Lucky Shoes

"It's a dinner party." she said.

"Wear whatever you want!" she said.

"It's only my family." she said.

So when I showed up to her childhood home in slacks, a nice button-down blue shirt and my trusty, beaten-up Vans, I could tell that I had interpreted at least one of those messages incorrectly. She was all smiles until she got to my shoes where she winced a little like I had hit a speed bump too hard.

"You couldn't pick better shoes with that?" she chided.

"Nope." I answered plainly.

She led me inside and that's when I found out that I had interpreted not one, but two of those messages incorrectly. She told me it would be just her family there, but didn't tell me it would be a reunion of her current family and some ancestors too. I'm sure of it. They must have been there. Then she did what she always does, introduces me to some random cousin she thinks I'd like, and never do, and runs off to help her sister. This was the first time I'd meet her father and she was gone. I was nervous, but as I chatted away with cousin Tony, who was passionately into collecting thimbles, a gracious soul came to my rescue. He didn't bother to introduce himself. He just swept in silently, like Batman, took a head to toe inventory of me and said---

"Those shoes look like they have a story to tell. Why don't you join me in the study and tell me about them."

I took my hasty leave of Tony and thanked the mystery man profusely.

"I know. I know." he said. "I'm not too fond of these things either. So, tell me." We sat down on two overstuffed chairs.

"Tell you what?" I asked. He eyed me up and down again and settled on my sneakers. "Oh you were serious about that!" He nodded.

"These shoes came with me through college---" I began, and proceeded to tell him this whole story about the journey of my shoes across continents when I did my mission work, how I wore them faithfully when my mother was dying in hopes of a miracle, and how I had been wearing them when I met the love of my life, Emilia.

"I'm supposed to meet her dad today. Any idea when his flight lands?" I asked.

"Nope." He answered and paused for a long time, staring intently at my shoes. "You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes, y'know. I'll bet if they analyzed the dirt in those, they'd still find sand from Egypt mixed with soil from Yosemite."

"But what does that say about me?" I questioned, amused.

"It says you aren't afraid of adventure. It says you are sensible, and you have a humorous side that doesn't care about the opinions of others. It says, you are your own person and you don't need anyone's approval to do what makes you happy. You are kind, and you are generous." He explained.

"Wow. Thanks. I never really thought about it like that. My lucky shoes. I hope they are lucky enough for when I meet her---"

"Dad!" Emilia's voice cut through the room suddenly.

"Emmy! I was just chatting with your beau here, particularly about his shoes." he chuckled.

"I don't know why he wore those! Honestly it wasn't my idea." She scoffed in jest, then kissed her father's cheek.

"Nonsense. Those shoes right there, are one in 7 billion. A perfect pair." Then he winked in my direction. "Lucky shoes."

"What was that?" Emilia asked as he walked away to the dinner table.

"An answer." I smiled.