The Second Chance Shoe Shop (11 page)

O
n Friday evening
, Sadie had invited everyone over to her house for a final rehearsal of the dance routine. Until now, Riley had felt confident that they might just be able to do it, but doubt was beginning to creep in and they couldn’t seem to get anything right.

‘Be careful!’ she cried as she practised with Dan, who was flinging her around a little too energetically. ‘I want to stay in my heels tomorrow.’

‘Sorry,’ he replied, ‘but I want to make sure it’s perfect. I don’t want to let Chloe down. She’s such a good dancing partner and I’m such a bad one. I’m expecting someone from the crowd – if there is a crowd – to hold up a score card and it definitely won’t be a se–ven!’

‘I’m not sure I can even wear my heels tomorrow.’ Ash bent down and slipped her shoes off. ‘My feet are red raw from all the dancing this week. Whatever gave me the impression it would be good to join in with you lot?’

‘We’ll all be sensational,’ Dan retorted, ever the optimist. ‘It will be a huge success and everyone will join in with the competition and save our skins.’

‘If only it were that easy,’ said Riley, flopping onto the settee. ‘I feel like Baby in
Dirty Dancing
. I don’t know the lifts, we haven’t rehearsed the pliés. I would rather someone put me in a corner!’

‘At least you don’t have to lift me up above your head,’ Sadie laughed. ‘I don’t think anyone would be capable of that.’

‘Seriously, Riles,’ said Ash. ‘It’ll be fine. And if it isn’t, then let’s hope no one makes too much fuss about it. We don’t have to promote it on social media if it goes wrong. Ethan said he needed time to make the video look good afterwards, so as long as no one uploads anything from their own phones, we’ll be laughing.’

‘We’ll be laughed
at
, more like,’ muttered Riley. ‘If something does go wrong, you can guarantee that lots of people will be filming us and uploading it and then that will go viral.’

‘You sound more pessimistic than me.’ Ash got to her feet again and held out a hand to Dan. ‘Come on, let me practise with you.’

Dan pressed play on his iPad, whizzing the song forward to the place they needed to begin. ‘Right, here we go again.’

Riley glided around with him afterwards too, as best she could in the space they had. After three attempts, they succeeded in doing it faultlessly. Twice more they repeated it and by the end she felt a little more confident.

Yet when she got home to her flat that evening, the nerves were back. She was praying that Suzanne wouldn’t show up unannounced. Although it was unlikely, knowing their luck she would turn up just as they were about to join in the dance – at the exact moment they were shutting the shop for ten minutes to do the flash mob.

It seemed strange to come home to her flat after staying with Ethan for a couple of nights. He’d dropped her back at home each morning and she had gone to work with Ash as usual, but just being part of a couple again had felt good. Ethan had told her he was an exceptional cook, and when they had more time, after the flash mob, he was going to cook her a meal. He’d said she would be dessert – now
that
, she couldn’t wait for.

Now that she was home, all she wanted to do was share the day’s events with him in person, rather than chat to him over the phone. Not that he would be remotely interested in an order of sandals, but she couldn’t contain her excitement.

It had been touch and go, but her order had finally arrived that afternoon and they had spent time displaying them in between serving existing customers and drumming up followers online. Riley had moved everything around several times before she had been satisfied.

The sandals were sure to be a winner – she’d even put pairs aside for herself and Ash. They had a thick-ribbed sole and one large strip of leather to push feet into, which enabled the toes to peep out. A delicate thin strap held the shoe in place around the ankle but it was the marbled heel that made them stand out. She’d ordered them in three colours so far: white, orange and the blue that Marsha and Ruby had favoured. She couldn’t wait to see what people thought of them.

Frank’s bags were looking sensational, too. He’d even designed one with a pair of black heels and the hashtag, which was perfect for their competition. Remembering how great the chair in the window had looked in the photo that had appeared in the
Hedworth News
, when she had sat in it, Riley had popped the chair back on display and draped the bags over the arms, with the sandals on the seat and underneath, both in and out of their boxes. Sadie had suggested putting a pair of sandals into a bag, too. It had the added effect of creating the colour, and the element of fun, that she had imagined. She hoped Frank would be pleased when he saw them.

