I waited for him to come home and take me shopping for shoes. It was Christmas Eve. He promised. He never showed up until I had gone to sleep and the stores on Long Island, New York had closed. The next day, I went to Christmas dinner walking on my toes to keep the heads of the nails in my ripped loafers from hurting my feel. "The God of My Shoes and other short stories and essays," is based on that experience.