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“You have very pretty feet!” the woman said as she held Amy’s bare foot in her hand.

Amy figured that the woman was just saying this, hoping that she’d get a better tip at the end. Though Amy always thought that she had pretty feet as well so she didn’t disagree. And she had to admit that when she looked the woman in the eyes, it looked like what she was saying was genuine.

“Thank you,” Amy said and the woman nodded and smiled before she began.

Amy sat back in the chair, closed her eyes, and got comfortable. A pedicure was the perfect way to treat herself on Christmas Eve. Tonight she’d be going home and having Christmas Eve dinner with her boyfriend Rick. They had been dating over four years now. She had moved to this new city with him for his new job. They lived together but he still hadn’t proposed to her. She was turning thirty in February and the majority of her friends were either engaged or married. She wasn’t holding her breath that it was going to happen anytime soon for her, so she was just going to sit back and enjoy this pedicure, preparing for what would probably be a disappointing Christmas.

And the pedicure sure was good. This woman knew what she was doing and feeling her hands working her feet as they moved along them, massaged them, and painted her nails felt like paradise for Amy. She felt like she could just sit there all day and was pleased with the present she had given herself.

“OK, all done,” the woman said, much sooner than Amy would have liked. She opened her eyes to see that an hour had passed when it didn’t seem like it had been close to that long. “Take a look.”

Amy looked down and she was pleased with the finished product. Her feet looked so much softer and smoother than they normally did. The red nail polish that had been put on her shined. She felt like a queen as she looked down at the woman who was looking up smiling at her, looking like she was Amy’s servant just kneeling at her feet like that. Amy kind of liked that feeling.

“Excellent job!” Amy said as she spread her toes and she wasn’t able to look away from the great work. “You made my Christmas.” Amy reached for her socks to put them on, though she wished she didn’t have to cover her feet up.

“You made my Christmas by allowing me to have the honor of doing this for you,” the woman said. “You definitely have the most beautiful feet that I have ever worked on. I can’t allow you to put your socks on and cover them. Here, I give you temporary pair of slippers. You walk down to shoe store in mall and pick out a new pair of shoes that will show off your feet. You tell them I sent you and they will take care of you.” Amy looked at the slippers that would leave most of the tops of her feet exposes and make sure her toes weren’t covered at all to keep the nail polish fresh.

“Ah, I see,” Amy said and she couldn’t be angry with this woman who was being so nice to her. “They give you a little kickback if I go and buy shoes from them, I get it. Thanks, but I can’t spend any more money this holiday season.”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand,” the woman said and now Amy saw her not smiling for the first time. “They take care of you by giving you free pair of shoes. These are on us. You pick out any pair you want, the shoes just need to show off your feet.”

“And you’ll want me to wear something saying I got the pedicure here or something?” Amy said, still not buying this.

“No, there is no catch. You go pick out shoes and they will be on us.  No strings attached. This city will be very appreciative to see your pretty feet.”

****

“I can help you!” the shoe salesman said as he got right in front of Amy immediately when she walked into the store. He was a handsome man with tan skin, standing at a mere 5’8, but he was well dressed and his dark hair was neatly parted. “What can I do for you today?”

Amy felt embarrassed. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to do what the woman how had given her the pedicure asked her to. But she was here now and this salesman seemed especially eager to assist her.

“I just came from the nail salon.  They sent me to get a new pair of shoes. According to them, I can pick out any pair I want and they are going to pick up the bill.” She prepared to be laughed at. The woman at the salon probably sent her over here as some sort of Christmas Eve joke.

“Oh absolutely!” the salesman said. “My name is Matt, by the way. Come have a seat over here and I will be happy to find you the best pair of shoes that you can find.”

So Amy felt like she was getting some great treatment again as Matt found her a comfortable seat. She wore no socks but he assured her that every pair of shoes that she tried on hadn’t touched anyone else’s feet so they were clean and that no one would mind trying on the shoes that she didn’t pick if they had touched her feet.

Matt ended up going in the back room and then coming back with a wagon full of different shoe boxes. There had to be a 100 pairs there that he was going to have her try on. Amy couldn’t say that she minded. She loved shoes as much as any other woman and if he was willing to spend that much time to help her find the right pair then she wasn’t going to object.

She enjoyed watching him every time he put a new pair of shoes on her feet. It did it with such care and was so delicate with her feet, treating them like they were fragile. He didn’t look like he was just doing what he was doing because it was a job and he looked like he genuinely enjoyed putting all of the different pairs of shoes on her feet.

“Yes, those are the ones!” she said.

She knew it immediately when the first shoe went on her foot. It was a black pair of heels, with thin heels. There was a strap on them that went around her lower leg and then another thin one that just went across the top of her foot but the shoes left the rest of the top of her feet exposed, especially every part of her toes.

“Yes, these are definitely perfect!” he said as he put the other one on and he sounded more excited about it than she was. “All I need to do is run over to the salon real quick and get the payment from them and then you will be free to go in your new pair of shoes. Please just wait right here.”

She looked down at the new pair of shoes that were on her feet. This was about the best Christmas present she could ask for. Rick was really going to have to do a good job this year to beat this. She turned her feet in different directions, admiring how nice they looked in her new shoes and she couldn’t wait to go walk around in them. They looked very expensive and she wondered if she might buy them anyway if the salon went back on their deal for some reason.

Just when she thought that may have been their trick, she saw Matt come back. He got down on one knee in front of her and she wondered what he was going to do since she had already picked out the shoes she wanted. She hoped that he wasn’t going to take the shoes off of her because she wanted to wear them right out of the store.

