In between her Junior and Senior year at the University of Georgia, Trisha was enjoying her summer working at Wachovia Bank and also her once a month trip to model shoes in New York City. The second weekend in June, she met other newly elected AOPi Presidents from around the country for a couple of days of specialized training before remaining in town for the annual AOPi convention.
This was Trisha's first AOPi convention in 2 years. Shelley attended the meeting in June 2000, which was held in New Orleans. Trisha had enjoyed the 1999 convention in San Francisco and was looking forward to another good convention.
Trisha dressed casually for the flight. She wore a pair of white shorts, a sleeveless garnet red shirt (Georgia Bulldog colors) and a pair of flat casual white cloth slides with a thin white bow on the strap and a tan insole. The cloth strap was very cool and comfortable for wearing in warm weather that she anticipated in sunny and humid San Antonio.
Trisha's dad, Charles, drove his daughter to the Hartsfield Airport and helped her get her bags checked, but since he had to get back to work for an important meeting, he was unable to stay until Trisha boarded the direct flight to San Antonio.
In the terminal, Trisha sat with one leg crossed and one slide dangling much of the time - these shoes made a distinct sound when she slapped the insole against her bare foot while dangling - therefore she was getting a few stares from attentive guys waiting for the same flight. Soon her row was called for boarding and an attractive auburn-haired girl soon joined her in the Delta Jet, about her age that was 5'7" and had a thin build. She was wearing a print sundress and a pair of brown 2" heel thong sandal.
After both girls were seated and situated, Trisha initiated contact, "Hello, my name's Trisha."
The other girl answered back in a friendly manner with a smile, "Hi there, I'm Carolyn."
"So Carolyn, what business do you have in San Antonio?"
"Well, I just got elected president of my sorority at Auburn University..."
Trisha gleefully interrupted, "Are you an AOPi too?"
"Yes! Where are you from?"
"The University of Georgia."
Trisha and Carolyn chatted the rest of the flight to San Antonio and by the end they were practically buddies. Trisha found out that Carolyn was a Family and Childhood Development major from Pelham - a southern suburb of Birmingham and that she had been at Auburn for three years, just like her at Georgia. Carolyn was somewhat of a shoe dangler - at times she slipped her toes out from between the thong part of each sandal and dangled, but she was not as fierce a dangler as Trisha was. Carolyn got so engrossed into talking with Trisha, at one point she kicked off her sandals and pulled her feet them up into her seat and sat on them.
In a couple of hours, they got off the plane and were greeted by a man wearing a chauffeur's hat standing next to two girls holding a AOPi sign in their hands. Trisha and Carolyn saw them and went to introduce themselves.
"I'm Trisha from Georgia."
"And, I'm Carolyn from Auburn."
The other girls introduced themselves as Sandy from Mississippi State and Wendi from LSU. They had met up on the connecting flight from Houston and become similarly acquainted. Sandy was petite and had cute but short brown hair and had an intellectual air about her. She wore a pair of Khaki shorts and a white t-shirt and a pair of tan flats. She was a Chemical Engineering major from the Jackson suburb of Brandon. Wendi was a tall blonde with long permed very curly hair and a slight Cajun accent. She wore a tight-fitting print dress and a pair of red strappy 4" sandals. She was a Marketing major from New Orleans.
The driver summoned the 4 sorority girls to follow him to the van outside which took them to the Marriott Rivercenter where they'd be staying and attending both the presidents' training and the AOPi conference.
During the 10 mile drive into central San Antonio, the girls had time to introduce themselves and become somewhat acquainted. Sandy found herself liking Carolyn and Trisha a little bit more than the already familiar Wendi from the short flight out of Houston - and Wendi noticed this immediately and was somewhat jealous. She was definitely more status conscious than the other three having already sized up the other 3 girls as unsophisticated country girls from 'backward' Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Her father was a powerful attorney in New Orleans and fairly wealthy. Wendi was the belle of the LSU Pan Hellenic culture and she knew it. Her arrogance would become even more evident as the weekend progressed.
Along the way, Sandy tried to get to know Trisha and Carolyn better. Soon, Trisha was fervently dangling and slapping her white slide on the end of her crossed leg. Carolyn was sitting with her ankles crossed and slowly dangling one of her thong sandals behind her. Sandy was sitting with both flats on the floor but her toes in the heel cup occasionally pulled the shoes upward then let them fall. On a particularly vicious pothole, Trisha's white slide flipped off and Sandy picked it up to return it to Trisha.
"Those are so cute. Where did you get them?"
"Believe it or not, I caught them on sale at Parisian. I got 4 different colors of the same style for only $50! I wear them to match specific outfits. The upper is cloth so they're cooler than leather in hot weather."
