Baby Shoes, Never Used

The following are three short pieces representing stories behind the above line.

Kayla sighed glumly as she surveyed the yard. No takers yet.

Bleep!

A text.

hey u coming 2 the concert?

Kayla's eyes darted about the empty yard again before a slow smile spread across her face.

yeah!

She'd never thought she'd be able to say it again.

Kayla paused for a moment, then hit send.

The woman stared sadly at her sign, hand-painted in shaky letters. A slight spasm hit her stomach, and she felt an automatic trill of fear course through her body before she remembered that there was no reason to fear anymore. It was already over.

Clutching her stomach, the woman glanced outside where her yard sale was being woefully neglected.

"Just go. Do it. Get it over with," she told herself.

Falteringly, she took a step towards the door...

and then turned back, tears streaming down her cheeks, and clutched the tiny shoes to her chest.

"Hey Lily." Peter kissed his fiancee lightly on the forehead. "How's the yard sale coming?"

"Pretty well. I've made enough to buy us a dinner at Le Matron..."

"Did you get rid of that horrible chair?"

Lily laughed. "Yeah, some old lady paid thirty bucks for it."

"She must have really bad eyesight."

"Ooh, are those new customers? I have to go help. But look around sweetie, and save anything if you want it!"

She was already halfway across the lawn as he waved.

Ah, Lily. What a woman. They'd known eachother since grade school and every day he'd discovered anew that she was the answer to all his prayers. And now, soon, she'd be his. Permanently. Peter smiled smugly to himself as he browsed through the piles of junk.

Suddenly, something caught his eye.

"What the...?"

Baby shoes, never used

"Hey!"

Startled, Peter turned to see Lily standing behind him.

"Lily, are these...?"

"No! They're nothing. Go help the other customers! I can't do this whole thing by myself."

He let her drag him away, noticing the way her cheeks were flushed with shame.

"I didn't know..." But he found that he couldn't finish his sentence; something caught in his throat when he tried.