"Of course I love you." I edged closer to my shoes as I spoke, eyes focused on the box.
He laughed, an unpleasant bark. "You're watching your shoes like a hawk. I knew it. You love your shoes more than you love me."
"No, that's not true." It wasn't, was it? I did love Wayne, right? "You have to understand, the shoes are part of my job."
"Your job is more important than me. Come on, admit it." He gazed deep into my eyes as I struggled to come up with a good response. Shaking his head at my silence, he said, "You can't even deny it." He stood and pushed past me and out of the bar.
Everyone looked at me, expectant. I stared back through narrowed eyes. Finally, the bartender, an overweight leprechaun with an orange mohawk and red-rimmed eyes, fixed me with a look of contempt. "Are you just going to let him go like that, lass?"
I shrugged, conflicted. Let him go or chase him down and kill him? Kiss him? I couldn't decide.
He shook his head. "You witches and your shoes. What are you? Too wicked for love?"
I didn't have an answer and slunk out of the bar, shoe box clutched to my chest, avoiding the harsh gazes of its occupants. What did they know? They weren't witches, wicked or otherwise. Just a bunch of drunken nobodies who were lucky I didn't curse them with incessant flatulence.
Outside, the New York summer hit me like a plastic bag over the head. Gaw. The humidity was going to ruin my hair. I sucked in city smog and spotted Wayne standing at the corner waiting to cross the street.
"Wayne, wait. Let's talk."
He glanced back at me for a quick second, but then turned away, stepping into the street.
Completely unacceptable. No man walked away from me like that. I swiveled my finger in a circle and muttered a few magic words. Wayne jerked up straight and then went still, frozen in place.
I stalked over to him just as a taxi squealed around the corner, moving faster than I could reverse the spell.
The cab hit him with a loud whomp, throwing him down the street. Time stopped and his body crumpled in slow motion, ensuring I didn't miss one grisly detail. I ran to him, kneeling at his side. His head cradled in my arms, I watched as blood pooled dark on the concrete.
Wayne’s glazed eyes looked up at me and saw...nothing.
***
A few weeks later...
They called me after the autopsy, wanting to know what to do with the body.
My voice thick with tears, I said, "Send him to Magic Heels."
"But, m'am, that's not a funeral home, is it?"
"No, it's where we met," I said as if that would mean something to the complete stranger on the other end of the line. "Just send him there, they'll know what to do."
I had the shoe organizer all set up in my closet.
The True Story Behind the Story
Believe it or not, this short story is based on a real life one. I had a co-worker with a shoe fetish and a poor sense of organization. Unfortunately, her husband had a touch of OCD, and, frustrated with her shoes always underfoot, he began throwing them out. At first, she didn’t notice--yes, she had that many shoes--but, as her collection dwindled, the truth came out. I am happy to report their marriage survives, very happily so, but shoes are still prone to mysterious disappearances in their home. Especially if the husband trips over them.
I found the conflict over shoes as well as the battle between messiness and cleanliness interesting. Putting fingers to keyboard, Man Eater was born out of a rather mundane real life conflict. I love how Trixie is an unapologetic narcissist. It’s always about her, all the time. She has no self awareness and I wanted to explore how a romantic relationship with her would unfold. I also thoroughly enjoyed making up the magic shoes.
Other stories by Michelle McCleod:
Love Potions
When witch-in-training, Marion learns she'll never make a love potion if she doesn't fall in love, she takes a risk on Aidan, a handsome, charming elf...cursed to break her heart.
Bitten by Paranormal Romance Review...
"McCleod manages to balance the plot of the book with enough of the characters' back stories to make us care for them in such a limited scope. The love scenes between Aidan and Marion are definitely hot and worth the read."
Banshee’s Tattoo
One tattoo shop, two people: She wants to party, he's running for his life.
Hunted by a banshee, Irish is desperate to get another magic tattoo to ward off death. What he doesn't know is that sexy and sassy Lorena is all the protection he needs.
Read now on your KINDLE
Man Eater Page 2