The fact that her remaining thong sandal was floating away on the sunset illuminated surface of Allatoona Lake was of no importance to Trisha now. Doug was not even aware her second thong sandal had fallen. He was too engrossed in the moment - their first together.
After 30 seconds of silence with Doug looking down and gripping the edge of the dock with both hands, tight enough for his knuckles to turn white, and Trisha swinging her feet wildly back and forth over the water, Doug ventured to say, "So, Trisha, what do we do now?"
A stunned Trisha, who never imagined she and Doug would ever kiss at all, much less with such passion and enjoyment said, "I don't know Doug. For so long it was 'Chuck and Trisha' and 'Doug and Amber'. We're facing a new paradigm and I don't know if either of us are ready for that." Trisha wanted to avoid risk and handle things carefully to keep from getting hurt again. The sting of being 'dismissed' by both Chuck and Tim had lessened but had not completely disappeared. Doug's pain from losing Amber at the beginning of the year was even stronger and Trisha had the insight to realize that.
Doug and Trisha sat on the deck another two hours and talked as it became quite dark on this moonless evening. After a while, they both seemed to get tired of hanging their feet off the edge of the dock so they scooted back a few feet. Trisha with her knees together, pulled them to her body and locked her arms around them. She was not cold - it had indeed been the warmest day of the summer thus far - but pulling her legs tight seemed to give her a sense of comfort and security. Doug enjoyed the sight of her pretty feet and red brightly painted nails out in front of her.
He soon ventured to ask the question that had puzzled him all night, "So what happened to your shoes? You only had one when we left the restaurant and now your other shoe is gone as well."
Trisha was glad to have the tension broken over something she hoped Doug would consider humorous. She uncrossed her arms, flipped her hair back out of her eyes with her left hand then leaned back, resting both palms flat on the dock with her fingers pointing behind her. "Well, as for my second shoe, it fell into the water when we kissed."
Doug stood quickly to look out into the water to locate her shoe, but it was nowhere in sight. Trisha interrupted his eager search, "Don't worry about it, one shoe does me no good."
"So what about the other one?"
"That's the embarrassing part. When I went to the restroom back at the restaurant, I used my foot to flush and when I lifted my foot away, somehow my shoe slipped off and went down."
"I never heard of that happening before! I can't believe the pipe was wide enough or your shoe narrow enough."
"I wear a size 6 1/2 and for certain styles, such as thong sandals, I look for the narrower styles because they look better - more stylish. I guess that the Outback also has larger than normal sewer pipes. I just know it happened."
"That's too bad Trisha, they were a cute pair of sandals." Doug remembered Trisha wearing that particular pair of sandals on double dates with Chuck and he and Amber in the past. Trisha did not consider his 'cute sandal' comment unusual, although Doug did indeed have a particular love for thong sandals that Amber rarely obliged. Actually he liked any shoe that exposed a large portion of the foot, but thongs were his favorite. By the end of the evening they had both decided to proceed with caution, keep things very casual and spend time getting to know each other. For 5 years each had been their best friend's date so there was a lot of history to overcome.
In the past, when Trisha had issues with guys and dating, and vice-versa, she always relied on Amber. This time, however, it was Amber's ex-boyfriend she wanted to discuss. So the following evening, Trisha called Jeannie who was back at home in New York. She elaborated what had happened the night before and Jeannie gave Trisha some good feedback encouraging her, "Play it safe, but don't be afraid." She continued by reminding Trisha, "Amber made a choice to leave Doug just like Chuck had made a choice to leave you, so that should not be anything to worry about. What matters is if you like Doug and he likes you." Trisha thanked Jeannie for her good and honest feedback.
Jeannie changing the subject asked, "So Trisha, when are you coming to New York for your extended modeling trip?"
"Next Monday, the 18th."
"By any chance, will you still be here in New York on the 30th of June?"
"My last photo shoot is the morning of the 29th, then there's a wrap lunch before we fly back home that afternoon."
"Why don't you see if you can cancel your flight home and stay for my sister Laura's wedding? Then we could visit for a few days and I'll drive you home. I wanted to take my car down for the first time and I'd love to have some company for the trip."
Trisha asked, "That sounds fun! And I'd love to keep you company on the drive down here to Georgia, but won't I be in the way with last minute wedding stuff. Will you have other guests to house?"
"Remember? My dad is one of the managers of the Holiday Inn near LaGuardia Airport. We can get all the rooms we need for out of town guests. Besides, the rehearsal dinner and reception are there as well. You can stay in our guest room in our basement."
