All Chapters of A different shoe size: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Tears ran down her cheeks, sobs were the rhyme of her grief, she sat coiled up trying to hide from the world as it were. I had just handed her my last fold of toilet paper, for I lacked an appropriate handkerchief, for her to wipe her train of tears. I had dared not ask what the matter was, till I was sure I had performed dutifully the 'ABCs' of consolation; allow as much time as possible for one to let it all out, lest  such drowns in his or her sorrows, bequeath no more than you can handle, care for her immediate needs. If in an unfortunate case of advanced grief, I was inexperienced, my senses would be as it were inebriated. I had to keep all emotional vitals stable.

As I was winding up my day’s schedule, I found a little note neatly tucked in a side pocket of my back pack. “Can we meet up after work today, I would like you to be my escort? T,” it read. I wondered why she had to put it in writing, my ears were still intact with ossicles vibrating at the right frequency. When I called, she simply gave directions for our place of meeting. I feared she had ill designs to make me an accomplice to something I wouldn’t accept were I enlightened of the course. I found her seated under an umbrella shade table in the maze of town. She put on a smile, a feigned one and spoke up, “Thank you for coming, it means so much. Could you kindly take me home?”

“Anyone for some yogurt?” Zack called out.“Well, count me in. I wouldn’t miss a chance like that,” I retorted. “Me too. I love yogurt. But wait, why yogurt, this has never happened, are we missing something?” Tanya added with a little bewildered facade.

 “Hello, anybody home. Hhhm, where is everybody?” the silence that filled the house was rather odd. I was used to the Hi, hello, welcome back, how was work and a round of facial kisses or more from gran. I would fain wipe any markings but they were a balm potent to remove any ire of the day. “Perhaps, they have gone for out for a visit. But shouldn’t I have been informed about it?  Anyway, I’m sure there’s a good explanation to it,” I thought. I was famished, I decided to visit the most important place in any home, the kitchen, of course second only to the ‘white settee’.

 I saw it coming, yet I was not prepared for it. It hit me like a bullet. I was all at sea with this new task. Zack had just asked me to be his right hand man for his wedding. I didn’t have the faintest idea of my role. Was I to keep him together in case he became a nervous wreck, or was I to organize the event? A breath of fresh air came in when he pointed out that he and Tanya didn’t want anything big, “A few friends and family members would do,” he said.