Riley sank down on the settee with a glass of wine and a huge grin, tired but elated. Her sense of adventure over the past couple of weeks had completely surprised her, taking on a life of its own. She was about to do something crazy, something that could potentially be amazing. Something that might save her job, perhaps even the shop, if they got a big enough crowd on the High Street. It could keep her friends together and the business she loved open.

And the competition seemed like it could be a lot of fun, too. Deciding not to ask Suzanne, they’d each put £50 into the fund. The prize money stood at £100, and the leaflets they’d had printed to promote the competition had cost another £50. The winner would also have a bag exclusively designed for them. What could be more personal than that?

She took a sip of wine and relaxed her neck, letting her head sink back into the cushions. It seemed things were starting to look up, at last. Organising the flash mob had filled her with new confidence. It had given her the get-up-and-go that she had been missing for a while. This campaign, and the flash mob, had given her the opportunity to make a name for herself. She was thinking less and less about Nicholas and more about Ethan. She was moving on, and she liked it. Who knows what other opportunities would come from all this? She couldn’t wait to find out.

R
iley felt
apprehensive as she caught the bus to work the next morning. It was
the
morning. Although not too warm, the sun shone brightly in an only partially cloudy sky. She’d checked the forecast earlier and seen that there was a dry afternoon on the horizon, with no rain anticipated, and hoped that it would be right. If it rained, everyone would probably disappear into the shopping centre and they’d either have to postpone the flash mob or perform for a few daredevils who didn’t mind getting wet. And that wouldn’t look good on a video, if no one was watching the dancing.

‘Are you nervous?’ asked Ash, sitting beside her. For once, she didn’t have her earphones in. ‘I’m more excited, really. It’s going to be so much fun.’

‘I hope so,’ Riley replied. ‘I really am scared of falling over in front of people we know, never mind the people we don’t!’

Over the past week, they’d each been dropping hints about the flash mob all over town. When she had called in at the chemist’s, and some of the other smaller shops on the High Street, Sadie had mentioned that something exciting might be happening on Saturday. Riley had confided in Ray, as she needed a place for the dancers to meet up beforehand. Ray’s Café was on high alert, and they were also going to be responsible for playing the music out into the street. Dan had gone further into Hedworth, to the barber’s in the town square, to Blundred’s Bakery, and to some of the shops in the shopping centre.

Riley had been to the indoor market to visit the girls on the fruit stall. As well as Nicci, there was her sister, Louise, and Sam, the owner. Riley had gone to school with Louise and Sam, so knew them well. She’d dropped into conversation that something would be happening on Saturday afternoon, and asked them to spread the word to build up a buzz. Sure enough, it had worked a treat and several people had come into Chandler’s to ask them what was going on.

‘Do you have any big followers on your Twitter feed who would retweet and maybe get some interest?’ said Ash, as the bus pulled into the station. ‘Any names from Hedworth?’

‘Yes, I made a list. Of local people too. I’ll have another scan through when I get to work.’

They split up at the top of the steps on the High Street. It was strange to see it deserted as Riley walked along, and to think that by that afternoon they might hopefully have brought a little fun to the place.

‘How are you feeling?’ Sadie asked when she arrived at the shop.

‘I feel like I’m going to throw up,’ Riley admitted. ‘I’m excited, but scared too. You?’

Sadie held out a shaky hand. ‘Nervous,’ she admitted. ‘Christine is bringing Esther here half an hour before, so that she can’t spill the beans. She’s so excited.’

‘What happens if there aren’t enough people around? We have a four-minute window. If people hear about it after the dance has started they won’t get to us before it’s finished.’

‘There will be.’ Sadie gasped. ‘My stomach has just lurched again. This will either be great fun or a total disaster.’

