boots off

today was gorgeous, and to celebrate, i took a long walk--my standard walk through golden gate park. on my way through the panhandle, i saw a typical still life: a lone shoe abandoned on a park bench. i always wonder about the story behind these random clothing pieces strewn on sidewalks; they appear as if someone had to make a quick get away and dropped and ran. i often concoct stories in my head to explain these anomalies and sometimes they don't end well. to curtail that mode of thought, i dreamed up an explanation to account for why the shoe had no mate.

sheila was hurrying down the sidewalk in a rush to meet her friend lacey. she saw her near the basketball court, leaning over to pet her dog, muggs. they waved in recognition, and as they neared, both chimed, "hey!" and hugged warmly.

"sweet boots!" lacey exclaimed.
"yeah, i got 'em at wasteland yesterday for 11 bucks. best deal ever."
lacey admired the raspberry suede boots while scheming her next trip to the haight.

"why is muggs wearing a muzzle? can i take it off?"sheila asked while crouched and scratching muggs' floppy ears.
"uhhhh, he was acting kinda weird this morning."
"awwww, muggs knows me. i just wanna give him a good scratch."
"well, i guess so. you're right. he knows you." lacey offered timidly.

lacey unstrapped the muzzle, permitting sheila full access to his furry face.
"you're such a good dog." sheila said as she rubbed and scratched his chin.
"muggs, slobber on the sidewalk, 'k honey?" sheila cooed, as she wiped his spittle from the tip of her shoe.

a long line of slobber continued to flow, creating a pool directly in front of sheila's boots. muggs kept nudging his way closer and closer to her toes, dripping nearer and nearer, and finally gnashed his gooey teeth into the tip of a shoe.

"holy crap, he's eating my shoes! no, muggs, no!" sheila screamed as she yanked off her shoe, barely managing to escape unscathed, but it was too late for her left boot. muggs destroyed sheila's suede boots with one deft clench of his jaw.

"oh man, i'm sooo sorry. muggs has been acting weird all day. now that i think of it, he's been spacing out, looking at my feet all morning. i thought he was sad."

"well, there's nothing we can do," sheila sighed as she pulled off the right boot, tossing it on the bench. "i've got flip flops somewhere in my bag," she added as muggs pranced off, boot in mouth.