"I may have go up to the North Park Mall in Jackson and look in their Parisian when I get home."
Carolyn added, "We have a really nice Parisian at the Summit in Birmingham. I may look there too. I have a lot of slides and mules already, though. We wear them 8 months out of the year at Auburn. It starts getting warm enough to tan in late February and we can sit out until early November, usually."
Wendi was disinterested once she heard that five pairs cost only $50 - she figured they must be made out of cheap material so she tried to steer the conversation toward something of her liking. "Hey, any of you have boyfriends?"
Recently jilted Trisha kept quiet, while Sandy replied, "I am sort of seeing someone from back in my hometown. He goes to Ole Miss so I only see him on some weekends and during semester breaks. I don't know if we're going to get married or not, though."
Carolyn followed, "I dated someone until last fall. Since then, I've just been playing the field, I suppose." Sensing a reason for Trisha's silence she followed with, "What about you, Wendi?"
Wendi was hoping to be asked so she could brag on her boyfriend. "My boyfriend, Kevin, is a second year law student at Tulane. We'll probably get engaged this Christmas. He's already got a good job lined up with Daddy's law firm when he graduates."
The other three girls were trying to like Wendi but it was becoming less easy as time went on.
Wendi turned to Trisha, "So you must have beaten Shelley in the election to be president."
"So you know Shelley?" Trisha was not surprised - the similarities were striking.
"Sure, we met at the conference last year - it was in my home town. We even went out on Bourbon Street with some other girls one night and had a good time. She even told me about you and some of your other sisters. So you didn't get to go last year?"
"Our sorority likes to rotate who gets to go. I went in 1999 to San Francisco for that year's convention. It was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to this year's here."
This cued Sandy and Carolyn to steer the conversation back to the AOPi Convention which they did the rest of the drive to the Hotel. Upon arrival, they were impressed to see how the hotel was integrated beautifully with the east terminus to the San Antonio Riverwalk and a very nice shopping mall. The environment couldn't have been more pleasant.
The four girls walked together to the registration table and were surprised to find out that room assignments were not made ahead of time for the two days of training - not until the convention would their pre-determined room assignments occur. They were given the opportunity to make their own roommate assignments.
Sandy suggested, "The four of us could be roommates, I suppose."
Trisha and Carolyn nodded in agreement and Wendi replied, "Sure, whatever."
The registrar told them, "You need to be dressed for appetizers and a mixer at 6PM. It's in the Davy Crockett Conference Room which is in the Alamo wing of the hotel - here's a map."
Soon, they were in their rooms with suitcases and garment bags open and scrambling to get ready for the mixer. Trisha was interested in seeing what shoes everyone brought and planned to wear for the 5 days they'd be there, but she did not want to say anything right off. Trisha didn't have to wait long. When she opened her suitcase and 8 pairs of various sandals slides and mules were revealed, Carolyn took note and said, "Trisha, look at these shoes - they're so nice. Did you model in any of these?"
Sandy was similarly impressed but Wendi was shocked - her jaw practically fell to the floor. She was in disbelief that this apparently simple unassuming girl from Georgia had a better shoe collection than her. She was also surprised to hear she was a model - another thing that began to raise up some jealousy in Wendi towards Trisha.
One pair that got everyone's attention was a bone-colored pair of mules with a 3 1/2 inch pointed wooden heel.
Carolyn asked, "What are those? They're beautiful! They look sort of like a ladies cowboy boot with only the first half of the upper and nothing on the ankle."
Trisha answered, "Those are called 'Monaco' and they're made by Kenneth Cole. I chose them as one of my free pairs to take home after modeling last month. That led Sandy to inquire more about her modeling job and Wendi was forced to endure even more ammunition to fuel her jealousy of Trisha. Trisha continued, "I brought them here since we're in Texas and they do have sort of a western flair to them.
From here, Trisha wanted to see everyone else's shoe collection. Carolyn had a general mixture of sandals, pumps and slingbacks; Sandy had mostly flats and mid-heeled pumps and Wendi had all high heels - mostly 4 inches and over, a mixture of strappy sandals and pumps.
All added to their nice shoes, a nice outfit to go down to the AOPi Social Mixer. Downstairs, they mingled with other AOPi sorority presidents from around North America. Trisha's bone high heel mules - she decided to wear them to the mixer - were the most popular pair of shoes in the place. Everyone was asking her about them which is why the C-III Marketing group who she modeled for gave them to her for free after modeling in them. Wendi was not pleased about being upstaged - her dislike of Trisha was increasing minute by minute.
Trisha saw a few people she had met 2 years earlier in San Francisco, including Bonnie from the University of Arkansas. The tone for the training session was set as well as the schedule. Around 7:30, the group was dismissed to go on their own for dinner. Carolyn suggested the four of them go down to the Riverwalk and go until they found a good place to stop and eat. Everyone agreed and Trisha asked Bonnie if she'd like to join them. She had already made plans with her own roommates so the original four left to find dinner.