‘I can’t wait to see which one.’ Riley smiled as a text message arrived from Ethan:
How are you feeling about your big dance debut?

She wrote back: Terrified, if you must know. Do you have a minute to talk?

‘I’m just going to speak to Ethan.’ As her phone rang, Riley went outside for a moment. Maybe Ethan had some ideas for how to get the word out about the flash mob without mentioning what exactly was going on.

‘Well, there’s Danny Warrington, the football player. And what about Urban Angels . . . surely they’d be interested in shoes?’

‘They won’t bother with the likes of a small shop, surely?’ Riley wasn’t convinced.

‘They might. I’ll see if I can get them tweeting for you. One of the journalists is sure to know them. Maybe Kim. Don’t say anything for now, though. I’ll do my best.’

‘Okay, thanks. What time will you be here?’

‘Missing me already?’

Riley pictured him smiling at the other end of the line.

‘No,’ she fibbed. ‘I meant what time will you be here for the flash mob?’

‘I’ll be there about one. That should give me time to set everything up by two.’

‘Thanks for doing this on your day off.’

‘You can pay me in kind, later.’

Riley sniggered before saying goodbye. When she went back indoors, Dan was flicking through his iPad. He caught her eye.

‘I think we should go all-out this morning and let people know there’s something happening later,’ he said. ‘That way we can create a buzz about it all day. What do you think?’

‘That’s what Ethan has just said,’ Riley replied. ‘He says we’ve put too much effort into it for it not to get seen. Plus we want people on the High Street to start taking photos of their shoes and putting them on Twitter to enter the competition.’

Dan gave her arm a squeeze. ‘We’re going to have a blast.’

‘I do hope so,’ said Riley. ‘Do you fancy a quick rehearsal before we open up?’

Dan took off his jacket. ‘Sure, we can do that. Just let me get changed into my gear. If you’re going to tweet from Chandler’s’ account, and I’m dressed differently, people might keep a look out.’

Sadie nodded. ‘Great idea. Do you think we should all do that, Riley? Maybe close the shop for half an hour here and there? I’m sure it can’t do any harm. Although I doubt I’ll be able to walk in my heels all day, and then dance too.’

Riley shook her head. ‘Let Dan do it for now, in case Suzanne decides to pop in. That way, we can say he’s dressed to give out leaflets in the street.’

‘Hey, that’s a great idea anyway,’ Dan nodded. ‘I could do that as you are tweeting.’

Riley agreed. ‘As long as we don’t need you inside. Ethan is ringing the local radio station and letting them in on it, and Kim knows already.’

‘I’m surprised it hasn’t leaked by now,’ said Sadie.

‘It isn’t a top secret military operation,’ laughed Riley. ‘It’s just a dance.’

‘But there
is
a lot depending on it,’ Sadie said. ‘We need to keep our jobs, to ensure that the shop stays open. I don’t want to go anywhere.’

‘I don’t want to go anywhere that you two won’t be, either.’ Dan stood between them and draped an arm around each of their shoulders. ‘All for one and one for all, remember?’

‘Yes, d’Artagnan,’ laughed Riley.

S
erena arrived at 1
:30 p.m. She looked superb in her outfit of black skinny jeans, ripped at both knees, a bright yellow T-shirt, fake-fur multicoloured gilet, and red heels swung over her shoulder as she came through the door.

‘That High Street looks very busy.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Have you been giving hints of what’s to come?’

Riley nodded. ‘We don’t want to dance without an audience. Although I’m not sure I want to dance to
any
audience at the moment. My nerves are getting the better of me.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ Serena soothed. ‘It’ll be all over in a flash . . . mob!’

‘All my leaflets have gone!’ Dan came rushing in, empty hands raised in the air. ‘There’s a definite sense that something is going on,’ he added. ‘I’ve had lots of girlies asking me about the competition. Have you checked the Twitter account, Riles? They’ve been tweeting photos to Chandler’s.’

