Best Foot Forward by Joan Bauer Read Free Book Online Page A

the hand you’ve been dealt. To tell you I understand would be an insult to you, but to excuse your behavior solely because of it discredits us both. Pick up the shoes and apologize to Jenna.”
    Tanner stood there, not moving. His breathing came in short gasps. Mrs. Gladstone didn’t blink. Then Tanner bent down, slowly picked up the shoes, put them back in their boxes, and said, “Sorry.”
    She turned to me.
    I swallowed hard. “It’s okay, Tanner.”
    â€œSorry about my language,” he added to Mrs. Gladstone.
    She glared at him. “I find that talk mostly tiresome and un-creative. But I do have a favorite four-letter word. Would you like to hear it?”
    I took a step back.
    â€œWork,” she snapped, and threw a mop toward him. “There’s one thing I know to be true for rich and poor—there’s power in honest labor. I know how to teach it; I know how to make sure you are properly trained so that you can make a fair living. That is the opportunity I offer you here, but it won’t be handed to you. You will have to work for it.”
    Tanner exhaled sharply and looked down.
    â€œJenna Boller has a work ethic that you would do well to emulate.”
    He nodded. “I guess I could sell shoes.”
    â€œThat remains to be seen, young man.” Mrs. Gladstone turned on her heel and hobbled off.

Chapter 9
    Over the next few days, I felt observed.
    Tanner Cobb was studying my every move like a robber casing a bank. Mrs. Gladstone had set the stage, too.
    â€œJenna, I feel that there’s much you can demonstrate to Tanner about good business sense.”
    I shook my head. Not me.
    â€œI’m asking you to take him under your wing.”
    â€œI’m wingless.” I put my arms firmly at my side to make the point.
    â€œYou soar more than you realize, dear. Now when you’re doing something, explain the steps to him. Let him soak in the experience of how well you do your job.”
    It’s hard to say no when a request comes wrapped in compliments.
    I was standing on the sales floor with Tanner. When you do things naturally, it’s hard to break them down with explanation. Like measuring feet.
    Tanner was on his knees, trying to measure my right foot. He moved the lever to the top of my big toe and studied it. “I can’t tell if it’s a ten or an eleven.”
    â€œIt’s a nine and a half. See that half line there?”
    He peered at it. “You got big feet!”
    â€œTanner, think about how that might sound to a customer.”
    â€œYou’re not a customer.”
    â€œBut if I were, saying a person has big feet might make them feel, you know, embarrassed.”
    He nodded. We tried it again; I stuck my foot in the measurer, Tanner fiddled with it. “You got interesting feet,” he said, which wasn’t much better.
    â€œTanner, it’s best not to say anything about a customer’s foot size or whether it’s interesting or not.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause feet are . . . personal, but we don’t want people to feel we’re getting personal with them. You know?”
    He studied the measurer and announced, “Okay, you’re a nine and a half, but don’t take it personally.”
    I closed my eyes and tried to impart great shoe truths:
    Not every shoe is for every foot.
    You can’t sell everybody, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
    If a customer has smelly feet, always suffer silently.
    I tried to tell him that when you have a job, you’ve got to get to work on time. He really had problems with that one. “I haven’t got an alarm clock,” he kept saying, like that excused being late. And then his phone would ring and he’d talk in that low, breathy voice. . . .
    â€œBaby, I’m working . . .”
    â€œBaby, I’ll come by when I’m through. . . . Yeah, I will . . .”
    â€œBaby, don’t be mad. . . . Come on . .