Smiling, she limped out of bed, showered, and searched for the flattest pair of shoes she had. She ended up slipping into a pair of two-year-old, barely worn Converse All Stars. The shoes were specially made for her during that period of time when everyone in the world thought Converse sneakers were the coolest thing in the world. She slipped into the silver, purple, pink, and green shoes and realized why she hadn’t worn them to the Chuck Taylor party that her marketing company had hosted—she was short. Today, however, Marie was glad she hadn’t thrown the shoes away. She could move around her bedroom, albeit very slowly, without the crutches, but she wondered if she would be able to work in the shelter without them. As she called her father’s car service to come and pick her up, she decided to take one of her crutches with her, hoping and praying that trying to walk with it would give her something else to think about. Something other than the taste of Devon’s mouth. Slipping the crutch underneath her left arm, Marie headed for the kitchen.