Riley took out her phone and was astounded at how many notifications there were. She opened the Twitter app and flicked through them. Shoe after shoe appeared.

‘Wow, it’s working already!’ She beckoned them over. ‘Look at all these.’

Ethan arrived while they were still scrolling through the tweets. ‘I’m all set up outside. Are you ready for the big moment?’

Riley turned round and beamed. She beckoned him over.

‘Look at all these photos.’ She thrust her phone in his face. ‘We’ve got over fifty already, thanks to Dan.’

Dan polished his fingernails on his chest. ‘It didn’t take much to persuade them to join in,’ he said. ‘Seriously, you women and your shoes.’

‘Says the man who wears a different pair of boots every day!’ exclaimed Sadie.

‘You should take a photo of your own shoes,’ suggested Ethan. ‘All of them in a circle. Tweet it right before the flash mob.’

‘That’s a great idea! Come on, everyone, best shoes forward!’

‘Here, let me take some too.’ Ethan got out his camera. ‘Souvenirs of a time before the flash mob.’

‘You mean you want something to remember us by before we run off screaming in embarrassment, never to be seen again,’ laughed Riley.

‘I’ve just had word from Ray at the café that all the dancers are there, ready and waiting,’ said Serena. ‘Shall we take our positions?’

Riley’s stomach flipped over at the thought of what they were about to do. She tried not to think about making a fool of herself, as they locked the shop up and took their positions. They’d decided to stand on the pavement and that the dancers would come and get them when it was their cue. That way, they would be amongst the shoppers, and hopefully surprise some of them when they were whisked away to join in.

‘Break a leg,’ Serena said, before giving Riley a quick hug. ‘And remember to smile, look as if you are enjoying yourself. It’s going to be
fun
!’

With that, she was gone.

‘Good luck,’ said Ethan, giving Riley’s hand a quick squeeze. ‘Although I’m sure you won’t need it.’

‘Oh, I think we will, said Riley, her heart racing.

‘I think I’m going to faint,’ said Dan, standing beside her.

Ash nudged him, putting a finger to her lips as someone turned to look his way.

Riley’s dance partner, Ryan, walked up to Riley. ‘Excited?’

‘Nervous,’ she whispered. He too gave her hand a squeeze as he held on to it.

The first notes of the song made Riley’s stomach lurch. She grinned excitedly at Ash. She glanced down the High Street, looking for signs of the first three dancers. They were pretending to window-shop at the chemist’s. Then they began to dance, running out into the middle of the pedestrianised area of the street.

Three more dancers on the other side of the road ran to join them. People on the street began to stop what they were doing.

When three more female dancers joined in, Riley spotted phones being taken out of bags, as shoppers began to take notice. A group of girls squealed and started to join in, clapping their hands. ‘It’s a flash mob! I’ve only ever seen them on YouTube,’ said one.

‘Quick, get your phone out!’ said another.

‘Are you sure Esther will be okay with you?’ said Sadie, holding on to her daughter’s hand for dear life.

‘She’ll be fine,’ said Serena, smiling down. ‘Won’t you, missy?’

Esther nodded. ‘I can see Nanny over there too.’ She pointed to where Christine was pretending to look in the window of the butcher’s.

‘This is brilliant!’ A young woman turned to Riley with a huge grin. She began to dance, clapping her hands to the beat.

Riley laughed inwardly: she had no idea that they were about to join in. She looked through the crowd and spotted Cooper, who gave her the thumbs up.

As the tune rolled towards their cue, the crowd swelled. More people joined in, dancing and clapping. Some were singing too. It was such an infectious song. Staff and shoppers came out of shops and stood in doorways, some joining in with the clapping.

Ryan turned to Riley. ‘Ready?’ he asked.

She gulped and nodded. He led her by the hand out onto the pavement, the others following behind.

Riley took a deep breath and, with head held high, sashayed across the High Street to the astonishment of the people who knew her. People began to point and whistle when they recognised the staff from Chandler’s dancing past.

