle in thong sandals, as one came off now and then. Trisha once dropped her sandal into the imaginary lake after some out-of-control shoeplay. Wayne thought that would make a humorous outtake, "That could have been a problem had it been a real footbridge with running water." Trisha thought about that actually happening to her once before at the marina on Lake Allatoona.
Again, Mitchell reminded them that they could keep their shoes. Around 11AM he gave them an hour break and told them to be back at noon, wearing the same clothes and shoes. He told them it would be a lunch shoot and while they were gone, the studio would be transformed into a sidewalk cafe.
On the break, the girls crashed in their bedrooms and relaxed. They talked a little about the shoot but they all wondered if they'd ever get to leave the building. These fake restaurants and parks were getting kind of 'old.'
Noon came, and the girls came downstairs to find a couple of small round high tables and stools next to a deli facade. On each table was a large hot deli sandwich, an appetizer-size cheese fries and a large slices of cheesecake for two of the girls to share. The food was catered from a nearby place called Sarge’s Deli. Mitchell instructed, "Brooke, why don't you sit with Christine at this table and Cynthia, you and Trisha sit at the other table." Brad and Wayne took their positions and began to take shots of the girls' legs while eating lunch. Wayne instructed them, "Okay, the trick here is what to you do with your feet since you cannot touch the floor. Remember, relax, have fun. Do just as you ordinarily would if you were sitting at a real sidewalk cafe."
With all four girls wearing backless sandals, sitting on elevated stools provided a challenge - a challenge that lent itself to natural shoeplay and good photo opportunities to highlight the pretty Cole Haan shoes. Wayne and Brad had to give very little direction to the girls as they enjoyed their food. They got good shots of the girls dangling and having distance between the sole and the bottom of their foot. They also caught several of them using the middle table leg to push their shoe back on after dangling loose. They also shot the girls resting their feet on the crossbar on the stool. Trisha, and Brooke each had a thong sandal fall off during shooting and that offered some quality poses.
Once the lunch shoot was finished, Mitchell had an announcement that pleased everyone. "Okay, you're getting the hang of things now, we're going to do something different. Wayne's going to take Christine and Trisha and Brad's going to take Cynthia and Brooke out on the street and get a few candids at Madison Square Garden - along the way there and back. It's only four blocks from here. We have tickets for the 3PM tour of the facility and they've agreed to let us take a few shots of you on the tour.
Trisha and the girls had a fun afternoon posing at various spots along 7th Avenue and inside Madison Square Garden. Mitchell further surprised them by taking them out to dinner afterwards without being photographed.
The four girls dressed in their bedclothes and gathered out in the common area of the suite and turned on the TV to relax. The conversation quickly and surely turned to boyfriends and/or the lack of them. Brooke opened the discussion by asking the general question, "Anyone dating anyone special?" The silence permeated the room like a shroud. "Me neither. It's just hard to find a good man these days."
Christine added, "I get asked out on a lot of dates, but most guys are either looking for a quick score, or they're immature and afraid of commitment. Being in rodeos I'm surrounded by lots of men - some of the ones from the rodeo I wouldn't mind going out with think of me as a cowgirl, a buddy. Some guys when they find out I'm into rodeo get scared away."
Brooke also said, "At TCU, I meet a lot of guys but after being crowned Miss TCU, the offers got scarce believe it or not. Men automatically assume I'm taken or they're afraid to ask. Many weekends, I’m sitting in the Sorority house with the other girls who don't have dates either."
Cynthia added, the guys at Iowa State are pretty nice. There are a lot of engineers and guys with other technical majors. We get into the rut of doing things in groups - especially at my church there. No one seems to date one-on one really it seems.
Trisha felt better after hearing that the dating picture for three stunning young coeds was not all that rosy. She told the girls about Chuck and Tim and how she had pinned her hopes on them only to be let down. "I spend a lot of my time with this guy named Jay." She went on to explain their relationship, leaving out the part about his interest in her shoeplay.
Christine, "I wish I had someone in my life like Jay." Brooke and Cynthia nodded their heads in collective agreement.