“I know this is sudden and that we just met,” he said as he stuck his hand in his pocket. “But will you marry me?”

Out of his pocket he pulled a ring box then he opened it up and presented her with a beautiful diamond ring. The look on his handsome face was so humble and innocent. 

“What??” she said, unable to believe this. She had been waiting years for her boyfriend to propose and now she got one from a man she just met. The size of the diamond and the look on his face gave her no doubt her was serious. But she still had to ask. “Is this for real? Where did you get that?”

“I just went to the jewelry store in the mall to buy it for you when I left. And yes, I am very serious. You have, without a doubt, the most beautiful feet I have ever seen. I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with them – and with you. Will you accept my proposal?”

He smiled at her innocently. She felt bad for the poor guy. To say she was flattered was an understatement. “I’m sorry,” she said and she could see his cute disappointment. “But I can’t.”

****

Once she left the shoe store, Amy walked confidently through the mall towards the exit with her new shoes on. She could have sworn that many of the men she was walking by were stopping to look at her beautiful feet. She was flattered but she kept on walking. After the proposal she had just gotten, she didn’t think it was a good idea for any of these other men to get her attention. She sure felt powerful, though. She walked out the exit to the parking lot.

“Excuse me,” she heard a deep male voice say.

Now she couldn’t help but turn around. Standing there was a man who had gray hair but didn’t look like he was too old – maybe in his mid-fifties, and he looked very wealthy based on the way that he was dressed. He had a pleasant smile, the kind you couldn’t help but smile back at, and Amy did.

“I am sorry to disturb you,” the man said as he walked closer to her. “But I couldn’t help but notice that you have the most beautiful feet I have ever seen.”

He got the same innocent look on his face that the salesman had. Amy couldn’t remember being this flattered by two separate men on the same day. Then she couldn’t believe what he did next. When he got closer to her he got down on one knee.

“I am an older man and have never been married. I’ve been waiting for the one my entire life and no matter who I’ve met I knew she wasn’t the one. Until now. Just from looking at your amazing feet, I know that you are the woman I want to be in my life every day for as long as I live. I’ve been carrying this ring with me waiting until I found the right person to give it to.” Amy then watched with disbelief as this man got down on one knee in the parking lot and pulled a ring box out of his coat. He opened it up and the ring was much bigger and prettier than the one Matt had propositioned her with. “Will you marry me?”

Flattered beyond belief, Amy actually thought about his proposal. He was clearly very wealthy and would be able to take good care of her. He looked so innocent down on one knee like he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Still, Amy had a boyfriend back at home. And there was the other issue that she had never even spoken to this guy.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I can’t.”

****

It was later than Amy had planned on it being when she started to walk into the supermarket. She was quickly noticed by some guys and she even drew a bit of a crowd around her. A security guard who was working at the busy store on Christmas Eve, most likely because of the big crowd, stepped in to regulate.

“Alright, alright,” he said to the crowd. “Give this woman some space.” The guard with the shaved head who looked like he was 22 or 23 years old looked Amy right in the eyes with his handsome eyes. They seemed to connect and once he felt that connection he actually got down on one knee in front of her.

“You have lovely feet and everyone in this store knows it,” the guard said to her. “I’d regret it forever if I let you walk away from me. Let’s get right to the chase here. I don’t have a ring for you or anything. But will you marry me?” She laughed out loud. She wasn’t laughing at him because she knew he was quite serious but it was all funny to her nonetheless.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I can’t.”

“Alright Steve, give our customer some room here,” a man who Amy assumed to be the manager said as he came along and Steve looked disappointed as he moved away. 

“I’m sorry ma’am,” the manager said to Amy. “But he is right that you do have the best feet I’ve ever seen.” He then actually got down on one knee. “I don’t have a ring either. But will you marry me?”

She would have thought that he had to be joking if the look on his face wasn’t so incredibly serious. “I’m sorry,” she said and she couldn’t believe how disappointed he looked. “But I can’t.”

“Alright, well back off everyone!” the security guard said to the crowd that had gathered around. “Let the woman shop.”

So Amy had her own personal guard follow her through the store making sure she had her space as she did her Christmas Eve grocery shopping. She knew he was just doing it so he could look at her feet but she was fine with that. Plenty of other men in the store were taking a look at her feet when they walked by her as well.

“Don’t forget my proposal,” the security guard said to her as she left the store. “It’s still on the table.”

“Mine too,” the manager said. “You know where to find me.”

****

It was already dark when Amy finally got home. The lights were dim inside the house, the fireplace was on, and Rick had lit some candles for a nice Christmas Eve scenario. They said hi to each other. Amy kicked off her shoes so she could show off her new pedicure for him. He didn’t even notice.

“Amy, come with me,” he said. “I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”

He softly took her hand and led her into the living room, sitting her down close to the fireplace. He got down on one knee and looked up at his girlfriend.

“We’ve been together for a long time,” he said. “And I’m not great with words so I don’t have a lot that I can say here. But I do know for sure that you are the woman that I’d like to spend the rest of my life with.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a ring box, then opened it to show her the most beautiful, shiny diamond ring he had ever seen. “Amy – will you marry me?”

She looked down at her boyfriend holding the ring and she could see how much he loved her by the way he was looking in her eyes. She had been waiting a long time for this. She then thought about all of the other men that had proposed to her that day and now knew that with her beautiful feet, she could have any man in this city she wanted.

“I’m sorry, Rick,” she said and she looked at the look of hope on his face quickly turn to disappointment. “But I can’t.”