"If you're sure it's okay, then I accept. So when do you need to get back to Georgia?"
"Second Summer short-term starts July 8th, but I need to be back a few days before then."
"I didn't know you were taking any classes this summer. You did say something about teaching a camp, though."
"Yeah, I am still helping to teach a two week Performing Arts Camp, but I figured that as long as I was going to come down here, I might try to get a class out of the way. Of course, I'm also a Rho Chi (Rush Counselor) in August. You are the one who recommended me for the role to the Pan Hellenic Council.
"Jeannie, I appreciate you asking me to visit with you. It sounds fun. I’ll check and see if that will work out for me."
Trisha called Mitchell from G-III the next morning and got clearance to cancel the return leg of her flight home to Atlanta. She then talked to her parents about letting Jeannie stay with them for a few days over the Independence Day holiday.
Trisha called Jeannie back again a few days later with the good news and made plans to stay over until July 3rd, getting back to Atlanta mid-afternoon on the 4th. During their conversation, Jeannie mentioned, "Did you know that I've seen the fireworks down at the Statue of Liberty every year since I was a little girl and this will be the first time I'll miss them?"
"Did you want to wait and leave the 5th?"
"Oh, no. We'd get you home on the 6th and I'd get back on the 7th. If my class starts the 8th, that's not enough time. We can leave the 3rd as we planned."
Trisha thought a minute and suggested, "We have some good fireworks out on Allatoona Lake. I've gone there a number of times. Maybe we could do that and get a group to go out there."
"That sounds like fun, Trisha."
"We could even grill burgers and hot dogs before we go out there. We'll get home around 3PM, didn't you say?"
"Yeah, I usually stop in Durham and including a lunch stop - it's probably 7 hours from there - assuming we leave at 8:00 AM sharp."
Trisha spoke with her parents about having a small party and they were certainly willing to host it at heir house and help with the food.
Trisha and Doug went out again, a few days later and they took this opportunity to get to know each other all over again in a different light. To Trisha, Doug seemed so mature and confident. To Doug, Trisha seemed so elegant and smart. Both kept guard up to avoid getting hurt, but each could not help but think about what could be if they were free to let go of the past and live a little bit dangerously.
"So Doug, what plans have you made for the Fourth? I thought about having a party. Jeannie and I get back into town that afternoon from New York so we could have it at my house. I thought it would be a good opportunity for her to meet you and some of my other friends."
Doug had to work to focus on what Trisha was saying, rather than her vigorous shoeplay under the table with her pretty Stuart Weitzman sandal slides with red gingham soles that exposed her perfectly sculpted feet and red painted nails. "Okay, that's good. "Sounds fun! Who are you thinking of inviting?"
"My friend Kelli and her fiancé Don from the bank. Shelley's in Atlanta working at WAGA and she might want to come and she can bring her boyfriend if she likes. Would you feel uncomfortable if Heather (Amber's sister) came? I've been wanting her to meet some of my friends."
Doug was particularly distracted as Trisha flipped her dangling sandal off onto the floor. "No, not at all. Invite whomever you want. She and I have no qualms between us."
Doug and Trisha continued to make plans for the party as they finished dinner. Trisha left her sandal off until it was time to get up and leave. After going to see the movie A.I. - Artificial Intelligence, Doug took Trisha home and they deliberately did not kiss goodnight although both would have enjoyed it.
The next day, Amber returned home to Atlanta for a long weekend. Since their April visit in Savannah, she had talked to Trisha once a week or less. Their last conversation was before Trisha's trip to San Antonio. At the time, Amber told Trisha she would not be in town until August.
Amber decided to call Trisha and surprise her, "Hi Trisha, I thought I'd let you know I was in town and say hello."
Trisha was happy to hear from her best friend. 'Are we still best friends?' Trisha pondered. She really did not know how to classify their friendship any more. "Oh, hi Amber, what a surprise!" Trisha felt like she had been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Here she was possibly on the verge of going out with Doug, and Amber comes back into town the night after they went out.
Their conversation continued on a few trivial matters before Trisha made the first move. "So, you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to New York for a couple of weeks next Monday, so tomorrow night would be great if you could come."
Amber said, "Okay" and made plans to arrive at 6:00 PM. Trisha was happy to be getting to visit her best friend and see what was going on with her life in person, rather than just over the phone. Trisha knew that facial expressions and mannerisms tell things that a person's voice can hide. She was also nervous that she somehow knew about her and Doug and wondered what her reaction to that might be.