Trisha became slightly defensive, "But Jay is just a good friend. He's not someone I really want to date. I am still looking for that special someone and we can be in love ever after."
Christine replied, "Maybe so, now, but I'd like to talk with you a year from now and see if that's changed. Actually, I guess we will talk a year from now if we stick through this for a year like we agreed to in our contracts."
Later on that evening, after splitting into their two bedrooms, Cynthia talked Trisha into doing some sightseeing before they left town - if time permitted. They lay across the bed and opened up Cynthia's "I Love NY Guide" and a subway/bus line map and together they mapped out a potential tour route. After about an hour, Cynthia read to Trisha what they had so far: "We can walk over to the Empire State Building which is near Herald Square at 34th St - that's only 4 blocks from here. We can ride the elevator to the top and view the city. From there, we catch the F-Line Subway and take it to Rockefeller Center - it looks to be only a couple of stops away. We can walk around there and then it's several short blocks to Central Park. We can walk back down Park Avenue and go in a few shops as time permits then get on the E-Line Subway at 53rd St and take it to Roosevelt Ave in Jackson Heights, Queens. We get on the Q33 bus and take it into LaGuardia.
Trisha gave her affirmation and clarified their time. "Your flight is at 4PM and mine is at 4:30PM. To be safe, we need to make sure we get on the E-Line by 2PM. No matter what."
Cynthia said, "Okay, but I'm weak when I go shopping, you'll have to be firm."
After that the girls settled down to a good night's sleep.
The next morning, the girls were set up for one last photo shoot early enough so that they could have plenty of time to get home by evening. They were instructed to come downstairs in casual clothes and grab breakfast off the Bagel Cart - which was now in the break room and presumably not part of the morning's photo shoot. Mitchell gathered the girls together and gave them instructions. "Your last shoot this morning will be a special one. First of all, we've provided dresses for you to wear from our Kenneth Cole line. Secondly, we hired a couple of professional male dancers to be your partners as we simulate a dance floor in our studio."
Sure enough, the studio now had a hardwood dance floor large enough for two couples to dance at the same time.
Mitchell continued, "We have dress shoe selections from our Nine West line for each of you to model." He began to distribute the shoeboxes. "Cynthia, you and Brooke are going to model these beaded ankle strap mules. I know that term is an anomaly, but they look like mules if not for the pretty beaded ankle strap. The red ones are for you Cynthia and the black ones are for you, Brooke. Go in the back and change into the matching dress."
Cynthia and Brooke went and got changed into their modeling clothes and shoes. Mitchell continued. "Trisha and Christine, you're going to model these two-tone ankle strap sandals with a pretty beaded knotted strap. You two were selected to model these "barely there" shoes because you had the best pedicures and most perfect-looking toes. Christine, take the black and silver pair and put on the silver dress in the back room. Trisha, take the pink pair, follow Christine and put on the pink dress.
Trisha and Christine said nothing about their pedicure kudos or how that factored into who modeled which shoes as the four of them got ready for their shoot. Actually everyone thought that all four pairs of shoes were very pretty.
Mitchell introduced the two dancers, Lance and Ron, to the girls who thought that both of them were nice-looking men in their sporty blazers, freshly starched button-down shirts and nice pleated Dockers. He asked the girls if they knew some basic dance steps. Trisha was very confident in her dancing ability, Brooke and Cynthia knew a little bit, but Christine only knew western dances like the two-step. All simply nodded and acknowledged that they'd be okay.
Trisha and Christine looked on as Lance took Brooke and Ron took Cynthia and slowly went through some dance moves while Brad and Wayne both took some great shots. By the first half-hour the girls seemed to be much confident dancers. So not only were they getting paid to model but they also received free dancing lessons. Their shoes were pretty comfortable, but Brooke complained a little that the beaded strap cut in to her ankle a little on some of the faster dance moves.