Only Sandy was wearing reasonable walking shoes - a pair of dressy blue flats, but fortunately their walk was not terribly far. Besides Trisha's high heel mules, Wendi wore the same strappy sandals from the plane trip and Carolyn had changed into a pair of white slingback open-toed pumps with a 3-inch heel. They found a good Tex/Mex place - called the Original Mexican Restaurant, near where the Riverwalk branch that went to the Marriott reconnected with the main channel.
The restaurant hostess asked the foursome about their seating preference, "We have a table in smoking inside and we also have one next to the river."
Wendi quickly replied, "Next to the river would be nice!" No one wanted to smoke or objected but Sandy bristled a bit at not being asked.
Wendi and Sandy sat on one side of the table with Wendi next to the river's edge and on the other side; Trisha sat on the river's edge, placing Carolyn across from Sandy. The evening was pretty humid, but the sun no longer penetrated the narrow passage that was created by the buildings that lined the Riverwalk, it was like being in a different world of trees, a slowly flowing stream and a line of sidewalk cafes. The street level city of San Antonio was much more ordinary looking and practical.
Soon after sitting, Trisha crossed her leg away from the river and began to dangle her high heel mule a bit. Carolyn slipped off her slingbacks and slid them under her seat and rested her feet flat on the cool sidewalk. Sandy pulled her feet under her seat and came out of her shoes to the point of gripping her heels with her toes.
This was the first time all day that they could relax and talk together and learn more about each other.
Sandy explained her choice of major, "I always loved math and chemistry and I wanted something I could use both in. I've also been interested in how chemical plants worked. We used to pass them on the highway when I was a kid and want to know what they made."
Everyone was impressed with this difficult major. Trisha asked, "How do you find time to study and handle sorority stuff?"
"I just keep a well-planned schedule and do my best I suppose. It helps if you love your coursework. What do you want to do Trisha?"
"I'm in Management Information Systems. I like computers and I like business. This seemed to be a good mix of the two. I took an Accounting class in High School and loved it. I also got to take some computer programming at the community college. Carolyn, tell us about your major?"
"I just love children and I really don't have big career plans. I may help my sister run her daycare center in Hoover - that's another suburb of Birmingham. I guess I'd rather get married and raise a family. What about you, Wendi?"
I'm majoring in marketing. It's a fun major. I really have no plans. Maybe I can help my dad and future husband at the law firm do some PR work or something."
Soon everyone's meal arrived and the conversation drifted into each campus' sorority and how each was similar as well as different. Everyone was surprised to hear that Carolyn's sorority lived on the 2nd floor of a dorm and had their meetings in the basement. Wendi, particularly thought that was backward and ridiculous and she described their beautiful house at LSU in great detail.
As dinner was winding down, it was starting to get dark. Wendi accidentally dropped her spoon on the ground and saw Trisha's precariously dangling shoe on the end of her toes. The devil inside gave her an idea to get even with her for all the attention she'd been getting from her shoes. She noticed that the shoe was hanging over on her side of the table. Wendi decided to cross her leg and in the process stretched her foot out to try and knock her shoe off and into the river. There was no barrier between them and the river except for a single chain at about tabletop level.
When no one was paying much attention, Wendi lifted up her right leg and executed her plan. She connected cleanly with Trisha's barely dangling shoe, which flew about 6 feet out into the river and quickly sank below the surface where it was carried slowly downstream.
Trisha was startled by the sudden coolness on her toes and loss of the shoe's weight on her toes. She heard the splash and turned to see her shoe sink below the surface. Wendi acted similarly startled and was immediately apologetic.
"Trisha! I'm so sorry! I was just crossing my leg and I must have knocked your shoe off. Did you see where it fell in?"
"It's sort of dark, but it seemed to be out there, but it's probably hopeless."
Wendi jumped up and started walking upstream, "I'll follow it and see if it comes to the surface."
Trisha followed her and suggested that Carolyn and Sandy watch their purses and look out to see if they see anything. Sandy slipped her feet back into her shoes and Carolyn claimed hers from under the seat and put them back on as well, but did not pull up the heel straps.
"Maybe I can find someone with a net and a flashlight and search for your shoe."
Walking very lopsided, Trisha replied, "Our best hope is for it to rise to the surface and float to the edge. Hey, the water is coming from the other side! We're going the wrong way."
Wendi and Trisha lost about a minute or so having to go back and head the correct direction. They walked downstream for a few minutes as everyone they passed realized what must have happened as they saw a frantic one-shod Trisha limping along and an even more outwardly frantic Wendi running with her. A couple of ladies sitting on the edge of the river at another river side cafe uncrossed their legs and sat flat footed after seeing the potential of what happened to Trisha.
