"I don't know.  I packed all my summery sandals in boxes and they're still in the back seat of the car.  I got some tennis shoes and a pair of flats. Maybe I'll wear the flats."

Trisha replied, "If you want, you can wear a pair of my shoes."

"Remember last time I wore your shoes and the trouble keeping them on.  They're a size too big for me."

"Yeah, you're right.  Let me think...I know...I don't have many choices of this type, since they're not my favorite style, but maybe a pair of thong sandals would be easier to keep on - even if they're a little too big for you."

"Sure, why not.  They would look good with Capri's I suppose?

Trisha quickly responded, "That's about the only reason I ever wear thong sandals. Although I don't wear them often, I do have to admit that they flatter the lower leg and ankle - which are nicely displayed with Capri's."

Trisha took Jeannie into her room and let her pick out a pair of thong sandals. Soon Jeannie and Trisha were now totally ready for the party and they helped Lisa, who also happened to be wearing a pair of thong sandals - a flat-heeled black pair with a strap adornment, with the food preparations. She had made a big batch of potato salad for the party.

By 6:30PM, the burgers and hotdogs were on the gas grill and Charles was managing the cooking.  Don and Kelli were the first guests to arrive and Trisha promptly introduced them to Jeannie.  Kelli was wearing a pair of flat-heeled thong sandals, which seemed to be half a size too big for her.  Her foot arched greatly with each step, before the sole found its way off the ground and up to slap her foot.

Don and Kelli looked very happy together and Trisha was glad to be asked to be in their wedding.  Jeannie made friendly conversation, "So I hear that a congratulations are in order for you two.  So when's the date?"

Kelli promptly answered, "December 8th! And Trisha's one of my bridesmaids!

Doug showed up about the same time as Heather - Amber's sister.  Heather liked Doug and wished that Amber were still dating him.  Otherwise, having the two of them at the same party would have been uncomfortable.  Inviting Doug was obvious, but inviting Heather was a nice outreach by Trisha.  She was already a Merit Scholar Finalist for a college scholarship upon graduation.platform Sketcher slides.  She had her shoulder length brown hair pulled into a ponytail with a red scrungee.

Trisha greeted Doug and Heather with a hug. Soon after Doug and Heather arrived, sharply dressed Jay showed up at Trisha's house in a polo shirt and Khaki shorts. "That's Jay Williams, one of Trisha's fraternity friends."

Heather said nothing but she thought he was a nice-looking guy and hoped she had a chance to speak with him some at the party. After welcoming Jay to her home and party she asked, "Was Shawn able to come with you?"

"No, he got invited to some party at Donna's house tonight.  He left about 6:00 to get there on time."

"Too bad he couldn't have at least stopped by for a hamburger."

"I suggested that but he said there was just not enough time.

Last to arrive, in an aqua sundress and a new pair of blue Dr. Scholl Exercise sandals, was Shelley. Trisha and Heather nodded in acknowledgement that they had also.  Shelley replied, "I bought these a couple of weeks ago.  Being on TV, I needed to get my calves in better shape.  These sandals are supposed to help.

Charles announced that the hamburgers and hot dogs were ready and Lisa brought out the potato salad from the kitchen where it had been staying cool and safe from the hot evening.  Everyone formed a short line and filled their paper plates. It was quite a sight for Don, Jay and Doug seeing all the pretty girls with their legs crossed and exhibiting their loose-fitting backless sandals. Trisha, Kelli and Heather were all dangling one shoe off the end of their foot.  Shelley took her sandals off all together, slid them under her seat and sat with her heels resting on the front edge of her chair and flexing her feet up and down. Shelley got up to refill her drink and upon her return she kicked one of her sandals under the seat right in front of where Doug was sitting on the railing.  Doug had seen Trisha wear exercise sandals on double dates with he and Amber but he had never had the opportunity to hold one in his hand.  Under the ruse of being a gentleman, Doug slid off the railing and picked up the shoe to return it to Shelley.  Walking over in front of Shelley he began to execute his plan.

"Shelley, you kicked your shoe out of reach." Surprisingly, Shelley did not seem to think that was an odd question.  "Well, the straps were okay when I bought them. (She analyzed the buckle and undid the clasp) Oh, I see.  The clasp opens here and the strap slides out of the pin and the whole buckle moves along the back strap and you can place the pin in whichever hole on the top strap is the best fit."

Unknowingly, Shelley did not completely lock the clasp on her sandal before tossing it back under her seat and continuing munching on her hot dog.

The conversation was very lively among the group. Dinner was over and Lisa scooped everyone out a nice bowl of homemade ice cream.  It was 8:30 PM - about 45 minutes before the time that Trisha needed to drive everyone out to Allatoona Lake to see the fireworks. It was also time for Don and Kelli to leave and go to her parent’s house to attend their party. Charles had been watching the news earlier and left the TV on.  At first no one was really paying too much notice, but then the voice of Dick Clark saying they were having Local News bloopers caught Shelley's attention.  "Hey, they're going to have local news bloopers. About 20 minutes into the show, Dick Clark announced, "Next we have a blooper by a reporter for WACH in Columbia, South Carolina."

Shelley interjected, "Hey, that's the station I covered the Outback Bowl for in Tampa on New Years Day!"

Trisha added, "Yeah, I remember us going shoe shopping for your trip."