Brooke and Cynthia took a break and undid their ankle straps for comfort so that when they walked it looked like floppy mules with beads dangling off at the heel. Lance took Trisha and Ron took Christine for their turn to dance. Trisha was obviously the most experienced dancer of the four and she was able to immediately follow her partner's lead while Cynthia has some learning to do first. Although Trisha was not a big fan of ankle straps she was glad these had them. There was no way she could have danced without them given the very small toe strap that these dainty shoes had. Again, Wayne and Brad got some nice close-up shots of the girls dancing in these very revealing shoes.
After a break for everyone then another set of dancing for each, the modeling session was over. The girls were able to take home with them three pairs of shoes and the dresses they wore that morning. That alone was probably worth $500 a piece.
Mitchell summarized the weekend by telling the girls how good they did and how he looked forward to seeing them again in a month. He also asked what time their flights were out of town. Again, Broke and Christine flew out of Newark and their flight was pretty soon. They had not planned on staying later this trip to do any sightseeing. Paul took them and their luggage to Newark shortly afterwards.
Cynthia And Trisha had a few hours 'till their flight from LaGuardia and Mitchell let them know he had to fly to Miami in a couple of hours and asked them what they wanted to do.
Cynthia replied, "Well last night, Trisha and I talked about doing some sightseeing today. What did you say we could do so we did not have to come back here to get it?"
Mitchell told them, "Oh yeah, Paul can take your luggage down to the airport and get it checked-in for the right flight. We do that all the time."
Trisha added, "That would be great! We really appreciate it!"
The two girls from Georgia and Iowa went upstairs and changed out of their eveningwear and packed their bags and sat them out for Paul to take to LaGuardia for them. Both chose to slip on a comfortable pair of jeans and a light cotton sweater. Trisha wore the same black loafer mules that seemed to be living a charmed life and Cynthia wore a pair of slightly dressy beige mules with a mid heel. Both wore their mules barefoot, naturally.
It was only a little after 10AM when the girls left on their sightseeing tour of mid-Manhattan. They walked swiftly on 37th Street and then turned right on Broadway into Herald Square.
Cynthia could not help but mumble the familiar lyrics as they approached their first destination: "Give my regards to Broadway; remember me to Herald Square."
Trisha tried to convince the more rurally minded Cynthia that looking like an obvious tourist was not the best idea. Certainly their bright clothing and the way both girls were bouncing along in their cute mules were a dead giveaway even without any other clues.
Once at Herald Square it was a short walk over to the Empire State Building where they paid their money to take the Elevator ride to the Observation Tower.
Trisha asked Cynthia an odd question, "You know the Movies - An Affair to Remember and also Sleepless in Seattle, where a guy and a girl make a pact to meet on New Years Eve in the 86th floor Observation Deck of this building if they are not married, or something? You ever considered something like that?"
"It's funny you asked, Trisha. Back in High School I was in Chicago for a 4-H convention. My best friend, Tommy Joe Oliver and I went up to the top of the Sears Tower and he came up with the goofy idea that if we did not get married before then, that we should agree to meet back at the same spot on New Years Eve 2020. How about you?"
"No, never had anything like that happen. Like we talked about last night, I just want to find that one special someone."
At the top, they enjoyed a breathtaking view of New York City. It was a partly cloudy day but the sight was still very nice. After a few minutes of gazing they returned down the elevator and caught the Subway to go up to Rockefeller Center.
Going down the steps, the girls made a loud racket as their mules slapped against their feet and the sound echoed in the tunnel. Cynthia asked, "Trisha, do you think it's safe to ride the subway?"
"Sure, I've heard that security has been much better since Giuliani became Mayor. We ought to be fine."
The girls bought their tokens and put them into the slot to gain admittance to the train boarding area. "It's about to leave!" Trisha exclaimed and she ran toward the open door of one of the trains. Cynthia came running behind and came almost out of one of her mules before stopping to stick her toes back inside.
On the train, they grabbed a seat and Cynthia said, "Wow, that was close!"
Trisha replied, 'Yeah we almost missed it."
"No, I'm talking about my shoe I almost came out of it there for a moment."
Trisha thought she was exaggerating the situation a little, "Happens to me all the time."
"Really, not me. I'm usually very careful. You see, I had something horrifying happen back in 10th grade."