Without a moment to think, she performed her part perfectly, pirouetting to stand in a line with the others, her face breaking out in a huge grin as she achieved what she’d set out to do.

With one last move, the four of them arched their backs, dropped down in a line and held out their cards. They’d changed their minds at the last minute about the hashtag.

Esther danced onto the street, finishing with a twirl in front of Sadie, holding a sign with the hashtag written on it.

Ethan gave a thumbs up as the music stopped, and the dancers caught their breath.

And then the applause started.

‘We did it!’ Riley laughed as she was pulled into Ash’s arms. Next came Dan and Sadie and Esther.

‘We deserve a group hug. That was amazing!’ cried Dan.

People around him urged them all to take a bow with the dancers.

Riley searched out Serena and gave her a hug. ‘I can’t thank you enough,’ she said, as the dancers began to hand out leaflets to the crowd. ‘That was incredible, and it
was
so much fun.’

‘That’s what it will be remembered for,’ said Serena. ‘You’ll have everyone on Twitter adding their shoes to the feed now – absolutely perfect PR.’

‘We couldn’t have done it without you.’ Riley hugged her fiercely. ‘Thank you so much for your time and expertise.’

‘You were great!’ Cooper enthused as he joined them all. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d pull it off, but I have some great bits on video.’

‘You were indeed,’ echoed Christine. ‘It looked so much fun.’

‘Can I get some photos of you all together before you leave?’ said Ethan, coming up behind them. ‘The five of you at the front and the dancers in the background. Good job, everyone, by the way. This will go down a storm.’

As everyone talked around her, Riley eyed Ethan. His natural knack for making everyone feel at ease was taking over. Before long, he had them all saying stupid words to make them smile for the photo.

The crowd showed no signs of thinning, and Riley could see people checking their phones, taking photos of their shoes. Serena was right. It was a PR dream come true. She hoped the video would look okay when Ethan had finished with it.

Finally, she had time to catch up with him.

‘You were amazing,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I’ll need to edit this much. I’ll have it done by the time you finish work. Shall I bring it into the shop to show you all?’

‘No― Yes! No!’ Riley laughed. ‘I mean, I want to see it but I don’t want to see it. What if it’s so embarrassing that we can never show our faces in the town again?’

‘Then you’ll have to practise more and go on
Britain’s Got Talent
. If it doesn’t turn out right that time, Simon Cowell and six million viewers will tell you.’

Riley wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him with a passion, but she knew that would create a different kind of scene. She couldn’t wait to get him alone again tonight.

Instead, she got out her phone. ‘I have over two hundred notifications on Twitter!’ she said. ‘I wonder how many you need to start trending?’

‘What does trending mean?’ asked Sadie.

‘It means lots of people are tweeting about it at the same time.’

‘Did you add your own photograph?’ asked Ethan.

Riley gasped. ‘I forgot! I’ll add it now, as a kind of competition reminder, and then pin it to the top of the feed. And I’ll add the hashtag as a reminder too. If they don’t use that, I’ll never keep up with everyone.’

Sadie had reopened the shop and taken Esther out of the crowd with Christine. From where Riley was standing, Chandler’s seemed to be pretty full, even though she knew most people would be joining in with the competition rather than buying anything. But it was a start. And a great moment to show off the Designed by Frank bags.

‘Great job, Riley Flynn,’ she said to herself, tapping a finger to send her tweet:

@RileyFlynn Tweet us a photo of your favourite shoes to be entered into the £100 prize draw. Don’t forget to use the hashtag! #ShoeLove

Riley stayed outside with Ethan for as long as she could. She couldn’t believe there was still a small crowd some half an hour after the flash mob had ended. Dan had gone back inside, but she’d had to stay outside as news of the competition got out and everyone wanted details.

People had been coming up to her, taking photos of her shoes to tweet, taking selfies with her and also taking photos of their own shoes. Riley was encouraging them to share the photos on social media. Everyone thought it had been a great idea. Now she hoped it would create some interest around the shop.

