Read Online Her Lifelong Dream by Judy Kouzel - Free Book Online Page A

Leedy was disappointed as all get
out that he hadn't walked her to her car, but ...
    She shrugged it off. There was no point in letting small
disappointments throw off her groove. It was her day off!
A rare occurrence indeed, and she planned to make the
most of it. She drove to the mall, all the while fretting over
the fact that no one at Mr. Hobo's could prepare Chocolate
Ecstasy Cakes properly. Oh, and there was that stack of
resumes for a new assistant chef still sitting on her desk,
waiting to be reviewed. Perhaps just a quick trip to the mall
was all she needed. Then she might pop into Mr. Hobo's,
just to see how things were going.

    It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon and, except for a
few college kids, Leedy had the mall to herself. She needed
to go to the kitchen shop and buy a new saute skillet and
then she would pursue her never-ending search for shoes
that were both comfortable and attractive. It had been ages
since she had roamed a mall. She resisted the impulse to
stop at the coffee bar for a latte. Maybe on her way out
she would stop.
    "Leedy?" a feminine voice from behind her called. "Is
that you?"
    "Yes?" she said, turning around. There behind her was
a tall young woman whom she immediately recognized.
    "Do you remember me?" Deanna asked. "We ran together in the race? You know my uncle?" She was wearing
hip-hugging bell bottom blue jeans and a gray rag sweater
that Leedy suspected had been borrowed from Terry's
closet. She also carried a heavy bookbag on her back.
    "Of course I remember you, Deanna!" Leedy exclaimed,
not trying to hide her pleasure at seeing the cute teenager.
"It's good to see you again. How are you?"
    "Good," she said. "I didn't have any classes this afternoon so I'm shopping for shoes."
    Leedy smiled, remembering the forlorn, puzzled expression on Terry's face the last time Deanna shopped for
shoes. "Me too," Leedy confessed.
    "I was just headed for Crazy Joe's Shoe Shack. I hear
there's a big sale. Would you like to join me?"
    Leedy couldn't think of anything else she would rather
do. "I would love to," she said and they headed down the
mall together.
    The shoe store was just as slow as the rest of the malland it was a good thing too. There was a buy-one-pair, get one-pair-free sale, and the sight of the racks of shoes made
the palms of Leedy's hands sweat. "Is this heaven, or
what?" she asked, and Deanna nodded in delighted agreement.

    They spent the next two hours in the store, trying on pair
after pair of shoes until they were both certain they had
driven the clerk insane.
    "Those are cute on you," Leedy said.
    "They're dreamy looking, but they pinch my toes,"
Deanna responded.
    "I can't wear high heels anymore," Leedy sighed. "I wish
I could, but with my job ... I'm always on my feet. I have
to be practical."
    "What about those purple sling-backs with the stiletto
heels? They don't look very practical to me."
    "I'm going to a wedding next month. I bought this dress
that's to die for. These shoes will be a perfect match!"
    It felt good to giggle with someone and Leedy wondered
how long it had been since she had spent time with a female
friend. While she was dating Brian, she had been part of
an active social circle. But after the break-up, it had seemed
too awkward to continue seeing the same group of friends
as he did. Especially with Angela now in the thick of
things. There was Brittany, of course, but between their
mutual jobs, classes, and Brittany's long list of wedding
chores, it had been months since Leedy had gone out with
a friend just for the fun of it.
    She was enjoying herself as much as if she were out with
her best chums from high school. Deanna was funny and
animated and when Leedy looked at her, it was as if she
was seeing herself when she was nineteen years old.
    "How many pairs are you getting?" Deanna asked.

    "Well ... six," Leedy said. "But they're on sale and it's
been quite a while since I shopped for shoes."
    "I