Trisha conceded the search, "Wendi, let's just go back. It's gone."
"Can I reimburse you for the shoes? I knocked it off."
"No, that was one of my modeling shoes - they cost me nothing. I can probably get another pair like them if I want to. Let's just go back and enjoy our time together."
The fact that Trisha was taking this so well further frustrated Wendi. Trisha seemed almost unflappable in the face of adversity. They returned to the table and soon they were done with their meals. Wendi asked, "Do you still want to go inside and listen to the band?"
Trisha replied, "Sure, why not. I guess it matters not where I sit. Being without one shoe is no different here than in there."
Wendi replied, "I'm glad. I hope we get to meet some cute guys in there."
Sandy noted, "I thought you were almost engaged?"
"Yeah, that's even more reason to have some fun while I can."
The four walked inside to the crowded restaurant where a Mexican band was playing some salsa tunes. Trisha kept her one mule on and limped all the way, but she was glad the walk was not too far. Her toes were getting tired of being flexed that way and walking on them. Carolyn's slingbacks flopped like mules for a few steps, until she bent over and cumbersomely replaced each strap while trying to hop into the restaurant.
Wendi splurged for a round of drinks for the girls - to make up for the trouble she caused - but only she and Carolyn ordered a beer. Sandy and Trisha got refills on tea instead. Soon Wendi was scoping out the guys and rating them on a 10 scale as they walked by. None of this impressed any of the other girls, but Carolyn tried to play along a little.
Many of the guys there were clean-cut, obviously military guys from Lackland, Randolph or Kelley Air Force Base. A few were Hispanic guys from town who came for the music and others were a collection of tourists apparently. One guy who walked by caught Wendi's attention.
"Wow! What a stud! The dark hair, the dark eyes and the masculine build. I'd love to meet him." Wendi adjusted her dress to show a little more cleavage and she crossed her leg and pulled up her dress revealing a little more leg and finished the look with a pouty expression on her face. The other girls were almost embarrassed at this display.
Carolyn continued to 'play along,' "He looks a little like Ricky Martin. I have two of his CDs." By now, she had slipped her heels out of the slingback straps and had crushed them with her heels. She was not confident enough, yet, to take her shoes completely off in the crowded bar section of the restaurant.
Trisha was sitting with her bare foot crossed and bouncing a little without even realizing what she was doing. Soon the "stud" started walking toward their table. Wendi made an even more obvious pose to gain his attention.
The cute guy stopped and looked Trisha square in the eye and extended his hand, "Would you like to dance?" While waiting for an answer, having already seen her single cute bare foot bouncing at the end of her crossed leg about 9 inches off the floor. He tried, without success to see where her missing shoe was laying on the floor. The shoe's absence puzzled him but made Trisha seem even more mysterious.
A startled Trisha looked around and saw a crest-fallen Wendi and a shocked Carolyn and Sandy and decided to take a chance, "Sure, I'd love to." Without missing a beat, Trisha slipped off her remaining mule under the table, grabbed the guy's extended hand and walked to the dance floor.
"My name's Jorge with a "J."
“Nice to meet you - I'm Trisha with a 'sh'."
"By any chance, can you dance the salsa?"
"Actually I did take a dance class one semester and if you lead, I’ll follow."
Jorge was surprised at his success finding a cute girl who could salsa. He was prepared to dance whatever way was needed, but Salsa was his favorite. Jorge and Trisha looked like they had been practicing for this night for weeks. They were excellent salsa dancers. The collective jaws of Wendi, Carolyn and Sandy hit the floor seeing their friend who seemed so straight-laced and formal, letting loose and being such a good Salsa dancer. Wendi was further humiliated that this guy who chose Trisha instead had overlooked her. Again, she was upset that Trisha seemed undaunted by her missing shoe and that she could even dance the salsa.
In between songs, Jorge and Trisha got a little bit more acquainted.
“So you're from Georgia and you can dance the salsa? I asked you to dance expecting to use a more generic style."
"When I joined a sorority I decided I needed to know how to dance. That's why I took that dance class. Actually, I took 2 semesters. We spent a couple of classes on the Salsa."
Jorge gave Trisha his college background followed by a compliment, "I'm a senior Pre-Med student at UT-San Antonio. You're a very good salsa dancer for someone without practice."
In a slightly flirtatious manner, Trisha replied, "You're just a good lead, Jorge."
Back at the table, Wendi finally got asked to dance by one of the military guys who after one dance invited her to leave with him back to his place. She wanted fun, but not that kind so she went back to the table and sulked. Carolyn and Sandy got asked to dance a couple of songs each but they barely got to know the guys who asked them before they moved on to dance with someone else.