An attentive Trisha listened, "So what happened?"
Well, I was speaking at this 4-H Convention in Des Moines at the Convention Center in front of other high school students from all around Iowa. There were several others from Boone High School there with me. I was nervous and as I used to always do, while I was speaking at the podium - no one could see me - I was playing with one of my shoes. It was a pair of dressy high-heel mules. I lost control of it and it landed behind me but I couldn't turn around and get it back on."
Trisha added, “So you had to finish your talk in front of the group wearing one shoe?"
"Yes, but it was much worse than that. You see, the platform where I was speaking was an elevated stage and there was a curtain at the back. The stage dropped off at the back at the curtain and there was an old orchestra pit down there that was now being used for storage."
Trisha began to see where this story was going.
Continuing, Cynthia added, "As it turned out, my shoe fell off the back of the stage and landed in the Orchestra Pit - apparently. I finished my talk and I tried to casually retrieve my shoe from behind me and it was not there. I had to go off the stage without it and walk down in front of everyone and back to my seat missing one shoe. It was a very embarrassing experience. When I got back to my seat everyone was teasing me calling me Cindy, Cindy-rella. When I came to Iowa State that's why I decided to start going by my given name, Cynthia - I did not like my name being so closely associated with Cinderella. Since then I pretty much quit playing with my shoes - that took a lot of practice and I have been much more careful. I haven't had a serious loss since."
Trisha asked, '"So did you go up afterwards and get your shoe back?"
"Well, Tommy Joe and a couple of the others went with me back behind the curtain afterwards and into the Orchestra Pit. It was dark and we looked for half an hour and finally gave up the search."
"So Tommy Joe was with you there also?"
"Yeah, we were good friends back in High School. We dated some, but mostly we just did things as friends. He was on the football team and I was a cheerleader. We were in youth group together at church. We had a few classes together and of course we were also in 4-H."
"What happened to him?"
"He's at the University of Nebraska on a football scholarship and dating some girl from North Platte."
Trisha went on to compare her situation to her and Chuck and she cautioned her to not get her hopes up too high for something to happen.
Soon the subway made it to Rockefeller Center and they left the train and walked up the steps to ground level again. They walked around and looked at everything - the many nations flags flying, the angel statue. The ice skating rink was recognizable from many TV shows and movies, but it was of course closed for the summer, already and covered in Astroturf and converted to an outdoor seating area. They continued their trek to the north and passed by David Letterman's studio and wandered into Central Park - an oasis of green in an otherwise gray city.
They entered Central Park at the southeast corner of the park passing the Pulitzer Fountain and the Grand Army Plaza. After walking around the pond and the Nature Sanctuary they took a brief tour of the zoo. The girls were in awe that such a big city could have such a nice-looking city park.
On their way out of the park they passed a food vendor with a cart, just like the kind you hear about and see on TV and in the movies. It was lunchtime and they figured that they could save time if they ate something quick. They each bought a chilidog with sauerkraut and a soft drink and wandered onto the grass to enjoy them.
They sat down near the sidewalk and stretched their legs out in front. Trisha toed off her mules and slid her feet in toward her and back out again then repeated this maneuver a few times after discovering the grass on her bare feet felt very nice. Cynthia noticed this and did the same as they continued to chat about each other's lives and get better acquainted.
Ten minutes later, Cynthia stood up and immediately placed her mules back on her feet and said, "Well, Trisha, you ready to do some shopping?"
Standing also, Trisha replied in the affirmative while slipping back into her mules, 'Well, at least window shopping I suppose."
Cynthia and Trisha browsed around in Bloomingdale’s and a few other stores. Even after a weekend of shoe modeling that was the first department in each store they looked. Trisha had to stop herself from buying a cute pair of Jimmy Choo mules and a dressy pair of Kate Spade mules she didn’t' really need and couldn't really afford. Soon it was 1:45PM. They happened to pass FAO Schwartz, the famous toy store. "Hey Trisha, you want to stop in here for a moment, it supposed to be a really nice place."