Amber came over and ate with Trisha and her parents. Lisa had cooked homemade lasagna and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Over dinner, Amber talked a lot about SCAD and her activities at school there in Savannah. She seemed to be in a better frame of mind than she did when Trisha visited her back in April.
After dinner, Trisha suggested, "You want to go over to the Mountasia miniature golf place - remember, the one in Kennesaw on Barrett Parkway - and shoot a round? I haven't done that in a long time." Trisha wanted an opportunity to talk to Amber one-on-one.
Amber replied, "Sure, sounds like fun. It's been a long time for me as well."
Trisha ran upstairs to get some shoes to wear to match her white t-shirt and red shorts. She came back down to the familiar slapping sound that all of Trisha's friends have grown accustomed to hearing.
"Those are cute shoes," Amber noted while comparing them to her plain white Ked's sneakers with the backs smashed down like a pair of mules. There were the same sneakers she had worn on the plane to and from Hawaii and the backs had been smashed down ever since.
"Thanks! I had some bonus points to use at Parisian and I saw these cute little red and white Kate Spade slides. I love the gold buckle medallion and the upper is made of soft grosgrain ribbon."
Amber was silently annoyed that Trisha, for once, couldn't just throw on a pair of sneakers and be done. However she also knew that Trisha loved to wear pretty shoes and now that she was a foot model that love would only grow. Amber quickly realized that Trisha probably thought the same thing about her obsession with makeup that had actually subsided quite a bit since moving to Savannah. "Is that one of the brands you model?"
"No, I really should wear one of the shoes I model, but I'm not under a contract or anything like that. They did recommend that I wear them in public for free publicity. I model only Kenneth Cole, Nine West and Cole Haan. Kate Spade makes some cute shoes, though! And, they're normally too expensive for me to afford."
Trisha and Amber made their way to the miniature golf place and got started. It was busy but there was not much of a wait to play. After they had finished a couple of holes, Trisha decided to break the ice a bit. "So Amber, what's Marlow doing this summer?"
Amber was initially defensive but she answered, "He's doing okay. He went back to Evanston for the summer. He asked me to come up and spend the 4th of July weekend with him at his Dad's place."
"Are you going?"
"I've always wanted to go to Chicago. Sure, I'm going."
Trisha tried to avoid saying anything judgmental, "Sounds like fun. Are you going to catch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field?"
“I doubt it. Marlow is not much into professional sports.”
As the conversation and golf game continued, Trisha realized that things with Amber were pretty much the same as they were in April, but she also knew that she needed her friendship and encouragement probably more than ever.
Out of the blue, Amber asked, “So have you heard from Doug this summer? I was wondering how he was doing and if he was dating anyone else yet.”
Trisha stumbled over the shoe she was dipping and knocked it 2 feet away in her surprise. After recovering it back on her foot, she replied, “Actually I did meet him for dinner to talk. I think he took things pretty hard, but I think he’ll be okay. Do you have any regrets?””
“No, I needed to move on. But Doug’s a good guy. He’s got a lot of good qualities. I’m surprised someone else hasn’t come along and swept him up. He needs someone more stable and secure. I wish him only the best.”
“Doug wants the best for you too.” Trisha just had to ask, “Would you ever consider getting back together with Doug?”
“There’s an old saying ‘Never say never.’”
Trisha never did answer her second question and Amber did not pursue it any farther. Amber had not closed the door on getting back with Doug so that made her wonder if she was opening herself up for trouble later by even entertaining the idea of dating him.
A young dating couple, Todd and Felicia, were playing behind Trisha and Amber and Todd silently and secretly enjoyed getting to watch these two cute girls make and miss their putts and he also thought their conversation was interesting. Around the 7th hole, the girls made the show even more interesting for Todd.
Amber lined up to make her shot and had a flash of brilliance - it so seemed to her. 'I'll slip off my shoes and have an easier time gripping the green.' She quickly and haphazardly kicked off each shoe behind her and aligned her toes perpendicular to the path of her putter. One solid swing and she knocked the ball a couple of inches from the green. "It worked, Trisha, you ought to try putting barefoot as well."
Amber slipped her shoes back on and walked over to near the hole and watched Trisha align herself for her shot. Once she got her hands positioned on the putter like she wanted, she slowly and carefully raised one foot and knocked her toes loose from the ribbon shoe strap by dropping the back of her heel on top of her other foot. She wiggled her shoe off behind her before returning her foot to the same position on the green. She then did the same with her other foot and shoe. Trisha so disturbed Todd's concentration on the 6th hole, that he knocked his second shot 10 feet past the hole. Felicia took notice that Todd was staring at the two younger and cuter girls on the next hole and began to get a little upset.