Meanwhile, Trisha and Jorge finished their seventh dance song together and Jorge suggested, "Would you like to take a break and walk down the Riverwalk and talk?"
Trisha pondered how to handle this and her single shoe. She decided to force him to question her. "Sure, let me go back and tell my friends and I'll introduce you to them."
She led Jorge over to her table and began to introduce him to the other girls. Everyone was cordial to Jorge - even jealous Wendi. Trisha non-chalantly grabbed her purse and single shoe with one hand and Jorge's hand with her other and they walked outside. They walked slowly along the river toward the south and west and continued to get more acquainted. Trisha talked mostly about her trip to Texas thus far. Soon, they got to a place where there was a stage on their side of the river and amphitheatre seating on the other.
"Trisha, this is a pretty place where I like to go and sit and think about things. Let's cross the footbridge and I'll show it to you."
"Sounds fine to me. What is it?"
"It's an amphitheatre where they have concerts and stuff like that. It's a nice environment because the stage is across the river from the audience - it has a neat ambiance."
Jorge and Trisha crossed the footbridge and he led her to sit down in the amphitheatre. The seats were made of grass, which made sitting there quite comfortable. A maintenance worker was wetting down some of the seats with a sprayer, but Jorge made sure the area they sat was dry first. Trisha laid her purse and single shoe down on the step between her and Jorge and began to subconsciously rub her toes in the cool and soft grass. Jorge was about speechless as he watched her do that with such beautiful feet sporting bright red toenail polish that glistened in the moonlight.
Trisha broke the silence, "So Jorge, what brings you to San Antonio to go to school?"
"Actually, Trisha, I was born here back in 1979. My parents both worked at the Hilton on the Riverwalk. Did you know it was built in record time and even furnished off site and each room was stacked on top and next to each other with a crane? Anyway, as teenagers, Dad moved up here from Mexico City and Mom moved here from Sao Paulo, Brazil after finishing high school. I grew up trilingual speaking English and both Spanish and Portuguese."
That's neat Jorge, why UT-San Antonio?"
"UTSA is nearby and I got a scholarship, I can keep my job and go to school. They have a good pre-med program."
"Do you have an area of medicine you want to specialize in?"
"I've visited a Podiatry school up in Ohio. I'm strongly considering that."
"That's interesting."
"Trisha, you probably think that's weird, right?"
"No. It's interesting because I'm a part-time foot model up in New York. We're sort of in the same business."
"You're a model! I'm not surprised, you're very pretty."
"Thanks, but actually my photos are mostly below the waist of my legs and feet wearing shoes. I have a 1 year contract to model one weekend a month and 2 weeks this coming July."
"Sounds like the National Guard or the Army Reserve. My older Brother is in the Air Force Reserve."
Jorge, who had been fishing for a good excuse, reached down and picked up her lone mule and commented, "Podiatry creates a personal paradox. As a Podiatrist, I'll have to recommend that ladies wear sturdier shoes with lower heels, but as a man, I think these shoes are incredibly feminine and sexy. They really show off the shapely calf and ankle."
Trisha said nothing and after a short pause, Jorge continued, "I have to ask you. Where's your other shoe. You didn't have it even when I asked you to dance, did you?"
Trisha slipped her foot into the shoe and stretched her legs straight out in front of her and began to tell what happened. "Well, Jorge, it's an embarrassing story. I was sitting with the other girls at a table next to the river and Wendi - the tall curly-haired blonde - was crossiing her legs and she accidentally knocked my other shoe - which I was dangling off my toes - into the river."
Jorge reached down and pulled the single shoe back off her foot to get a second glance, subtly sliding one finger across the top of her foot as he did so. He looked at the shoe from various angles as it her were analyzing it's shape. "Did you not see where it landed or where it went? It seems fairly heavy (Jorge raised and lowered the shoe in his hand mimicking a scale); it probably doesn't float."
"No. It sank and it may have also been carried downstream somewhat. We looked and never did find it. But I decided I wouldn't let that ruin my evening."
Jorge placed Trisha's shoe back down on the step between them and replied, "I'm glad, 'cause you're great company. Watching you walking barefoot along the river reminds me of the girls I've dated who are of Latin descent. They all seemed to like to go barefoot whenever possible. I'll have to confess that when I came to ask you to dance, I had already decided to ask you; you were the prettiest girl in the restaurant and had the brightest smile. But the way you were bouncing your bare foot under the table really caught my attention. I can tell you take very good care of them."
"I do regular pedicures and wax treatments - especially since I've been modeling."
Trisha and Jorge continued to chat about their lives for another hour or so. They got very well acquainted.