Trisha looked at her watch and made note of the time. “Okay, but we can only spend 15 minutes and make it to our plane on time."
On that note the girls hurriedly entered FAO and were amazed at how large it was and how well decorated it was. It was quite a sight for a couple of college girls. They imagined how overwhelming it would be to a child. The wandered by toy trains, robots, games, puzzles - all sorts of things. Then they noticed a familiar sight - the giant piano keyboard that was like the one used in the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks.
Cynthia was excited, "Big, is one of my favorite movies." She started to step on the keyboard and noticed the sign requesting shoe removal. Cynthia hesitated but slipped out of her shoes, which landed a few feet behind her. Trisha followed close behind and soon they were playing a makeshift duet of Chopsticks while a few onlookers gathered to watch.
One of these on-lookers was 4-year-old Timmy whose mother was not really paying attention to her son. Timmy got bored watching Trisha and Cynthia playing the big piano but what fascinated him was one of Cynthia's beige mules with the square wooden heel. Upside down it looked like a train engine with a smokestack to a boy with a wild imagination. While no one noticed, Timmy took one of Cynthia's mules and began to play with it on the floor in the nearby toy aisle making choo-choo noises. While the girls still played, Timmy's mom noticed that he was playing on the floor, "Timmy! Put that toy back on the shelf this instant!"
Timmy happened to be a pretty obedient child so without much of a fuss he placed Cynthia's shoe on the low aisle to his right behind a stack of toys out of sight where it would probably not be found for months. His mom shuttled him away and out of sight before the girls grew tired of the piano and stepped off to retrieve their shoes.
Trisha looked at her watch while Cynthia seemed to be doing nothing said, "Cynthia, we need to hurry! It's ten after two!"
"My shoe's gone!"
"What!" Trisha looked at a horrified Cynthia standing in only one beige mule and one bare foot, sporting the bright pink nail polish applied by the G-III pedicurist, looking frantically all in the area to see where her shoe could have been moved or kicked.
Trisha joined the search - they looked all around the piano keyboard and down al aisles within 30 feet or so. Cynthia asked those around her, "Hey did anyone see my other shoe lying around?" Most of the people ignored her but a couple did stop to glance at their feet and they saw nothing. "What am I going to do? Can we stop and buy another pair of shoes?"
Looking at her watch, Trisha noted, "On no, it's 2:20! We're already close to being late. Is it worth the risk?"
Exasperated, Cynthia replied, "I don't know! Maybe! Maybe they'll be a street vendor."
Trisha cautiously replied, "Not in this neighborhood. You probably won't find anything less than a $100 dollars and by the time you find a pair, get your size and pay with a credit card, another half-hour will pass."
"Alright, let's go. At least no one besides you knows who I am wearing one shoe."
Trisha and Cynthia hurriedly maneuvered themselves out of the mammoth FAO Schwartz store and made it out to the street. Cynthia and Trisha started a pace somewhere between a fast walk and a slow jog, not an easy task for Trisha in her mules or for Cynthia who was left with only one and was making things even more difficult by walking on her flexed toes in an attempt to keep most of her foot clean and safe.
"I'm trying to ignore the fact that the sidewalk is nasty and rough. My foot's going to look pretty bad by the time we get to the airport. I'll have to wash it in the restroom before I can put on another pair of shoes out of my luggage."
"Cynthia, our luggage is probably already checked and will certainly be by the time we get there."
"What!!! You mean I won't be able to get a replacement shoe until I get to Des Moines! No way! I'm going to try to but a shoe someplace around here, then."
Trisha looked at her watch again and noticed the time, "You can do what you want and risk missing your flight, but I can't wait. I'll have to go on without you, sorry. Maybe you could call Delta and see if there's a later flight. But again, I can't wait for you."
"Okay, if we see a pay phone I'll try that." As the approached 53rd St., where their subway stop was located, Cynthia spotted an available pay phone on the sidewalk. "There's one!"
