A Shoe Story

[levi2000a]

All characters and places in this story belong to the

Disney Corporation, just like everything else does anymore.

Original creators, Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley

I receive nothing for the writing of this story.

A Kim/Ron based Fanfic.

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Kim went back up to her old room one last time. After the wedding this afternoon, she'd be sleeping in her new home next to her husband. Everything that could have been had already been moved there yesterday since it had just been completed a couple of weeks before. Wade wanted some time to install the security system he was setting up for them and create their own "mission room." Just a few more items than they had before, but since she and Ron would be in the same house, Wade could do some upgrade for the two of them. He had promised to limit the interior cameras to only come on under certain circumstances so their presence wouldn't inhibit their normal lives.

This room, Kim's old room would become her cousin Joss's room. She had been accepted to Middleton Institute of Science and Technology in the field of Cybertronics study and she would need a place to stay. It would be convenient since it was so close and the price was right. The Tweebs attended the same college themselves so transportation would be no problem. They actually helped teach some of the courses in Lowardian technologies. It would also cut down on Kim's parents getting the empty nest syndrome with her moving out and save Joss the money. Hopefully her father wouldn't start "protecting," Joss like he had Kim, but James had already promised his brother that he'd let Ann handle that part of it unless she thought she needed him.

As her thoughts started drifting off to her future married life, she heard a voice from the stairs. "Cousin Kim. Can I come up and talk with you for a minute?"

It was her cousin Joss. She and her father had arrived yesterday since they had been able to make arrangements for both of them to come to the wedding, which was a good thing since they were both in it. Joss hadn't been able to make to Kim's high school graduation because they didn't know it at the time but the Lowardian spacecraft had been playing havoc with the satellite signals which had affected the operation of her uncle's ranch. Joss stayed behind to try and keep the ranch going and repair the problem. They both had made it to her College graduation though and Kim had made it to Joss's high school graduation, where she had graduated top of her class. Joss had brought several boxes of her stuff for the first leg of getting her moved. Those boxes now helped fill some of the emptiness that could now be felt in the room.

Kim had noticed in the short time since they got here that Joss's speech had changed. It was more hesitant and almost like she had to search for the words to complete a simple sentence. She had also lost her Montana drawl and Kim thought that was sad. It had been as much a part of her cousin as her arms or legs. Unfortunately, they just hadn't had the time to sit and talk because of greetings, dinner and going over any last minute plans for the wedding.

"Sure Joss. Come on up."

As she was coming up the stairs she said, "I'm sorry to be bothering you with this on your wedding day. I was going to try and talk to Aunt Ann but she seems busy as all get out. Asides... Besides I really don't want my ...dad to know about this."

"It's okay Joss. I've got some time since I cut breakfast out." Kim scooted over on the bed to make room for her to sit down on. It was the only piece of sittable furniture left in the room. "I'm sorry we haven't had time to sit and talk, you know, girl to girl, but things have been kind of crazy with trying to make sure everything was ready." After a moment, Kim looked back at Joss and continued saying, "But that's in the past and I think we've got it as ready as possible. I have a bright future ahead of me, starting with today. But that's not what you came up here for if I read you right. So, what can I do for my favorite cousin?"

Joss kind of snickered as she said, "Well. You only have two choices so far as your fav-o-rite... favorite cousins cousin. Me or cousin Larry."

"Now Larry has changed a lot and all for the better. He started working out, he wears contacts now and not those BC glasses, he's not lost in his gaming anymore and he got his sinus problem corrected so that he doesn't snort when he laughs." Kim paused for a few seconds and said, "But that's still not what you want to talk about, is it? And what's with you trying to lose your Montana accent? It makes you sound so...uncomfortable."

"Montanan accent." corrected Joss. "That's part of whut...what part of my problem is. You see, Paw...my father, has had a hard time of trying to raising me by his...himself. He's done a great job of it and I love him to death, but there are some things that he has a real hard time with. Some things I need ta...to talk to a another woman about. Heck. It took a special visit from your mom when I first start having that time of the month."

An awkward silence feel between them before Joss went on. "Anyway. This is one of them. Ya...You see, I met this guy, Samuel, and he could be the one, but I'm just not sure."

Kim smiled but stayed silent, urging Joss to continue.

"He's good looking and really laid back about most things. He's fun when we go out and he really tries to look out for me."

"What do you mean Joss? Tries to look out for you."

"Well, he said that some people might hear ma...my accent and think I was just a country girl that had no smarts about her and that I might want to lose it to impress the right people. You know, improve my first impression on people."

"He doesn't have an accent of his own?"

"No. He moved to Montana last year. That's when I met him, when he and some of his friends were helping move his folks... parents and himself in. We just hit it off right off. But the problem is that since we've been dating he's been the perfect gentleman, but lately he's been wanting to do things that I'm just not comfortable with. Like I said, he could be the one, but I know that he would like to do more. I just don't want to lose him because of me being... uncomfortable or not feeling exactly right about some things."

"Do you feel comfortable with trying to not talk the way you have for years?"

"Well, not really, but it will be for the best in the long run, don't cha think?"

Kim asked, "What about your other friends Joss? Do they think you should lose the accent?"

"Well, no. But then they have the same accent I do. How would they know?"

Kim sat and thought and then looked at her cousin and with a great big smile said, "Let's talk about shoes."

Joss, now perplexed looked at her and said, "What?"

"Shoes. You like shopping for shoes don't you?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"Good. We'll talk about shoes then." she said with an almost girlish glee. "You know, a few years ago I was walking along and I saw this pair of shoes in the store window. They were the most adorable shoes I had ever seen. I wanted them. The ones I had on were fine, but I thought I needed something better, so I went in to look at them."

