These are my grocery shopping shoes

This afternoon I went grocery shopping in baggy jeans, a t-shirt, and red leather Italian pumps.

For which I have a very good explanation.

I went out in perfectly normal white keds. The main goal was veggies and flour, but I thought first I'd go to the thrift store to see about proper interview clothing. After a half hour of fruitless search on that end, I made my way over to the shoes to see if they had any plain black heels.

I was tempted by the Italian red leather (or, ya know, what looks like leather... do we import fake leather?) and took off my keds to try them on.

But for some odd reason which I can no longer remember, I held onto just one of my white shoes as I walked down to the end of the aisle to admire the heels in the mirrors. They were a little tight, clearly impractical for walking around in. I reluctantly took them off, put them back, and tried on something else, and then something else, etc.

Still holding onto the one shoe.

And then when I finally made my way back to the other show I had left in the aisle, it was gone.

I searched. I thought, maybe I moved it myself? I searched more. I went to fetch the manager. I showed her the shoe without a partner. She searched.

And then we both gave up.

"I guess I'll have to buy another pair to walk home in," I said.

And she said, "Well, I can give you half off on a pair of comparable shoes."

I did search for a "comparable" pair of very practical shoes. I swear.

But I left in the heels.

And while I headed for the veggies and flour, someone out there was walking around with my one white shoe.