That statement seemed to cause a bad memory to return to Shelley.  She wondered and began to worry, 'Certainly the blooper's not me losing my shoe chasing after Coach Holtz.'

Sure enough the narrator began, "Watch this pretty blonde sideline reporter try to run to catch South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz for a halftime interview.

Jeannie and Trisha (besides Shelley, of course) were the ones who immediately recognized Shelley running away from the camera, coming out of one red mule and hobbling along toward the coach without missing a beat.

Jeannie announced, "Hey that's you Shelley!" The announcer continued, "She wasn't going to let coming out of her shoe stop her from getting her interview...Let's see this again in slow motion” Shelley’s agony and embarrassment continued. "Notice that her heel gets stuck in a drainage grate on the sideline." Trisha noted, "You never told us about this happening.  I thought everything went well."

"Yeah, but after what your friend at Parisian who sold me the shoes said about these being impractical for a football game, I guess I was afraid to admit he was right and I was wrong. But they looked so cute!"

Heather agreed, "I agree, they are nice shoes. Soon the conversation wound down into the upcoming fireworks display at Allatoona Lake and Shelley's folly was soon practically forgotten.

Trisha looked at her watch and said, "It's 9:15, I guess we ought to leave."

All the girls put on their shoes - except Shelley who picked hers up to carry them - and they walked out the basement door into the garage and got in the Kendrick's LeSabre.  On the way out to Allatoona Lake, Trisha and her 5 friends had a good time listening to music and chatting about various things. Heather, being the youngest, sat in the middle of the front seat.  Jay, who sat shotgun, did not mind sitting next to Heather, but she did block his view of pretty Trisha. Once out of the car, everyone walked down a short but steep bank down to the lake. Trisha spread a large blanket on the ground near the shore and everyone sat to enjoy the view of the fireworks that were just beginning.  There was a little bit of small talk but most of their time was spent looking at he pretty scene in the sky over Allatoona Lake.

After the fireworks were over, the gang sat and enjoyed the beautiful night.  Doug and Trisha were tempted to reenact what happened the first time they were out at the lake at night but in the company of friends and since they had agreed to stay friends for now, that was deemed a bad idea.  Heather tried to flirt with Jay quite a bit and he was mostly oblivious as he fretted over what seemed to be Doug getting cozier with Trisha right under his nose.  The fun and tension was soon broken by the sound of a barking dog that sounded angry. The sound of the barking dog - that sounded like a pit bull, but was really just a beagle - grew closer and everyone dashed into the Kendrick's car. The girls struggled to run in their backless shoes, which tried to slip off with every long and fast stride. Shelley led the way into the back seat and was closely followed by Doug and Jeannie. While getting into the car, Shelley's right exercise sandal did indeed fall off and land on the door jam.  Jeannie inadvertently knocked it off into the tall reed-like grass, as she got in the car last.  After they had gotten about 200 feet down the road, Shelley looked down and confirmed what she had felt.  One foot was flat on the LeSabre's blue carpet and missing its sandal.  Thinking the shoe had just innocently landed in the car, asked Doug and Jeannie, "Hey, my sandal fell off getting in, do you see it down there?" 

Doug and Jeannie looked at Shelley's one-shod state then looked all around their part of the back seat.  "No, we don't see it."

Shelley, without asking first, switched on the inside light so she could look also.  Trisha, who was having trouble seeing at night on the deserted 2-lane road, turned the light back off and suggested.  "We'll stop at the gas station when we get out to US 41 and look if you want."  A few minutes later, they did just that and after practically tearing the car apart, they concluded that her sandal must have landed outside the car.  "Can we go back and look for it? This is only the third time I've worn these sandals."  Trisha had to be the voice of reason.  "At night with no streetlights and all those trees blocking the moon, and since I doubt I could locate where I parked within 100 feet there's just no hope. The next day, before their tennis match, Shelley drove Trisha out to Allatoona Lake and began their futile search for her missing sandal.  They stopped in the vicinity of where they were supposedly parked and they saw nothing.  The strap had come apart when Shelley ran up the short incline to get in the car.  She had failed to properly re-fasten the strap after she had demonstrated it's functionality to Doug the night before.  Trisha offered to take her by to see Bruce at Parisian to get a replacement pair for a discount and Shelley readily accepted the offer.

The next month of the summer, Trisha and Doug got together once or twice a week while she finished her last summer working for Wachovia at the Kennesaw branch location and Doug worked at his father's Express Oil garage in Smyrna. Doug told Trisha that he had decided to use his studies in History, Technology and Society at Georgia Tech to prepare him for a career in Insurance. Trisha and Shelley began to do a few more things together as friends.  Shelley seemed to have mellowed quite a bit since realizing that after losing the AOPi presidency to Trisha, she really had nothing else on which to compete with her. After Shelley made the comment at the party about wanting to tone her calves and thighs for television, Trisha suggested that they get together a couple of mornings a week at 7:30AM to play tennis.backless sneakers - one came off only occasionally.  They also played a few weekends when they got a chance. (Shelley was working mostly afternoons and evenings and Trisha worked bank hours, going in at 9AM.) Around the 10th of August, Trisha packed her things to return to Athens.  Being President of the AOPi Sorority chapter at the University of Georgia required a lot of extra work before Rush and the beginning of classes.  She took some time to reflect over her busy and exciting summer and wonder what she needed to do with Doug.