Emily awoke the next morning with a smile. She thought the previous night's rose ceremony had gone well, and she was quite interested in the remaining men. She needed to spend more time with several of them, but that seemed a very pleasant chore. She stretched lazily, then got up and headed for the shower. When she finished, she stepped out into a warm towel being held by some cardinals and blue jays. A scarlet tanager was perched at the top of the mirror, singing very tunefully. Hummingbirds served as a back-up chorus and had learned some dance steps.
Once again, she had the morning free. As she put on her makeup and fixed her hair, she gave some thought to what she would like to do with the time. Finally she decided it would be fun to see the Ferry Godmother again and ride in her boat to town. She put on some modest white shorts, a soft coral V-neck tee-shirt, and some hot pink CryStained LowButtons. One last glance in the mirror told her she looked gorgeous.
When she arrived at the boat the Ferry Godmother wanted to hear all about the previous night's rose ceremony. Every time Emily said anything about it, Russell interrupted her to add more detail. Finally, in exasperation, Emily told Russell just to tell the Ferry Godmother what had happened, given that he seemed to know so much. "Oh, my dear, I really couldn't!" exclaimed Russell, and flapped to the front of the boat. The Ferry Godmother rolled her eyes.
They docked at the town's waterfront pier and agreed the Ferry Godmother would return for her in two hours. Perfect, thought Emily. That will give me plenty of time to go exploring. She walked down the main street, looking in all the shop windows. A few Fleiss mice were around, but they seemed less concerned about what she was doing than they'd been the other day.
Eventually she found a nail salon which was running a special on pedicures. Out in front of the salon, on the sidewalk, were several little wire-and-glass tables with cushioned chairs next to them. Along side was an espresso stand. Women were sitting in the sun, letting the polish dry on their fingernails and toenails, and sipping coffee. A few men were also sitting at the tables, many waiting for the women they had accompanied. Emily went into the salon and asked if it were possible to get a pedicure and was thrilled to discover she could be served without waiting. When her toenails were beautifully painted, the salon suggested strongly she sit outside for at least thirty minutes to be sure the polish was dry, given that she would then be slipping her feet back into the glass slippers.
She ordered a double-shot latte grande, no foam, and with two Splenda. She really wasn't sure whether she would like that, but she had seen someone on a TV show that was set in Seattle order one that way, so she felt confident it was a reasonable thing to request. She sat with her coffee and put her feet up on the little stool supplied by the salon. Before long she became aware of a man staring at her feet.
"Are my feet in your way?" she asked him, even though they clearly were not.
He looked a little embarrassed. "No, not at all, Miss. I must say, those are absolutely beautiful feet!"
"Well, aren't you just the sweetest thing!" Emily gushed.
"No, really," he said, "they're just remarkable. I suppose you hear that all the time."
Emily just smiled.
"Do you like to have your feet massaged?" he asked.
"I had that done once," she replied. "It was heavenly."
There was a pause while he continued to stare at her feet.
"Your wife is in there?" Emily asked him.
"Oh, no," he said, looking a bit startled. "I'm not here with anyone."
There was another pause.
"Would you let me massage your feet?" he blurted out in a rush.
"Why... why... why, I guess that would be all right," she said, looking around for the Fleiss mice to be sure.
He had one of her feet on his lap before she could spot even one mouse. As he moved his thumbs around the arch, then down to the heel, then over the top, he was careful not to disturb the polish on her toenails. His touch was perfect, neither too heavy nor too light. Her head nodded forward a bit and she closed her eyes. "I could just purr," she whispered. He took the other foot and repeated the routine.
"What's your name?" she asked, after a bit.
"Tanner," he said. "And yours?"
"Emmmmmmily," she said, nearly asleep.
She forced herself awake and sat up with a start.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, looking worried.
"No, not at all," she replied. "I just need to watch the time. And, I suppose, you'll have to get back to your job."
He blushed. "I'm... uh... between jobs right now."
And with that revelation, Emily made a spur-of-the-moment decision. "You want a job? Come with me. You're hired as my foot massager. Got a passport?" He nodded. "Pack for ten weeks and meet me at the pier in a half hour."
He took off on a run.
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