"Let's walk over to the next bridge. It's got a really nice view. There was a scene for the movie 'Serena' with Jennifer Lopez filmed there several years ago."
Trisha okayed his idea and they walked slowly hand in hand down the steps of the amphitheatre, onto the sidewalk and over to the next bridge. Trisha was still carrying her single shoe by the heel and as they walked she began to playfully spin it round and round.
Trisha really liked Jorge but she knew better than to get too attached to someone who lived over 1,000 miles away with little future of anything ever happening. She decided to just enjoy the evening and that be all.
Jorge was having similar feelings but he also had a secret that he had not told Trisha all evening. They approached the middle of the bridge and Jorge suggested that Trisha look toward the east at the pretty lights on the river. Trisha turned her body square toward the east and rested her hands on the stone handrail - with the right hand holding her single mule.
Trisha asked Jorge, "What scene did they film here with Jennifer Lopez?"
Jorge paused for a moment then turned to the right toward Trisha and said, "This." And he planted a kiss square on her unsuspecting lips.
A semi-pleasantly surprised Trisha relaxed her hands and dropped her mule, which made a bouncing clank on the stone bridge walkway when it landed, but it did not fall into the water below.
A few seconds later, as soon as Jorge stopped kissing Trisha, he stepped back and looked in a bit of conflict. "Oh no, what have I done."
Trisha was puzzled at his response. She was sort of thinking the same thing, but was willing to consider it an innocent moment of passion and move on.
Jorge continued, "Trisha, there's something you need to know. Back in my Mother's hometown there's a girl, her name is Maria. She's my fiancée. We were set-up by my Mom and a friend of hers back in Sao Paulo. I met her over Christmas and she's wonderful and we've been in contact ever since."
Trisha was a little hurt, disappointed and even jealous, even though she knew that nothing between them would work anyway. "Why tonight? Why me?"
Jorge put his hands on Trisha's shoulders and faced her and replied, "Last night, we had a big fight on Internet chat. I told her the engagement was off. I decided to try to meet some other girls and tonight was my first time out and you were the first girl I tried to get to know. When we kissed, it was great, but I realized that what I was doing was wrong and that I need to apologize to Maria and get back together. I'm sorry for dragging you into the middle of my problems like this, Trisha. You've been so sweet."
"I understand how frustrating relationships can be. I've had two relationships end in the last 6 months." Trisha replied, while Jorge leaned over to retrieve Trisha's fallen shoe and slowly return it to her, taking one final opportunity to caress the soft leather and think about how good she much have looked walking in them.
Jorge and Trisha stood on the bridge another hour as each comforted the other in discussing their relationships. Finally, Trisha looked at he watch and realized she needed to return to the hotel. Jorge walked Trisha up to the street level and they found the nearest trolley stop. He offered to ride back to the hotel with her, but she thought she'd be okay on her own. Still carrying her single mule, she entered the trolley and said goodbye to Jorge.
Back at the hotel, Trisha arrived just after the rest of her roommates went to bed. She slipped in quietly, tossed her one shoe into her suitcase and got ready for bed herself.
The next morning, everyone wanted to hear Trisha's story from the night before and she gave an abbreviated version. Everyone else told their story as well, but none could come close to matching Trisha's.
The AOPi presidents met in the Crockett Room for a continental breakfast at 8AM and sat in training sessions until about noon. These sessions were boring but they were included a lot of good information on running a campus sorority chapter. There was plenty of shoeplay all over the room as nicely dressed young ladies from all over wore dress shoes - mostly heeled pumps, slingbacks, mules and slides. Around noon, the girls were bussed over to the nearby Hemisphere for a charity luncheon with the Director of the San Antonio Arthritis Foundation speaking about Arthritis research (AOPi's national philanthropy) and how to manage local sorority fundraisers.
Trisha and her friend Bonnie, an attractive blonde Secondary Education major from the University of Arkansas, joined Carolyn and Sandy for lunch. Wendi had defected to eat with another group of friends. After the speaker was finished the conversation ensued.
Sandy was excited about eating in the Hemisphere, "This is great isn't it. You can see the whole city from here."
Bonnie replied, "Back home in the Ozarks, you have to be on top of the mountain to look out at so much area at one time from this high."
Trisha shuffled her feet in and out of her mules and replied, "This reminds me of the Westin Peachtree Hotel back home in Atlanta. I think it's 71 stories."
Carolyn who was sitting with both shoes off and one foot tucked underneath added, "Wow, that's 20 more stories that this and this seems quite high."
The girls continued to discuss the restaurant that sat perched on a pedestal 50 stories over greater San Antonio. Sandy asked, "Is that the Alamodome we're going to next?"
Carolyn replied, "Yeah, that's where the Spurs play and also where the Alamo Bowl is played every football season."