Trisha's tee shot was not as good as Amber's but it was certainly within range for her to make par. "I don't think it made all that much difference for me, Amber." This decision probably saved Todd 10 strokes on his score and even more disdain from Felicia over the next few holes.
As the girls left for the 8th hole Trisha kept slapping away in her slides and Amber removed her sneakers for her tee shot and afterwards, instead of putting them back on, she carried them in her hand. "I can really get used to the feel of the putting green on my toes. It feels so much cooler."
Trisha wondered why she chose to wear hot sweaty sneakers on a hot evening. She considered her barely there slides a much better choice. Amber, however, began to take a several stroke lead as she continued to play barefoot and make better shots. By now, Todd and Felicia were catching up with Trisha and Amber and watching them play each hole. They had even exchanged a little bit of small talk.
Trisha and Amber became more natural together as the game progressed. Trisha talked more about her trip to San Antonio, her work at Wachovia and her upcoming trip to New York - including her plans to visit Jeannie both tthere and back home in Atlanta. “Amber, you said you’re probably going to be in Evanston on the Fourth?”
“I’ll either go there or stay in Savannah.”
“Well, do you think your sister, Heather, would be interested in coming over for a cookout at my house on the Fourth?”
“That’s sweet of you to think of her. She ought to be home when we stop by my house afterwards.”
“Okay Amber, I’ll ask her then.”
On the way after finishing the 12th hole, they crossed a bridge over a sloping waterfall. The cool water was too much a temptation so Amber laid her shoes on the railing behind her, sat on the bridge and stuck her feet underneath the opposite railing and into the rushing stream. After Trisha completed her final shot she walked to the bridge.
"Come on Trisha, cool your heels for a minute before we move on" - an ironic statement considering that Trisha’s seldom covered heels were rarely warm.
"People are waiting.."
Interrupting, "Relax Trisha, let them pass through if they want."
Trisha thought that was okay - actually getting her feet wet on this warm and humid night sounded like fun. She then took off her slides and placed them on the opposite railing next to Amber's shoes and took a seat on the bridge next to Amber. Soon they were kicking their legs on the surface of the rushing water and getting cooled by the spray mist off the waterfall. For a moment, it seemed like they were 15 years old, going to Sprayberry High and being carefree again. It was the most fun the girls had had together since Hawaii.
Todd and Felicia finished the 12th hole and asked the girls if they could pass them. They readily agreed. As they walked over the bridge to the 13th hole, Todd was in front and Felicia was behind. Felicia saw Trisha's pretty slides sitting on the railing and a jealous streak inside her took over for a moment and she casually knocked one of Trisha's pretty Kate Spade slides into the rushing water as she walked by.
Trisha and Amber were still relaxing on the bridge as Trisha's shoe landed in the rocks on the other side of the bridge. Then it began to float slowly downstream until it passed under the bridge. Her shoe came to rest when it caught in a pile of rocks several feet below where Trisha and Amber were sitting. To Trisha's horror, she looked down and saw her shoe perched in a position to possibly be swept completely down the waterfall should no action be taken. "Oh no! My shoe!" Trisha exclaimed.
Trisha first took her shoe and Amber's shoes off the railing for safety; then she grabbed her club and leaned down and tried to reach it. Todd heard Trisha's yell and looked back while Felicia was hitting her tee shot. He saw Trisha and Amber both lying prone on the bridge trying to hook her shoe with their clubs.
Felicia looked over and saw the same thing and she knew what had happened. Feeling a bit guilty, she suggested, "See if you can help those girls."
Todd went over and saw the situation. "Our arms are just a bit too short to reach it."
"I'm a bit taller so let me try." Todd replaced the girls on the bridge and by now several people were watching the rescue effort. Trisha put her one shoe back on and Amber put both of her back on as well. As he reached his club out he just nudged her shoe and sent it down the falls. Trisha gasped and feared her shoe might be lost for good now. Suddenly, the waterfall stopped and the stream below became still.