"Kim, what does this have ta do with my prob..."

"I found the store owner," Kim cutting off what Joss was going to ask. "and I was finally able to ask him to let me see them. They were the best looking shoes and I knew that anybody that saw me in them would just die of envy. Anyway, I sat down and they looked even better when he brought them over I took my old pair of shoes off and set them to the side and then put the new ones on, and they felt great. I was so happy with them that I almost bought them right then and there."

"Kim," said Joss in a depressed tone thinking that Kim thought those shoes were more important than her problem. "That's real nice that you got your shoes but..."

"Joss, you're missing the point. I stood up and walked around the chair in them and they still felt fine, but I decided to walk one more time in them just to make sure. That's when I noticed that they really didn't have any give to them. Instead of them giving a little in spots and me giving a little in spots, they didn't budge like I thought they would. I had to walk a different way so they didn't hurt so much and the discomfort never went all the way away. They started to put pressure on a few places and wouldn't let up. I sat down and took them off and put them back on again to see if I could find a comfortable way to wear them." Kim started to lose her girlish glee when talking about them at this point. "But there wasn't one. They kept putting pressure on me to conform to the shape they wanted me to be, to mold me into their shape and I knew that if I got them, that's what I would have had to do. Allow myself to fit them and not for them to fit me. I didn't feel like changing myself that much and be so uncomfortable the whole time to fit those shoes no matter how adorable they were. They weren't worth it."

"About the time I got those shoes off my feet a friend of mine came in the store. She was looking for some shoes too. The first pair that caught her eye was my old pair that I had sitting to the side. I knew she wanted to try them on, but for some reason I never offered to let her try them. Anyway, while she kept looking, I tried some other good looking shoes on and they were a worse fit for me than the first pair. They started pinching me and putting pressure on my feet to the point I took them off almost before I finished putting them on. My friend ended up buying the first pair I looked at, the adorable ones, and she left after I warned her about them.

Just when I was about to give up, a pair almost fell off the shelf at my feet. They were better looking in a different way. I tried them on and they fit fine. I stood up and walked around and they seemed to give when I wanted them to give and they didn't pinch or put any kind of pressure. I thought I had found the perfect pair for me. But as I was walking up to pay for them, I stepped on something on the floor and it hurt. I mean it really hurt. I looked at them closer and saw that they were totally fake. They were man made, synthetic shoes and they didn't even have any real souls to them.

Joss looked at Kim and asked in a slow and uncertain voice, "Kim. We're not talking about shoes here anymore, are we?"

"Of course we are Joss. Anyway, I had just given up ever finding what I really wanted so I started to put my old shoes back on. That's when I realized that the shoes I came in there with were exactly what I really wanted. They were reliable, sturdy, dependable and they had a lot of soul. They didn't try to reshape me by putting pressure on me or try to force me to do different things to accommodate them. They gave me the support I needed and the protection I wanted. They may not have been the pretties or the flashest, but they cleaned up pretty good. I wasn't afraid of them hurting me if I wore them to long, even though I may not have treated them the best I could have over the years."

"So in a way, I did find what I was looking for in that store after all. What I already had and had taken for granted for so long."

"Kim, are you telling me that I should forget about Sam?"

"Joss, I'm telling you that if the shoes you think you want are making you uncomfortable and are putting pressure on you, then they aren't the ones for you. You will find the ones that fit and are right for you. You may have to be patient about it, but don't buy the first ones you see. You shouldn't have to settle for anything less."

Joss sat there thinking about what Kim had told her and then said, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Kim smiled at her and said, "Sure, so long as it's about shoes."

"How long till you slept with those shoes? I mean slept with them still on, while you were wearing them?"

"Well, I, I mean we, wanted to make sure that there would be no morning regrets about it. You know that sleeping with them... on can damage them as well as you, so it wasn't till just before my college graduation that I, we, did that."

"Wow," said Joss softly. "Was it worth the wait?"

"Every year, every month, week, day, hour or minute, it was worth it, because I know that I will have those shoes for the rest of my life and I know that they will be well taken care of from now on." Kim replied without any regrets.

Joss sat there thinking and after taking a deep breath said, "Whale, thank ye Cousin Kim for talkin to me about those shoes. I reckon thar'll be lots of shoes stores at college. Mebe I can find a pair that's as good a fit as the ones you found."

Reaching over and hugging her, Kim said, "I'm sure you will Jocelyn Possible. You're too good a person to go bare foot for very long. But I have to start getting ready and so do you."

As she started down the stairs, Joss said "Thanks for the help Kim and thanks for letting me be a part of the wedding."

After Joss left, Kim reached under the bed and pulled out her pair of mission shoes. They were the ones that she bought after trading in a green jacket that Ron had bought for her that for different reasons, she took back and exchanged. The shoes had been through a lot with her, almost all of her missions, high school and a lot of downtime, but they were still in good shape and with a little effort could still be made to shine. She could still read the manufacturer's initials on the back of them. Robert's On Nantucket Shoes. R.O.N.S.

She looked at the shoes and then at the wedding dress that hung in her closet and thought that the hem of it was so close to the floor that no one would ever see her shoes. That is until her husband removed her garter after the wedding.

Opening one of the drawers still left in the room, she got out a can of shoe polish and a rag and started to clean and polish them. Smiling to herself, she thought that these would be just right for a part of the bridal tradition.

Something old.

But very, very reliable.

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