Trisha noted, "You seem to be quite the sports fan, Carolyn."
"Yeah, my dad played football at Auburn and I've grown up a football fan."
Bonnie inquired, "What are we doing at the Alamodome anyway?
"We're getting a tour and getting a check from the Spurs Organization to the Arthritis Foundation," Trisha answered. Continuing, "There's going to be some photos taken of us with the Spurs Mascot - which is a coyote."
Carolyn interjected, "It's not a real coyote is it? If so, there better be someone strong holding its leash."
Sandy explained, "No silly, it's a person in a coyote suit."
Carolyn asked, "Why is a Spur's mascot a coyote, anyway?"
Trisha sharply, but playfully replied while continuing to play with her mules under the table, "Why is the Auburn Tigers' mascot an eagle?"
The conversation continued to a resolution of sorts. Soon it was time for everyone to leave the restaurant and go back to the bus to be taken over to the Alamodome. Before leaving, some of the girls went out of the balcony and looked out but they did not stay very long with the 40 MPH winds whipping their hair in every direction.
The girls were dressed very nicely - they were told to dress in business dress with comfortable dress shoes - a paradox of sorts. Trisha was wearing a navy blue skirt that reached below her knees and a cream-colored sleeveless cotton sweater. She adorned the top with a pretty necklace given to her by her dad for her 21st birthday. For walking comfort, she chose to wear her navy blue Naturalizer mules with a 2" heel which proved to be a bit slippery with her sheer suntan hose.
At the Alamodome, they were quickly taken through the locker rooms, the convertible dome floor - still set for the Spurs last series in the playoffs against the Lakers which had recently ended, the executive suites and the corporate offices. Along the way, several of the girls realized their shoes were not as comfortable as they thought. A few, including Carolyn, were carrying their shoes in their hand and others were stepping out of one or both of them whenever they stopped for a few seconds.
Throughout the tour, a photographer snapped a few candids of the girls to be used in the AOPi newsletter and Internet site. In the Spurs Main Office, in front of the Spurs Logo, the Public Relations Director for the franchise and the Coyote mascot were ready to present a check to donate to AOPi in their efforts to perform charity events at campuses around the country. There were even a few newspaper media there for the presentation of the check. The National Director for AOPI was also with the group and was standing with the Coyote and the PR director who said, "We need a couple of your girls to join us up here for the photo."
Wendi heard the plea and made herself very visible, however the Coyote chose Trisha and Carolyn to join him for the photo.
Wendi turned to Amy, a pretty brunette and former Florida's Junior Miss who was president of the Univ. of Florida chapter, whom she had made friends with and said, "Look who they chose - the Auburn farm girl and the Georgia peach. I guess we're too glamorous for them, huh." Wendi was wearing a less-than conservative shiny LSU purple above the knee dress. She was also one of those who had not worn comfortable enough shoes for the day. She had chosen to wear a pair of tan slides with two thin straps and a square 3" heel - the lowest heeled shoes she had brought on the trip.
Amy replied, "Yeah, what does a coyote know anyway?"
After a few more publicity shots, the girls boarded the bus again and left for the San Antonio Botanical Gardens on the northeast side of town. Again there was a press conference and a check presentation - this time from the Botanical Garden to the San Antonio Arthritis Foundation. They also announced a program to get senior citizens more involved in the botanical gardens as a way to help with arthritis therapy. The girls got to be seated for this one and all around the room girls had slipped their shoes off or were dangling or dipping part of the way off.
Trisha and the girls were really getting a behind the scenes view of how charities work and this was very beneficial to them as they prepared returned to their campuses in the fall.
After the press conference, the girls got into their friendship groups that had been formed over the weekend and quickly spread out over the botanical garden. There were a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees throughout and the girls loved observing the flora and fauna. There were also a few indoor gardens - one conditioned to be like an Amazon rainforest and one like an Arizona desert. These were uncomfortable and less popular places to visit for the girls wanting to keep their good hair day. The photographer was busy trying to get candid shots of the girls enjoying the gardens. Some of the girls tried to get comfortable again and walk without their shoes on, but the sidewalk was too hot to do so. All were made to suffer through.
As Trisha walked just inside the entrance with Carolyn, Sandy and Bonnie, the photographer asked, "Hey ladies, pose with the bush shaped in the image of Texas."
"Okay," the girls agreed and made a cute pose for the photographer. Carolyn and Bonnie stood on either side of the bush and the shorter Trisha and Sandy knelt with their feet shoes flat on the ground. The pose looked especially cute with Trisha's nylon-clad feet raised and coming out of her slippery mules.