‘I hope this continues for long enough to gather some momentum, rather than be just a PR stunt that everyone has forgotten about come Monday morning.’

‘Stop worrying.’ Ethan planted a sneaky kiss on the end of her nose. ‘I’m surprised you stayed on your feet, though. I thought you might fall over on purpose, for viral appeal.’

Riley pouted. ‘I wasn’t going to pull a stunt like that just to get attention.’

‘Shame,’ he whispered, moving closer so only she could hear what he had to say next. ‘I wouldn’t have minded a flash of your knickers.’

She smiled at him, then sighed when she looked back across the High Street. She could see people still milling about outside the door. ‘I’d better get back to the shop.’

‘Yes, no rest for the wicked,’ said Ethan. ‘Time to meet your public.’

‘If they would all buy something, that would be good!’

Riley went back inside the shop, pleased at having to squeeze past a few people gathered in the doorway.

‘At last! Here’s Riley,’ announced a harassed-looking Dan as she joined him behind the till. ‘It’s been manic.’

‘I take it you mean competition entries rather than shoe sales,’ she grinned.

‘Well, your sandals are going down a storm and people are loving Frank’s bags, but not only that.’ Dan reached for his iPad from underneath the counter and showed her the Chandler’s Twitter feed. ‘That’s what I mean. It’s gone crazy!’

Riley gasped as she scrolled through mention after mention on their Twitter feed. There were lots of photos of them dancing, even a few small grainy videos that had been taken by onlookers. But more than that, there was photo after photo of shoes with the competition hashtag #ShoeLove. The campaign seemed to be working.

‘This is amazing.’ Riley reached down to take off her heels before doing a jig in her bare feet for a couple of seconds. ‘If we don’t get any sales from this, then we never will.’

‘I hope Suzanne will be pleased,’ said Sadie as she came across to them with a box containing a pair of white sandals. ‘This is my third sale of these in the last half-hour, so something is working, for today at least.’

Riley gave Sadie’s arm a squeeze before checking the time. ‘Two hours until closing. We’d better get a move on. Or should I say, best shoe forward!’

By the end of the day they were all glad to see Riley flip the sign on the door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’.

‘What a day,’ sighed Dan, as they congregated around the leather cubes. ‘My feet are killing me!’

‘You should try dancing in heels and then walking around in them afterwards,’ said Riley.

‘Your fingers will be aching after checking all those tweets for the competition. I can’t wait to sit down and go through them. Are we each going to pick a favourite one and then narrow it down to one winner? You know, like they do on
The X Factor
?’

‘It depends how many entries come in,’ said Riley. ‘It’ll only perhaps keep going over the weekend. Once the video has been circulating for a while, it will be old news. We’ll have to think of a way to keep the buzz going.’

‘What are everyone’s plans for this evening?’ Dan asked. ‘Anyone want to join me in a celebratory drink or two? All I need is a house to come to. I’ll bring the supplies.’

‘Not for me,’ said Sadie. ‘I just want to curl up on the settee and slob out with Esther.’

‘Riley?’ he looked expectantly.

‘Sorry, I’m going to Ethan’s. Maybe we could do a night in the week?’

Dan slapped his thighs before standing up. ‘No worries. I’ll go home all by myself and sit with my mum and dad. Oh, how I love the single life.’

‘You could always go on the pull with the lads again,’ grinned Riley.

‘I would rather pull my own teeth out,’ snorted Dan. ‘Remember last weekend?’

Dan had a group of friends he’d known since school, who regularly did a pub crawl around Hedworth. All single men, they were looking for women, made no bones about it, and often left Dan with a severe case of embarrassmentitis as they tried to chat up woman after woman.

‘One day soon, you will meet your Mrs Right.’ Riley chucked him under the chin.

‘After that last date with Ronnie, I’m thinking of cancelling my membership. Honestly, I doubt anyone normal joins a dating agency. It’s just full of rejects and losers and no-hopers. I reckon I’m pretty much the only honest person on there.’