Cesare Rosati The Other Side

“Sally at the Window” by David M. Taylor

The Other Side

By Cesare Rosati

“She’s here again,” shouted his wife. Dan Foster stepped out of their bedroom straightening his tie and walked to look out their front window. From their second floor apartment, they had a clear view of the shoe shop across the street.

“Yep,” he said, “that’s her.” “What do you think she stares at so intently every day?” “You got me. You know how those people are?” Alice turned to her husband and said, “There’s no need to be so rude, Daniel.” “Why don’t they just stay on their side of town?” Alice loved her husband dearly, but hisattitude toward the less fortunate was grating. He had been born into money, unlike her family whichhad earned their good fortune. “If they did,” she replied, emphasizing the ‘they,’ who would tend to…she’d almost said ‘your needs’…but concluded with, “the needs of our side?” Dan grunted, but made no reply. The morning and afternoon ritual stops atthe shop continued for another two weeks. Then one day, at the end of the day, when the woman was on her way home, Alice noted that she stopped, as usual, but this time she went in. Ten minutes later, she stepped out wearing both a huge smile and a pairof striking red shoes. It was then that Alice noted that the woman had always been barefoot, and realized that she’d been stopping at the shop each morning and afternoon to see that the shoes she wanted were still there. Having finally saved up enough money, today she’d gone in and purchased them.