Cynthia hobbled over and dialed the 1-800 number for Delta and was immediately put on hold. Cynthia nervously fidgeted with her bare foot by moving it all around her, resting it first on top of her shod foot, then rubbing the back of her ankle then resting it on the post of the phone stand. She seemed to be lost as to where to place her bare foot while standing in one place
Trisha nervously watched as the minutes continued to pass. Cynthia finally reached an operator and made her request.
The Delta operator replied, "The next flight is at 7:30 and it is booked, but you can risk flying standby if you want? However your bigger problem is catching the connecting flight at O'Hare in Chicago. It is overbooked as well. You might end up spending the night in Chicago even if you get the flight out of LaGuardia."
After a short pause, Cynthia conceded, "Okay, I'll keep the 4PM flight connecting in Cincinnati.
Trisha heard her plan and noted, "I don't think you have a choice now. We have to get on the subway and hurry!"
A defeated Cynthia led the way down the subway tunnel steps with every other step making a loud clacking sound. She took care to avoid placing her bare foot on anything that looked wet or especially dirty and she also looked carefully to avoid trash that was haphazardly tossed on the steps in places. Although her shod foot still was in as good a shape as when the pedicurists finished with her on Friday, her bare foot looked like she had not worn shoes in days and had been working on the farm.
They finally boarded their second subway of the day - making them experts of sorts. They took a seat near the door and Cynthia immediately tucked her bare foot under her other thigh in an effort to conceal her one-shod state from others on the train. The train made stops at several places before getting to their connecting station at Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. Again she had to reveal her exposed foot to everyone as Cynthia and Trisha made their way up the escalator to catch the Q33 bus to LaGuardia.
They turned in their bus transfers and boarded the crowded bus. There were no seats left so the girls had to stand in the aisle and hold onto the metal pole that hung from the ceiling of the bus. All eyes on the bus seemed to focus on this one shod strawberry blonde standing in the aisle like a flamingo - one shod foot on the floor of the bus and the bare foot resting on the shin of her other leg.
Trisha felt strange being on the other side of a shoe loss situation. She realized that it could have easily been one of her mules that ended up missing back at FAO Schwartz and been her having to traverse between Manhattan and Queens and possibly on the plane trip back home. It gave her a unique level of empathy for Cynthia's situation.
The bus arrived at LaGuardia and the girls quickly debarked at the Delta Hangar, they were there only 40 minutes before Cynthia's flight to Cincinnati so they had indeed no time they could have spared to look for a new pair of shoes. Cynthia had been without a shoe for over an hour now but she was still highly embarrassed to be seen in the line for check-in with just a single beige mule. The businessmen in line around her noticed the missing shoe but none dared to ask her where the other one was.
With now only 20 minutes to takeoff and minutes before boarding, the girls finished passing through the check-in line and made their way to Cynthia's gate. "I'm going to wash my nasty foot before boarding." Trisha waited outside while Cynthia got some stares from other ladies in the restroom as she filled up a sink in the back of the restroom with hot soapy water and gave her bare foot a bath (especially her toes which she had walked on most of the time trying to keep her whole foot form touching the nasty sidewalk and floors) She then took care to dry it off with some paper towels.
Cynthia joined Trisha feeling a little bit better now with a clean foot and walked to where her flight to Cincinnati was already boarding.
"Well Trisha, despite what happened to my other shoe, I enjoyed touring New York today and working with you over the weekend."
"I did too Cynthia, look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks."
They hugged and Cynthia limped on board the plane still with only one shoe. Cynthia again felt the stares of curious eyes as she walked to her seat. She kicked off her one mule and rested her feet on the footrest and took a nap once the flight finished its ascent. Once off the plane in Cincinnati, she was very happy to find a store in the Airport Terminal named SportsWorld. Cynthia bought the cheapest pair of athletic shoes they had and wore them for the rest of her trip. Once outside she started to drop the remaining mule in the trash bin, but stopped just short of doing so. She placed the mule in her purse and took it home to keep as a memento of her first trip to New York City.
Meanwhile, Trisha made her flight back to Atlanta without incident and the next day, everyone in the AOPi Sorority house wanted to hear every detail of Trisha's grand adventure in the big city.