Trisha stretched her arches to be taller as she leaned over the railing to look for her shoe. Her toes almost came out of her one shoe because her toes were flexed so much. Her bare foot left the ground by a few inches. An employee with a net on a long stick in one hand and a flashlight in the other appeared on the other side of small lake. Felicia came over to join Todd and the girls and told she had notified the manager and that he had stopped the water to help find your shoe. “He said that stuff like this happens several times a summer and that he’d return your shoe when they found it." Trisha felt better about the situation and decided that in order to return the evening's focus to spending quality time with Amber, she needed to resume their game and not worry about her shoe. They resumed their game on the 13th hole and began chatting about various things. Amber began to talk more about her and Marlow and how she did not think he was "the one" but that they did have a good time together. She also talked a lot about some of the fun things she had done while away at school. Trisha listened intently and gave positive encouragement. She did not seem to mind her one shoe state as she slapped along with every other step in her one cute Kate Spade slide. As the game continued, Amber returned to playing barefoot. She untied her shoelaces then tied the laces on her two shoes together. She flung them over her shoulder to keep from misplacing them somewhere. Trisha continued to play in just one shoe. By the 18th hole, their scores were exactly even, but Trisha’s last shot spun out of the hole and gave Amber a one-stroke victory. That evening, the score was not what mattered to Trisha. She and Amber had reconnected over a game of miniature golf and Trisha was convinced that Amber would soon find her way. Trisha saw the employee still looking for her shoe but he seemed to be focused in one area of the lake. The manager saw Trisha and told her what was happening. "Miss, we found your shoe but it's tangled up in some lily pads. We’ll have it out in a few minutes if you want to wait in the clubhouse.” "Actually, I wouldn’t mind trying out the Go-Karts.” “Okay, and in fact - it’s on the house.” The manager handed her a voucher for two free rides. So Trisha and Amber walked over to the Go-Karts and they attracted a lot of attention from passersby who pondered why this pretty girl was walking confidently in one shoe. Trisha and Amber took their turn on the Go-Kart track and had a good time. When their turn was over, they returned to find that her shoe had been recovered. The manager had even taken the time to clean it. Trisha slipped it back on her foot before they left for Amber’s house. The girls stayed at Amber’s house for a few minutes and Trisha said “Hello” to her parents and to Heather. She invited Heather to her Fourth of July party and she eagerly accepted the invitation. It meant a lot to Heather to finally be considered part of the older group. The night before Trisha left for New York, she got a call from Jay who was working in Athens at Rich's in the Men's Department and taking a couple of classes in summer school."Hey Trisha, what's up?"
"Hi Jay, nice to hear from you how's your summer?"
"Busy as usual I suppose. I'm working 20 hours a week at Rich's and taking a couple of classes. Out frat house is about half full but we try to get into trouble anyway, I suppose. How about you?"
Trisha, not wanting to say anything about Doug to Jay, just yet, replied, "Busy for me too, I suppose. I'm working as a teller at Wachovia and tomorrow I'm leaving for New York for 2 weeks."
"Oh, I bet your packing. I had bad timing I guess. I thought I'd catching you during your weekly pedicure." Jay often called Trisha late on Sunday evenings back at school and caught her doing her weekly pedicure. She had a hands free adapter for her phone and so it was easy to talk and work at the same time. Jay seemed to enjoy calling while she was working to make her feet look so perfect.
"No I'm pretty much finished packing. And I'll have a pedicure tomorrow at the agency so I don't need to do one tonight."
Jay was actually a little disappointed. He dreamed of the day when he could maybe give her a pedicure, but a lot had to change before that was ever going to happen. "I was calling because Shawn and I were talking about meeting over to Atlanta on the Fourth and wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with us. Shawn's working in Dalton and had the afternoon free and wanted to drive down."
"Actually, Jeannie is driving me home from New York that afternoon, but I was planning on having a few friends over for a party at my house and go see fireworks at Allatoona Lake afterwards. You two are welcome to come."
"Thanks for the invite, I think we can come." Jay had wanted to see Trisha all summer and he was going to get his opportunity. He was very excited but he did not want to appear overly excited to her. "What time are the festivities beginning?"
"Around 6:30. Dad's going to run the grill and Mom's going to help out getting the food together."
Jay was also finally getting to meet Trisha's parents. Something he had wanted to do for some time. This was his chance to see how the girl of his dreams lived and what her family was like. 'This was going to be a great evening!' Jay thought.
"We'll look forward to it." Jay talked a few more minutes but decided it would be best to cut the conversation short since she was getting ready to go out of town. Trisha gave him directions and he promised not to lose them - as if he would dare lose something so important.
Trisha got off the phone and took care of a few left over details. She wondered how Jay would react to her newfound friendship with Doug. Of course since they weren't really dating what would he have to be jealous about. Trisha tried to explain to herself why she was even concerned. Deep down she knew that she and Jay had a special relationship but she was afraid to admit it. The next morning, she left for New York City and thought nothing more about Jay and Doug both coming to her party.
