Summer, the season of feet

Something palpable, living and breathing has taken up existence in my room. Something I have no control over.

My collection of shoes has developed a life of its own, burgeoning and augmenting uncontrollably in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes. Boots, shoes, sandals for sunny days, cloudy days, rainy days, for skirts, trousers, shorts, for blues, browns and blacks. Under the bed, lining the wall, behind the laundry bag. (But most usually on the exact spot where I place my feet on floor as I groggily step out of bed in the morning. Patiently awaiting my routine of tripping and cursing.)

"All these fun shoes," I told Ilajna and Doobie excitedly, "I can't wait to - ". And then I happened to glance down at my feet, and my heart sank. "I just wish I didn't have such ugly feet. Look at my toes, they're mutants!"
"I know what we need!" Doobie exclaimed. "A girlie afternoon of pedicures!"
Ilajna nodded solemnly, as though affirming that this was indeed our obligation - no our duty - to mark the beginning of summer.

And so we trundled down to the little Chinese nail salon round the corner and seated ourselves side by side in the large cushioned pedicure thrones, soaking our feet in tubs of gurgling hot water. I felt just like the girls I watch as I pass by the countless nail salons on the street. A bit silly, and yet naughtily luxuriant.

And then she started scrubbing my feet with the soapstone, and an involuntary eruption of giggles burst out of me. I squirmed, wormed, squiggled and wiggled in my seat, tortured by the agonising hilarity of someone touching the soles of my feet. ("Sshhh," Doobie told me, rolling her eyes towards the other customers about, but I had no control.)

I glanced down at the woman doing my pedicure. "Stop move foot ruin colour bad!!" she slapped my foot in mock reprimand. I liked the woman's maternal strictness instantly.

When we were leaving, she handed us each a frequent user card. "You come seven time, eight time free," she explained.
We grinned at her gleefully. It was supposed to have been a one-off, but we found ourselves saying, "okay see you in a few weeks!"

Oh well. Summer is, after all, the season of feet.