All around, the girls took notice and tried to get their picture doing various things. Wendi and Amy were with a couple of other girls at the Aquatic Garden - a pond that was just outside and in front of the entrance to the Conservatory. The photographer came nearby and Wendi wanted to get her picture taken. She walked across the stepping stone bridge out into the pond. Then she took a step to the side that she thought was another stepping stone. Instead it was an Amazon Lily pad. The other girls knew it but it was too late to warn her. Wendi was thrown off balance as her foot fell through the lily pad, through the water. She let out a scream as she fell into the murky pond. Her foot fell into the soft part of the pond bed up to her ankle and trying to recover, she quickly pulled her foot back out without immediately realizing her shoe came off in the hole. The point of entry in the pond bed quickly closed itself so as to hide the location where the shoe was buried. She eventually fell to her knees thus sparing the upper half of her body and most of her dress from getting wet in this 18 inch deep pond.
After a couple of seconds, Wendi recovered and stood one bare foot and one shod foot in the pond and started to walk out holding onto Amy's hand. As soon as Wendi fell, Amy walked out on the stepping-stones to assist Wendi in getting out. Just as they were about to step out of the pond, Wendi realized she was wearing only one shoe.
"Anybody see my other shoe floating around? I have to find it." Wendi frantically looked all around and leaned down to feel around in the water so murky that you could not see the shallow bottom.
Everyone shook their head and said, "No." One girl went to get a staff member to help them.
Amy, to everyone's surprise knowing her beauty queen background, slipped out of her black and white polka dot thong sandals and carefully stepped into the pond to help Wendi. "I'm from Florida, I'm used to walking in swamps." Her khaki skirt was also not very conservative and therefore quite short so it was never in danger of getting wet by jumping into the pond.
Wendi and Amy trudged through the pond and felt around with their feet to try to locate the shoe. Soon, a garden employee came out with a net on a long stick and began to dredge the pond for them.
"I'm going to have to ask you to get out of the pond. You'll damage the plants. I'll try to find your shoe and return it to your group if I do. Another employee helped them out of the pond and hosed off their legs and feet, which had a green tint from the pond water. Amy put her feet back into her thong sandals and Wendi stood in one shoe and one bare foot flexed at her toes to keep balanced. As the water evaporated from her foot, she realized how hot the sidewalk was and Wendi was relegated to walking on the grass to keep from burning her one bare foot. In humiliation, she walked back to the Carriage House where the tour started.
Soon, news of Wendi's missing shoe spread throughout the group. Trisha could relate having been in one shoe the night before as well as numerous other times before. Taking advantage of the opportunity to ask those who did not know about her shoe loss past (except for the incident the night before), Trisha asked Carolyn, Sandy and Bonnie, "Any of you girls ever lost a shoe in public before?"
Sandy replied first, "I've had a shoe fall off under the table at dinner and had to retrieve it. But I've always been able to find it."
Bonnie added, "I can't recall anything. Maybe when I was a kid, but like Sandy, I've had shoes fall off under the table."
Feeling disappointed, Trisha was about ready to abandon the question when Carolyn sheepishly answered, "It's happened to me a couple of times. Once back my freshman year, I slipped my sandals off (I do that a lot when I'm sitting down) while writing an essay in English Comp. This guy who sat in front of me had been trying to get my attention. He finished his essay early and left with one of my shoes without my knowledge. I had to walk out of the room and outside in one shoe where he met me and promised to return my shoe in return for a date. He knew I'd probably say 'Yes' and that I'd go along with his game so it was not a problem, really. Another time, my Sophomore year, we had a dinner party at our sorority's faculty advisor's lake house and I was chatting with my date on the dock that hung over the water. I was not paying attention to what I was doing and accidentally kicked my shoe off into the water and it sank to who knows where. I had to be seen at the rest of the party in one shoe that had a 3-inch heel and it was pretty early in the evening. For weeks after that, I was called Cinderella around the AOPi dorm."
Trisha told a couple of her own embarrassing shoe loss stories as the girls continued to walk around and look at some of the gardens. Soon it was time to meet back at the Carriage House and board the bus. The Botanical Garden staff had not located the shoe and had abandoned their search. Trisha noticed Wendi limping around on one shoe and she seemed quite embarrassed about her condition. When Wendi saw Trisha and thought about what she had done to her the night before it was a humble reminder that sometimes what goes around comes around.
Wendi did not admit to purposefully kicking Trisha's shoe into the water, but on the bus ride back to the Hotel, she did suggest that she and Trisha meet up after dinner and go to the Rivercenter mall and each buy a pair of new shoes, but not before having fun trying on lots of different shoes in the process. Trisha agreed and over the rest of the time there, Wendi was a lot nicer to everyone and all the girls had a good time at the AOPi convention.
NOTE: This story can also be found at Dangling.Com.
